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God Is Raising up Ancestors of Faith in Romania

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:34-35).

Part I. 2011 Annual Review

1. God’s work through our yearly key verse and personal Bible Study

In 2011, Romania UBF focused on raising a community of Jesus’ disciples led by God’s love based on our annual key verse from John 13:34-35, and served the pioneering ministry with the direction of preaching the word of God through 1:1 Bible study to Romanian students mainly from the University of Agriculture and ASE (Economical Sciences Academy).

In the first semester, we finished the study of John’s Gospel, which we started in the previous year, and we could remember Jesus who is the true Light and the Good Shepherd who saved us from the darkness of sin. In the second semester, we served the students with Genesis Bible study through which we learned about the Creator God and about the faith of our ancestors, like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph.

2. Outreach and the one-to-one ministry/co-working ministry

This year also, God did his mighty work in the Romanian ministry. Our family co-worked continually with M. Peter and Susie Han’s family in order to serve campus students wholeheartedly with God’s word. We continued group Bible studies (GBS) for students every Saturday as well as 1:1 Bible studies so that we could better help the students to come to Jesus and grow as disciples. Also, every Wednesday, we started to have a prayer meeting for leaders with a five-minute Daily Bread message delivered weekly with much grace by M. Peter Han. Brother Bogdan attended this meeting faithfully from the beginning with the spiritual desire to grow as a leader for this ministry. Later, Brother Alex and Sister Veronica and Andreea, who is now a freshman at Bucharest University in Political Science, joined also.

As for our outreach ministry, M. Peter Han and I used our lunch break to go to the campus of the Univ. of Agriculture and Veterinary Studies, which is quite near our office. We met many students. Some of them even participated in our Saturday GBS. Among them, Brother Doru remained in our ministry and he is sincerely attending GBS as well as the Sunday worship service (SWS). He is a junior majoring in Cadastral Studies at the Univ. of Agriculture in Bucharest. He believes that Bible study is good for his life and has the desire to develop a personal relationship with God. Also, one Vietnamese student, Tahn, has been attending our GBS for the last couple of months. He likes our Bible study, but nowadays, he is working full-time on the weekends. We pray for him to find a job that will allow him to join our GBS and SWS continually. M. Monica and Susie Han also went fishing every Thursday with the prayer topic to get new girl students who can be raised as mothers of prayer for Romania. M. Monica graduated with a Master’s degree and started to work full-time from April. God granted her a job in a company which is located five minutes from campus. Therefore, she can use her lunch break to participate in inviting students to Bible study.

Every Saturday and Sunday, M. Susie and Monica, as well as Sister Vera, served Bible students with delicious food.

Bogdan and Vera’s family had a tough time in Bucharest during their first year there due to financial difficulties. But now they’ve adapted pretty well. Vera is especially grateful for her job at a Korean Restaurant which gives her a flexible schedule and allows her to participate in Wednesday prayer meetings. Also, there was a great work of God in Bogdan’s life, as well as Alex’s life, through writing their life testimonies deeply and repenting of their sin problems.

M. Peter and Susie Han have been serving Alex sacrificially since they invited him to live together with them. Alex is receiving spiritual training now through early morning prayer and Daily Bread, as well as through 1:1 Bible study. We pray that he may learn obedience to God’s word and may grow as an ancestor of faith for Romanian people.

Sister Andreea also joined our ministry from October of last year. She participated in the Balkan Summer Bible conference in 2010. She is a first year student in the Political Sciences College at Bucharest University. On Saturday, she has 1:1 Bible study with Monica, and every weekend, she stays at our house for spiritual fellowship. She also started to write her life testimony and prays to grow spiritually as a mother of prayer.

Bogdan (left) and Alex (right)

3. Bible cafe and conference

In August, M. Peter and Susie Han’s family and my family, participated in the Balkan summer Bible conference, ”If You Believed, You Would See the Glory of God,” in Athens, Greece. We went there together with Bogdan and Alex. At this conference, Brother Bogdan made a clear decision to change his attitude and serve the ministry as a true co-worker. At the Balkan Festival, on the last day of the conference, the Romanian team won the prize for Most Humorous, thanks to Brother Bogdan and Susie Jr. who are excellent actors.

On December 18, we had a Christmas worship service with a total of 22 people. The Christmas worship service message was about the Magi’s pilgrimage, through which we invited the students to give their hearts as a gift to God. Peter and Susie Jr. gave a beautiful violin and cello performance on two Christmas carols. Our Bible students also gave glory to baby Jesus with their angelic voices. They also performed beautifully in a Christmas play called, ”The Christmas Fair,” through which we showed Jesus as the one who gives eternal life as a gift to us. Brother Bogdan presided over the worship service and also delieverd his life testimony, ”From a rock-like heart to a shining diamond.”

4. Special thanksgiving topics

When I look back on the year 2011, I thank and praise our Lord Jesus who blessed my family and pioneering ministry abundantly. I praise God for raising Alex, Bogdan, and Vera as disciples, and also for bringing Doru, Andreea, and Tahn to our fellowship. I pray that I may challenge and serve by faith the prayer topics for a spiritual awakening and revivial of Romania and to raise up one new family by 2020 for every campus according to the providence of God and the Holy Spirit who leads his salvation ministry.

From the left: Doru, Monica Jung, Alex, Suzie Jr. Andreea, John Jung. Peter Jr., Suzie Han, Bogdan, Veronica

Part II. 2012 Key verse

”Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds” (John 12:24).

Prayer Topics

1. May God make Bucharest a spiritually blessed city and bring about a spiritual awakening and recovery of Romania.
2. May God raise house churches for 84 faculties (54 public/28 private) by 2020.
3. Spiritual growth of Bible students (Bogdan, Doru, Alex, Veronica, Andreea, and Than)
4. Get new Bible students through outreach every week.
5. SWS message on Luke’s Gospel (M. John Jung)

Reporte by M. John Jung