It was a great joy to have Elaine with me on this trip. She has had for a long time an interest in this country and through the LHM European conference in Poland already knew John and Fevi. We arrived early at Gatwick and found ourselves at the same table as an American brother in Christ. Having enjoyed good fellowship, we headed for Budapest.

We had very little time to catch the flight onto Cluj but through the help of a very kind young man we made it.

Arriving in Cluj I could see quickly that though still very needy the impact of being part of the EU economically was having a favourable effect.
John very much has a heart for the villages but to reach the villages requires a strong base. Jibou has only limited potential in that regard as many of the young people and others are leaving for bigger centres or other parts of Europe.

John has been gathering a group, which meet in his house in Cluj, waiting on God for the time to plant a church. Cluj is a bigger centre and has many students and people with jobs. Our first night saw 3 of his neighbours profess faith in Christ as they attended the house meeting. We look to God for a fully planted church in Cluj soon.

We travelled to Jibou, which is a centre around which 20 churches have been planted in surrounding villages. It was great to see some old faces and many new ones. Representatives from 17 of the churches were present and over the two and half days we shared the word of God doing an overview of Genesis and Hebrews 13. Good reports were received and there was a sense of God’s presence. We encouraged prayer for some of the nations we work with and these times of prayer were very special. The fervour and devotion was very touching and links were certainly strengthened.

We spent time with John looking at his vision statement. The story of what God has done is very exciting and we now have that in a form which I am sure will encourage and help people who have a burden to see the church of Jesus built in Romania. It can be found on the Living Hope website together with a number of pictures of John’s work for our Lord Jesus. It was very humbling to spend time in the home of a very poor couple living with their animals and John and Fevi’s generosity was overwhelming. We were able to purchase New Testaments for the 3 new converts. Thank you so much for all your prayers and practical support that enabled this trip to happen.