My big fat gatecrashed wedding

Well that's it! I can't believe it's over. Today I had the chance to go back to the Golgota church and preach. {Always enjoy going there} I've been given a few free c.d's of pastor radu's wife's album {some of the songs she performed at the concert} and so I will be handing out a few copies to others {provided they speak Romanian...'of course'}. I did the tourist thing yesterday. We had a long walk all the way along the promenade that runs alongside the Danube river. I have lots of photos. We visited a Romanian orthodox church {spectacular}, went to the art museum {we got there 10 minutes before it closed but it was still worth it} and also gatecrashed a wedding at a Greek orthodox church. {again very spectacular interior}

This evening I was hoping to go to Braila with pastor Titi who was due to preach there but this afternoon he got a message from pastor Ovi that they wanted me to preach at the Trinity church {which I was happy to do {decided on what to preach about 40 minutes before the service started!} The whole thing went really well. I took one of the sermons I had with me, kept the opening two scriptures, rewrote the rest of the intro and touched on one or two points from my notes while preaching the rest off the cuff. I really got going and enjoyed it. {I knew I would} The sermon worked out as I intended. I had most of the things I wanted to say in my head by the time I started anyway so I barely used my notes at all {You know it's going well when that happens}.

We fionished off with a late meal at pastor Ovi's apartment and when I got back to Titi's he offered me more food. {Of course I said yes!}. So I'm sitting here very well fed and due to get up at 4 next morning to catch the train to Bucharest. The experiences have been many and various. It's late, I'm happy {But tired}and I'll probably diseminate it all in my mind in the next day or two. For now I would say among the highlights were the concert, meeting Troy, leading Narchissa to Christ....and...so many more. {I think I need to just sleep now. {5.5 hours before I have to get up again}

A very big thankyou to all of you who have been praying for me. The Trinty church, Golgota church and Stiocan church send you their greetings. It just remains for me to say....
...Dumnezeu sa te Binecuvinteze! {God bless you!}

Links to websites of people I've met

Troy is one of the guys who works as a missionary in Galati. I's like to work more closely with him in the future. This is his website and his vision.

http://www.wemakedisciples.com

The charitable group for whose benefit the concert took place last night also have a website where you can find out about their work among the valley people of Galati, Romania.

http://www.wordmadeflesh.org

regards...steve

The word made flesh

I met a guy in the city on Friday called Max. He has been involved in a motorcycle accident that has left him needing physio {There were also head injuries} He was due to come to England to go to university but has had to put that off until early next year. I said I would pray for his health and that he would get to go to university. I've left my contact details with him so I hope to hear from him as he has a lot of questions about faith and spiritual things. Please pray for Max. My hope is that he will keep in touch and that we can work through many of his questions and that God would begin to work on his heart. Who knows, I might even get to see him in England next year!

We had a fantastic concert last night. The venue was awesome and I had the chance to share the gospel. Many of the people there were not christians. They have filmed the event so I hope to get a copy of that. I'm not sure if it is going out on Romanian tv. I really got a clear gospel message in there so I hope it does. The idea that thousands would hear that message is fantastic. Anyway as soon as I get hold of a copy I will put it on youtube.

The charity the concert event was performed for was 'word made flesh' which is a christian charity that works with underpriveliged children both localy and throughout the world. It's main aim was to raise funds for the charity's work. They are doing work among the poorest people in the area. The same area I want to reach.

Before I came out here my main aim was to develop contacts so I could come back and work effectively. I sense a call to come back to Romania and more specifically Galati and even more specifically the valley area of the city. I now have contact with three important people/groups of people that can facilitate work in those three areas. I've made very little attempt to orchestrate this other than coming here but it all seems to be falling into place.

Yesterday evening Titi wanted to take me to a late night football match involving the local team {Who are national champions} and Cluj. We were not allowed in as we we late and the ground was full. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise as Galati got turned over 4-0. {They are drawn against Manchester United in the Champions league. Scary!}

Today we might explore some more of the city and Sunday I will be with the Golgota church. I'm not sure what to preach yet.

God bless you...steve

Sharing the gospel door to door

On a couple of occassions today we visited couples where the wife was a christian but the husband was not. On both occassions we had very good long conversations with these men and it was very interesting. Both wetre given a lot to think about and had questions. At one point the pastor and the man were in conversation and I had the answer to the question in my mind even though I couldn't understand a word they were saying. {He wanted to know why we couldn't see God and why didnt he just show himself to make it easier for us to believe.} It is encouraging to see God giving me the answers to questions before I hear them. I beleiev God is speaking to him.

Tomorrow evening is the concert. The day is clear which gives me free rein to go onto the streets and share the gospel.

regards...Steve

A day to celebrate.

What a day! At last a breakthrough. Today we saw the first person come to Christ on this mission. {and today saw a confrontation too}

I don't want to go into a lot of detail on the confrontation issue here but enough to say I have had concerns about him and felt something ought to be said. I'm glad to say I kept my cool in the face of some pretty silly and harsh accusation but what I said to this person I fear has gone in one ear and out the other.

Nothing, however, could detract from what God did today. We met a group of people in the valley area and I shared a testimony and the gospel with whoever would stay and listen {This is what I am really here for}. One young lady by the name of Narchissa listened intently and was holding back tears when she heard what Jesus had done for her. She was more than willing to give her life to the Lord. I went through the seriousness of the commitment she was going to make to ensure that she knew fully what she was doing and what was expected of her {I don't want to mislead people into the whole 'just say a prayer and everything will be ok' thing.} but she was still adamant that she wanted to do this so I had the chance to lead her to Christ.

Later on we visited a man called Robert Aorel. Again I had the chance to share the gospel with him after speaking with him and finding out where he stood and what he believed. We prayed together and as he can read and has a dvd player I was able to leave some literature, a new testament and a Jesus video with him. Robert is still struggling with the idea of having an assurance of salvation. I asked him to pray until he had an assurance from God.

Robert has a brother who is in prison and due to come out in two months. His name is Serban. A christian group has been working with Serban in prison and he has been going through a series of bible studies with them. Robert was very encouraged when I told him there are people back home in England praying for us and really wanted us to pray for his brother.

So today has been a fruitful day. It ended with some time with the young people of the Trinity church playing sports. Tomorrow I will be with pastor Radu at the Golgota church and doing some door to door ministry. On friday I will be part of a big concert his wife is putting on for charity. It is the first time she has done this and a number of notable people are attending. {The whole thing is going to be filmed as well and presented by a celebrity from Bucharest.} They have asked me to do a 10 minute evangelistic address. I'm not sure if this is actually going to be shown on tv?! Anyway, it's a great opportunity to share the gospel.

Yeterday's high point was sharing the gospel with a man in his home whose wife is a christian. His struggle is with why there is so much division and difference of opinion among those who call themselves Christian and how can he know the truth for himself. We had a good long conversation with him. They are mr and mrs Luca.

Points for prayer....
# For the religious leaders in the valley area. There are serious issues with legalism and a condemning attitude that is seriously hampering the work here. Something needs to drastically change.
# For Narchissa and her new found faith in Christ and for the group of her friends around her who heard the sharing for the gospel.
# For Robert that he would find an assurance of salvation and for his brother Serban who is leaving prison in a couple of months.
# For door to door work on thursday in Golgota.
# For the man I shared the gospel with whose wife is a christian. {The Luca family}
# For the big charity event on Friday and for hearts to be open to help other s and to the gospel itself as well as for the pastors wife who has never put on an event like this before.

Dumnezeu sa te binecuvinteze. {God bless you}

No fishing today but fishing tomorrow {for men}

Fairly uneventful day today concluded with a prayer meeting at the Trinity church. No fishing trip unfortunately. Tomorrow we should be starting work with the Golgota church. I don't know what time we start but if it is late then I'll just take some tracts out onto the street and speak to some people. We are based in downdown Galati and the apartment I am staying in overlooks a busy street so I only have to step out the door.
Here's to a busy tomorrow.

regards...steve

Return of the teen preacher!

Spent my last day with Dragos and his family. I am now with pastor Titi and his family. Another good day today. I was taken to a church outside the city at a place called 'Stoican'. Some of the young people from the trinity church went with us and did some songs. It was a good service. It was the day of the Lord's Supper and the pastor asked me if I wanted to serve to people and pray. I was very happy to do so. I don't know much about the church but just got up there and preached. I redid an old sermon on 'behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world'. I really got into it and they were very appreciative. I love it when preaching goes like this. I get myself all stirred up and everyone with me. The church at Stoican send their greetings to Mount Pleasant and I told them there are many back home praying for them.

Had the chance to spend some time with Dragos and a small group this evening with Troy. Again with a group of young people and a good relaxed and positive atmosphere. I will certainly see Troy and Dragos again when I return next year {You guys back in England really need to pray for me. I don't want to spend the next five years of my life in a factory when I could be doing stuff like this.}

We went back to the Trinty church just as their evening service had finished and I was invited to share food with a group of people in the church. Again, what can I say. It is all so good at the moment. I love the people, God is blessing me and I'm being fed like a turkey in mid November!

So tomorrow I will be with pastor Titi {That's the guy who 'mistook' me for an 18 year old!} He's OK and I've met his son and daughter. They are great people and we are getting on well. Titi is taking me fishing. I've never actually been fishing properly before so I guess he's throwing me in at the deep end {I'll give you all a few seconds to groan.....................} My idea of fishing is sitting on a river bank looking out at the water for two hours and doing nothing. Not bad if you have good company. A form of slow death by boredom if you don't so here's hoping for some good conversation! In the evening we will be doing some house visits. Please pray that goes well.

Dumnezeu sa te binecuvinteze

Mistaken for an 18 year old? What a compliment!

I am overfed, overweight and over here in Romania and loving it.

Today was nice to get up when I liked and enjoy a late breakfast {lunchtime probably counts as late!} and then spend some time in prayer and study before the youth meeting this evening at the Trinity church. I really don't tend to worry about what to preach. I trust that God will leave an impression on me and I'll run with that and what I needed to preach on came to me yeaterday. It was only after I went through the old notes I realised how relevant this was. After an unexpected late lunch not long before I was due to be picked up I quickly got changed into something less comfortable {They expect leaders to dress smartly. There is a lot of petty silliness going on} I couldn't make up my mind and felt out of place among young people in a smart shirt and shoes so I put on my jeans and an orange shirt that I leave hanging outside my jeans {I think it looked pretty cool and I didnt really worry if it was acceptable}. Anyway, one of the pastors at the church commented in passing that he mistook me for one of the youth for a moment {The comment went over my head at first but I think he was trying to make a point. He didn't stay for the sermon either.} To tell you the truth I'm so laid back at the moment and enjoying myself that I only found it amusing, all the more so given what I was going to preach.

Now I have to clarify something here. One thing I DEFINITELY don't think it wise is to start stirring up controversy at a church I am visiting so my concience is clear. I knew what to preach from yesterday. I took a sermon I had written three years ago about David in his youth. I'm in the habit of letting God nudge me in the right direction and the sermon I pick up always tends to be very relevant. It isn't planned that way. Anyway the main text was "For God does not see as man sees for as man looks at the outward appearance God looks at the heart" There were a number of points that could have been construed as a deliberate poke at the leaders in the church. Fortuitously the assistant minister wasn't even there and the pastor who made the comment about my dress sense didn't stay for the message. {I got a very positive comment about it from one of the young guys by the way}. The main points were as follows.

1 / God sees things differently.

{He's not looking at your looks, number of friends, wealth, social status, nationality, church membership, fashion sense, level of authority or pecking order. All he is looking at is your heart. Those who judge by outward appearance are blind to how God sees. Even the prophet Samuel got it wrong. It's what God thinks of you that counts not a priest or pastor when they judge by outward appearance.}

2 / God chose you.

{Christian means little anointed one. Davids standing with God was not Samuels first choice or Jesses but God's. If you are a christian you are anointed by God. You are chosen, accepted and anointed. We throw away cheap things that are broken but mend more expensive things. They are worth fixing. Acts ch 20 v 28 says you are bought with the blood of God himself. Do you really think God will throw you away or reject you given what he's paid for you? If churches grasped this and were redemptive in their response to the sins of struggles of people in them then they would be revolutionised. David didnt let the lack of significant value his father put on him affect him. David got his value from God.

3 / God was Davids encouragement : 1 Samuel ch 30 v6 {Encouragement is a secret weapon in the church, too secret. Too many discourage therefore many are weighed down with guilt, insecurity and a heavy heart whereas encouragement strengthens and empowers. Satan fears the encouraged church. If there was such thing as the perfect christian without sin Satan would use his key weapon of discouragement. David looked beyond the circumstances he was in to the nature of the God he trusted and not only survived but reached greatness. Don't let anybody set man made limitations on you. LOOK TO GOD NOT YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES OR THE WORDS OF THE NAYSAYERS AROUND YOU.
Why does God say to people, be bold, be strong, be courageous, be encouraged? He knows we go through doubts and fears ect. His response is to encourage us. He is not an angry sports coach on the sidelines yelling at you to do better. He the one who when you dropped the ball three times encourages you and when you caught it the 4th claps you on the back and says well done. If this mentality could transform a football team it will transform the kingdom of God.}

There were two more points : Faith & Praise {which are both a source of strength.} A few young people liked what was preached and were happy to tell me so. They seem quite open to me. As a result I have a couple of additions to my facebook friends list which is great because now I can stay in contact with them.

After the meeting we had a mini volleyball tournament outside until it got dark. I'm really enjoying being with these people and appreciate the opportunity to speak with them and spend time with them. All in all a good day. I'm now looking forward to tomorrow and another chance to preach {I need to pray about what to say} and Dragos housegroup in the evening. I've been asked by one of the leaders of the valley church if I would preach there sunday but I have no time. Maybe next Sunday.

Another wonderful day

I am so blessed.

Today I had a phone call from a man called Troy who is a missionary here in Galati and had the opportunity to meet him and see the work he is doing as well as his vision for evangelism and discipleship. I was very impressed by his dedication and vision and having heard good things of him from the Gheorghe family in the past I was very happy to receive his call. My first priority in coming here was to make contact with people who share my vision and I have found a man in Troy whom I would be happy to work with and be a blessing to. Coupled with my staying with Marianne and Paul from whom I found out their work in Romania I am now very happy that I have achieved a major objective.

I am now staying with a family which includes a man called Dragos who is close friends with Troy. I hope to be at his small group meeting on sunday. I am with a very good and welcoming family and it is such a blessing to be around such people.

Today with Troy I went to where he and his family are living {Which is Bethesda!!!} Going into the building brought memories flooding back of last year. It was a strange yet exhilerating experience. Troy has a group of young people together who he fellowships with and arranges things with like football, basketball and chess and movies. He provides a good social outlet for them and I had a great time playing football with them. {The boys like me too. Troy told me they think I'm a football player too but that's enough of the boasting!}

Anyway, tired, sweaty and two blistered feet later I got a taxi to the trinity church where the young people were having a social evening where we played outdoor games for ages and I've slightly overstretched one of the tendons on my arm. Indoors they showed me how to play a game they play amongst themselves which involves them sitting in a circle clapping with increrasing speed and sending hand signals to each other. Once I got into it I had a great time. It has been a fantastic day. God is good. Personal worries seem a mile away and I'm looking forward to what tomorrow may bring.

ps : I also met Dani at Bethesda. {Those on last years church team will remember him}

pps The Trinty assistant pastor complained way too much, took the sports too seriously and got angrily competive. Does this mean I too am qualified to be an assistant minister! Those who know me well enough will get the joke. I have a very competative spirit. {Today I was surprisingly relaxed and positive. Iam hearing so much good ministry and talking about grace that it must be softening me up! Praise God)

points for prayer
* Saturday I am doing a talk at the youth meeting at The Trinity church. Pray for the words to speak, for God's favour and anointing and for open hearts.
* I may well get the chance to meet Troy again. Pray for our friendship and how God would use us together, for his guidance for both of us.
* Sunday morning I will preach at Stoican {probably spelt wrong}
* Hopefully Sunday evening I will be at Dragos housegroup. Pray that it will be a blessed experience.

There is much that I am learning from this mission. It is becoming very much an education. Including teaching me one or two things about myself. I feel very blessed.

Shalom...steve

youth work, changing plans and worries.

Our three days of youth meetings went very well and the message Paul shared with them {basically the sermon on the mount in three parts} was thought provoking. I've had the chance to spend time with the young people of the church and share a testimony and there is a good friendship between the young people. There are often others who are not part of the church who spend time with them which is very good to see.

Last night we traveled to Focani where Paul preached and shared some songs and I shared a testimony from my life which was very much appreciated. The whole service went very well.

Paul and Alina are now traveling to another part of Romania so I won't see him until I get back to England. I'm quite sad about this because I've enjoyed spending time with and talking with Paul. Last night I found out the arrangements to visit another church and minister door to door there and preach in the church have been scrapped and something else has been put in it's place {not happy with that}. Today I've said good bye to Marianna and Paul whom I've stayed with thus far {she is now traveling to Italy} and I've just been introduced to another family whom I will be staying with for the rest of my time here. So anyway, here is the plan for the next few days....

Today - With pastor Bogdan working among the poor people in the valley area.
Friday evening - Spend time with the young people in the Trinity church {fellowship and games}
Saturday evening - Youth meeting where I have the opportunity to preach/teach
Sunday morning - Preaching at the church I thought I would be with today.

There is plenty of time left over in that plan so I hope to get into the city or the promenade area once or twice to do some more one on one evangelism.

Thanks once again for continuing to pray for me. Please pray for me personally. I have a lot on my mind that I haven't shared here.

God bless you...steve

A blessed Sunday.

The evening of street outreach for me was the point at which I felt I really got started here and today saw things go up another gear for me. It was a blessed day. This morning I was sent to one of the daughter churches in Golgota {in Galati}while Paul went to Braila {about 20 minutes journey away}with Alina to translate. The morning went well for all of us and was a really positive time. The pastor of the Golgota church is Radu Pascan who is agood man of God and also knows Daniella Gheorghe. He has a heart for his community to see people come to the Lord. I cannot tell you how much of a delight it was to minister in his church. We have heard so much religious politics and general nonsense that this is a welcome change {more than that actually}. I am hoping to work with pastor Radu in his community in my final week here and I was also invited back to preach in the evening service. Last night I only expected to preach once but God put two sermons on my heart. Now I know why. Both were a great encouragement to the church and it was a blessing to be with them.
The ministry in Braila went well. They took Paul by surprise by asking him to not only play music but to sing for them. Alina reports that the whole thing went well. Paul and Alina were in the main Trinity church during the evening {Paul was doing a concert} and I am told this went very very well. We even had a good afternoon as the trinity pastor invited the three of us to his house for lunch. We are all very tired but it has been a blessed day all round.
On 9th September pastor Radu's wife is putting on a charity event where she is going to perform {she writes and performs her own music}and I have been asked to share my testimony and the gospel with the people. It will be held in a theatre and it is apparently going to be a big event. Things have really turned out for good here.
This might be a good time to give a short testimony. There was a certain church who invited me to speak for them on sunday morning and kick Golgota into touch. They said they would speak to the trinity pastor to o.k it but I felt this was not right so I decided to go ahead with the original plan. Now I have spoken twice in one day at a wonderful church, have the opportunity of a week long evangelistic work in the area and to take part in a very good event on the 9th. The guys who tried to convince me to change my plans tried to bad mouth the Golgota church and say it is a dead work. {I have good reason to believe it is the other way around}. I'm so glad of God's prompting and leading in all this. I felt it would be unfair to pull out on them and that I should honour the appointment even if there were only three people there as I was led to believe {The church has more like 30 people and there are young men saved in the last few years playing a leading role.} This whole mission is starting to look like it has God's hand on it.

points for prayer.
# Thanks for God's leading, meeting up with the Golgota church and the opportunity for further ministry there.
# Pray for Paul as he leads the christian youth bible study over the next three days.
#Pray also for the youth evangelistic meeting on Tuesday night.
# There is a guy called Narchis who needs our prayers. I can't go into details but just pray for him as the Lord leads you. {Lets just say he needs a very big wake up call}

After the morning with the youth we are going to relax tomorrow in the countryside. The weather so far has been lovely and warm without being oppressively hot. I'm looking forward to it.

Thank you all for praying and keep praying. We've needed it and it's making a difference.

God bless you...steve

First few days in Galati

Hello everyone.

At last I've got onto the internet again. {The people I am staying with have just got internet access set up}.
We arrived safely in Bucharest, the capital, and traveled by train with the Gheorghe family to Galati. Thursday was a quite relaxed day as we met with the pastor of the Trinity church and discussed the itinerary. On Thursday evening we went out to a church around 2 hours drive from Galati. There they have a small but spiritually hungry congregation and I had the pleasure of sharing a word of encouragement with them and Paul preached the main sermon which was based on the first 12 verses of 2 Peter chapter one. It was a very good message which I think was very much appreciated by the congregation.
Friday morning we entered into the Valley area of Galati where the poorest people live. No-one here has heard the gospel until a church was planted here several years ago.We had the chance to speak to several families and pray with them and in the evening Paul taught the study group leaders of the Trinity church on spiritual growth, again a very good message.
We have encountered a number of problems since we came here though. There is a lot of church politics and a lot of things it is probably best not to share on a public forum. We would very much appreciate your prayers with regard to how to handle this. I have a clear idea of what I wanted to achieve in coming here and have access to many tracts in Romanian so can go out on the streets and witness {many of the young people speak English}
Both of us will be visiting churches on Sunday morning so please pray that goes well. Paul is ministering at a youth event tonight and I will do some work on the streets. We are staying with Marianne and Paul who are wonderful hosts and have worked for Campus crusade for Christ. Their fellowship is a blessing to us {as well as their food!}I am hoping that through them many more opportunities to visit churches and minister will come.
God bless you for praying for us. I will let you know more soon. Watch this space.

points for prayer...
# For a productive schedule to be developed.
# For wisdom and favour in dealing with church politics.
# For continued inspiration and anointing upon Paul as he ministers.
# For fruitfulness on the streets as I share the gospel.

Dumnezeu sa te binecuvinteze {God bless you}

Pointers for prayer

"God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think" Ephesians ch 3 v 20

Early on Wednesday, Paul Lavender and I {Steve Johnson} will be flying out to Bucharest, Romania and on to Galati.

Here are some pointers for prayer. Feel free to use these and also to pray as you feel led.

Please pray for...
* God's name to be honoured in all that we say and do.

* Everyone to know what the will of God is in any situation and that we would be sensitive and receptive to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

* For the kingdom of God to be established in peoples lives. For conversions in the churches and on the streets of Galati {in street outreaches}

* For the experience of God's kingdom to increase in the lives of believers in the churches we go to as a result of the ministry, for a word in season that comes with supernatural power to effect change in peoples lives.

* For the Trinity Baptist church where we will minister, for the leaders and young people. Also for every one of the many churches I will be visiting.

*For unity among us who minister and a connection with those we minister to and reach out to.

* Pray for the valley area of the city. They are a very poor and largely unreached people. Pray for a sound foundation to be laid in that area so that converts can be brought in to be effectively looked after and discipled.

*Pray for Marianne and Paul who are part of Campus crusade for Christ. {We will be meeting with them} Pray that God would be in the midst of all we do together and that this would be the start of a divinely blessed relationship that bears much fruit. Also pray for the developing of relationships with christians in general in that area to the furtherance of mission and evangelism there.

* That God would bless both me and Paul with supernatural wisdom and favour with everyone we speak to.

* Finaly for God's protecting and provision from our going out to our return.

Friends, be assured I am praying for you as you are praying for me. I pray that God would inspire and stir you, that God would give you specific insight in what to pray. I pray that your words would be in agreement with the words of heaven and that every resistance to the purposes of God's kingdom be removed. I pray that God will stir your faith to believe for particular answers to prayer. May God bless you all for your faithfulness in standing with us in prayer.

"For everyone that asks {and keeps asking} receives. He that seeks {and keeps seeking} finds. He that knocks {and keeps knocking} shall find it opened to him."
Matthew ch7 v8

Romania's most influential people.

It was only very recently that I put out an appeal to facebook contacts for people to stand with me in prayer and within a couple of days I have a list of 19 intercessors!
What a fantastic position we are in. If I wanted an audience with the prime minister I would struggle to get even close yet every one of us have 24-7 access to the most powerful being in {or outside of} the universe. God is the one who we as sinful human beings should have the least right to approach yet He has designated a special place for us to approach Him. It is called 'the throne of grace'.
Not only do we have this amazing access to the all powerful God but He has made us a part of His kingdom and His kingdom purposes. He actually expects us to play our part and PRAY! There are simply things that will not happen unless we approach the throne of grace for them and they will happen if we do so.
Not only that but the scriptures encourage us to BOLDLY approach the throne of grace {a.v} or as the N.I.V puts it 'with confidence.' What causes us to have such confidence in approaching not to mention petitioning a God so awesome that 'even the stars are not pure in his sight? It is the blood of Jesus! If God was prepared to watch His only Son shed His blood and die to redeem us to Himself then we can have a GREAT confidence to come before Him in prayer and petition.

Our prayers make a difference. They make a difference to ministry. They make a difference to evangelism. They make a difference to the eternal destiny of people we may have never met or will meet {this side of eternity of course}. When the children of Israel were in battle it is written that Moses held up a staff. As he grew tired he began to lower the staff and the enemy began to prevail. Then two of Moses servants stood with him to hold him up and Israel prevailed again. What a fantastic picture of intercession. My friends, it is not about me or my strength. When you pray it is about God's power being made manifest. It is about winning the war, defeating spiritual adversaries. It is about the kingdom of God being ESTABLISHED {people being saved} and EXPANDED {people becoming more Christlike}. There are politicians sitting in the Romanian parliament that do not have the favour and influence you have!

Our God is omnipresent. That means it makes no differnce if there are thousands of miles between us. As God leads you by the hand in prayer he leads me by the hand in ministry, in witness, in evangelism. Intercessions is almost like a linking of hands {with God in the middle} and with God in the middle distance becomes irrelevant.

So I encourage you to pray. Pray because you are in a great and blessed position to pray. Pray because a way has been made by the very blood of the Son of God for you to come to Him. Pray because God has made you an important part of His kingdom purposes. Pray because battles are won or lost on the basis of those who choose to stand by those who minister. Pray because you know one day you will meet face to face with those whose lives are eternally changed because you were faithful to stand in the gap for them. For people you've never met but will meet one day.

Above all, pray according to the purposes of God. Pray that God's name would be hallowed, revered and respected. Pray for His kingdom to be established and extended. Pray that His will would become clear and would be done. Pray that the word of God in heaven would be heard on earth, agreed with in faith and acted out.

I look forward to bringing a report back to England with me of the good and blessed things that God has done. May God bless you abundantly for your faithfulness.

shalom...steve

Hello and welcome to 'makariosmission'

Welcome to 'Makariosmission'. This blog has been set up to share my experiences in oversees mission. I hope you will get a taste of what goes on as well as gleaning enough useful information and find inspiration to support the mission in prayer.
So far I have been blessed to be involved in short term mission in Kenya {3 times}, Germany and Romania. On 24th August I will be flying out to Romania with our senior minister Paul Lavender to work in the city of Galati.
We will be working with Trinity Baptist church in the city as well as with Marianne and Paul who are part of Campus crusade for Christ. The agenda is quite fluid and I'm hoping for plenty of opportunities for evangelism on the streets of the city.

Here's to a great three weeks.

Dunnezeu sa te Binecuvinteze {God bless you}