Dear Friends!

As I am beginning to write this newsletter I am overwhelmed by all the amazing stories and events that were born during these last few months! Yet, everything that took place is simply the result of your prayers and continuous perseverance in making missions a priority in your church and personal life!

I am sure you heard us say this before that our vision encompasses a four fold approach and it embraces a holistic concept of our missions work: Here is the four fold vision that the Lord gave us and that coincides with the vision for foreign missions of our constituency:

Reaching

Although our team is small and we continually pray for more workers, the Lord has blessed us with much great and many open doors to make Him known! Our children and youth at the Community Center are becoming quite amazing witnesses in the community, at school and wherever they go! Their transformed lives speak loudest through their behavior, school grades, speech and actions! They join us in our events and volunteer in our outreaches!

Speaking of outreaches, this past few months we ministered in various locations such as public schools and theaters as well as in our Community Center and in our new Cuigiuc Christian Center. Last week, we held three Women’s Day/Mothers Day events, where close to three hundred ladies had the opportunity to learn about the power of God in a woman’s life, as she surrenders to the Holy Spirit, who can empower her to “bear much fruit”! (Mothers’ Day outreach pics)

Planting Churches

As you remember from our itinerating meetings, our goal for this new term is to plant a few more churches in the villages where we have been working hard to reach the people for Jesus! Our top priority is the town of Ostrov, a town near the south eastern border of Bulgaria. This town is strategic not only because it does not have any evangelical presence but also because it is the point from where we can expand towards the north, encompassing the whole region between the Black Sea and the Danube. There are about 75 miles from Ostrov to the nearest church in the region!

After much prayer and fasting, the Lord directed us to a property right in the center of the town! It is very close to the park where we held many outreaches and only about 300 ft from the Danube river! We are currently in the process of making the actual purchase arrangements! The property has a country house on it which, after remodeling, will become a great place for a ministry couple or individual to live in! We have several teams this summer that are coming to help us with some of the work there.

At Christmas we had an outreach in the town’s theater which was also attended by the town’s mayor and school teachers, along with 250 adults and children!

Training

Both centers are busy during the week with various training ministries: The Afterschool program in Cuiugiuc is being taught by our “leaders in training”, Adrian, Tabita and Sevijan. They are doing an amazing work, not just with the children but also caring for and maintaining the center.

In Baneasa, we have Stefan, Ana, Lidia and Tim leading the children and the youth programs, teaching guitar and English and they have just added another youth program in Cuiugiuc! Stefan is also leading the discipleship training in Cuiugiuc, preparing young people for ministry in their own village! 

Serving

There is so much joy in being able to care for special needs! Through medical care, food packages, home visits and all the ministries that we offer in the Name of Jesus, so many times we hear people say, “Nobody has ever cared for us like this before,” “You brought hope to our village," “You changed the children of our community!”

Again and again I will say, this is all because of your kindness and generosity, when they thank us they thank you as well! Many of the children we were ministering to in the past few years are now growing into volunteers and great helpers! It is so exciting to see them grow and mature, now with hope and vision for their future!

Upcoming Events and Prayer Requests

Please pray for the 11 teams that will be coming to Baneasa this year. Because we ourselves are a very small team, we need all the help we can get and the teams are essential in accomplishing the work!

Prayer Highlights:

• Please pray for the paperwork that is being processed in order to function in all the areas of ministry.
• Please pray for the new church plant in Ostrov, including the process of the property purchase.
• Please pray for our team that we would have a common vision and unified purpose to reach the area and that the Lord would inspire and lead us toward that end.
• In the past month, all of us have been attacked by various sicknesses and hardships. Thank you for praying for our health and continued strength.

Thank you for taking time to read our newsletter and for praying and supporting us faithfully! You don’t have to wait till heaven to hear the words, “well done, good and faithful servant!” We are praying that the Lord encourages you with these words and that He blesses you with all the riches of His glory, as you faithfully follow His leading!

We love you all and appreciate you!

Mike and Ana Dascalescu