At Hodu’s church
I’ve recently returned from a fruitful ministry trip. David McGuire, our partner in Danes, Romania, asked me to teach at his ministry training school. I also spoke at several churches and prayer meetings in the area.
I also visited Gyergyo, Romania, where the Starnes will serve. I had a good meeting with Zsolt Novák, the pastor of the church where Jacob & Karina were married and where they will serve. I visited several ministry sites in town, including the church’s coffee shop, their ministry center in a gypsy village, and their second hand store. This was my first visit to Gyergyo, and it was great to get an idea of the people and place that Stoneworks will serve over the coming years.
In Serbia, I met with dear friends Jan & Nada Dudaš. We had good fellowship and talked through some issues facing their local church. From there I traveled to Montenegro, where I met with Vladimir & Marijana Čizmanski, Siniša Nadaždin, and Lazar & Maša Simonović. I looked at several properties where we could potentially build a Christian camp and retreat center. (It’s fun to drive around the mountains of Montenegro!) I spoke at Vladimir’s church and also had a very nice visit with family: my sister-in-law lives near Podgorica, and it was good to see her family and get caught up.
I also spent a few days in Jõhvi, Estonia, where I met with the leadership of Sunbeam, a center for children with disabilities, where I am a member of the board.
Travel was surprisingly smooth, considering concerns about borders and Covid. Of course, I had to get multiple Covid tests but was able to cross borders without any trouble other than a couple of delays because document checks.
It’s good for us to press on in faith. The Lord wants His people to be fearless and bold. The world needs us to be good disciples of Jesus. The words of the Apostle Paul come to mind:
Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life . . . .