ZBINDEN MINISTRIES, Inc.

204 Patricia Ln

West Frankfort, IL 62896

618-932-8221

www.zministries.org

 

Greetings in the Matchless name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

 

            Thank you so much for your prayers while I was in Croatia and Romania September 30 through October 17.  It was a very good ministry.  I taught “Spiritual Disciplines” at the Petrinja Baptist Church.  We had two sessions on Sunday, one each evening Monday through Saturday and then two on the following Sunday.  The meetings were well attended in spite of the fact that many people in one of the churches were in mourning.  We had people from two or three other churches in attendance as well.  There was a couple there visiting with John  and Lois Stefan (who hosted me).  Skip and Faye Wallace belong to the same church as the Stefan’s in Texas.  Faye is quite the musician and has a beautiful voice.  She played and sang at each meeting.

 

      

 

 

Sunday night Bro. Florin Muresan, my pastor friend from Romania, came down to pick me up.  We headed out early for Romania.  We arrived at Bro. Florin’s house around 8:30 Monday evening.

 

            Tuesday we went to Dretea and Bedeciu.  These are two small villages that are close together.  Because of their size, or rather, lack thereof, few people go to minister there and they always look forward to having a team come to preach.  Dretea is still carrying on the ministry to the few children that are in there village.

 

 

 

Wednesday we went to Baciu.  They have just called their first pastor.  They will dedicate their new building November 13.  They want Joy and me to be there since we were the first Americans to be in their mission and we have helped them over the years.  They gave Joy and me a special invitation to the “Opening Service”.

 

                         

 

            Thursday we went to the Gypsy church in Gilau.  It is always a blessing to worship with them.  They sing beautifully.  When a Gypsy is converted to Christ the change is very visible.

 

Friday evening we went to Topa.  They are now meeting in their newly remodeled building.  They continue reaching out to the few children that are in the village.  There were eight of the 12 in our service.  Pretty impressive when you figure none of their parents go to church anywhere.

 

 

 

Saturday morning we headed out to Ilva Mare at 4:00.  We took 4 plumbers to work on installing the heating system their new church building.  We didn’t get back to Cluj until after 1:00 Sunday morning.   Saturday evening I preached in a home in the nearby village of Ursoia.  I have been going to Ilva Mare for 10 years.  Their pastor Petru Manzat told a story in the service that I had forgotten about.  Six years ago when I was there he took me to their old building and told me how they were going to have to move because the legal paper work did not get done correctly when the land was purchased.  The lady they got the land from had died and her heirs informed them the land was theirs and they must get off.  Pastor Petru shared with me that they had a piece of land they could buy in a prime location for $5000.  Well, $5000 was a lot of money for me just like it was for them.  So I suggested we pray there and ask the Lord for the money.  A few days later when I got home the Lord provided the money through a man who is now one of my most faithful supporters.  I wish I had room to share the whole story with you, but I don’t.  After telling the story Pastor Petru said that I must come to their “Opening Service” on November 13.  He said if I didn’t have the money they would take up an offering.  I’m not sure he understands how much a ticket is but it was an offer from the heart and it was overwhelmingly humbling to me to be the recipient of such an offer.  So this is the second church I was told that I had to be there for their dedication service next month.

  

 

To make a long story short the Lord worked it out for me to get tickets for Joy and myself with my mileage.  So we will be there for the dedication services!  God is so good!

 

            Sunday morning I preached at Floresti Baptist Church where Pastor Petru’s son Christi is the new pastor.  That evening I preached in Bro. Florin’s church, Unu Unu (One One).  They were both wonderful services.

 

            Bro. Florin, his wife Simona and I left for Budapest to the airport a little after 9:30 Sunday night for me to fly out at 6:15 a.m. Monday.

 

As always, I want to thank each and every one of you who supports ZMI.  It is truly exciting to watch God at work in His world and a blessing to be able to obey His great commission. 

 

In His Love and Service,

 

 

 

Bro. Joe