Spring Harvest

This group of young and old made their way to the first "Encounter Retreat" of 2005 proving that God "has more in 2004". Joined by a team from Carlsbad, CA the 11 newest members of our church experienced God one-on-one at this fine weekend event.

At each and every "Encounter Retreat" we begin by introducing the new christians to "The Father Heart of God", after which we preach about the "Power of the Cross". On day two we then invite them to respond to God by dealing with unforgiveness and inner wounds that they might have from their past. We close Saturday by then being filled up with God's spirit and challenged to give Him our best, and leave Sunday morning hearing about how to overcome temptation and what God's specific plan is for our church.

We praise God for the 11 new believers who have now done more with their faith, and who are ready to pray for their friends and see them saved too!

Ministering to the Needs



Emma and Claudia (last year student) pray for Robert Ion, one of next year's students in our Ministry Training Program "Project Mobilization". What youth need more than anything at this time in their life is just to be listened to and understood; it is then when we can begin to really meet their needs and minister to them.

"25 and Counting"

Emma never misses out on throwing a party and her 25th birthday was no exception. We invited all of our friends over to Pastor Allan's house to celebrate a quarter of a century already gone in Emma'a life...and yet she's just getting started!

We decided to give our Romanian friends something new, so I made quesadillas, and Emma made bruschetta. For those less risk-taking, we also made a Romanian potato salad...just in case. However, the quesadillas were a hit; thanks to the tortillas brought over from my parents who had just visited, we stunned the masses with chicken and bacon quesadillas...you would have thought Applebee's was catering! Well, not quite; but they were good!

Happy Birthday Emma!!!

A Short but Wonderful Visit

At the end of March, Emma and I were blessed to have my parents here to visit us for a week. We had such a wonderful time as we were able to talk about and show them many of the things we do here. We had a great time spending many evenings with Emma's family as both of our parents were able to get to know each other better.

The above shot was taken near an old church in downtown Bucurest as my dad awaited our return from shopping.



One of the beautiful buildings preserved in downtown Bucurest



We went on a dual family picnic with our big yellow van. We had a blast as we played soccer, had a barbque and just spent quality time together.