Fall and New Students

Each year in Oct we have a special meeting where we try to get new students involved in OSCEB.

We had lots of students and 12 first year students.  Pray that we would be able to motivate and integrate many of these students into OSCEB.

 

A few times each week, weather permitting, we go out to the dorm area to pass out Bibles and offer free Christian literature to students.  With those that stop we try and engage in conversations about the Gospel, let them know about OSCEB and invite them to upcoming events.  Last week we had a number of very good conversations with students, where God had been already at work.  Pray that they will come to the outreach event we will have on Nov. 8.

The conversations we had were very encouraging.  One young man had lots of sincere questions and really wanted to find answers to them.  When we told him about sin and how even our thoughts separate us from God he said, "Then who can be saved?".  At hearing this we showed him how Jesus had been asked this same question and the answer was not in what we can do or how good we can be, but in what God has done for us through Jesus.  The young man left taking a New Testament and agreeing to read it.

York Video: Ministy Update

We made this video to help show the different aspects of our life and ministry in Romania.  Andrew did much of the video work and all the editing in putting this video together!  We used it during the summer with churches and friends that we visited.  Enjoy!

Rebekah Graduates from BCA!

We congratulate Rebekah on her graduation from Bucharest Christian Academy on June 1!  We are very proud of her and how hard she worked during her 4 years of high school!

 

Rebekah receives her diploma!

 THE BCA class of 2012!!

The first class at BCA to have all the seniors graduate with honors!

 The proud siblings!

 

Rebekah, Abby and Samuel with their first grade teacher!!

 

Hannah and Sam, who Rebekah has baby sat the last three years!!

Rebekah will be attending EMU in Harrisonburg, VA in the fall to study Social Work.

IFES Conference: Undivided 2012

Once every four years IFES runs a conference for students from all across Europe, focused on evangelism!  April 5-10 in Gyor, Hungary we took 63 Romanians to be a part of this conference.  John Lennox, a mathematics professor from Oxford University spoke with passion about Jesus and encouraged us to do the same!

 

With almost 1700 students from across Europe we  celebrated the resurrection together on Easter morning!

 

Teddy, Mike & Andrei point to Romania on the map

 

One evening all the countries brought together special tastes from home to share with everyone!  Here the Romanian delegation shared their specialties!

 Dragos, our new national leader talks with Trif from Bulgaria

Before heading out to the conference we organized an outreach in Bucharest and had a history professor present well reasoned case for the existence of God! Pray as we follow-up with many who came!

Balkan Staff Conference 2012

In early March Mike traveled to Albania for a meeting with others in IFES from our region.  We had 25 who met in Vlore, Albania for a time of hearing God's word together and sharing ideas among ourselves.

 Each morning we had a Bible exposition from Revelation and then a time in small groups to discuss.  In my small group there were 3 Albanian students.  None from a Christian home all converted during their time at university and all hungry to grow in the Lord and study His word.  One young man was trying to read through the whole Bible in 90 days.  Something I think that would be hard to find among any student in the US or Romania!

 Dragos (on the far left), our national director, participated in a panel discussion on evangelism with other working in Montenegro, Bosnia and Albania.

Igors our supervisor who lives in Latvia with Dragos on our outing up into the mountains!

Ski Camp 2012

 With perfect weather for skiing this year we were able to go to Poiana Brasov a very nice place to ski with modern facilities and slopes.

Students enjoyed having lessons each day given by well trained instructors who were very patient and taught even the beginners how to ski!

 In the evenings after small group discussions we had time to just be together to sing as well as to play different games together.  But it seemed that most people would "hit the hay" pretty early after a day on the slopes!

 One day we had lots of snow and fog on the mountain that made it very hard to see the slope before you.  It was a bit like skiing by faith not by sight!

Please do pray that students who came to the camp would continue to be involved in the OSCEB meetings and God would open their eyes to Him!

Moving into 2012!!

As the New Year started out Mike was invited to a retreat with a church from Ploiesti to speak to their youth on relationships with parents, professors and church leaders.

It was a wonderful weekend full of  hikes in the mountains, fun in the snow and great discussions as students wrestled with applying Biblical principles to their relationships.

I, Mike, was very encouraged by the fact that in the leadership of this group there are 6 people who had been involved with the student ministry in Ploiesti and were now were integrated into a local church and are using their gifts to serve university and high school students.  It gave me a sense of how the student ministry across Romania is truly helping to prepare students to enter the church and serve there.  Please pray that each year students would graduate from the university and seek ways to serve in their local church!