We are glad to know that you stand by us in the ministry in Bucovina. This month was a special challenge for me as we faced two serious problems in the church. The devil has tried to destroy the ministry through people from the outside such as the priest and his acolytes. Now Satan's strategy has changed as he has started a fight within the church. As the priest as backed off and doesn't fight us publicly anymore, now the devil has started to discourage those who turned to God.

First of all I want to tell you some things about my family and I. Our ministry with people has been most difficult. I am amazed at how much peace I have in these situations.
God has been good to prepare us. He worked in our relationships and has done other things that I do not see. Although we go through these trials in the church, we know that God wants to teach us some things and one of these is how much He loves us.

Everything started in the beginning of September. We just got back from Romania and I made some phone calls to find out how everyone was doing.  I was informed that one of the men from our church had had a car accident. His daughter was with him. The car overturned. Although it was serious they surviced the accident and had only some scratches. This family gave us the land for the church. They were our host from the beginning of the mission in Pasat. After the accident, three situations arose. I can't give you the details about these things, but I will try to explain them shortly so you can pray for us.

First of all, they are grateful to God for saving their lives. Secondly, they are frustrated because although the family bought the car having made many sacrifices, they used it for only four months. Finally, the orthodox priest said that this happened because they left their ancestral faith. This family went to pieces. They started to believe that this happened because the priest had cursed them it made them afraid. The priest told them that he was ready to forgive them and receive them back into the orthodox church. The stress was high. Sadly, this brother in Christ tried to fix the problem as he had in the past by turning again to alcohol. When the villagers found out, they took pleasure in his drinking. This led to another family who had started to attend our church to stop coming, They were ashamed.

This situation created a new problem that is still unsolved. Two men from the church had an argument. As a result they went for a month without making up. I have counselled them and encouraged them to reconcile, but they would not. Because of this conflict one of them will not come to church anymore. This situation is still unsolved.

Besides these trials, the church is well. I have encouraged a fast and prayer time and they were glad for it. Our testimony in the village has been effected. After some visits I saw that people of the village don't have any positive reactions. Although these problems exists presently, I believe God will save other people.