In late October, one of ACCTS' staff members spent 12 days in Central Europe.  He writes: "Praise God for a fruitful and God-honoring ministry trip to Moldova, Romania, and Bulgaria! During the 12-day days (four of which were spent riding in a car), the Lord affirmed and blessed this trip in many ways:

Moldova (13 - 16 October) - After an overnight flight to Moldova via Munich, I arrived at Chisinau Airport on Monday, 13 October, with two suitcases containing 600 digital bibles (provided by ACCTS' partner Faith Comes By Hearing) for the Moldovan military and police. As I moved toward the final customs check before exiting the building, the Lord closed the eyes of the Moldovan customs official. Arriving passengers were supposed to present their bags for inspection. Right in front of me, however, someone cut in line, and the distracted official was concentrating on him. As I moved slowly forward, I held up my US passport, and he waved me through! My hosts, who were watching from the arrivals hall, confirmed that their prayers and the prayers of many others around the world had resulted in the safe passage of these digital bibles to Moldova. Later that day, the military church gathered at my host's home to praise God for a safe delivery.

Romania (16 - 19 October) - After a two-day drive of more than 600 miles, we arrived at Rehoboth Holiday House in northern Transylvania for the Romanian MCF conference - their eighth annual conference since their founding in 2007. Fifty Romanian delegates and representatives from Bulgaria, Germany, Moldova, Norway, and the US attended. The theme for the conference was "Jesus, the Light of the World" taken from John 1:7 and John 8:12. During the five sessions, members shared their testimonies, prayed together and enjoyed worship music. I brought greetings from ACCTS and offered examples of MCFs that provide outstanding programs for military spouses and families.

Bulgaria (19 - 22 October) -

Another road trip - with detours to view clothing donated by three Austrian military bases and temporarily stored in the garage of a Romanian MCF leader, and an overnight in the Bulgarian border town of Ruse - brought us to the capital city of Sofia by noon on Monday, 20 October.

That evening, the Bulgarian MCF, "St George the Victorious" hosted a meeting at the National Library to introduce a "Book of Testimonies" by international military Christians recently translated from Romanian into Bulgarian. MCF members and international guests learned how an Evangelical Romanian Chaplain had compiled the book, and along with other contributors, I gave my testimony.  Following the presentations, the author answered questions and autographed copies of the book.

Special blessings of this trip:

*Safe arrival in Moldova with my precious cargo of Bibles.

*Lots of time to encourage my host family and address some critical issues. 

*Praise for four days of safe travel on the roads of Moldova and Bulgaria, featuring excellent, in-depth discussions not possible at conferences with time constraints.

*That a Lufthansa pilot strike from noon 20 October through midnight 21 October did not affect my travel. If I had booked my return flight on 21 October, I would have been unable to travel, because the flight out of Sofia was cancelled.