May - June 2009 Newsletter

1Co 14:18 I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all:

I wish I could claim this verse. Living in Europe confronts one with a great many language walls. There are nearly as many languages as there are countries. Even if I were successful in mastering one I am still greatly limited. The good Lord gave me an idea many years ago when I first came to Europe on how I might at least make an attempt to jump over these walls. This past month part of this idea was fulfilled. In a joint effort with the artist, Cornel, in our church we made a very attractive wordless banner. It is four pictures depicting the plan of salvation in most simplistic artistry. The first shows a ragged man carrying a great burden of sin (ie. Pilgrim's Progress). The next shows a vivid scene of hell. The third shows Jesus taking the sinner's place with His cross and the last shows the burden nailed to the cross and the sinner free and happy. Then we made a corresponding tract to match. No words on the tract except the web addresses of our Romanian church and my web. The tract is the exact same four pictures with one fold. The rest must be left to the Holy Spirit.

Recently, I took two of my preacher boys on a preaching/missions trip up to Kiev, Ukraine and another city in Ukraine. We had a most wonderful preaching trip ministering alongside veteran missionaries Perry Demopolis and Tim Isbell. We preached, flew the banner and passed out the wordless tracts. Before that trip we had had only 4 hits on our Romanian church website from Ukraine. Shortly after the trip we recorded 243 hits from Ukraine. Someone examined the tracts…the rest is up to the Holy Spirit. If you surmise this to be a bad idea for some reason, I would love to hear a better suggestion on how to bridge this language barrier. Photos of this trip can be viewed on my website at www.streetpreaching.com in SWAT REPORT # 127.

Back home in Romania Bro Logan is doing a super good job dressing up our church. The inside is fine but the outside was horrible. Much labour and money has been given to make this building attractive to the sinners and saints who have been invited. Photos of this can also be viewed on the website. We will soon have a private entrance and sign and be worshipping in a very attractive church building. Praise the Lord.

The good Lord seems to be giving us a spiritual go-ahead on another developing church in a nearby city called Intorsura Buzaului. Don't cramp your tongue. We have a half-dozen adults and sometimes the same in kids meeting on Tuesday nights for Bible study. Robin and Mary make great efforts to give the kids a great study along with some wonderful crafts. I have gone through most of the basics with the adults and they have such a pleasant and humble spirit. We are praying and considering moving a step forward and doing some evangelism there and looking for a place to rent for regular services. Please pray with us and let's see if the Lord gets in this.

Personally, we are all enjoying a most pleasant and healthy summer. I am writing this from our patio. The temperature is most pleasant but it is clouding. In an hour we leave for the street meeting so I am concerned it may rain. In the snow…we go. In the rain…we restrain. If the sinners are out so are we.

Thanks once again to all who pray for us and support us financially. This economic debacle affects the missionaries too but my God is faithful. (Phil. 4:19).

Preaching, sometimes wordlessly, on the eastern front

Gerald Sutek and the SWAT TEAM for Christ 2Tim. 1:8, Amos 5:10