Responding to God's Call- 2019 Overview

We thank God for the opportunity that Gabi and I have been given to be a part of His work in Romania.  We are called to be obedient to the Lord, just like Abraham:

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“By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.”- Hebrews 11:8

We travel from the US to Romania to share the Gospel, work with missionaries, listen to their stories, and pray with them.  We bring teams from the US to work with the Nationals in Romania through kid’s programs, women’s ministry, evangelism on the street, and more.

Spring

March-May

This Spring I will be working primarily with Raul Costea for 2 months, bringing Americans to help him with his ministries in the southern part of Romania. In particular, there are several projects that I am excited to be involved in:

  • Equipped to Equip- Oltenia is in need of dozens of missionaries and workers to serve the massive spiritual need of the southern part of Romania. E2E is designed to train and prepare students to become missionaries in a six month time period. It is a daring program that we earnestly bathe in prayer so that it will produce laborers into His plentiful harvest.

  • A Fishing Rod, Not A Fish- One of our desires and projects is to strengthen and expand micro-businesses for our missionaries and the lay workers and poor families in their surrounding areas. We aim to provide training and resources for our community members to build their own micro-business. These businesses allow people to receive the education to sustain their work and generate a small income. 

  • A New Testament For Every Home- There are approximately 700,000 people in Oltenia who do not have Bibles. God has placed the desire in our hearts to provide each household with a copy of the New Testament. This ministry goes out into the surrounding villages and hands out copies of the New Testament with Hope Church’s address and phone number.

Summer

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July-August

This summer there will be 3 different teams going to Romania to work with the Nationals. It will be a great example of how churches from all over America are coming together to support our missionaries, since the teams will come from Indiana, Texas, and California. We are designing these trips around the strengths of each team to make use of their abilities and talents and best serve the Lord. Some of the projects they might become involved in are:

  • Children’s Ministry- Work closely with several of our dedicated missionaries who share our heart for children through teaching, singing, crafts, games, and more!

  • Home Visits- Taking the gospel to the people; visiting and encouraging them, praying for them, sharing the hope that is in us, and spreading the love of Jesus.

  • Intercessory Prayer- Every morning, teams will have the opportunity to participate in intercessory prayer, praying for the people who desperately need the gospel.

  • Youth Programs- We focus on relationship building and discipleship, with teams helping with music, teaching English, playing soccer, and many additional activities.

  • Street Evangelism- We strive for open discourse with people who wouldn't normally come to a church, speaking the truth in love, ready to give a reason for the hope that is in us.

Fall/Winter

November-December

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The last trip of 2019 will allow me to revisit the ministries that were served throughout the year, following up on projects and bringing even more Americans who desire to fill needs of the people and Nationals of Romania. Our ultimate goal is to encourage and assist the missionaries, visiting their houses and spending time with their families.

I am looking forward to seeing what amazing things God has in store for PIEI-Romania this year.

“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” -Ephesians 3:20-21

In Christ,

Cornel and Gabriela Stef

Disciples Called Into Ministry

“None of us is beyond the task of missions...The question is not whether or not we will be working to spread the gospel around the world, but what role we will play in this.”

Francis Chan, Multiply: Disciples Making Disciples



I have been very excited to be a part of the Equipped to Equip program in Romania.  This is a six-month training program to train people passionate for evangelism and church planting to become missionaries.  It was amazing to see our first graduates take on leadership roles as they move into the various areas for which they were called.  In particular, I was blessed to be a personal mentor for Lucian Brinceanu, keeping in contact with him from across the ocean in order to encourage and pray with him.  I look forward to seeing how God uses him in his ministry.



Seven of our E2E graduates have moved on to become fully-fledged PIEI missionaries.  However, with the addition of so many at once, it has been a struggle for them to find the support they need to begin their ministries.  I have shared their stories below, where you can see how much financial support each one has been able to find. In addition, every one of them needs dedicated prayer partners.  Please contact me if you feel led to support any of these new missionaries.



Lucian Brinceanu

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Lucian was called to ministry in his youth.  At age 18 he started volunteering to evangelize, preach, and lead other students.  Years later, that experience and passion for students has led Lucian to plant a church in a University town.

Support Raised: 70 % out of $700.00/mo. Important: Select Fund: ROMANIA MINISTRIES, Sub Fund: 24266 from the donation form


Alecs Tudoroiu

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Alecs’ experience growing up in an Orthodox family showed him nothing but pain, strife, and abandonment.  When his own mother threatened to put him in an orphanage, Raul Costea took him in and showed him what it was like to be loved and accepted by God.  Now Alecs dedicates his life and livelihood to the God who loves him unconditionally.

Support Raised: 40  % out of $800.00/mo. Important: Select Fund: ROMANIA MINISTRIES, Sub Fund: 24209 from the donation form


Emanuel Serban

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Emanuel grew up familiar with church and going through the motions, but it wasn’t until he was 17 that he felt convicted of his unbelief and chose to truly follow God.  He feels that he has the gift of discipleship, and desires to use it to call other to Christ.

Support Raised: 0  % out of $850.00/mo. Important: Select Fund: ROMANIA MINISTRIES, Sub Fund: 24267 from the donation form




Veronica Palcau

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Veronica lived at first as a rebel, with unsavory words and behaviors towards everyone.  Through the youth ministry that Raul’s family started in Oltenia and then Slatina, Veronica accepted Christ and put away the old self.  Now she is drawn to children’s ministry and hopes to pass on what she has learned.

Support Raised: 80 % out of $400.00/mo. Important: Select Fund: ROMANIA MINISTRIES, Sub Fund: 24208 from the donation form





Gheorghe Bulfan

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Gheorghe was involved in the church for a while before God specifically called him into ministry.  God showed him the lost and the hopeless and inspired him to show them hope, grace, and love. He is certain that he has a role to play in Maruntei.

Support Raised: 0 % out of $650.00/mo. Important: Select Fund: ROMANIA MINISTRIES, Sub Fund: 24231 from the donation form






Sorin Caragea

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Sorin was one of the people involved in the 9,000 Souls movement to spread the Word throughout the southern part of Romania.  He now feels that God is leading him to the village of Balanesti to evangelize and plant a church there.

Support Raised: 0  % out of $650.00/mo. Important: Select Fund: ROMANIA MINISTRIES, Sub Fund: 24266 from the donation form







Mihail Geabou

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As the son of a pastor who served in the midst of Communist persecution, Mihail felt called to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a pastor.  However, he has seen that his true passion is in evangelizing to those who do not yet know Christ as their personal savior.

Support Raised: 40  % out of $800.00/mo. Important: Select Fund: ROMANIA MINISTRIES, Sub Fund: 24280 from the donation form




Meet the PETRUȚ FAMILY

Meet Pastor Daniel Petruț, his wife Rahela (Rachel), daughter Teodora, and son Filip. 

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They were our closest partners in ministry on several occasions this year, both in ROMANIA as well as in UKRAINE.

 

We spent some time with the Petruț family last year also, visiting their mission field in the village of Mihalț Alba District, where pastor Daniel works with the village children and youth as well as surrounding villages.  We were delighted by the group of children who gather on a regular basis in their front yard for a weekly bible club and it was then when we were thinking of taking this family along with us to Ukraine for our annual summer camp.

ALEXANDRA

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She is a very gifted teenager, who has a beautiful singing voice, and she is using her spiritual gift to serve the Lord with her family.  It is so rare and so precious to see a young lady serve alongside her parents and also be so tender and kind to her little brother.  We also got to see Alexandra be herself around other teens at Camp in Ukraine, happy, social, and very friendly.

The most amazing was to see how loving she is toward her aging widowed grandmother, taking the time to play table cards and spend quality time with her!

FILIP

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This is a very unique five year old, who has the vocabulary of a grown up, an amazing memory for Bible verses, who also loves to sing and praise the Lord, who in one minute acts and speaks like a grown man and in the next has a temper tandrum and is just a little boy!  Filip is a totally delightful young boy who will entertain you for hours in a long car ride from Romania to Ukraine and back (10-12 hours each way) and will not complain much, but make the ride so much more enjoyable!

RAHELA (Rachel)

We enjoyed getting to know Rahela, and seeing the interaction between her and the children.  We could see the investment she is making in Bible memorization and singing and in keeping the family unit serving together.  She is also a lot of fun, her charm and personality so vividly seen especially in her little boy! 

DANIEL (PIE Missionary Pastor)

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Such a talented servant, full of love, passion, care, tenderness, lots of talent!  Pastor Daniel has extended himself so much, giving of himself so much to the point of becoming physically sick and ending up in the hospital!  The needs of the people are so many and the workers are so few.  Even among the believers there are so many issues, and pastor Daniel wears many hats.  From working with children at the public school in town and driving the school bus, to pastoring several churches, to couseling and taking care of several congregations of believers in several locations that are spread out.  Yet he and his family took the time to go to Ukraine with us to invest in the young children’s lives over there during the Summer PIE Camp.

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We were also so blessed to visit several of the churches pastored by Daniel, and go on home visitations together.  Our hearts are kneat together and our partnership in ministry has been lifted to another level of friendship and trust.

We give God all the glory, and we thank the PETRUȚ FAMILY for serving God by serving others.

Cornel and Gabi Stef

BACK TO ROMANIA TO EQUIP AND ENCOURAGE THE PIE NATIONAL MISSIONARIES

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Focus on the National Team

Mentoring, Maturing, and Growing our Team 

  • Meeting with the PIE-Romania national missionaries

  • Teaching/training the new class of E2E missionary students (six months intensive mission program for missionary candidates, our second class starting this year)

  • Women ministry: follow up with the missionary wives and the ladies in Drăgănești Olt area, special meeting with the women in the new church plant in the city of Craiova

  • Home visits with individual missionaries and their families to assess and encourage, to know them better as families

HOME VISITS WITH INDIVIDUAL MISSIONARIES AND THEIR FAMILIES

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Quality Time with National Missionaries and their Families

We are looking forward to visiting and spending time with individual national missionaries and their families in their homes, getting to know them and their children better, praying together, and sharing our lives. Praying that we will see them through the eyes of Jesus, with love and compassion, and we will return making their needs known to the body of Christ back home, for their encouragement and help, and for the building up of the body, the building of Christ.

WOMEN MINISTRY: GABI'S FOLLOW UP MEETING WITH THE WOMEN IN DRAGANESTI AND NEW CONTACTS IN CRAIOVA

There is so much to say … these precious sisters in Christ! Praying that the Lord will give me the right message to touch each of them them and eyes to see with His eyes. I do not have a dream team of women with me this time, but I have a powerful God who enables me! I pray that He goes ahead of me and prepares the way.

  • Pray for Florina who is my local coordinator In Draganesti Olt and for the missionaries’ wives from the area, as well as all the women who I will be meeting on Monday night

  • Pray for Ana who is my local coordinator in the city of Craiova / new church plant location and for all the women / young ladies who will be coming. 10-15 women are expected to come on Saturday afternoon.

I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me! Gabi