Once again we enjoyed the peace and the freedom here in the area where we work. I am very grateful for the grace that God gives to this village.

The ministry in Patrauti is going better now that people who were abroad to work came back. I got a little help when it comes to the administrative work. We were blessed to have brother Jim Eliff and Dani Cojocaru with us. They preached the Word and we also had the Lord's supper. It's been a blessing both for myself and the church.

We continue to have the evangelistic services every two weeks on Wednesdays. We usually have guests from Romania who help us with the singing and preaching. The people from the village come to church but they find it hard to say yes to the gospel. They are caught up into religion and yet they don't have God. Most of them have their idols and superstitions and they have no place for God in their hearts. In spite of everything, they will not be able to make any excuse on Judgment day.

We had several social activities this month, especially to help the ones who were flooded last summer. Our Mennonite brothers brought us care packs and potatoes and gave them to the people in need. We went to the town hall and the mayor gave us a list with the people whose houses were damaged by the floods. We then visited these people and invited them to come to the church the next day to receive the care packs. Besides what we were able to provide for them, we got to meet new people. Some of them were pretty open to a relationship and I want to keep in touch with them. I have noticed that when the church wants to help the needy, God is at work and that is a good testimony.

Regarding the visitation program, I had the opportunity to visit several of them this month. The strategy I usually use is to visit a family where one of its members is a Christian. When I do that, I can also talk to the others. This is how I got to talk with Zina, the wife of a man from our church. We talked about who the devil was. Although she says she is Orthodox, Zina goes to witches. I told her that it was God who created all things and the devil who destroyed them. I showed her in the Bible that God hated witchcraft and commanded his people to kill all the witches. As I was talking, I felt she was pretty much into that.

I visited another family that usually comes to church. They haven't made a commitment yet but they attend all of our services. I had the opportunity to talk to the daughter-in-law. At first, she didn't seem interested, but towards the end of our discussion she became more and more interested and had several questions about the differences between Orthodox and Baptist doctrine. I keep praying for this people that God will give them repentance according to His grace.

I met several people this month when I gave them a ride. This way I also had the opportunity to
share the gospel with them. Most of them said they were Orthodox not because they chose too
but because they inherited this religion from their ancestors. They say they will never change. I pray that God will make them aware of the real faith. They think they're religious but they don't know God.

The Ministry in Storojnet

We had several meetings with the pastors from this area. We talked about the problems related to this mission area and organized youth meetings. We motivated the young people to be more dedicated to God and to live what they believed in spite of all the hypocrisy in this world.

On the 26th of December we had a service in Pataruti de Jos. All the churches in the area decided to get together and study about the Church in the last days. I am glad we can have these fellowship meetings. My purpose is to work on the unity that the Bible so often talks about. It is the only way we can impact the society around us.

On the 25th of this month I was invited to preach in Ceranauti, Ijesti and Molnita. In the afternoon, I went to Danita and celebrated the birth of Jesus.