Micleuseni

Had to be ready for Stephanie to pick us up to go to Micleuseni, (pronounced Miclay-ooshen) a village about 45 minutes drive north west. The presidential palace is located in the direction of this village so the road was probably the best road in Moldova. It deteriorated drastically as we turned off towards Micleuseni. We arrived at a house that had been converted into a church meeting room with a kitchen and a smaller hall behind.  The loo was a proper modern loo in an outhouse round the side.  We were welcomed by Stephanie's husband Spiridon, who had gone over yesterday afternoon by bus, to take the youth group, and were introduced to the leader Nico, who has been leading it about ten years since the church was planted out from a nearby town where Matthew & Helen lived when they first came to Moldova, and were involved in the church plant. Nico was appointed as a deacon by the Pentecostal Union three years ago and leads the wotk there. His wife works as a carer in Italy and he looks after his two sons Pavel and Daniel (about 12 and 8)? Nico's eldest son is married and lives with his family somewhere else in Moldova.   About forty people gathered, about half were young people and children. A good time of singing and prayer all together out loud, with several songs sung by members of congregation including one girl about ten who had written a poem/song about heaven. An elderly lady also sang a hymn, she had been brought up in a Christian home, but seeing the persecution her parents suffered during the Soviet occupation, she turned away from the Lord and married a man who refused to let her have anything to do with the Evangelical Christian faith. Fifty years later she walked into a meeting held in a home in Micleusheni, and wept all the way through, and responded to the gospel appeal. She praised God that at last her husband had died and she had heard of the gospel meetings and had come along to see, and committed her remaining years to the Lord she had turned away from all those years before. Her family are all very hostile to her conversion, and she prays for them fervently.   As a visitor with OM I was expected to give the message before which Sandy and I introduced ourselves, and spoke about our church and family and gave greeting from ABC. I gave another version of the Heb 6 message I had given yesterday, but without the constraints of the mixed denominational congregation.   They responded very positively all the way through, lots of amens. I didn't have to tone down the laying on of hands bit, but spoke plainly about baptism in the Spirit, which got plenty of loud amens.  I got some positive feedback from a man who liked my illustration of children falling in the mud and being loved and cleaned up by dad, not being beaten and condemned, which was how he had always seen God, He kept shaking my hand and thanking me for explaining just and how much God loves us like this!  I finished with the millions of Lei in debt being turned to millions of Lei in credit illustration, which got lots of enthusiastic amens from beaming faces!  It was the most responsive group of people I have met so far.   We met a man who had been prayed for and been healed of cancer.  He and his wife were bringing up their grandchildren as both their children had gone abroad to work, and as both their marriages had split their parents were left caring for the kids. His wife had prepared us some lunch in the back hall from where the children's feeding program is run.  After lunch we were driven by Nico in his land rover up to his home right at the top of the village.  It is very beautiful part of Moldova, rolling hills, forests and farm land.  He has a magnificent view from his elevated position and a very nice modern home by village standards, hot running water, a bidet in the bathroom, a computer room for the boys and a spare bedroom where his married son stays when they visit and where Stephanie and Spiridon sleep when they stay, which can be most Saturday nights. They keep rabbits, chickens, turkeys and a pig and have just harvested their corn and pumpkins for winter feed.   Young Pavel's hands were stained black from harvesting walnuts, which grow everywhere, a lad can earn over 100 Lei per Kg. About 2.30 we went to a neighbouring village where the church has been doing open air work during the summer.  Stephanie organised games with the children and sang Christian songs with them, but as it was harvest none of the usual adults turned up.  There was a little boy about 5 or 6 who had never learned to speak. Meanwhile Spiridon had been playing football with the Micleuseni church lads. After hanging around for about an hour, we left the village, which has a well but no drinkable water, it all has to collected from a site about 500m from the village and carried back. We drove to the football field and waited for the game to finish, Nico joined in the game.  We said goodbye to the folk and Stephanie drove us back to Chisinau. Spiridon had injured himself playing football so didn't want to drive. Back at the OM Centre we had a meal with a group of German speaking Swiss young people who have come for a few days to take part in one of the villages on an outreach programme. The Centre is an amazing hive of activity people coming and going, staying for a night, a few days or two weeks like us, all the time. Maria the cleaner, who is a widow, does an amazing job keeping the place clean and changing all the beds and washing the sheets for the next group. This coming week the 22nd ten week Challenge into Mission programme begins with about 30 young people,.mostly Moldavian.