Moldova: A Bridge to Eastern Europe and Central Asia
By Cristian Oprea
By God’s grace in 2005, Source of Light International Romania started a work in the Moldova Republic, a former Soviet Union State. In this country live many who speak Romanian, and there are many strong believers. Mainly, the ministry is done through correspondence, and we do often receive letters of thanks from students there for the benefit of the lessons in their spiritual lives.
Our beginning was initiated through some enrollment coupons received from the Moldova Republic from a few students. We responded to these coupons by sending back the Light from the Gospel of John. After that, the correspondence continued with the next courses. From those few coupons the ministry began to expand in the Moldova Republic, as we received more letters and requests for Bible correspondence courses.
Meanwhile, Gabriel Vasileniuc started to be involved in the ministry there. He and his wife, a Moldavian, lived there for a period of time. The ministry has developed greatly, and the Lord blessed their service there. People have come to Christ through home groups and children’s camps.
One of the main achievements which, by God’s grace, has been realized, is that Love, Dating, and Marriage (the teen Bible study course) has been taught in the public schools in Chisinau, the capital of Moldova.
At this present time, there are 250 students in the Moldova Republic who regularly send in their Bible correspondence courses. Gabriel has passed the ministry baton to a young married couple, who continue to expand the ministry. In 2012, Angel Dragu, a SLM Romania missionary, took a ministry trip to Moldova. At that time, he was able to distribute SLM materials and to preach the Gospel in the Moldova Republic, in Ialoveni.
As we seek God’s wisdom for the future, a connection has been made through the Universitatea Divitiae Gratie. This University’s mission, in part, is to prepare Eastern Europeans and Central Asians for ministry. One of the goals for SLM Europe is to partner with these students to create a translation base and prepare these students to start Associate Discipleship Schools all over this region. Please pray for a ministry trip in 2019 to build on the relationships that we have in Moldova. Pray for the Source of Light efforts in Moldova as we look to develop a Discipleship Training Branch in Chisineau.
