BIEMs of Light- April 2003

Praises – Rejoice with us!

v      In spite of a flu epidemic in Moldova and unrelenting rainstorms that resulted in terribly muddy conditions in Romania, 27 people were saved in meetings held by brother Fred Canaday.  He describes one thrilling moment in a packed Moldavian church: “The Lord led me to say in the invitation, ‘unless you renounce all you cannot be a true believer.’  A woman began to cry and came to the front.  She had been involved in a cult for many years, and the church has been praying, witnessing, and visiting her for at least 3 years.”

v      In a recent BIEM’s of Light we mentioned the need for pianos and keyboards for several new churches in Ukraine.  We praise God for gifts that came in which will provide this need for churches in Chervona Sloboda, Borivka, Komarivka, and Desna, Ukraine.

v      Last months BIEM’s of Light requested urgent prayer for Elena, a new believer in Chervona Sloboda who was under intense pressure to get an abortion from her unsaved husband and relatives.  Elena and the church in Chervona Sloboda are rejoicing in answered prayer as Elena’s family has come to accept the fact that her newfound faith would not allow her to abort the child.  Thank-you for your prayers!  Pray for the salvation of Elena’s family.

v     Praise God for the new church being established in Jegalia, Romania where new BIEM national missionaries Adrian and Simona Neagu are ministering.  Ten out of 40 who recently made professions of faith are awaiting baptism.

Prayer – Pray with us!

v      Please pray for Iosif Pop, BIEM’s key church planter in Fetesti, Romania.  He has contracted a serious and potentially fatal blood disease called Purpura Trombocitopenia Idiomatica.  Please pray that he would respond favorably to the first round of treatments the doctor has prescribed.  Pray that God would under gird his family and ministry in a special way at this time.

v      The director of the public school in Chervona Sloboda is persecuting children who attend the church there.  She has conducted a campaign of ridicule, slander against Baptists and intimidation, which has reduced the number of youth attending from 50 to only 10.  Please pray for this situation.

v      Prayer that God would keep the doors open in the small country of Moldova where the Communists have been voted back in power.  According to our Field Director, it is fast becoming a “Police State”.  Citizens are constantly harassed, and there seems to be a growing number of policemen on every corner in the capital city.  It is more difficult to get visas, and foreign visitors must report to the police station.

v      Please pray that the War in Iraq will not affect our ministry in Russia where this conflict has become a very sore issue. Relations between the US and Russia have become strained and some Americans planning ministry there have been denied visas.