We are at the end of the school year 2009-2010 and I have to say that looking back I experienced a lot of joy and a bit of tiredness.

I rejoice very much in some of the things that the Lord did during this school year!!! The first thing I’m grateful to the Lord for this year is that He reconnected me with one of my friends who doesn’t know the Lord. Our relationship has grown so much during this year! God has put a lot of love in my heart for her, and He gave me many opportunities to share the Gospel with her, both individually and in the community. She’s a student and she came to the ski camp in February. I am so amazed to see her openness to talk about life and Christianity. In the beginning of our relationship she was closed and our conversations were poor, but now she is open and we can talk for hours. She says she cannot have faith in God, but I am glad she became more open to hear what Christianity has to say about life. God has taught me a lot through this relationship about how to talk and relate to people who are very closed to Christianity and how to love them unconditionally.

The evangelism in the student dorms has been a great encouragement for me this year. I had a lot of contact with the non-Christian students and many discussions where I could share the Gospel with them. Some were very open to hear the good news, others were hesitant, reluctant or denied it, nevertheless I trust that the Lord will use His Word in their lives at some point. Evangelism is so exciting! Probably, this is the only thing I will miss in heaven. I am also very glad that hundreds of tracks, New Testaments and brochures were given out to the students, and some of them were clearly happy to receive them. Please pray that the Gospel will bring fruit in the lives of these students, for God’s glory and for the growth of His Kingdom. “May the Lamb receive the reward for His sacrifice.”

This year I was also very excited to see the growth of some of the Christian students in our community, especially Teddy, Andreea and Diana. It’s so encouraging to see how the Lord has put the student ministry on their hearts. Teddy is also on the leadership team and in a discipleship group, and is very much involved in everything we are doing. Ioana, who became a Christian last year, is also growing in her relationship with God and Christ-like character. Even though at the end of this year there are less students in our community, it is good to see they all are serious in their spiritual growth and relationship with the Lord. At the Graduates Evening we organized this month, the graduating students shared with us what the Lord has taught them during the years of being a student… a variety of wonderful things. We are encouraged and thank the Lord for the way in which the graduates have actively been involved in the student ministry and their devotion to the Lord's work. Please pray that in the fall the Lord brings other students like them who will give out the Gospel on campus.

An important event that took place at the end of May was our 20th year celebration. We celebrated “20 years of OSCEB”!!! We saw how the Lord is good and faithful in each generation of students. He works in each generation in and through people who let themselves be used by Him. There were present OSCEBers old and new, from those who initiated the work up to the present generation. We delighted in their presence and the way in which it's been proven over time that people from all generations have loved and continued to sustain God's work amongst students in Bucharest. Likewise, there was a time of fellowship and worship before Him who initiates and sustains any good thing, with His strong arm. Students presented in a unique way what the Lord has done in the last 5 years and together we looked gratefully at the grace,  help and His miracles in our midst: People hearing the Gospel, being saved and growing in their relationship with the Lord. We heard testimonies and interviews, saw many photos and worshipped Christ together for His mighty works. Besides all of these wonderful things, this event meant a lot of cooking for me. Also, planning and leading the students in their responsibilities was another part. I was thankful to God for answering so many of our prayers. I saw once again that the most important thing we are to do in ministry is to PRAY!!!

This month something special happened in my life that I want to share with you. My parents, who lived in Italy over the past 10-12 years, moved back to Romania for good. They haven’t seen their country during all these years. We used to have our yearly family reunions in Sicily, Italy, where they were working. They were very surprised by the good changes they saw in Bucharest. It is now a much more cleaner city. However, the most important and fun thing to witness was to watch my parents seeing their house for the first time. They were sooo excited!!! During the last six years they sent me money to build and finish a house for them. When they left their land was only a barren piece of land, when they came home this month they found a big fancy house that was built. For me it was a lot of work and management, especially during vacations, but when I look back I can clearly see that this house was God’s house, as He orchestrated everything amazingly and made me a privileged witness of His work. I was amazed of how He brought the right people together to work at the house and how He answered all of my prayers exactly when it was necessary. I could write a book with the stories about this house.  So in the last two weeks I’ve been very much involved with cleaning and preparing the house for my parents’ arrival and then helping them adjust to their brand new environment.  I praise the Lord for everything HE has done in our midst, and I have to confess I am very curious to see His plans for this house in the future! Praise Him for His mighty works! “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever! Amen.”

At the moment I am busy with the planning of the evangelistic summer camp that will take place between July 22nd - 28th. There are already some non-Christian students who registered. Praise the Lord! I am glad that Raquel's colleague is coming. She invested a lot of time in this relationship. They both study Design at Architecture and her colleague is Hungarian. In the end it is turning out to be an international camp as we have people from Romania, US, England, Brazil, Hungary and India. Raquel's aunt is also coming who has been a missionary in India for the last 15 years. I look forward to meeting everybody and seeing what the Lord will do in this camp. Please pray that the Lord blesses this work with His presence and saves souls. May the Lord have mercy on each non-Christian who will attend the camp.