As with each new day, a new year comes with the promise of God’s mercy, grace, and faithfulness.  I sometimes feel like pinching myself and hoping that some of the current events over the past year are just some bad dream…. but it isn’t.  We live in the current reality.  But this current reality has a biblical context, one that gives us hope, strength, and peace.

GOD’S FAITHFULNESS IN 2020

    At the end of the year, I enjoy looking back over the past year and counting our blessings and accomplishments through God’s grace.  The spiritual blessings included a one-day winter VBS, evanghelistic women’s meeting, finishing a one-year evangelistic Bible study in Bulboci resulting in two women trusting Christ as Savior, our daughter Ana trusting Christ, getting away for my first spiritual retreat alone with God for a couple days, creating a five video Gospel series on YouTube in Romanian during the lockdown, and making inroads with the Gospel into the lives of several others.
Other blessings included growing a fruitful garden, stable financial support from churches and individuals even during the pandemic, some extra gifts sent to us that allowed us to meet our needs and be a blessing to several other families in need, having the means to replace Stephanie’s tablet when hers suddenly died, seeing our oldest children develop lifeskills (Abby wrote several books and Caleb is learning robotics and programming), we had only a mild form of COVID-19, and those we minister to saw God’s provision and help through the quarantine.  Though last year was far from how we had envisioned or planned, God was faithful.

GOD’S MERCY IN MOLDOVAN ELECTIONS

    In our last prayer letter (November), I explained the political situation here in Moldova with the presidential election.  The second round of elections were held and on December 24th, Maia Sandu was inaugurated as the new president of Moldova, winning over the socialist who had held office the past four years.  She is pro-American/Europe with a desire to hopefully take Moldova in a better direction with less corruption.  She has a long road ahead of her, especially since she would need the agreement of parliament to make necessary changes.  Please pray for Moldova under the new leadership.

TWO NEW BIBLE STUDIES

    A man I met through the Christian medical mission team outreach several years ago contacted me again, requesting a new pair of reading glasses.  After visiting him and talking, he was interested in me leading a Bible study at his house.  We have now had four weeks of lessons with him, his wife, and some others using the same Firm Foundations: Creation to Christ study I have been using with others.  They live in Bulbocii Noi, the village next to where we have been working the last several years.
In Bulboci, I continue to meet with the two new believers and a couple others each Wednesday for discipleship.  Praise the Lord, there are some others who are interested in going through the same FFCC chronological Bible study that they went through, opening the door for a new study group in the village.  Lord willing, Jacob will begin meeting with them later this month.  Please pray for the Lord to bless these new evangelistic Bible studies in the villages.  Please also pray for me with a couple other meetings with people that may lead to regular meetings.

UPCOMING KIDS’ CLUB

    Since the pandemic hit in March, we have not been allowed to hold our weekly children’s Bible club at the children’s home in the village of Cosăuți.  We were about to start two new things there, going through the FFCC children’s version and a new boys’ mentoring group afterwards.  We finally have the open door again to return later this month, Lord willing, on the 19th of January, as long as no one there tests positive again with COVID-19.  Please pray for a good reunion and for the Lord to bless our Gospel influence there once again.

EVANGELISTIC SERVICE

    On January 3rd, the Sunday before “Old Christmas,” we invited people we know to a special Christmas service where we focused on why Christ came.  We praise the Lord that one teenager came.  He had come to our VBS in the past when he was younger and had also come to the kids’ English lessons.  He followed along very well during the service, even answering questions that I had asked.  Please pray for the spread of the Gospel here in the city of Soroca.  Thanks again for your prayers and support!