Romania Trip June 2010 - Report

Pacea Domnului ! God Bless You in Romanian.

Dave and Claire Richards went on a short missions trip to Romania from June 16 under the banner of Living Hope Ministries. We received excellent hospitality from our hosts loan and Phoebe lanachis and their three children Flavius, Linda and Narcis

loan lanchis currently oversees 18 churches within 130km radius of Cluj and Jibou. This involves a lot of travelling for loan as he visits the churches mainly in rural areas. He has a particular call to work with the Gypsy community with in Romania. There is currently a revival amongst these precious people as many are receiving salvation in Jesus Christ.

On Thursday evening we visited the church in Santa Maria which is based in a Gypsy Community. We received a very warm welcome from the Gypsy people as they shared their distinctive music and singing with us. The rhythm of their music sounds Israeli. Dave gave a message about the need to walk as well as talk the Christian lifestyle. Many responded to a an opportunity for ministry after the main meeting.

The next day involved an early start as we headed for the Jubilee Church Centre in Jibou. This impressive church centre is currently under construction. A conference was hosted there and Dave was the main speaker, there was opportunity for Claire also to share words of testimony with the women. Dave shared about the need “to abide in Christ” in the morning session and gave an exhortation “to run the race” in the afternoon session. The people particularly appreciated the practical application of the word. Between the two sessions there was an extended time of ministry during which time people received prayer for healing and prophetic words. This event was well attended with approximately 60 people in the main session.

On Sunday we had the wonderful privilege of taking part in a baptismal service in the village of Hida. The church here is in a rural Gypsy community and meets in the home of one of the leaders. The baptism took place outside in a stand alone bath. It was a wonderful witness to the surrounding community as six people were baptised. The weather also miraculously held off for the three hours during which the baptisms took place. Many parts of Romania had torrential rain that day. A number of people were challenged by the message of the gospel and have decided to be baptised as a result of this event. Praise the Lord! The people here are hoping to build a church building please pray for God to provide the necessary resources and finance for this to happen.

We felt very privileged to play a part in this work in Romania and are very grateful for those who were involved in praying and interceding during our time away.

Dave and Claire Richards