God's Victory in Carna

Benjamin Faragau shared with SGA that “On 29 April 2007 at mid-day, in an open space between some of the sixty five houses that we had built from the ground up in the summer of 2006, over four hundred people had gathered for an open air baptismal service.”

The service was in Carna, one of the four villages in which they had worked after the floods last year, which had wiped out hundreds of houses in the area near to the River Danube. Twenty new believers were baptised before the surprised eyes of the villagers, who pushed forward to see the event for the very first time.

Over two hundred Christians from Cluj, Arad, Constanta, Craiova, Oradea, Baia Mare, Dej, Bicaz, Zalau, Cosmesti and other towns in Romania, came to celebrate God’s victory in the hearts of the twenty villagers. It was a day of great joy.

“We came from Cluj carrying with us 4.500 cabbage rolls, so the entire crowd could sit at the tables and enjoy a feast,” said Beni. “Walking through the village, even a full year after the floods, the poverty is striking. The warm meal was greatly welcomed, offering an occasion for discussions between the Christians and the villagers.”

With the onset of lwinter many houses were left unfinished, therefore the end of May gave the believers the opportunity to reopen the site. Their plan for 2007 was to finish the sixty five homes already started, but as they walked through the village they realised that many families spent the winter under the sky. They all praised the Lord for a mild winter. This urgent situation calls for building a number of new houses from scratch. They would also like to construct a building for the new church which came into existence as a result of the baptismal service that Sunday in April.

Something similar has happened in the village of Plosca, where on the first of April, thirteen villagers were baptised. In the village of Rast the church building is now ready for the roof.

“There are needs everywhere, so pray with us for wisdom,” asks Beni. “We are very thankful to the Lord for the financial help from SGA concerning this year’s project and for the prayers of all our brothers and sisters in the UK and Ireland. I remember the topic of one of the SGA conferences I attended many years ago: Help us to help them to help themselves. It is happening!“

Praise the Lord that all the material investment and physical effort is being transformed by God’s power into an eternal gain for God’s Kingdom.

Scenes from the open air service held in Carna in April, when many came to witness the twenty new believers being baptised

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