Tuesday in Cluj (July 29)

Greetings from Cluj at the close of a fine Tuesday! We had a number of good studies today and part of the team was able to close the day by enjoying a meal in the home of one of our sisters in Cluj.

In spite of the fact that I have made 16 previous trips to Romania, I still experience new things. One of the more sobering of those new events happened to me today. We were studying with a young man of 30 years named Viorel. He is homeless, surviving as best he can living in what we would call a storage shed. Viorel works day jobs as he can find them. This being our first study with him we invested some time getting to know him and understanding his spiritual condition and level of Bible knowledge. He had several passages of Scripture that he wanted to read and one of them was James 2:1-9. It was heart-wrenching to have someone who lives on the street read words such as those to you. He will return for further study tomorrow.

Curtis continued studies with Rebecca and began discussions with a young man, Colin, a returning student. He has family members who are Christians, but they have been unfaithful for some time. He has been attending services recently and we pray that he will come to a greater understanding of the Gospel this week.

Our sister, Klara, provided us with a wonderful pasta dinner to close the day. She invited two of her colleagues (co-workers) to join us for dinner and we're grateful that she did so. We hope to visit with her friends, Marius and Benjamin, at the nightly services later this week. We are very grateful for her hospitality!

We begin the nightly services tomorrow night at the House of Culture for Students. For those who aren't familiar with that term, the House of Culture is a typical city auditorium and gathering-place in Romania cities. This particular HOC is located near the city center and several of the 12 or so universities located in Cluj. We have chosen the topic "Improving Your Family Life" and we hope to make a number of new contacts during these sessions. Please pray that our efforts in this respect will be fruitful, according to His will.

I want to close by offering a special word of thanks to a special lady. My good wife, Lisa, has been so patient and supportive of my work in Romania over the years. She has joined me here for one campaign, but has spent most of the past 10 years sending me away while she stayed home and cared for my kids. Tomorrow - July 30 - is her birthday and for the third time I will be in Romania as she celebrates her birthday. She has never once made me feel guilty when things like this occur, but I want to thank her for patient understanding of this work. Happy Birthday, Babe! I love you!

Until tomorrow evening...

Marty