Since many people in Moldova are very interested in learning English, the “Moldova for Christ Ministry” offers English lessons and uses it as an opportunity to proclaim the Word of God.  Every summer we organize English Camps for children and young people.  During the school year we organized English Clubs in a number of cities throughout Moldova that last from several weeks to several months, and when possible, for the whole school year.  These events are in high demand.  We have English speakers that come to us from the United States, teaching English along side our Moldovan teachers.  It helps us not just to learn English as a language, but helps learn the right pronunciation and also gives us a better understanding of the way other people think, and what priorities and values our English speaking friends have.

Gary Gale

For the last several years, we have been praying for the possibility to have English clubs regularly.  Since it implies an actual English teacher to lead the lessons, we were praying for someone from the United States to come to Moldova for a longer period.  God answered our prayers through sending an evangelist from the USA, Gary Gale.  Gary previously worked in other former soviet republics and taught English for eight years, while using it as a tool to present the Gospel of Jesus Christ and salvation.

Gary came to Moldova in the end of April 2009 and stayed for three months, the maximum length of time allowed by Immigration.  We were able to start English Clubs in two cities, Balti and Cupcini.  Brothers and sisters from Christian churches joined the clubs along with people that do not know the Lord.  We used every opportunity to present Gospel truths, even when we did not cite Bible verses.  Gary used any opportunity to witness during the lesson, through teaching English Christian worship songs, or when having open discussions before and after the lesson.  We learned the song “God will make a way”, where the words say that God will guide us.  We discussed the fact that God often lets certain problems enter our lives we cannot solve and how can look to Him, for there are no voids our God cannot fill.  After one lesson, a woman that came to improve her English but did not want to hear about God at the beginning, told us about the void in her heart and asked us to tell her more about what the Bible says about salvation and about faith in God.  Later, this woman came to our English camp and spent ten days with us learning chapters seventeen to twenty one of the Gospel of John.  One step at a time, her opinion about Christianity and God changed and now she is much more open to listen about God.

At the end of each English Club, there were snacks and a time for fellowship.  People had time to talk with Gary personally and meet with other participants.

We thank God for the way He worked in people’s hearts through our brother Gary Gale and the English clubs we organized.  We pray God will put on the hearts of other English-speaking brothers and sisters to come to Moldova and labor in the Gospel field.

So then, those who had received his word were baptized. – Acts 2:41

We have had another joyful event – the baptism of new believers who joined the church. On June 14, 2009 in Balti, next to the city lake where hundreds of people come to tan and swim, we conducted a church service that was attended by hundreds of church members and guests. The four policemen who guarded the lake were very nice to us and heard the Word of God since they were close to the place of baptism. The Balti City Church of Hope organized the baptismal service.

The baptismal team arrived early before the baptismal service and installed the tents for the baptism. When time came to start the church service, there were many brothers and sisters who traveled from many places to attend the celebration and to encourage their new brothers and sisters. A number of relatives of the ones joining the church came to the lake as well. Sound equipment and musical instruments were set up, and we were ready to start.

The worship songs sang by everybody in the congregation by the lake attracted more people, and they approached us and listened. Pastors David Groves from Texas and Marshall Link from Missouri presented sermons about the meaning of Baptism and Salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. Everybody who joined the church presented his personal testimony of how he was saved and why he was joining our church.

We heard amazing stories about God’s work in the lives of every new believer. Dima came to our Sunday school and was saved as a child. Mariana was saved in our English camp while studying God’s Word in English with a team of teens. Uncle Andrei was saved when our missionary came to his village and started home Bible studies in order to plant a new church. Ghenadii, a former drug addict, was saved at the rehabilitation center and dedicated his life to serving the Lord at our local church. Elena was invited by his friend to the church and was saved. Tatiana was taught God’s Word by her mother. Timur is a gipsy guy who was stopped on the street by our team that was inviting people to the evangelistic meeting at a Culture hall, and he came and was saved at the end of service. Timur invited us to come and start a home Bible study for his whole his family and his mother was saved too. She was baptized the same day with Timur. God’s Truth is marching on, from heart to heart, saving people and changing their direction and lives.

Then it came time for the most moving moment, the baptism, when one by one all new believers went down in to the water to testify to everybody that they have died to their old way of life and were now resurrected to a new life with Jesus Christ. I had the blessing of baptizing these new believers with Brothers David Groves and Marshall Link.

When we finished baptizing, we had the Lord’s Supper at the lake for all church members. It was also time for greetings and fellowship for everybody and for a couple of hours people were talking, praying and encouraging one another. We pray God will bless all of these new believers and help our churches receive them with love, assisting them and finding a place for everyone in the body of the church and doing God’s work.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.”                         Romans 1:16-17

Evangelistic meeting at Comrat Culture Hall

From June 6-14, 2009, a Medical Clinic outreach was organized in the city of Comrat, the capital of the Gagauz district in South Moldova. We met with the Mayor of Comrat and leaders of the Gagauz district, and all of them expressed full support for our mission. This outreach was very important to dozens of people who study the Bible in more than 25 homes throughout the year. We have been praying that God will help us start Sunday Worship services for all of them.

Receiving free reading glasses

Our team combined 27 workers from 11 churches and worked for a week prior to the medical clinic project and shared 5,000 invitations door to door. People received us very well with thanks and words of blessings. Doctors from Chisinau prepared medicine and traveled to Comrat to treat patients. Our puppet show team members prepared shows and were ready to meet with the Comrat children and present the Gospel to them.

For this project, we partnered with the International Gospel Outreach Ministry from Dallas, TX, which was represented at Comrat Medical Clinic by David Groves and Marshall Link. Both men preached the Gospel and shared their testimonies. This year marked the 10^th year of our partnership with this organization, which was very fruitful for the Gospel as we worked in cities and villages conducting Evangelistic meetings and medical clinics as well as outreaches for school teachers and medical personnel.

David Groves and Alexandru Sanduleac preaching

People came to the Evangelistic meetings in the evening where we had worship music, personal testimonies, puppet shows for children, Precept Bible study materials presentations, a questions and answer session and preaching of the Gospel. Every evening we had from 120 to 170 people in the congregation. At the end of each evangelistic meeting, an invitation was given to trust Jesus as personal Savior and Lord, and young people and adults, both men and women, responded to the call every time.

Then, we had a word of encouragement for the ones who turned to God. We studied the text from the book of Acts, chapter two and verse 38-42 and discussed the importance of abiding in the Apostle Paul’s teaching by studying God’s Word with other believers and being in constant fellowship with other believers and in prayer with God the Father through the only mediator, God the Son, Jesus Christ. When the meeting was over everyone was given the opportunity to enlist for the next day visit to the preferred doctor at our medical clinic.

Mobile Doctor office

The medical clinic team set up portable booths to be used as doctor offices and a pharmacy. Everyone who came to the clinic went through 45-minute Precept Bible study and Gospel presentation before he or she could see the doctor. Many elderly people came to the clinic and participated in the very first Bible study in their lives! They were amazed of what they could see for themselves in the Bible text and expressed desire to continue to study God’s Word even when the project was over. A number of patients were saved right at the clinic while studying the Bible, listening to one-on-one Gospel presentations or in the doctor’s offices where they heard the Word of God read from the Bible again.

The regional TV station, Gagauz Radio and TV, sent their reporters to make a report that will be seen throughout the Gagauz district about Christians reaching out to needy and elderly people to help them both spiritually and physically. And, in God’s providence, the Gospel was proclaimed far beyond our expectations and plans, reaching into villages and cities we could not go into at this time.

By the end of the project there were at least 71 people who prayed to receive and trust Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord! Through God’s provision, we were able to rent a facility for regular Sunday church services where all of these people were invited. A team from our Chisinau church will be traveling every Sunday to conduct church services in Comrat. We pray God will build His church in this city, which is under a heavily Muslim influence from Turkey as we continue to follow up on all of our contacts from this project.