The month of January is a month of exams, so the students are very busy studying. That is why we have not had outreach events during this month, which gave us the time to work on the planning of the Evangelistic Ski Camp, February 14th - 19th. We went several times into the dorms and put up a lot of posters and gave away hundreds of invitations at the camp. We still wait and pray that students would call us about the camp. We have had several planning meetings deciding the Gospel messages and the Bible studies we will have in the camp, along with many administrative decisions. I am so encouraged to see that Ioana, the girl I kept writing about during the last year, who came as an unbeliever in the last year's camp, this year brings two lost colleagues herself!  It has been such a blessing to meet with her and Maria (her Christian friend who brought her to the ski camp last year) almost weekly and discuss the Gospel for many hours. Now we are studying the book of Romans together and it is such joy for me! At the beginning of the year I visited her family, and when her mother heard I was evangelical, she told me she has told Ioana not to forsake her religion, but Ioana tells her that "the evangelical faith" is better, because in the evangelical churches the Bible is explained. One Sunday evening Ioana attended a church service where a former Orthodox priest gave his testimony of how he got saved. I am so glad she heard that, because she could understand a lot about the Orthodox Church. She told me she couldn't believe when the former priest said that they had not studied the Bible almost at all in the Orthodox Theological Seminary, but they had studied a lot about the cults (Baptists, Brethern, etc!). I am glad she got to hear these exposing things.

The Lord gave me the opportunity to talk about the Gospel with an old lady I met. She had read the Bible a lot during her life, and she might be a believer, even though, as far as I understood, she had not been attending a church. Nevertheless, she kept telling me how Jesus helps her all the time, and she knew a lot from the Bible, and told others about God. I was not sure whether she was very clear about the fact that only through Jesus sacrifice we can stand before God, not through our good works. So I explained to her what Jesus did on the cross for us. She was listening very carefully and seemed to understand and accept everything I was telling her. It was very encouraging to me, because usually the old people are merely religious, they go to church and do many rituals, but she seemed to have real faith in Jesus.

Last month I saw a girl again who attended one of my evangelistic Bible studies years ago, and who seemed so close but never entered in. This was sad for me. She still reads the Bible, but it seems to me she doesn't understand it. I talked a little bit with her and tried to explain that Jesus is the only way, but it seemed that she believed that there are many ways, as so many teach today. I see again and again that unless the Holy Spirit opens their eyes they do not see anything even if they read the Bible and attend Bible studies! May the Lord have mercy on her!

The Lord also gave me the opportunity to speak more in depth about the Gospel with two people in our group who profess faith, but now I think the Lord is working in their hearts and they are evaluating their faith. I pray for many opportunities like this, I have a burden for the young people raised in our churches, who have probably received a shallow Gospel and I think many of them do not have the saving faith in Christ.

We have been studying in our large meetings the first three chapters of the book "Justification and Regeneration" by Charles Leiter. We have had very good discussions in small groups and talked in depth about the Gospel. My only regret is that fewer students attended, because of their exams. In the last meeting, Adi, one lost guy who was in our English camp last summer, said: "I think I am not a Christian, I think I am not saved." This is the first step, because most people consider themselves to be Christians. I am glad he will come to the ski camp. May the Lord have mercy on him!

One of the highlights of last month was when Teo told me she would start an evangelistic Bible study with two girls! I have had this group with Teo and Iulia for 4 years and a half and we decided to end it in the summer. This was the longest discipleship group I have ever had, but every time I tried to end it, it seemed it was not the right time. Iulia came in our ski camp 5 years ago as an unbeliever, and the Lord saved her after several months. Teo was a very young believer when I first met her. It was such a privilege to see them growing in the Lord and starting to bear fruit for His glory! About a week ago Teo told us she would start studying the Bible with two girls she met who seemed to be seeking the Lord. One of the girls will come to the ski camp. May the Lord work in her heart and reveal Himself to her!

I have been meeting with these three girls in a new discipleship group. We get to know each other and have started studying the book of Romans together. May the Lord use this group for the growth in faith of these girls and make our time together profitable each time we meet!