EASTERN EUROPE
Since 1995 leaders from Aglow International (Britain) have made pioneering trips into Eastern Europe. Britain oversights, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova and Romania,
We have National and Regional leaders in these nations as well as local groups who provide opportunity for Evangelism, Bible Study, Prayer, Teaching and Practical serving within the local communities.
Aglow International (Britain) financially sponsors a Women’s Prison ministry in the Ukraine and a Children’s Feeding programme in Belarus. A local group of Aglow women visit the prison in Odessa, Ukraine each Sunday to bring teaching and encouragement to women who have become Christians in the prison. Larger meetings are also held on special days, i.e. Easter, Christmas many women hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ and receive His forgiveness and salvation. One such lady on her release from prison writes: “Jesus picked me up in a deep hole. I thought there was only one way from this situation – death, but Jesus showed me the way.”
Local Aglow women in Vitebsk, Belarus, prepare and serve a hot meal every week to 25/30 teenage children. They have a Bible study, prayer and time of fellowship together.
At the European Conference in Budapest in January 2008 we had opportunity to meet with 3 of the leaders from Eastern Europe – Marina from Moldova, Helena and Luda from Ukraine, and we heard from them how God is using this ministry to impact their nations. We have invited them to be part of our National Conference in Southport in October when you will have an opportunity to hear first hand what God is doing through this ministry in their nations.
Marina Samoil, the National Assistant regularly communicates with us on the work of Aglow in Moldova. It is a vibrant and growing ministry for the women of that nation. The Aglow ladies go into neurological and oncological hospitals speaking with the patients about Jesus’ love. After these patients go home the Aglow ladies continue to call them and meet with them.
During these summer months they organize outdoor activities, in villages, the city parks, wherever people can be found, they will meet and share the gospel. They also now go regularly into a rehabilitation centre, and are seeing change in the lives of the women they talk and pray with. Recently a group of Aglow women went to visit a teacher in a village, who was ill. They spoke with her about Jesus and whilst they were there the Director of the school invited them to have an Aglow meeting with all the teachers from the school. Afterwards they walked through the village and discussed with people their needs, they shared the good news of Jesus and handed out literature.
Marina continues to hold seminars around her nation, the latest being on the topic of “Unity between leaders”. This teaching is well received and brings understanding to the ladies on the importance of unity and also being part of a team. Their vision has grown beyond their own groups to understanding that Aglow in Moldova is a part of a global movement.
They meet together regularly for times of worship, testimonies and encouraging one another, meeting in homes, churches or cafes. As well as time spent together in prayer and worship, they are always ready to meet a practical need, under the banner of Aglow International in Moldova.
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Please continue to pray for Marina as she prays about the formation of a National Committee, and also as she plans a National Conference in Moldova in September 2008.
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Gwen Birkbeck and Anne Donaldson from the National Board of Britain visited Romania in April 2008 to meet with the leaders and Lili Leclu before she stood down as National Assisitant. Anne presented flowers to Lili as a sign of apprectiation. The work is very mature and stable. The leaders are creative and using many different ways to reach out with the good news of Jesus to those around. |
Whilst there the following testimonies were shared:
In Aglow Arad over the last one and a half years they have reached 91 women through their three groups. They regularly see people coming to faith in Jesus Christ. When they meet they share tea and biscuits, pray for specific needs, they do bible studies as the relationship with the new ladies develop. They have recently had a 53yr old woman come to the group who had a cyst on her hand. The Aglow ladies prayed and within 10 minutes the cyst had completely gone and the woman came to faith in Jesus because of her healing.
Aglow Suceava use the group to train new group leaders as well as pray and evangelise. They invite ladies who do not have any Christian faith or belief and recently one lady has accepted Jesus. She said that what drew her was the relationships and friendship she saw between the Aglow ladies
Elena from Alba Iulia Aglow shared her story of healing. In 2003 two ladies visited from Aglow in Britain with a view to starting an Aglow work there. They stayed at Elena home and that first evening went to the local church to share the vision. Elena watched as these visiting women hugged the dirty little children who were there and prayed with ladies with such love. She wanted to ask them to pray with her because she had suffered with Lumbar Rheumatism for 38 years since she was 10 years old, but she didn’t. That night she heard a voice say “I brought them to your home, why didn’t you ask them to pray for you”. She wanted so badly but she needed her daughter to translate and at that time her daughter had no faith. Elena battled with another voice “if you ask them to pray and you aren’t healed, what will your daughter say”. Later that morning her daughter went out and the two ladies asked Elena if they could pray for her. They prayed in tongues and one of the Aglow ladies from Britain began to sing a song of healing. Then her daughter came back. The ladies left the next morning and Elena went to church and she realised that she didn’t do what she had normally done to ease her pain, she was completely healed.
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Please continue to pray for the work in Romania and that God will raise up the right woman/women to run with the vision in this nation.
Please help to enable us to continue funding the leaders in Eastern Europe, the Feeding Programme and Prison ministry. We have seen how women and children are being blessed as they are ministered to by our Aglow women in these nations, and each of us can be part of this work as we pray and plant into this - if you would like to give to the work in Eastern Europe, send your money into the Aglow National Office or click on the link below to make an on-line donation.
