Magazine October – December 2017
Evangelism In Europe » SKATERS IN SARAJEVO » CAKE GIVE-AWAY IN BULGARIA » EYESIGHT RESTORED IN MOLDOVA » ENGLISH CAFÉ IN MONTENEGRO » PRAYER DIARY
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Editorial
By All Means Our partners across Europe have had a busy Summer presenting the good news of Jesus Christ through a variety of approaches. Such is the passion to share the gospel that innovative methods range from laundry services to Luther celebrations, summer camps to scrumptious cakes and sport to spelling. In this magazine you will find a selection of reports that illustrate how TEN’s partners are using ‘all means’ to reach their communities with God’s love.
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he apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the church of Corinth in Greece, ‘I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some’ 1 Corinthians 9:19. It appears that this evangelistic strategy continues to be applied in Europe and is proving most fruitful. Evangelism often takes place in challenging environments where evangelical churches are often labelled as cults and treated with deep suspicion. However, there are signs
of a breakthrough as churches are enabled to run outreach programmes and publicly proclaim the gospel. Your prayers and financial help are making a real difference in the lives of thousands who live in mainland Europe. We are sending you our 2017/18 Essential Gifts catalogue that we hope will inspire you. Could you help to meet the cost of practical gifts or sponsorship opportunities requested by our partners on behalf of their communities?
Evangelistic literature in Bulgaria
Welcome
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Contents
ive hundred years ago significant events happened in Europe that transformed this continent forever. First, Erasmus of Rotterdam published his Greek New Testament which set a spark to the Reformation of the Church. Through reading this New Testament, Martin Luther discovered the amazing truth of a compassionate and gracious God and His free gift of salvation and righteousness, through faith and not by works. Subsequently, Luther published his 95 theses which set the Reformation flame burning across Europe. In England, Nicholas Ridley and Hugh Latimer joined the Reformation movement, but sadly in 1555 both paid the ultimate price of martyrdom by being burnt at the stake in Oxford UK. Latimer’s dying words to Ridley were, “Be of good comfort, Mr. Ridley, and play the man! We shall this day light such a candle by God’s grace, in England, as I trust never shall be put out.” As we celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, let us thank God for those who gave their lives for the transforming Gospel message of Jesus, and free access to the Bible. Please continue to stand with us and our partners across Europe who keep the Reformation flame burning today by proclaiming salvation through faith. Your prayers and financial support are a massive encouragement to our partners, many of whom face persecution and opposition for the Gospel today. Together we are in partnership in the Gospel. Thank you.
Cake give-away
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Bulgaria
Skaters in SARAJEVO
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Bosnia and Herzegovina
Summer Camps
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Bulgaria
Evangelism Scores goals
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Moldova
Church Laundry Service
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Moldova
Sight Restored
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Moldova
Harevst for the Hungry Launch
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Bristol
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TEN Visits Keswick
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Impact Montenegro English Café
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Montenegro
Essential Gifts 2016
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Summary
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Reformation 500th Anniversary Bosnia & Herzegovina
The TEN Office will be closed as follows: • IPC Conference: Monday 16th – Friday 20th October • Christmas – New Year: Monday 25th December to Monday 1st January TEN_Today
transformeuropenow
Transform Europe Now Registered office: 1 Holdenhurst Road, Kingswood, Bristol BS15 1HL Tel: +44 (0)117 961 5161 Email: info@ten-uk.org
Gerry Partridge CEO Transform Europe Now
Written and produced by the TEN team Design: Simon Petherick Graphic and Web Design Transform Europe Now (TEN) is the operating name for Eurovangelism. Registered in England and Wales as a charity (no. 1140592) and company limited by guarantee (no. 7507682). Cover photo: Viorel Regus with players at football evangelism, Moldova
Transforming Europe – one life at a time
One thousand Cakes Given away in
Bulgaria Residents of the small city of Sevlievo, situated 175 miles east of the capital Sofia in Bulgaria received an unexpected surprise.
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hurch leaders Plamen and Kremi Borisov, together with around 20 members of Shalom Church, took to the streets with banners and placards announcing the resurrection of Jesus and sharing their Easter celebrations. Taking the church out into the street had never been attempted before and it took some courage. Usually, people would be invited to attend the church meetings, so this was something new in Sevlievo. The main focus of the church outreach campaign was to share the Good News and the church hoped to attract attention by giving away 1,000 small cakes at the town market. Along with each cake was offered a small brochure about the gospel. Several of the women also handed out flowers with a small card with the verse John 3:16 handwritten by children in the church. The children of passers-by also received special pamphlets. The reaction of the local people was one of surprise and disbelief; that someone would give them a cake and card for free. People were intrigued by the display of kindness and generosity and readily stopped to chat with church members. This provided the perfect opportunity for the believers to share about their personal 4
faith in God and to speak about Christ’s resurrection. It was very exciting for the members of Shalom Church and also the people of the city. Everyone who took part enjoyed the experience and the event received further publicity in the local newspaper with a good report and some photos.
Top: Plamen Borisov with lots of cakes! Bottom: Flowers and cards were given out.
Transform Europe now / October – December 2017
Reaching the unreached – one life at a time
Skaters in
Sarajevo Sarajevo Baptist Church, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, hosted a team of skaters from Youth with a Mission’s (YWAM) Discipleship Training School. The ‘Calling All Skaters’ team stayed for the whole month of June at the Kairos Centre, led by Tomislav and Ledia Dobutovic.
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ollowing some ministry preparation sessions, the team of skaters began to reach out to skaters in the city. “The team worshipped together in our church services also inviting new-made friends to the church. This group of young people have been totally unreached so far. Usually people do not like them much and they are not generally accepted by society. “Part of the team’s mission included the rebuilding of part of the skating park, just opposite the largest shopping mall in Sarajevo city centre. Several young men came to know Christ as their personal Saviour through this ministry. As a result, our church has been very excited and thrilled to hear the testimonies from their ministry. One young man from Sarajevo who had been befriended talked about his bouts of depression. He became interested in the message of Jesus Christ and as the conversation continued he finally agreed to pray ‘the sinner’s prayer’. “On one of the Sundays we had a special service and BBQ lunch outside the church building. Natan Dobutovic performed a special song using a traditional stringed tamburica. The YWAM skate team are planning to return to Sarajevo next summer for more outreach.” YWAM Skater
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Transforming Europe – one REACHING life at A NATION a time
MULTI-ETHNIC CAMPS FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH
Summer 2017
Summer Camp
July was ahead of us — we were hot and busy! We were so excited and fully expecting God to glorify His name once again among the children of Bulgaria. And He did!
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e had two summer camps with one for children and the other for teenagers. Many of the children were so keen to register for the camps that they had been calling us since the start of the year. Those who wanted to participate were many more than we could accommodate. 6
Over 140 children joined us from various towns and villages in Bulgaria and from various ethnic groups; from Gypsy, Turkish, Bulgarian backgrounds, each with a different mother tongue! These children live in a range of cultural and social environments and with diverse living standards. Some live in apartments
Transform Europe now / October – December 2017
Transforming Europe – one life at a time
Summer Camp meeting
Summer Camp Masterchef
in big cities and others in Gypsy village shacks. We knew from the beginning that running multi-ethnic camps would be a big challenge for us! That’s why the prayers from TEN supporters and the financial help from the Hillview Church, UK was so much appreciated. Thirty-four children from Gypsy backgrounds were invited by Mission Possible to participate without a fee. These children were from the villages where Mission Possible is running literacy and soup kitchen social programmes. In this way we made it possible for them to leave their villages, some of them for the first time, and to stay at such a beautiful, clean and blessed place like our residential centre in Dobromirka. It is 10 years since our friends from Transform Europe Now sent us a brilliant team of volunteers from the Hillview church to help us repair our Dobromirka Home in the North of Bulgaria. The Hillview mission teams that have continued to visit us have always been a real encouragement to us and have become our friends and faithful coworkers in Christ. We are so grateful for their support for this year’s camps. God
heard their prayers and blessed us more than expected! Attending the children’s camp we had 78 children aged 7–11 with six teachers and eight teenage volunteer helpers. The teen camp was attended by 64 youths aged 10–17 with eight teachers and four volunteers. The children had a most blessed, unforgettable time as they joined in Bible study classes, dance and photography workshops, a MasterChef workshop, football and volleyball competitions. Many new friendships were born and the children’s relationships and behaviour were very beautiful. Only the slight difference of their skin tone revealed their different ethnic backgrounds. We saw how sweet the Lord’s presence was during the praise and worship time at the morning Bible study classes, how the children were touched and filled with the Holy Spirit, and repented, confessed their faith and desire to build up a strong relationship with God. After both camps our hearts overflow with gratitude to the Lord for his faithfulness and our precious brothers and sisters in the UK. God is so good!
Roumen Ivanov and the team of Mission Possible Bulgaria
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Transforming Europe – one life at a time
Evangelism scores goals in
Moldova
Sport presents a unique opportunity to share the good news of Jesus Christ and especially today as many high-profile sports men and women openly share their faith as Christians.
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ootball provides a space where social, economic, cultural, and religious backgrounds are set aside and stepping onto the football field creates opportunities for new friendships between Christians and non-believers. It comes as no surprise to discover that in Moldova football is the country’s most popular sport despite wrestling being the nation’s official sport.
Football training in Gotesti
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Viorel Regus, the Youth Minister of Gotesti Baptist Church has led the football ministry for many years and now has a youth team that plays in regional tournaments across Southern Moldova. These tournaments are coordinated by mission agency, Operation Mobilisation and allow teams from various villages to compete against each other to become regional and national champions. The football ministry in Gotesti takes place twice a week on an artificial grass pitch close to Building of Culture. The outreach ministry is well received with an attendance of up to fifteen children who eagerly develop their football abilities, hear a message from the Scriptures, have a time of fellowship and play a short football match to close the training session. The youngsters not only learn from Viorel about football skills and teamwork but also hear about teachings from God’s word and understand what it means to live a Christ-like life. They often ask questions about the issues that impact their day-today lives. Football as a ministry and a means of evangelism presents an immense opportunity to share the gospel with people who have never heard of the love of Christ for them and their families. Report by Matthias Spicer, TEN Intern
Transform Europe now / October – December 2017
Transforming Europe – one life at a time
Church to open a laundry service in
Moldova We all love the feel and freshness of clean clothes and bed linen. But for many families struggling with poverty in eastern Europe, laundry is the last thing on their mind.
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or some of the socially vulnerable families living in Gotesti, Moldova, help to assist with the washing is about to be offered for free from an unusual source. For a long time, the Gotesti Baptist Church, led by Ruslan and Larisa Telpiz, wanted to develop a project aimed at the village’s most needy people and vulnerable families. Earlier this year, Gotesti Baptist Church received some funding which enabled the church to purchase two washing machines, with a third machine being donated by a church member who works elsewhere in Europe. The next step was to prepare a room specifically for the project, complete with plumbed-in water and waste systems. Workers, materials and additional finance are all needed to complete the project ahead of its launch this Autumn. The project is to be known as Tabitha, and will see church members washing clothes and bed sheets for people who lack this provision. The project name is taken from the biblical story of Tabitha in Acts 9; a fine example of a woman who met the needs of neighbours and particularly those less fortunate.
The new laundry room under construction
The Tabitha project has been subject of countless prayers and dreams. A laundry and wash room in the church grounds, opposite the church building, would mean church members could wash the clothes of needy people, including children, elderly people, the physically-disabled and homeless people. There is a great need for this service, and consequently it provides an opportunity to serve people, offer friendship, share the good news of Jesus and to invite them to church meetings. This project promises to be well supported, with many women in the church family having a real heart for this ministry. +44 (0)117 961 5161 / www.ten-uk.org
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You and Europe
Transform Europe Now works across 15 European countries with around 70 Partners, so if you or your church wish to make a difference in Europe you don’t have to go it alone. Church partnerships, short-term teams, special church services, volunteering, targeted prayer and financial support—there’s something for everyone! Countries we operate in include:
Our prayer for Europe: Heavenly Father, We are amazed at the many ways your love is shown to a hurting world. Each opportunity offers a reflection of the love shown when you sent your Son, Jesus Christ. Thank you for touching the lives of so many children and young people at this year’s summer camps. We praise you for the hundreds of people contacted in the streets and especially those who put their trust in Christ.
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As our partners go into all the world to bring good news, we pray for your wisdom to guide them, your watchfulness to protect them and your strength to sustain them. May your Holy Spirit continue to inspire the churches across Europe to reach out into their communities with evangelical zeal and compassionate care for your glory. Amen
Transform Europe now / October – December 2017
Prayer Diary
Prayer Diary
October – December 2017 October 2017 1 / Tomislav Dobutovic, Bosnia & Herzegovina: Please pray for the follow up on over 20 students from the summer English Course who expressed the desire to know more about Christ. 2 / Pray for the Alpha course in Sarajevo starting in October and for the salvation of participants. 3 / Please pray for financial provision for the Bible School of Kosovo as the students grow in knowledge and pray for God’s guidance.
10 / Pray for the church in Pascini to be able to give warm meals three times a week to a group of up to 25 children from socially vulnerable families and also to teach them from the Bible. 11 / Pray that God would help the church buy a fridge and cooker for the kitchen along with tables and crockery for the church building in Pascani, so we can cook meals for the children. 12 / Pray for Fiodor as pastor of the church in Pascani and that he would know God’s wisdom and guidance.
4 / Please pray for the Bible Institute and its students, the courses, the raising up of new leaders and the encouraging of the current leadership.
13 / Beredi Dusan, Serbia: Pray for the work of the Rehab centre for heroin addicts, for the salvation of guys and girls and that all places will be filled.
5 / Pray for the future schooling needs of Tomislav and Lidija’s son.
14 / Pray for finances and future sustainability of the Rehab Centre. In Novi Sad which is free of charge for the users.
6 / Slavko Hadzic, Bosnia & Herzegovina: Pray for God’s blessing on the Langham Preaching Seminar level 1 in the Mostar Bible School 7 / Pray for Slavko as he facilitates the Langham Preaching Seminar in Serbia, level 2. 8 / Fiodor Parpalov, Moldova: Pray for unity to be restored in the church based in the village of Pascani. 9 / Pray for the children’s ministry in Pascini following our summer camp and for volunteers who need help with their education.
15 / Pray that God will use the team from America who will be engaged in street evangelism and working with young people in Novi Sad. 16 / Please pray for our series of seminars and training for people from Serbia and further afield who work with drug addicts. 17 / Pray for TEN’s speakers, staff and partners as they travel to Sofia, Bulgaria for the International Partners’ Conference.
18 / Pray for the threeday International Partners’ Conference organised by TEN in Sofia, Bulgaria 19 / Dragan Manev, Macedonia: Please pray for our new church plant in the town Resen where we relocated to this summer. 20 / Pray for Daniel and Marija as they start school in their new town of Resen, Macedonia. 21 / Pray for the Holy Spirit’s guidance for our brother Ljupco from Resen who plans to attend Bible School in Serbia. He is a ‘first-fruit’ believer in the church plant. 22 / Mirco Andreev, Macedonia: Please pray for the upcoming restoration conference in Skopje where many people are expected to renew their faith in God. 23 / Pray for the women who attended the recent ANA conference that was truly blessed by God. 24 / Please pray for the meeting among pastors for a renewal of the vision for church-planting in Macedonia. 25 / Marino Mojtic, Macedonia: Pray for the finances to complete the purchase of the church building in Struga, Macedonia. 26 / Please pray for a dear sister who is in need of an artificial arm that would cost in excess of 20,000 Euro.
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Prayer Diary
Lidija & Tomislav Bosnia & Herzegovina
Slavko & Sanja Bosnia & Herzegovina
27 / Pray for the 50% finance needed to complete the church property in Strumica, Macedonia. 28 / Gavril Covaci, Romania: Pray for the Roma people being reached in the villages of Andrid and Priscot in Romania. 29 / Pray for an indoor meeting place with benches in the villages of Andrid and Priscot in Romania. 30 / Pray for funds to build a toilet block in the Roma community of Vășad and food for the coming Winter. 31 / Slavko Hadzic, Bosnia & Herzegovina: Pray for the Reformation Anniversary events taking place today in Sarajevo.
November 2017 1 / Marinela Murg, Romania: Please continue to pray for the patients and families in the care of Emanuel Hospice that their suffering may be alleviated. 2 / Pray for the clinical team at Emanuel Hospice to be equipped with the resources they need as they respond to the needs of the patients. 3 / Pray for the managerial and administrative team of Emanuel Hospice to be guided by God as they fulfil their daily tasks.
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Fiodor
Moldova
Dusan Beredi & Family
Dragan & Biljana Macedonia
Nada & Mirco Macedonia
Serbia
4 / Continue to pray for the building works at the new hospice centre and for more supporters to help with the project.
12 / Pray that the Lord would give Light for the Nations church a new strategy to win the lost in the city of Korçë.
5 / Hervin Fushekati, Albania: Please pray for the new students enrolled at the International School of theology and Leadership.
13 / Besa Shapllo, Albania: Please pray that God would give maturity and wisdom for the upcoming Mission Possible projects among the people of Bathore, Tirana.
6 / Pray for added funds to support the double growth of student places at the International School of Theology and Leadership. 7 / Pray for the church in Tirana to grow in strength and to be a blessing to the local community. 8 / Slavko Hadzic, Bosnia & Herzegovina: Pray for Slavko as he travels and speaks this week at evangelistic events in Prague, Czech Republic and Bucharest in Romania. 9 / Marinela Murg, Romania: Pray for the charity concert “Voices for Emanuel Hospice” which will be organised on November 10th by Emanuel Hospice in collaboration with Emanuel University- Department of Music. 10 / Marsel Firanj, Albania: Please pray for unity and a growing sense of family at Light of the Nations in Korçë, Albania. 11 / Pray for increased giving among the church members to honour God and support the work of the church in Korçë.
Transform Europe now / October – December 2017
14 / Please pray for the children from Bathore who attend the ‘Miracle’ Bible Clubs. 15 / Pray that the Mission Possible Albania team would be filled with God’s love as they serve the people of Bathore. 16 / Pray for the members of the book club as they discuss Christian books loaned by Mission Possible Albania. 17 / Erion Cuni, Albania: Pray for the different programmes now running in the Youth Centre in Tirana and that the seeds of eternal life would be planted. 18 / Please pray for the church plant in the town of Polican, Albania and the main services that have commenced. 19 / Pray for the new men’s group in the prison who are studying Prisoner’s Journey and that they will find Jesus, the Son of God.
Prayer Diary
Marino & Vesna Macedonia
Hervin & Sedika Albania
20 / Pray for God’s grace upon Erion and Gentiana Cuni and their family and for divine protection as they minister each day. 21 / Vance Golomeov, Macedonia: Pray for the new people coming along to the church in Stip and for the children attending the school. 22 / Pray for the plans for a new church building in Stip, Macedonia and for favour to be shown by the authorities. 23 / Pray for the church in Sveti Nikole in Macedonia and for the work of Krste and Marina. 24 / Pray for God’s protection on the family of Vance and Tanja, Ana, Stefan and Andrej and especially at school. 25 / Pray for the salvation and healing of Vance’s mother who has suffered illness for more than three years. 26 / Serghey Mihailov, Moldova: Pray for the Metamorphosis Programme run by Beginning of Life for single mothers, teenage girls and victims of human trafficking. 27 / Pray for all those attending the Early Learning Centre and especially for the Psychological Art studio class.
Marinela (EH) Romania
Marsel
Albania
28 / Pray that the social enterprises operated through the Art Story Shop in Moldova will attract increased orders and create more employment. 29 / Pray for open hearts among the many beneficiaries of Beginning of Life in Moldova. 30 / Pray for the team of social workers working with young people across Moldova as they build healthy moral and spiritual values.
December 2017 1 / Danijel Mrsic, Croatia: Pray for wisdom and guidance for the elders at the Good News Church in Split. 2 / Pray for the house groups and outreaches taking place in Split. 3 / Andrei Ghidion, Moldova: Pray for the builders constructing the new Foster Family House in Burlacu and for the family and children who will live there. 4 / Pray for the new home groups organised for people interested in the gospel in Burlacu, Moldova. 5 / Pray for God’s protection on the Day Care centre, Speranta and upon all those using the facility.
Besa
MPA, Albania
Vance & Tanja Macedonia
6 / Please pray for the many people in Burlacu who have heard the gospel but remain far away from the Lord. 7 / Slavko Hadzic, Bosnia & Herzegovina: Pray for Slavko as he speaks at evangelistic events in Slovenia 8 / Pray for the speakers and attendance at Circle of Women outreach events in Sarajevo. 9 / Anatol Dunas, Moldova: Please pray for God to open hearts in Larga where we have started to plant a new church. 10 / Two young people, Victor and Tatiana who have recently come to faith and been baptised. Please pray that they will grow strong in God and be effective witnesses. 11 / Paul and David are the sons of Anatol and are currently in the USA. Pray that they will follow God’s calling on their lives. 12 / Pray for Petru and Leonida, the house parents for children who will live in the family house under construction through the Transformation of Souls project. 13 / Pray for the orphan children who will live with Igor and Tatiana in the recently built family house in Cahul.
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Prayer Diary
Eva & Danijel Croatia
Andrei
Anatol & Nadea
Moldova
14 / Please continue to pray for the new, 100-bed camp building under construction and planned to be completed before the summer of 2018. 15 / Pray for the financial provision to complete all building projects undertaken by Emanuel Church in Cahul, Moldova. 16 / Erion Cuni, Albania: Pray for the Christmas activities in the Youth Centre and also in the church plants of Allias, Fushe Mezez and Polican.
Moldova
Erion & family Albania
Dessie & Anatoli Bulgaria
22 / Gavril Covaci, Romania: Pray for good health and strength for Gavril and Aghi and for ongoing resources to support their travel to the mission churches. 23 / Erion Cuni, Albania: Pray for the poor and needy families in Tirana during the Winter that the Lord will provide for them through the cold months. 24 / Pray that the TEN staff team will be refreshed during the Christmas holiday.
17 / Anatoli Yankov, Bulgaria: Pray for believers to have a greater passion for God and zeal for mission.
25 / We thank You for the precious gift of your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ who makes all things possible.
18 / Pray against spiritual attacks of depression and apathy on believers in Shishtov.
26 / Pray for TEN’s trustees as they pray and make decisions about the future of Transform Europe Now.
19 / Pray that God would raise up many more workers to help with the work of the church in Shishtov. 20 / Pray for Bulgaria’s need of economic development, creation of more employment and increased salaries. 21 / Please pray for God’s provision for transport as our car keeps breaking down with costly repairs.
27 / Give thanks for all the faithful supporters of TEN across the UK and further afield.
Gavril
Romania
Serghey
Moldova
30 / Pray for wise distribution of funds donated through TEN’s WinterHelp appeal. 31 / We praise you for all You have done during 2017 through our partners across Europe.
PRAY WITHOUT CEASING We invite as many of you as possible to join us in prayer each weekday at 10am as the staff team bring these prayer requests before the Lord. Please encourage your church to pray for Europe in these days and to make full use of the Prayer Diary.
28 / Serghey Mihailov, Moldova: Pray for more openings for Beginning of Life across public schools, gymnasiums and lyceums of Moldova
Would you like to join our confidential network of prayer intercessors? Contact the office for more details.
29 / Pray for financial support of the significant workload of Beginning of Life across Moldova.
E info@ten-uk.org
T 0117 9615161
Go online to read and share each day’s prayer request www.ten-uk.org/join-us-in-prayer
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Available on PC, tablet and smartphone
Transform Europe now / October – December 2017
Transforming Europe – one life at a time
Sight restored in
Moldova The arrival in Moldova of the Project Bartimaeus team of optometrists and ophthalmologists from Poland had been much anticipated.
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ver since their visit last year, interest had grown in the local community of Gotesti and none more so than among the Baptist church congregation led by Ruslan and Larisa Telpiz who were to host the team. When Ruslan first met the team of Christian opticians he invited them to visit Gotesti and help meet the needs of local people struggling with eyesight problems. The volunteer team from Poznan in Poland are on a mission to reach people’s hearts with the gospel as they examine their eyesight and prescribe the correct glasses for free. Back in Poland the team raise awareness of their mission by speaking at schools, universities and in local communities. Over the five-day mission in Gotesti, two teams of doctors carried out over 250 consultations in the Baptist church building, each lasting around 20 minutes. The church members were involved in all the aspects of this ministry, including organisation of patient lists, and providing meals and accommodation for the team. Everyone invited their friends, relatives and neighbours, and priority was given to the children from Day Care Centre and their parents. Ruslan said, “I was surprised to see people who once persecuted us for our faith attending our church for a medical
Photo credit: Richard Nungesser
consultation and with a different attitude. They were able to see by our behavior, the care and love we had for them and we were able to share the gospel. I was also impressed by the team’s attitude and touched by their love and patience towards each person. Some of the people were old, others bad smelling, hard of hearing or giving wrong answers to their questions, but the opticians were always full of compassion. Every person given a prescription will return to the church in October to receive their new spectacles. We prepare songs and a Bible message. Most of them haven’t heard a Christian song or a Bible message in their lives. For that day we pray because they’re going to come for sure.” +44 (0)117 961 5161 / www.ten-uk.org
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Transforming Europe – one life at a time
Harvest for the
Hungry
TEN’s Harvest for the Hungry fundraising appeal is celebrating 25 years and launched its ‘I WAS HUNGRY’ 2017 campaign at St Stephen’s Church in Bristol BS1 1EQ on Thursday 20th July.
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ee Barnes, Priest-in-charge, welcomed everyone to St. Stephen’s, including trustees, ambassadors, staff and volunteers. CEO Gerry Partridge spoke of the early days of Harvest for the Hungry / Euro Aid, and interviewed two stalwart pioneers of Eurovangelism, Gary Cox and Derek Wade who recounted their experiences of delivering food parcels across Eastern Europe. He also thanked UK churches and individual donors for their generous support throughout the past 25 years.
Derek Wade, Gary Cox and Gerry Partridge
Harvest for the Hungry has raised over £2.6m in food donations and gifts of cash, enabling over 250,000 people to be fed. This significant ministry to the poor has enabled TEN’s partners to demonstrate the love of God and to share the good news of Jesus Christ with thousands of needy people. Gerry announced that TEN hopes to raise at least £25,000 over the coming months to enable the partners across Europe to bring food parcels to those living in poverty and to provide hot meals for children in dire need.
For more details of the 2017 appeal visit www.harvestforthehungry.org 16
Transform Europe now / October – December 2017
HELPING TO SPREAD THE MISSION OF TEN
TEN Returns to Keswick Convention Each year TEN exhibits at one or more major Christian events to meet supporters and to raise awareness of the work in Europe. It had been some years since TEN had exhibited at the annual Keswick Convention.
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he 2017 theme was “Captivated – hearing God’s Word” to mark the 500th anniversary since the Protestant Reformation and Martin Luther’s dramatic protest at the gates of Wittenberg Castle Church. There was also an emphasis on the need to pray for revival in Europe, despite being such a great missionary sending continent during the last two hundred years, to bring the church back to Biblical truths and values. Keswick Convention attracted over 15,000 visitors during the three-week programme which was aimed at adults, youth and children. Representing TEN in Week Two was Bob Northey, Communications Officer and in Week Three, Melanie Griffiths, Supporter Relations & Funding Development Officer. Each afternoon and evening, Bob and Melanie were located at the TEN exhibition stand in the Basecamp on the Rawnsley site.
Bob reported, “What a joy to meet so many visitors at the TEN stand and to share about the work of TEN and of my recent visit to partners in Montenegro. There were sign-ups to the TEN magazine and E-news and interest shown in teams and fundraising. Our give-away copies of TEN’s book of testimonies, Tenacious were very much appreciated.” Melanie met some supporters, including Gordon and Anne Crompton from Hull, and Melvin and Maureen Dover from Penrith. She was invited to share about TEN at the Tuesday early morning prayer meeting which focussed on Europe, and was surprised and thrilled to meet up with people that she hasn’t seen for 30 years! “It was a privilege and a blessing to meet up with faithful supporters from TEN who have been actively involved with Eurovangelism/TEN over many years, and a great encouragement to be invited to the prayer meeting to share about TEN and to see 30 people gathered to pray for our work and for mission across Europe.” As a follow up to our visit to Keswick, we are hoping to support an event for Harvest for the Hungry’s 25th Anniversary in the Cumbria region this year. If anyone is interested, please contact Melanie Griffiths at: melanie.griffiths@ten-uk.org
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Reaching a nation with the gospel
Impact Montenegro Impact Montenegro took place on July 2–9 in seven different locations of the small and beautiful nation of Montenegro, namely in the capital Podgorica, Tuzi, Niksic, Ulcinj and the coastal towns of Bar, Budva, Kotor.
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Just some of the 150 volunteers who supported Impact Montenegro
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praise reports:
Impact Montenegro was a great encouragement for the local believers and will be beneficial for future projects in the nation. God gave favour with the cities’ authorities in the seven towns covered.
Hundreds of significant conversations took place and many contacts are now being followed up by the local pastors and missionaries.
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onducted under the auspices of the Pentecostal European Fellowship (PEF), local leaders, including TEN partners, Jovica Bacvanski, Vladimir Cismanski and Daniel Stracinski, described the summer outreach as being of historical significance. Before dispatching the teams in the various cities, training and prayer sessions were held at the University Hall in Podgorica, featuring inspirational messages by PEF Chairman Pelle Hornmark (Sweden), PEF Executive Director Daniel Costanza (Belgium) and Tom Benigas (USA) as well as practical workshops with Veera Hug (Finland), Markku Ovaska (Finland) and Stefan Ross (Germany). Beside the natural beauty of Montenegro with its total population of only 600,000 people, the teams were struck by the extreme spiritual poverty. Local evangelical leaders estimate the national evangelical presence to be around 150 people, making Montenegro the least evangelized country of Europe. Clearly, this outreach was an opportunity to speak words of life over spiritually dry ground. Teams found that the people were usually quite cold, indifferent, and difficult to approach. In spite of a rather hostile climate at times, the Lord touched many hearts, including Muslims in the Albanianspeaking areas.
The climax of this outreach week was the open air evangelistic concert held on Saturday night in one of the main squares of Podgorica, where hundreds of people had an opportunity to hear the Gospel through music, drama, testimonies and personal contacts.
The full cooperation between Balkan teams from Albania, Croatia, Kosovo and Serbia was very evident.
Report by Daniel Constanza, PEF
Transform Europe now / October – December 2017
INNOVATION IN THE BALKANS
Literacy Evangelism in
Macedonia Working with people who cannot read and write, and therefore are unable to directly understand the Bible, Dragan Manev started to work together with Literacy Evangelism International from Tulsa, USA on the preparation of two books using the Cyrillic alphabet for Macedonian people.
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ur Macedonian team comprises myself, Dragan and my wife Biljana, my TEN colleague Tefik Musoski, along with Igor, Anastasia and Svetlana. The USA team is led by Bob Biederman and ably assisted by George and Martha Ort and Virginia Newton from neighbouring Bulgaria. The purpose of these books is to help Macedonian people, who are illiterate, to learn their language and then move on to read the Bible for themselves. These books will not be the kind used to teach young children to learn to read and write. The target group are the adults who never had the opportunity to learn to read and write and especially the large number of Roma people resident in Macedonia. During the process of learning through these books they will discover the good news of Lord Jesus Christ.
Bob Beiderman (centre), George and Martha Ort (RH), Virginia Newton and Tefik Musoski (LH)
Work on the books is well on the way and the first half of the 72 lesson primer will gradually introduce new letters. Using these letters we write out words and with these words we create stories. The vocabulary is carefully controlled, otherwise the lessons become too difficult for the new reader. In lesson 12 we introduce the name of Jesus and have a short story about Him in every subsequent lesson. We named these books ‘The Way to the Light’. This title is also our prayer and hope that the people not only learn to read and write but become able to read the Bible for themselves and come to know the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour and Lord. After both books are printed we will start to train volunteer Macedonian believers to use these books with local people.
TEN Partners, Dragan Manev and Tefik Musoski (LH) with Literacy Evangelism International team (USA) +44 (0)117 961 5161 / www.ten-uk.org
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TRANSFORMING LIVES - ONE LIFE AT A TIME
English Café in
Montengro English Café takes place at Mosaic Living Centre in Bar, Montenegro. It’s a place, where on a Friday evening from 6pm–9pm, local people of all ages can meet together to learn and practice the English language.
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lasses are based on everyday topics such as travel, sports and food and held in a warm, friendly and relaxed atmosphere. The activity attracts people from different backgrounds and cultures, including Serbians and Ukrainian refugees. Facilitated by English-speaking volunteers from Operation Mobilisation such as Libby from far-away Barbados, English Café is a unique bridge between the community and the local church. There is a great interest among young people in learning English.
Libby, Operation Mobilisation Volunteer from Barbados
TEN Partner, Daniel Stracinski reports, “The Café offers an opportunity for Christians to meet, help and get to know people from Orthodox and Muslim backgrounds who have never been to an evangelical church. “With music playing in the background, participants are offered drinks and snacks throughout the evening. A place to take part in games to help them feel comfortable, before joining structured discussion groups, where they can freely share their opinions and experiences from life. “By building friendships some attendees have already begun to come along to Sunday meetings and some young people are already part of the church. One young man who regularly attends English Café now brings his friends along. He has become a devoted believer even he bring his parents to church. The growing church in Bar is eager to use all opportunities to engage with the local community for God’s glory.”
“Thank God for Wi-Fi, smartphones and Google Translate!” laughed Natja Sachse from the OM team in Bar, Montenegro. Every Sunday, up to 35 adults and 10 kids of diverse nationalities squeeze into the morning worship service at the team’s base, called The Living Room. The team is hoping that their meeting will soon be registered as a church and called Mosaic.
“I love that word ‘mosaic’,” says Natja. “It’s a mirror of who we are as a group—such different people, from different parts of the world, but still the one God puts us all together like little puzzle pieces.” Many of the believers gathering on Sundays have fled the war-torn east of Ukraine. With evangelical churches being so rare in Montenegro, the Ukrainians arriving
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Transform Europe now / October – December 2017
ESSENTIAL GIFTS DONATED BY YOU AND DISTRIBUTED ACROSS EUROPE
Essential Gifts 2016 Thanks to the generosity of TEN supporters, our partners were able to purchase over 720 Essential Gifts valued at £13,400, as shown below:
Mosaic Living Centre in Bar, Montenegro
in Bar were glad to discover the OM worship services and share fellowship again. The OM team has already had to buy more tables and chairs so everyone can have a seat. “It’s beautiful but challenging at the same time,” Natja said. “Many of our guests don’t speak Serbian, and we don’t speak Russian, so we need to be very creative to achieve translation and understanding. That’s where technology comes in so useful.” Many of these families from the Ukraine don’t know what their future holds or how their homeland may change. They are in Montenegro in a transition phase, and that makes it hard for them to commit to a church. “But God still loves everyone through us,” said Natja. “And that’s why we want to embrace the challenges God gives us. In a mosaic, there is always room for one more little part. Our wish is that God will bring many more pieces into our Mosaic.”
» 100 Loads of Firewood » 90 Bags of School Supplies » 83 Items of Winter Clothing » 80 Blankets » 69 Food Hampers » 55 Pairs of Socks and Shoes » 54 Hygiene Packs » 39 Home Bundles » 31 Bibles » 30 Healthcare Visits » 24 Farmyard Animals » 20 Months of Soup Kitchen supplies
» 1 Hospice In-Patient Unit
INTERNATIONAL PARTNER CONFERENCE SOFIA , BULGARIA
1 7 – 1 9 O C TO B E R 2 01 7
RE ACHING EUROPE FOR CHRIST Please pray for all our partners Daniel Stracinski, church leader, Bar
+44 (0)117 961 5161 / www.ten-uk.org
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FROM REFORMATION TO TRANSFORMATION
Reformation 500th
Anniversary City officials in Zenica, the fourth largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina, have approved plans drawn up by TEN partner, pastor Dario Kapin of Zenica Bible Protestant Church, to celebrate the 500th Anniversary of Martin Luther and the start of the Protestant Reformation.
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he religious affiliation across Bosnia and Herzegovina currently stands at around 50% Muslim, 30% Orthodox and 15% Catholic. Evangelicals represent less than 1% of the population, so this unique opportunity for Dario to reach thousands of people is an immense achievement, for which we thank God. The recently elected city mayor, Mr Fuad Kasumović, agreed that a large Day of Reformation banner would be commissioned and displayed at a prominent location. The eye-catching banner is now ready to be displayed and is expected to create fresh awareness of the evangelical churches in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Dario has already been a studio guest on TV
Zenica and spoke for about 30 minutes, openly sharing his Christian faith and his plans for a Day of Reformation. On 11th September, Dario was also given the opportunity to address a large number of young people in the capital city of Sarajevo, to present the evangelical Christian faith and to explain the Reformation heritage. On the same day, the Jewish community in Sarajevo interviewed Dario for an article in their magazine, to highlight this ground-breaking initiative. Please pray for a positive response by the media and for Dario, that throughout the Autumn, God will enable many thousands of people to hear the truth of the gospel.
Reformation banner to be displayed in Zenica
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Transform Europe now / October – December 2017
GIVING TO THE FUTURE OF TEN’S MISSION IN EUROPE
Would you consider leaving a legacy to TEN? We are so grateful for the generosity and faithful giving of our amazing supporters over many years on behalf of TEN’s partners across Europe. Leaving a gift in your Will to a Christian charity is a wonderful way to ensure that your faith, love and compassion live on and reach out to future generations. We really cannot highlight enough how much of a difference legacy giving makes to the ongoing work of Transform Europe Now (Eurovangelism). Charitable gifts left to TEN in this way enable us to commit to future church-planting work, to sustain humanitarian aid programmes, to develop vital education projects and transform many lives across Europe long into the future. As Europe faces a growing spiritual void the need is immense. Evangelical Christians represent only 2% of the population. There are also tens
of thousands of families living in extreme poverty and almost one in five children are without basic essentials and live at risk. Making or updating your Will with your solicitor can be simple, inexpensive and ensures that your loved ones are looked after. It also makes certain that your wider wishes are understood and acted upon. Knowing that your estate will be handled with the kindness, compassion and certainty you have chosen, reduces worry and gives you the assurance of leaving a lasting legacy.
If you have any questions please feel free to contact our Supporter Relations Officer, Melanie Griffiths at the TEN office, for a confidential chat or to request an information pack and we will do our best to assist. Email: melanie.griffiths@ten-uk.org
Telephone: 0117 961 5161
+44 (0)117 961 5161 / www.ten-uk.org
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Gift Catalogue
2017–2018
Call TEN for extra copies of the latest Gift Catalogue or visit our online store: tel: 0117 961 5161 web: www.ten-uk.org/essential-gifts