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Romania UBF
January 8, 2014

God Worked When We Couldn’t Do Anything!

2013 Key verse: Mark 6:37a “But he answered, ‘You give them something to eat.’”

1. 2013 Annual Review

In the first half of 2013 we had to deal with a spiritually rough time because of Satan’s attack to try and separate us. Three of our sheep whom I served for several years finally left. This was a shock to us because we had been putting our hope in them to be raised as ancestors of faith in the ministry. The only ones who remained were Doru N. (Univ. of Politehnica, Transportation, Master 1) and Andreea G. (Bucharest Univ., Political Science 3), who got involved in a relationship. While fighting against sin problems in our ministry, I could realize how strong and deep is the power of sin in human beings. Not for long, though, Doru obeyed and repented making a clear decision of faith to break up with her. This made Andreea leave the ministry, too. The situation seemed quite desperate. When I thought about our Bible students who left, it seemed that I invested and sacrificed so much time in vain to serve them.

1) God worked in Doru when we couldn’t do anything.
But it was the right time for God to start His work. Strangely, Doru remained firmly with pure motive to learn the word of God though we didn’t insist. He started to taste the word of God. One of the most miraculous works of the Holy Spirit in 2013 was that God planted a desire in him to participate in 2013 ISBC with the hope to know God’s love deeper and the purpose of his life though we didn’t challenge him as we used to do to other Bible students. As for us, we felt tired from the failure in our ministry. We had to give up our human thinking in raising Bible students giving some space to God’s Holy Spirit to work. And how He worked! Doru passed through some personal difficulties. Since his mother got sick with lung cancer, to participate in the 2013 ISBC was a huge challenge for him, especially financially. But God led him to make a decision of faith to give up his dream to buy a car and he used his savings to go to the conference without asking for any financial help. Through 2013 ISBC God worked in him amazingly. He shared his life testimony confessing his sin problems in LA UBF chapter after the conference. He made a clear decision to grow as a good shepherd and to build a house church in God’s time waiting for a faithful woman of God. Seeing this amazing work of God in him, all we could say was: WOW! GOD IS ALIVE! Now Doru started his Master’s degree in University of Politehnica in Bucharest for which we have been praying. May God use Doru as a blessing for his family and raise him up as an ancestor of faith for students of the University of Politehnica.

2) God worked for Andreea’s return.
Meanwhile God led Andreea to come back to SWS. During the prayer time, she started to cry. She admitted she missed God & fellowship in our ministry after being deeply disappointed by worldly pleasures and friends. Shepherdess Monica challenged her to come back with a pure desire to come close to God, not with human hopes to find a man for her. She accepted the direction and now she is faithfully studying Bible. She repented a lot, admitting that it was foolish for her to make an idol out of human love. Now she is struggling to grow as a mature woman of faith in Jesus. When Shepherdess Monica gave her a ring as a birthday present as a symbol for her to live as Jesus’ bride, Andreea burst into a torrent of tears hugging her shepherdess. Andreea made a decision of faith to participate in an intensive Genesis special lectures training in the Christmas holiday period staying at my house church instead of going home to be with her parents. May God have mercy on her to overcome fatalism and be a blessing for students at the University of Bucharest.

3) Special Thanksgiving topics:
① The birth of our 2nd baby, Eliana. (Eliana means ’God answered’, since Shepherdess Monica eagerly wanted to have a girl praying a lot for this.)
② We finally published the 1st Daily bread book in Romanian. May God bless this ‘five loaves and two fish’ to feed Romanian students’ souls for His glory.

2. 2014 Key verse
“You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.” (2Timothy 2:1-2)

※ Prayer topics for 2014:
① For the work of the Holy Spirit through Bible Study (John’s Gospel, Genesis) & Msn. John Jung’s powerful SWS message
② May God raise up Doru N. and Andreea G. as ancestors of faith for the University of Politehnica & Bucharest University
③ May God heal the cancer in Doru’s mother to reveal His Glory in his family
④ To invite students from University of Agricultural Sciences & ASE to Bible Study

By Msn. John Jung