We had the English party. Out of the 100 students that are in this program, 80 of them attended the party. About 70 of them don't have a changed life with Christ. They were able to hear some testimonies.  We also had some activities and the gospel was preached. A lady, the principal of a school, attended the classes as well. She was very much impressed with the event we had that night. She said she really liked how the people helped out for the event. An older gentleman, Nicolae (55), was also impressed with the evening and the English classes. He said it

was the first time for him to see a church so concerned about others. We were glad to serve them and keep them in our prayers.

The Christmas holidays providced other important events. We had the Christmas celebration for students two weeks ago. The students had the opportunity to hear the message about Jesus' birth. A week later, on the 23rd, we also celebrated with our teenagers. Besides the program, carols and presents, we were happy to see the girls and the boys there. Sometimes we asked ourselves what made them continue to come every Friday to our meetings even though their parents are not Christians. I thank God for them.  It is God who keeps them together as we only have to make time for them.  When I think of them, I understand the verse that says that Christ's love compels us better. I think they feel our love and that draws and challenges them.

Nicoleta, a teenager that was with us on the summer camp confessed how God change her heart. We are sometimes surprised to see her sincerity and boldness to talk about the her faith in the Lord. She has more courage than many other church members do. Nicoleta has some health problems. Her father left her and her mother leaving them wounded in their souls and in need. But we were surprised to see her courage and optimism, seeing these tests as being part of God's plan for them too. We often hear her say, "I think this is God's will and He knows better". We would get together once week and give her guitar lessons. When we did that, we also helped her to grow spiritually. She is now learning how to take the gospel to other people as well. Her mother was the first one. Nicoleta also helped other people from our church to take the gospel to orphanages during the Christmas holidays.

We took advantage of the holiday season to take the good news to others through carols, As I mentioned before, only a few teens have Christian families. Christmas gave us the best opportunity to visit the other families and share the good news with them. Tania is a 13-year old teenager. When we got to her place, her family insisted on our spending more time there. Her parents told us that their daughter never had such special friends even though they had lived abroad for a while. They told us that what Tania was learning at church fulfilled her heart. We prayed for them and hope that God will work in the hearts of the parents.

Another family we visited was Alexandru and Valeriu's family. They were both sick. When we got there, we prayed for them and entrusted the whole household to God.

We went caroling on December 25 and went downtown to sing around the Christmas tree.