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Missionary Ion Gireada and his wife, Elena, continue to serve the Romanian believers in the areas of Tereblecia and Odessey, Ukraine. Brother Ion also provides oversight and accountability for the other HeartCry missionaries in the region. This month, he provides exciting news about the number of Romanian villages in Ananiev County, Ukraine, that have no gospel church or witness. Ion ask if we would pray for the need for God to raise up missionaries to take the gospel to them:

Two brothers in Christ and I traveled to an area on September 1. We went there through the Republic of Moldova, and we took 10 Bibles and five New Testaments with Cyrillic characters for the missionaries in the Odessa area from Bible Society in Chisinau. There are many Romanian villages in that area, but the people can’t read in Romanian; they can only read the Cyrillic characters. We spent six days there and visited the Romanian churches where we have missionaries.

We preached the gospel in different churches, encouraging the believers. We spent time in fellowship and prayer with the missionaries. I offered spiritual counseling to many people, including several former church members who wanted to talk to us. On Sunday afternoon, we had a celebration in the village of Camâșovca. We celebrated 95 years since the inauguration of the first Romanian Baptist Church in this area. Believers from other Romanian churches in the area came together. We sang, prayed and gave thanks to the Lord for the gospel that had reached these villages. Then brother Vasile Filat from Chisinau and I preached the gospel. After the church service, we had a love feast.

On Monday morning we traveled to Ananiev County, about 400 kilometers away. We went to visit the Romanian villages that hadn’t been reached with the gospel. There is no evangelical church in these villages. In the main city of this county, we found a Ukrainian Baptist Church and talked to the pastor about the Romanian villages in that county. There are many Romanian villages there without the gospel and without Christ. We pray and seek for missionary families to work in this area. Please pray for this region which lies in spiritual darkness. Pray that God would have mercy on many of the souls that are dying without Christ.

GOD’S MINISTRY IN THE VILLAGE OF TEREBLECIA

The church in Tereblecia enjoys peace and spiritual growth. We keep studying the book of Ephesians. The COVID situation is getting worse, so we only meet once a week on Sunday morning. During the week, we conduct a Bible study at home with our families. I visited this church twice this month where I preached the Word and offered spiritual counseling.

We give thanks to the Lord for working in the believers’ lives and in the lives of former church members. Volodea had been excluded from the church and didn’t attend for about two years. He left to work abroad and now has written me to ask for forgiveness. He told me that the Spirit of the Lord had searched his heart and he repented before the Lord. Now he desires forgiveness. He said he would come to church when he returns home. The church never stopped praying for those who fell away and were excluded from the church. We pray that the Lord would encourage them to repent and be restored. We give thanks to the Lord for working in these people’s lives. It is so encouraging to see people being saved after the church prayed for them for many years. God transforms blasphemers into people full of passion for him.