In spite of ongoing oppression from health issues, Natalia Terentii has maintained a resilience to serve her local church and the people of her community. At times, she is unable to get out of bed for days. But the Lord has used her trials to comfort others. This month, she reports of her ministry of encouragement:
Praise God for my breath and sight, for his love and care, for teaching, for my family, for friends and for the church! I received many blessings and I welcomed many guests this month. I can’t go to other places, so I pray and invited people to my place. Many of my friends came home from abroad this month and this was a good opportunity for us to meet.
Lena is from Germany. She helps me with my hormonal pills. She’s going to get baptized this fall, so I gave her a white dress. We had a good time together. Her husband reads the Bible and prays. They come to Moldova to visit their mother, who is my neighbor. Then her sister-in-law, Veronica, visited me along with her two children. We had a good time together and were able to go swimming This was the first time that I went swimming in the last two years. I was able to share my testimony with her and she was so amazed when she heard it. Life without the Lord is meaningless, but the life with God has a meaning. I encouraged her to read the Bible. She told me later that she had started reading the Bible that I had given her little daughter when she attended one of our children’s meetings. The girl also attended the Vacation Bible School and said she wanted to come to church on Sunday. I told her she could only come with her mother and grandmother.
Then I invited Vera, a Christian woman, to my place. She lives in Russia and has three children. She has a tough life there and longs to come back home. We pray that she would be able to return one day. She confessed that she had gone astray from the Lord, but then she prayed and God showed her the church she was supposed to attend. She found the church and started attending it.
Another day, I invited another friend to my place. We lived several years together in my home, but now she lives in Chisinau. We spent several days together and talked about the way in which God is working. She then told me about her life.
One Sunday, after the church service, I was feeling well, so I took my cousin’s twins to my home. They are seven years old. It was quite difficult on me, but I wanted to spend some time with them. It was something new, amusing, but difficult. We walked, ate, they played, slept, read the Bible together, and went to the playground. I realized that the parents have such a difficult job. The next day, I slept all day long.
I already have seen the results of my treatment being changed. I have hard days and get tired very easily. When I have guests, I always ask the Lord to help me be a blessing for them and give me the strength I need.
It was a blessing for me to attend the retreat for the women’s ministry leaders. We had a wonderful time together as we had lessons, gifts, testimonies, food, coffee and fruits. May the Lord bless sister Jenica, the leader of the women’s ministry in Moldova!
I’ve been able to teach the lessons at the women’s meetings this month. We study about prayer right now. The sisters attend the lessons and are actively involved in these meetings.
I received a phone call from Liuda’s mother in Italy. Liuda had cancer and stayed for a while with my sister in Turkey where I had met her. Liuda’s mother, Rodica, told me that she was in a coma, but had requested before her coma that the Baptists organize her funeral. Rodica asked me to find a pastor to help her with the funeral. I spoke to pastor Igor and he spoke to brother Boris from a neighboring village. When Mrs. Rodica came home from Italy, I visited her along with two other believers and brother Boris.
The funeral was an evangelistic event. Liuda’s daughter, Lia, is an orphan now. This is so painful, but Liuda is with God. I’m glad that I could be a testimony before her. I spent two weeks with her in Turkey when she repented. She was baptized in Italy. Life has its own surprises. We must be a blessing for the people around us.
