MAIL FROM MOLDOVA

On Thursday, we will say a temporary farewell to our friends in Moldova, our house and our pets as we take to the road and begin our drive back to the UK for our official Crosslinks home leave. We will return to Moldova, Lord-willing, at the end of August just before school starts again on 1st September.

At the moment, you find us in the midst of final preaching engagements (Graeme will be speaking on Wednesday at our midweek meeting), teaching Bible studies, a youth group social, handing over of various ministries, endless lists, end of year school events, getting the house ready for house sitters and eventually we will get around to packing! We would appreciate your prayers for the next few busy days, especially as all three children are currently feeling under the weather.

We are really looking forward to seeing as many of you as possible this summer. You’ll find details of where we will be and when at the end of this prayer letter.

Thank you so much, as always, for your prayers. Here are some things which we hope will encourage you which show how God has heard your prayers and been at work in the hearts of Moldovans over recent weeks.

We sent out our last Mail from Moldova just before a conference was held in Chisinau with NASA and Christian astronaut Jeff Williams. Over the space of a week, Jeff shared his faith during many meetings with students, science academics and high level Government officials. His visit culimnated in a big conference at the national arena in Chisinau. Over 1,200 people came together to hear Jeff speak in more detail about his work; his testimony and about how being a scientist and an astronaut convinces him that God exists, is Creator and King. It was a really special day and we give God great praise.

Over that whole week, thousands of Moldovans heard the Gospel, in particular in areas where perhaps the Bible isn’t normally taught, for example, Moldova’s top science university or in the office of the Mayor of Chisinau. Praise God for this incredible opportunity, for Christians to follow up with the people they invited and pray for eternal fruit, for God’s glory.

On 16th May, over 260 people from 30+ different churches across Moldova and Romania gathered in Chisinau for our third national conference.

This year, we invited Pastor Jeremy Walker from Maidenbower to preach 3 sessions (plus a Q&A) on the theme of “Closer to God”. He spoke very clearly and practically on the gifts God has given us (individually and corporately) to draw closer to Him, such as prayer, the Bible and the sacraments. The sessions were translated simultaneously into Romanian and Russian.

The national conference only started 3 years ago but in that time we have seen partnerships significantly deepen between individuals and churches keen to preach God’s Word more faithfully. To see that deep fellowship and so many conversations taking place during the break-times as people mulled over what they’d heard is a real encouragement to us of how God is at work. It was also wonderful that so many people took sound Christian books home with them to read. We long for Moldovan churches not only to grow numerically as God calls people to Himself, but also to grow in spiritual depth and maturity.

The conference was predominantly funded by via the Crosslinks Mission Project 'AER Moldova' https://www.crosslinks.org/partners/aer-moldova/ . We are extremely grateful to all of you who have given money and enabled this conference to go ahead and bless so many Moldovans. We are already looking forward to next year’s conference!

One of our biggest encouragements this year has been the opportunity for Graeme to teach and train a group of Pastors and church leaders each month in the North of Moldova to better handle and preach God's Word.

At the beginning of May, was a “graduation ceremony” for the 12 men who have come each month over the past year.

The greatest joy has been seeing how much the men have grown in their ability to proclaim Jesus faithfully from the text. At the beginning, much of their practice sermons were moralistic, eisegistic, legalistic, or just largely anecdotal stories. After 10 sessions, these men have all come on leaps and bounds in their preaching! In particular, the younger men (those under 30) have been like sponges, soaking up all the teaching and training. Their sermons have been an utter joy to hear. A number of them are now taking up some preaching roles in their churches, and a few of them are actively preparing for ministry as pastors in their home churches.

Please pray for wisdom for Graeme and Pastor Adrian as they discuss what they should do next year and with whom. Also, there are requests for a similar Centre for Expository Preaching in Chisinau as well, which Graeme is now starting to think about, discuss and pray about as well.

At the end of April, we enjoyed spending a few days away with 60 or so other missionaries serving in Moldova at our annual missionary retreat. A generous church in Texas pays for all of us to go away for a time of refreshment, fellowship, teaching and sharing about our different ministries. It also sends a team to run the children’s ministry. The retreat is a great time to connect with other missionaries, to share, to pray, to laugh and is certainly one of the highlights in our children’s calendar.

The retreat is supposed to be a time of rest and recharging of batteries but Graeme ended up teaching every day (he tells Bequi this is his way of resting!). Graeme preached each morning from the book of Revelation and it was great to be reminded of the main point of the book that “Jesus wins!”. Graeme was also invited to speak on “End times” and how we interpret what is happening in the world at the moment, according to Scripture; certainly a challenge when there were lots of people there from different countries and Biblical interpretations!

We are so thankful for the Christians in America who enable us to go away on this retreat each year and spend time with other missionaries serving here in Moldova. It is a real blessing to our family.

We continue to welcome around 7 non-Christian Mums each time to our Mums and Toddlers group at church. This is such an answer to prayer! As we have started to get to know them, we have had some conversations about the difference between our church and the Orthodox church. Recently, one of the Mums who has been with us from the very beginning, Natalia, asked for a Bible to read at home. Please pray for her. We also gave some children's Christian books out to the Mums and we plan to start our own library with Christian books that they can borrow for their children. Some of the other Mums have also expressed an interest in sending their older children to a summer camp our church is running for 8-11 year olds in August. We are so thankful for these Gospel opportunities. Please pray for spiritual fruit.

Another huge encouragement for Bequi is seeing how God has used this group as an opportunity for her co-leaders to use their gifts and serve. When Bequi began this group with two women from church (Svetlana and Angela) last Autumn, she asked them both if they would be willing to teach the Bible story and to do the singing. She knew that they would be much better equipped at reaching Moldovans, especially with the language. One of them was willing to do the singing; the other felt too nervous to do anything up the front.

It has been a joy to watch both these women grow in their confidence over the past year and to see how incredibly gifted they are in serving in this ministry. The woman who does the singing also has an amazing ability to come up with all sorts of creative play and sensory activities. The children love her!

The other lady who was too nervous to do anything up front ended up having to do the Bible talk whilst Bequi was away on the missionary retreat and let’s just say, Bequi is not going to have to teach the Bible story again. She was amazing! She has a great ability to connect with the young children and to teach the Bible to them.

This means that over the summer, whilst Bequi is in the UK, the Mums and Toddlers group will continue every 2 weeks. Praise God, that Bequi can leave it in the capable hands of these two wonderful women. Praise God for their gifts and their eagerness to serve.

But after the summer, both these women will have to seek jobs to help support their families when their children start at kindergarten. Please pray for other women in the church, especially those who have recently had babies, to be willing to serve alongside Bequi and get involved in this ministry. We know that God is ultimately the One who is in control.

One of the hardest things about being away on home leave for 3 months is leaving our friends here and the people we do ministry with, especially our teenagers. It is a good reminder to us, and to them, that Jesus is One they need; He alone is their Saviour; He alone is the One upon whom they should depend, not us. But we will miss them very much and we ask you to remember them in prayer especially this summer. We end up being surrogate parents for a handful of them; many have end of school exams in June (equivalent to A Levels) and there were tears at the youth social we held yesterday at our house.

We are thankful how God continues to be at work in some of the teenagers' hearts, especially “Tatiana”. On Thursdays in 2026, Graeme has taught a series looking at the Lord’s Prayer and also at Jonah. Tatiana in particular has a lot of excellent, searching questions. We are going to encourage Andreea, the young woman who was baptised last summer, to try and meet up with her regularly this summer. For some of the other teenagers, who have regularly attended youth meetings for the past 5 years, the lure of the world seems to be dominating their priorities at the moment. They know the Gospel in their heads but please pray for God to open their hearts and for them not to just want Jesus as Saviour, but to bow the knee to Him as Lord.

Bequi has been really encouraged teaching through Acts with the girls on Wednesdays and seeing Jesus’ power through His unstoppable Gospel. We have been praising God that in His sovereign plan, the Gospel came to Europe and even Moldova! Bequi’s co-leader Natalia will continue to hold the girls’ group every Wednesday over the summer so please continue to pray for her and the teenagers who meet week by week.

As mentioned earlier, we will begin our drive back to the UK this Thursday. We will be travelling through Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Poland, Czechia, Germany, Belgium and France, arriving very late into Dover, God-willing on Wednesday 3rd June. Please pray for safety on the road and for travelling mercies, especially for Ella who gets car sick. Whilst our children are really looking forward to seeing their wider family and friends, going on holiday and to camp, some of them are feeling a bit overwhelmed about leaving the security of their home in Moldova for 3 months, to go to what is a “foreign, strange land” (albeit their passport country). Please pray for their sensitive hearts and for them to know God is with them, wherever they are in the world!

We would love to see as many of you as possible over the summer. You are all invited to join us for a special time of fellowship where we will be sharing more about our ministry in Moldova, at Christ Church Leyton on Saturday 6th June.

Sunday 7th June - Christ Church Leyton (morning)

Sunday 12th July - All Saints Church, Crowborough (morning and evening)

Sunday 19th July - St John’s Church, Walthamstow (morning)

Wednesday 22nd July - St Alkmund’s Church, Duffield (evening - presentation)

Sunday 2nd August - Townfield Church, Bebington (morning)

Sunday 9th August - St Alkmund’s Church, Duffield (morning)

Sunday 16th August - Spicer Street Church, St Albans (morning)

Sunday 16th August - Welwyn Evangelical Church (evening)

In our last prayer letter, we put out a request for places to stay this summer. We received a lot of offers and just feel so grateful for your love and care. Thank you SO much to all of you who offered us your house to stay in. We have all of our accommodation sorted and are so grateful to God for the way He has blessed us.

We look forward to seeing you soon, God-willing, and for reconnecting with you, and strengthening our partnership in the Gospel.

In Him,

Graeme, Bequi, Iona, Josh & Ella

P.S. A polite request - please do not forward this email or reprint it without our permission

• Give thanks for the Genesis conference and for all the opportunities Jeff Williams had to share his faith. Pray for Moldovans to be saved.
• Praise God for the national conference. Pray the God will use what was preached to strengthen Moldovan believers and churches in spiritual maturity and depth.
• Thank God for all the men who have attended the training Graeme has been doing in the north of Moldova. Pray that these men will become better handlers of God's Word and Pastors as a result, and everything they have learned will be a blessing to them and their congregations.
• Give thanks for a good time of fellowship and teaching at the missionary retreat,
• Give thanks for all the non-Christian Mums attending Mums and Toddlers group and the Gospel opportunities we are having with them. Pray for Svetlana and Angela as they continue to run the group over the summer months in Bequi's absence.
• Pray for the teenagers this summer that God would protect them and draw them to Himself. Pray that Jesus will be more attractive than the world. Pray the girls will still attend the weekly Wednesday Bible study. Pray especially for God to save Tatiana.
• Please pray for us as we leave Moldova this Thursday to return to the UK for our home leave. Please pray for safety on the road and travelling mercies
• Please pray that our home leave will be a time of physical and spiritual refreshment. Please pray that we will be a blessing and encouragement to all the churches we visit and individuals we meet. Pray that our partnership in the Gospel will be strengthened as a result of all these visits. Pray for God to sustain Graeme as he preaches a lot and all of us as we give different presentations.

The Orthodox church teaches people that it is a grave sin to attend any other church that isn’t Orthodox. Bequi discovered this recently when one of the believing teenagers from our church tried to invite a classmate along to a service and the girl was gripped by deep fear that if she attended our church, she would be committing a grave sin. We marvel at the fact that any of the teenagers come along to youth meetings or any Mums come along to Mums and Toddlers Group! Praise God that He is powerful and that no-one or nothing can stop the Gospel from spreading (a lesson we have been learning time and again on Wednesday as we study Acts with the teenage girls!)