From the Superintendent's DESK

A team representing the Portland headquarters has been in Romania since Thursday, January 30, visiting our churches in the western region. Harlan Lee, Director of Romania Work, arrived in the late evening while Wayne Butler, pastor at Port Angeles, Washington, and Seun Ogunleye, pastor at Stavanger, Norway, arrived in the early afternoon. The latter two were in time to participate in a church service at our Sanpetru-German location. They were joined by Ted Bora, the Western Romania District Superintendent, who has been interpreting for them.

In the correspondence pertaining to this trip, it has been emphasized that God’s presence has been felt strongly in every service. We praise God for this and look forward to the victories that are sure to come. Here is Brother Seun’s report of the team’s activities since their arrival.

On Thursday evening, we had a blessed service among the saints at our Sanpetru-German church, pastored by Beni Pasalica. We enjoyed several music specials, Scripture readings, and prayer sessions, followed by two messages from God’s Word.

During the service, Brother Wayne read a greeting from Brother Sola, and it was received joyfully by all the saints. He also gave an exhortation from Hebrews 6:13-19, emphasizing that God’s promises are as sure for us as they were for Abraham. He said there is an inheritance reserved in Heaven for each one who will take advantage of God’s promises through prayer.

The other message was taken from Luke 18:1-8. I encouraged the saints to come to God in faith, knowing He can and will provide answers to all of life’s challenges. In addition, I urged them to seek God for the three foundational Christian experiences until they receive. Throughout the meeting, God’s Spirit was felt in a special way, and we concluded with good prayer around the altars.

On Friday, being joined by Brother Harlan, our team of four went to Comlosul Mic for an evening service. This cozy country church, pastored by Viorel Farcas, was filled with warmth. After several songs, Scripture readings, and prayers offered for different needs, three sermons were given.

For the first, Brother Harlan referenced Ezekiel 34:26 and spoke on the promised blessings of God, encouraging the saints to expect the latter rain revival of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The second message was taken from Luke 6:46-47 and focused on the importance of building our spiritual lives on the solid foundation of the Word of God. It brought out that all decisions should be guided by God’s Word. The final message was from Hebrews, chapter 6, and encouraged that everyone can be a co-heir to the inheritance God offers. At the close of the meeting, a blessed time of prayer followed.

On Saturday, we traveled to Gottlob. Though there was no church service, we had the opportunity to visit with the pastor, Nicu Cretu, and tour the church building. Brother Nicu shared how God has been working in the congregation by bringing in many young families. He said this has created a need for the expansion of the building—a good problem to have.

In the evening, our team was joined by Gheorghe Macovei, the Eastern Romania District Superintendent, and the next day, Copco Cretu took the place of Brother Ted as our interpreter.

For the Sunday morning service, we went to Teremia Mica and were warmly greeted by the pastor, Florin Silea, along with the saints. We happily noted that there were many young families in attendance. The service followed the same format as the previous ones with several music specials, Scripture readings, and prayer sessions preceding three sermons. One of the messages was based on Mark 4:1-9, the Parable of the Sower and the Seed. The congregation was admonished to provide hearts of good ground where the seed of God’s Word can grow and produce spiritual fruit.

Another of the messages, taken from Hebrews 11:30-31, focused on having the faith to follow God’s instructions even when it doesn’t seem logical. The example was given of the victory at Jericho, which took place when the Israelites obeyed God and marched around the city. The service closed with an altar call and a good prayer service.

The evening meeting was held at the headquarters church in Zadareni, where Brother Ted is the pastor, assisted by Nico Tudor. As in previous services, the hunger in the hearts of the saints was evident. Many had tears in their eyes as the Spirit of God called. Again, we closed the evening with a wonderful time of prayer around the altars. 

Lord willing, our team in Romania (except for Brother Seun, who has returned home), hopes to visit the southern region of our work next. Brother Harlan writes that God’s presence has been felt in a special way throughout all the services. In addition, the saints at each location have sent heartfelt greetings, saying they are praying for Portland and the global work. Let’s keep this trip in our prayers, for God’s mighty hand to be at work in every aspect.