Following Karen Ross’s visit to Romania in February we are preparing to welcome Zsuzsi and Andor Ferko and who will be spending a week with us in Leeds shortly after Easter. Zsuzsi and Andor are (husband and wife) pastors at a Hungarian Reformed Church in the middle of Romania. They are known to a lot of us at MBC as they spent a year here shortly after qualifying as pastors. They will be accompanied by another Pastor, Lori and his wife Kata. They will all be joining us for the Sunday service on 12th April after which there will be an opportunity to meet them over a “bring and share” lunch.
We also have links with Manastur Baptist Church in the city of Cluj-Napoca in the northwest of Romania. We have recently had news from the gypsy church in the suburb of Floresti which we support through Manastur Church and which they say is going well.
“Dear brothers and sisters,
Warm greetings from Cluj. We are thankful to God for the way you partner with us, supporting the ministry in Floresti. The congregation is gathering three times a week. Sunday 10.00 and 18.00; Wednesday 18.00. The church has 38 members. Brother Hoca Iosif (former pastor), whom you supported, is sick in bed. Now they have a leadership committee of three people: Hoca Nicolae; Muza Nicolae; Muza Gavril.
May God bless you.”
Many of you will remember Florin Fodor from Manastur Church who together with his wife Dana and daughter Irene visited us 3 years ago. He works for Campus Crusade in Romania and continues to keep very busy. He has just returned from a deputation visit to the US and this weekend he is involved in organising a conference in another city for 60 teachers on the subject of “Life Beyond Teaching”, where they will address personal and inner life things that touch our lives. Earlier this year Manastur Church elected a new leadership team, and Florin is now serving on the committee.
Last year we sent a total of £4,250 to Romania. Of this £2,100 was used for young people’s summer camps in the three churches we support and £600 each for people in need, student bursaries and the gypsy church. In addition, we sent £2,000 to help with the needs of Ukrainian refugees who are attending Manastur church and £350 for Campus Crusade. We will be sending the funds available for this year at the end of April. Further donations are welcome and can be put in the church offering in an envelope marked ‘Romania’. If gift aided, cheques should be made out to MBC and again in an envelope marked ‘Romania’.