I am thankful to God who showed His love towards us this month. He gave us the grace and strength to grow in our desire of spreading the Gospel in the Romanian villages in Bucovina. I want to remind you that my vision is to plant churches in the Romanian villages from the Herta district. This district is inhabited mostly by Romanians and it is the least evangelized district in Cernauti county. So far there are only five Baptist churches in this district. This month we were able to organize two evangelistic projects in this area on April 25 and May 5. Both of them took place in Molnita. This village is next to the Banceni village where one of the most famous Orthodox monastery is located in the Ukraine. We have prayed and attempted to take the Gospel in this village for some time. This village is oppressed by the devil through traditions and fear of the priests and monks. On the occasion of our evangelistic outreach we distributed invitations to homes in Banceni too. We wanted to show the people that we were interested in them.

During these services we joined hands with three churches in Molnita, Garbova and Pasat. For some time we have attempted to support one another and to start certain joint projects to evangelize the area. We invited preachers from Romania for both services and distributed 200 invitations from house to house. We talked to those who were open. We distributed literature all over the village.

Because of the first evangelstic service a woman from Garbova expressed her wish to be baptized. Approximately 10 of her friends came to this service. Four of her friends came to the second service.

Marius is a Romanian missionary who takes care of the church in Molnita. Together we organized an evangelistic outreach at Costiceni. There were approximately 20 friends who came.

Regarding the ministry in Pasat, I am happy to tell you that God is working in the believers' hearts. This month we finished studying 2 Timothy.

We already have some definite things regarding the construction of the church. We received the necessary money for the papers, the project and the materials for the foundation. This is a big step for us. It is all set for the next phase. We waited on God to revreal the best time. So far we mostly have had peace in our village. Probably the priest thought that we gave up on building the church. He was very surprised to the extent that he had tears in his eyes when he saw that we had bought the materials. Some of the villagers just waited to see when we would build the church. They encouraged us. A neighbor of the church allows us to use electricity from his home. Somebody else helped us and brought us wood from the forest. Other young people helped us unload the materials. There have been rumors but we don't listen to them anymore.

On the other hand, when we started construction on the church, it kindled anger in some of the people. But it was only a few. So far, most of the people have not allowed the priest to manipulate them. Last Sunday he tried with tears in his eyes to dampen the hearts of the parishioners. He wants to stop us. It is obvious that he is afraid.

We pray that God will help us finish the church as soon as possible. Till then we strive to bring the Gospel into the homes of the villagers. We continue to visit them and tell them about God.

There is no new person in our group and no one who comes regularly to our gatherings. However, there are some people who come occasionally. We want to begin the foundation of the church as soon as possible. Please pray for us to work quickly and to have no accidents or conflicts. Also, pray that God will give us grace in our sharing of the gospel with the villagers.

Once again I want to thank you for blessing our family and the Romanian villages where God put us to serve. Thank you for ministering with us through your prayers and financial support. My desire is that the Gospel will reach men and women as soon as possible. I want to hasten the coming of our Lord.