As you know, Ani's father passed away. It's been, and still is, a very difficult time for Ani and her family. But when we think about our Lord and His goodness, we have the strength to go on. We are so grateful that He's been with us all these years while working as missionaries but also throughout our journey here on earth!

During this time, we keep asking ourselves: WHAT IS LIFE? And we become more aware of the fact that "Life is a GIFT from God", he gave it to us to rejoice over it, to cherish it and not to forget that we're only STRANGERS on this earth, just as I was saying in my previous report!

I have heard of so many problems and separations caused by death lately, so, we want to focus our hearts and attention more and more on the Lord!

Separations are sad and painful but if we look at them through God's eyes, that brings comfort to our hearts. We realize what a great blessing we have as Christians, to know our destination after death.

One thing I became more aware of is that telling the Gospel to the people who don't know Him is indeed A PRIVILEGE!

I (Ani) have been praying for my family, my brothers and sisters, my relatives for many years.Many times I would grow weary and told the Lord: "God, I am tired of praying and not seeing any results! I often feel like a thorn for the ones in my family!" While driving to my parents' place, I was thinking, "how am I going to put up with so many traditions and superstitions, to tell them they're worthless and still not cause any tensions in the family during a time like this!" As you know, I asked you to pray for us and our prayer was" Lord, show Your glory through my father's death!" And He did it! I have two sisters and four more brothers. One of my sisters, Angelica, who is a vet, is pretty influential in my family whenever she has something to say. And God used her in special way for that time. While we were riding together to our parents' home, I told her we didn't agree with the traditions and superstitions related to the funerals, that they were not biblical. That's how we talked about God and the Bible for about two hours. My sister totally agreed with me. And not only that, when she got home, she stated out loud that everything they did in the name of tradition was nothing but fake and a waste of money. That gave me the opportunity to tell my family about God again. Even though she still attends the Orthodox church, she no longer agrees with their rituals. When I got back to Timisoara, I called her and she told me, "I think I am going to become a true Christian because I want to get closer to God!" I said in a loud voice "Amin!"

I have a good relationship with my sister and we're pretty close. My other sister, Maria, is more attached to the tradition. Whenever we talk, she agrees with me in what I say but she just cannot leave the orthodox traditions and superstitions. I keep praying for her, that God will work in her heart and reveal to her the truth.

I was telling you in a previous letter about my father's brother who became a Christian two years ago. I had a great surprise when I found out about my uncle, Sandu, back then. He used to be a mean man.  He had several wives.  He got divorced and put his children in orphanages, but God had mercy on him and saved him. I was so happy to hear about him. At my father's funeral, I realized that he had truly given his life to Christ. Talking to Sandu about our family, he told me that a cousin of mine along with her husband became Christians too. Mirela, my cousin, and her husband Marius came to the funeral as well. I talked to them and they seemed to be real Christians. And that was not all! Mirela's mother (my father's sister) died some years ago. Talking to Mirela, she told me that her mother, aunt Valentins, right before she died, had accepted Christ and was baptized. I cried with joy realizing that God listened to my prayers and worked in His own way in my family.

The good news is that my father has one more brother that's still alive. His name is Anton and he is pretty close to God's kingdom. Sandu keeps telling him about the Lord. When we got to my parent's place, they were both there. Uncle Sandu came to my husband and said, "Anton is close to being saved. Please talk to him!" Bebe had such a joy in talking to him and seeing how God worked in his heart!

Another joy we had was from my nephew Lurentiu (one of my brother's sons). He is 16. I wrote about him in my previous letters. It is obvious that he is looking for God and the Spirit is at work in him. He spent a lot of time with Bebe, he asked many questions about Jesus, the Bible and salvation. While I was telling my family about the Lord, he would back me up, agree with me and encourage me. Pray that God will bring him closer and closer to him and that his heart will be totally changed for His glory!

Razvan, another nephew, heard the Gospel as well and had many questions. Laurentiu encouraged him to believe in Jesus.

Once again: God's word will not return to Him empty, even though it may take a while......

Thank you for your prayers!

It is a MIRACLE for somebody to accept Christ as Lord and Savior. For us, it is an honor and privilege given by God to witness such miracles.

"I had nothing against believers, because they had never done anything to harm me!"

I first met Mircea at one of the meetings with the foreign students, I thought he was from India. Actually, all the people from the Romanian team thought the same. Flavius, my son, even started to speak with him in English. But when I asked him what he was studying, he said he was a student at the Baptist Seminary in Timisoara. When the meeting was over, he came to me and told me he enjoyed it and that he would like to come again. Ever since then he has become a part of our group. We study the Bible and do personal evangelism together. He loves God's ministry and has a great passion for souls. I invited him over to our home and asked him how he came to Christ.