Greetings from Cisnădie, Romania

It has been some time since our last update ... will need to start with the second part of July. While early in July we had the medical team from New Jersey / New York, at the end of July we had a team from different places from the States that came to the Sibiu area, and were at Jina for two days. We included a picture of the empty church sanctuary and one showing some of the activity of the team (the upstairs, as in the downstairs rooms were the doctor's and dentists' offices). Ana and Dan facilitated their activity, provided some local volunteers, and helped with translating, registration, and in other ways as necessary. They had a medical doctor, two dentists, a pharmacy team, a vision team, a photo team, and prayer/spiritual teams. Many local people came through, even from the Romanian part of town as well as from some other villages in the area. We thank the Lord for His provision through His people.

Below is a picture of the people waiting in the church yard for registration....

In the picture below (on the right) is one of the dentists on the team, Rod, and his wife, Bev. They stayed with us for a few days. Please pray for Bev as she was recently re-diagnosed with cancer.

In the pictures below some may recognize Rebeca, from the Jina church. She finished her first year of high school in Sibiu (evening school), as well as her first year at an area Bible School (similar to a junior Bible college). As part of her summer practice for the Bible school she taught the kids' Sunday School at Jina this summer. Please continue to pray for Rebeca as she now in the middle of her second year, and for the other few young people from Jina who started going to high school or professional school.

Below is a summer camp about an hour away from us where Dan was invited to speak sometime in August. Some former and current Timotheus students are involved with this group.

In the picture below is a small congregation in a village near Sibiu. Dan was off from Jina for two Sundays in August, so got a chance to visit other churches, preaching there as well (as a pastor here it's hardly ever possible to visit a church and not preach). Beside this church, we also visited Dan's mother's village church, about 1.5 hours away. That church has only about 7-8 older ladies left, while this one closer to Sibiu has one man beside the 9-10 ladies (some missing on the day of our visit). Pray for these village churches, more isolated, and without any perspective for growth, humanly speaking. The man pictured with Dan here would like to organize some special evangelistic services, perhaps in January - please pray for that as well.

In November Dan was invited to speak at a baptism service in a city in southwestern part of Romania. The pastor on the left (with glasses) is also a Timotheus graduate. To Dan's other side is another young pastor/elder from that congregation, and to his side is the older pastor who started this church in the early 90s. Another item for prayer is this southern part of Romania, where it has been harder for the gospel work to penetrate.

For Thanksgiving break we had three young ladies from southeastern PA visit Adora (and us!). It was a major highlight of Adora's years in Romania, and a time of joy for us all as we thank the Lord for friends and friendships.

In recent months Adora has become more involved with the youth from the Baptist church here in town, especially as they asked her to help lead some of their singing on the piano. The youth usually help lead worship through music every last Sunday of the month (this was Nov 25, an all girl-group). 

Currently Dan is also involved in a catechetical study at Jina with six people who would like to be baptized - please pray for this, as well as for the whole church. Many of you know there have been some issues there, having to do with opposition in the area of teaching (especially the doctrine of salvation, but also around spiritual gifts) and some areas of practice (child dedications, the Lord's Supper, church discipline), and other issues. Pray for the true gospel and the sound teaching of God's Word to go forth in this community, and for people to be transformed by the Spirit through His Word. 
This December we are finishing up the three-year Sunday school program we have implemented (two years in the OT and one in the NT). Also, Dan finished his preaching through the book of 1 John, and is currently doing a short series on the new birth, focusing on John 3. 
Adora has also been very busy with her last year of high school, with Ana teaching some subjects and supervising her work, beside other responsibilities she has. Alex is in his final exam week, finishing his third semester at Cedarville.
Please pray for health and strength for us all (Dan's back is not too good, yet he is trying to avoid surgery, if at all possible). We appreciate all your prayers and support during these past 4+ years. May the Lord grant each one of you and your family a wonderful Christmas time.

In Christ's love and service,

Dan & Ana, Alex and Adora