Summer Ministry Update — Romania and Ukraine
On The Way To Ukraine
This summer, we experienced a full season of ministry in Romania and Ukraine, and once again we were reminded that a short-term mission trip can have a long-term impact when it is built around the needs of the local church and the strengths and gifts of each team member.
Building the Right Team
A short-term mission team is not simply a group of people traveling together. A team is formed intentionally and according to the gifts, abilities, experience, and strengths of its members.
We ask: What can each person contribute, and how can those gifts serve the needs of the national Christian missionaries already working in the field?
Our goal is not to come into a community and create something that will disappear when the team leaves. Instead, we come alongside national missionaries who are already planting churches, building relationships, evangelizing, discipling people, and serving their communities.
Each team member has a role, and each role becomes part of a larger purpose: strengthening the ministry that is already taking place and helping create relationships that can continue long after the short-term team returns home.
This summer, we formed several teams with different assignments.
Team One — Camp and VBS Ministry
One team served alongside national missionary Jonatan Moldovan, working with children through camp and Vacation Bible School.
Through Bible teaching, activities, worship, testimonies, crafts, games, and personal relationships, the team had the opportunity to share the Gospel with children and young people.
The camp was organized with different classes and teachers, and each day included times of worship and personal interaction with the children. These were not simply activities to keep children busy. Every part of the program was designed to communicate the love of Christ and the truth of God's Word.
At the end of the summer, we were deeply encouraged to see at least 40 children come to know Christ.
That is something only God can do.
Team Two — Building for Future Ministry
A second team, under the leadership of Walter Windsor, worked in the mountains at the camp.
Their assignment was construction: putting together a pavilion that will become a multifunctional ministry space.
This pavilion will provide protection from the sun and rain and will be used for many different purposes—classrooms, meals, crafts, meetings, fellowship, and other ministry activities.
What may look like construction work is actually an investment in future ministry.
The team was not simply building a structure. They were helping provide a place where future teams, missionaries, children, families, and churches can gather and hear the Gospel.
The work completed this summer will continue serving the ministry for years to come.
Team Three — Eyeglass Ministry in Romania
Another team worked directly with national Christian missionaries in villages through our eyeglass ministry.
Eyeglass ministry has become a valuable tool for opening doors and building relationships with people who may not otherwise come into contact with the church.
The process is simple, but the opportunities are tremendous.
People come to have their eyesight examined. They receive a pair of glasses according to their needs. But the ministry does not stop there.
As people come through the program, team members have an opportunity to:
Talk with them personally.
Offer counseling and encouragement.
Pray with them.
Give them a New Testament and share God's Word.
Register their information so that the national missionary can continue the relationship.
Invite them to church and other ministry opportunities.
The glasses may meet a physical need, but the greater goal is to open a door to meet a spiritual need.
We worked with national missionary Cornel Fogoroșiu in the village of Nou, where many people came to receive help. We also worked in another village with Daniel Petruț, using the same approach.
In the evenings, church services were held, and many of the people who had come during the day had an opportunity to hear the Gospel.
They were not only receiving glasses. They were meeting Christians, developing relationships with the church, hearing the Word of God, and being introduced to the message of salvation.
Our prayer is that these relationships will continue through the national missionaries long after our teams have returned home.
Team Four — Eyeglass Ministry in Ukraine
A fourth team traveled to Ukraine, where they carried out the same ministry model.
Each day, the team traveled to a different village, providing eyeglass examinations and glasses while working alongside national Christian missionaries.
Every village represented a new opportunity to meet people, hear their stories, pray with them, share the Gospel, and establish relationships.
Again, the eyeglasses were only the beginning.
The long-term impact comes through the national missionaries who remain in those communities. They can follow up with the people we met, continue the conversations, invite them to church, disciple new believers, and build relationships that can eventually lead people to Christ.
The Long-Term Impact
When we look back at this summer, we see much more than a schedule of activities.
We see relationships.
We see children who heard the Gospel.
We see people who received glasses and prayer.
We see villages where doors were opened.
We see national missionaries who were encouraged and strengthened.
We see a pavilion that will serve future generations.
We see churches being supported where missionaries are already planting and establishing God's work.
And most importantly, we see people responding to the Gospel.
When someone comes for an eyeglass examination but stays to receive counseling, asks for prayer, wants to know more about Jesus, or expresses a desire to receive Christ into their heart, we realize again that the real purpose of the ministry is not simply to meet a physical need.
It is to point people to the Savior.
That is the fulfillment that only God can give.
A Short-Term Trip With Long-Term Impact
A short-term mission trip lasts only days or weeks, but its impact can continue for years.
The key is not simply what the short-term team accomplishes while they are there. The key is what happens after they leave.
When we serve alongside national missionaries, we are investing in people who will remain in those communities. When we build a ministry facility, it can be used for years. When we meet a child at camp, that child can continue growing through the local church. When we meet a person through eyeglass ministry, the national missionary can continue the relationship. When someone hears the Gospel and responds to Christ, their changed life can impact their family and community.
This is why we form teams according to their gifts and strengths.
We are not going simply to do a job. We are going to serve the Body of Christ, strengthen the hands of national missionaries, and help advance the Gospel where God is already working.
As we look back over this summer, our hearts are filled with gratitude.
We can only say:
Thank You, Lord, for allowing us to be part of what You are doing in Romania and Ukraine.
The work belongs to Him.
The people belong to Him.
The harvest belongs to Him.
And our privilege is simply to serve.
Please read some of the testimonies from the kids that came to know Christ; https://www.piei.org/pavel-petihachny-blog
A short-term mission trip can become a long-term impact when we serve with the right team, alongside national missionaries, according to their needs, using the gifts God has given us—all for the glory of Jesus Christ.
Now is your turn to come
Cornel Stef
