Issue No. 3, 2014
IAN & SHEILA HALL INTERNATIONAL REPORT
MINISTRY IN EUROPE On September 9 we left Florida to return to Romania for three months ministry. Generally Florida is the place where people go to spend the winter. They certainly do not go to Europe, but when the invitation was extended by the President and the Executive Committee of the Bihor Filiala (District Office) for us to return to Romania for ministry we were pleased to accept. The invitation was for Ian to minister in the churches and to teach at their school for pastors and church workers, which is similar to the Assemblies of God District Schools of Ministry in the USA. Originally we were told that there would be about 27 students in his class on the book of Acts, but each week more students attended taking the final enrolment to 72. Ian was also scheduled to teach on Evangelism in November but the Director suggested, at the request of the students, that he spend a longer period of time teaching on Acts and return in the Spring of 2015 to teach Evangelism.
The Pentecostal Union Filiala (District Office)
Class in Session
We were also invited to participate in the 20th Anniversary of Eastern European Bible College, October 3-5. Ian was one of the presenters at the symposium and brought greetings on behalf of the Assemblies of God during the service at Tabor Church. October 3, was also a very special date for us as we celebrated our 50th Wedding Anniversary. EEBC recognized us and presented Sheila with a lovely bouquet of flowers. During the past 20 years 240 students have graduated from EEBC. Two of its first graduates were the first Romanian missionaries to India where they both continue to serve. Other students are serving in Afghanistan, Albania, Brazil, Denmark, England, Ethiopia, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Kenya, Kosovo, Madagascar, Moldova, Namibia, the Philippines, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Tunisia, Turkey, the Ukraine, and the USA.
EEBC Floral Presentation
EEBC has seen the faithfulness of God throughout its 20 years of existence. Starting in 1994, with almost zero resources, over the years it has experienced many miracles. It first met in the basement of a local church and today has an 800 square meters functional building with classrooms, media laboratories, chapel, offices, and a library containing 18,000 volumes. The leadership looks confidently towards the future and by the will of God, they plan to build an 800 square meters addition consisting of a dining room, expanded chapel and apartments for the accommodation of the students and visiting professors. This investment will add to the community life and
the spiritual formation of the students. It will also reduce the costs for the duration of their schooling. Initially, the school offered a three-year theology course of study. In 2007 EEBC added a Media Department, Christian Journalism – Mass Media, the first of its kind in Romania. This enables EEBC to reach the world with the gospel of Christ. More people can be reached today for Christ through media than ever could have been imagined.
EEBC Extension Project
Saturday, October 4, is a day we will not forget. We had the surprise of our lives. We thought that two couples were taking us out for dinner to celebrate our Anniversary. We were asked by Laurentiu to meet him outside Tabor Church. When we arrived, he suggested we greet the pastors before going on for dinner. We had seen the school van and Florin Ghiurau’s car in the church parking lot and assumed they were at the church for the continuance of the EEBC Anniversary celebrations. To our amazement we discovered the pastors, their wives and several guests were waiting for us with a surprise Anniversary Celebration Dinner. It was a very well kept secret. We had just been told to dress up for going out for dinner. During the dinner our son, Jonathan, called us from New Jersey. Each couple present paid tribute to us and Pastor George Popa prayed over us. We felt so humbled to be honored in this way. We were presented with an oil painting painted by one of the men of the Church. The table decorations and flowers were prepared by Naomi Popa, the daughter of Pastor Bogdan and Pastor Popa’s daughter-in-law. Everything was perfect.
3rd October 1964
50th Wedding Anniversary Celebration
Sunday morning Ian was scheduled to preach at one of the churches that Pastor Moldovan, the President, pastors in Alesd and again we were surprised when Pastor Moldovan announced our anniversary and Sheila was presented with another beautiful bouquet of flowers. During our three months of ministry in Romania we ministered in many different churches, i.e., large city churches, small village churches, Gypsy churches, a two-year old church plant meeting in a home in the village where we stayed. Many of the churches are not as large as in the past, because people have left the country for other parts of Europe due to the lack of jobs and the declining economy in Romania.
An exception is Samaria (Gypsy) Pentecostal Church in Obor, Alesd, which accounts for 50% of the community. The rest of the community is either Orthodox or Roman Catholic. Samaria Church is a testimony of God’s power at work in transforming lives. We thank God for the privilege of being involved in the construction of the church building.
Samaria Gypsy Church
Evangelistic Service Samaria Gypsy Church
Since January, 2014, our good friend, Laurentiu Pascuti, has had the oversight of the Pentecostal Church in the village of Les. We had the privilege of participating in his first baptismal service since he became the pastor. Prior to Laurentiu taking over the church it had gone through Presentation of the keyboard Baptismal Service at Les a split but God is bringing healing to the church. (Laurentiu has recently translated the Old Testament of the Children’s Fire Bible into Romanian.) The church had no musical instrument, and was singularly blessed to receive a Yamaha Keyboard from Pastor Cindy Hendrick and her congregation at South Oaks Community Church, Eagan, Minnesota. God also provided a musician to play it. CHRISTMAS GIFT FOR THE LES PENTECOSTAL CHURCH
Thanks to Pastor Tom Johnson and New River A/G, Red Wing, Minnesota, the church in Les, Transilvania, was also blessed with a video projector and screen for Christmas. We also received a surprise invitation from our AG Missionary colleague Rick Cunningham to go to Bucharest to participate in a missions conference, however, two days prior to the service Ian was informed that it would now be a Thanksgiving service. This coincided with another surprise invitation from Pastor Nelu Bochian of Emanuel Christian Center in Bucharest to participate in his 25th Anniversary as an ordained pastor. Also, it was the 24th Anniversary of the beginning of the Church and the 20th Anniversary of the Christian High School. Pastor Bochian was Ian’s first translator when he came to Romania in 1990 and Ian assisted him in planting the church. They had no building, no real advertising. They simply went out on the streets inviting people to Thanksgiving Service Vestea Buna, Bucuresti come to a rented hall and many people came to those first meetings and received Christ as their Savior. The church later met in a tent for which God enabled us to raise the money. It was a great investment and served as the home of Emanuel Christian Center for four years and then was used to plant a Church in Galati and was the home of the church there for a further four years. Emanuel Christian Center, Bucuresti
We also had the privilege of returning to the Elim Church in Pitesti in Arges, where Ian first began his ministry in Romania in the days of the revival when God confirmed the preaching of the Word with many miraculous healings. This church is also the home of the Christian Medical Center which Ian helped start. It was nostalgic seeing the young people we had worked with almost 25 years ago, now in leadership positions in the church. Ian spoke in a Youth Meeting on the Saturday afternoon and in an evangelistic service in the evening. We were invited to return next spring to participate in their 25th Anniversary celebrations. It was moving to have some of the current young people tell us that they had heard of us from their parents and grandparents but never thought they would ever meet us.
Elim Pentecostal Church, Pitesti
A NEW ERA FOR ROMANIA!
November 17 was a significant date in Romania when Klaus Iohannis, an Evangelical Lutheran of Transylvanian German descent, was voted in as the new President of Romania. He now seeks to convince the country that he is the right man to lead the political, economic and moral regeneration of Romania.The new President belongs to both ethnic and religious minorities. Today, only 40,000 ethnic Germans live in Romania - in a country of nearly 20 million. They are considered hardworking, trustworthy, honest and upright. Many Romanians appreciate these virtues, especially in the center and west of the country, where the ethnic Germans - also called the Transylvania Saxons and Banat Swabians reside. Our ministry in Romania was diverse and extremely fulfilling. Prior to returning to the USA, through the generosity of our son, Jonathan and his wife Laura, we were able to provide a very poor family of seven with groceries and food for Christmas. The oldest daughter of the family is a student at EEBC. We had the privilege of taking her grocery shopping so that she could choose the food for her family. She had never been in such a large grocery store and was overwhelmed by the many choices. We then had the privilege of delivering the food to her family which, for them, was a miraculous provision from God.
Food for Family
PRAISE REPORTS:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
For safety in travel to, from and in Romania. For the safe arrival of the boxes of children’s supplies shipped from the USA. For the provision of a video projector for our ministry in Romania through BGMC. For fruitful ministry in the churches and in the School for Pastors. For good health while in Romania.
PRAYER REQUESTS:
1. For continued open doors for ministry both overseas and in the USA. 2. For financial support to cover our overseas ministry expenses. As R9 missionaries, we do not receive personal support, but only approved legitimate ministry expenses. Our personal expenses are our own responsibility. AGWM Account #2003838 (00) 3. For finances for EEBC’s proposed construction project. AGWM Account #2003838 (60) Project #9439 4. For teams to work with Jan Cunningham – Kidz Romania and Evangelistic Teas for women. This is a great ministry opportunity and the need for teams for 2015 is urgent. (contact info: jan.cunningham@agmd.org)
Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year! IAN & SHEILA HALL
1641 Poppy Circle n Lakeland, FL n 33803 n Email: ian.hall@agmd.org All donations are tax deductible and can be made on-line by accessing the Assemblies of God Missions Department website Account #2003838