August 23
Dear friends,
July was a very busy month for all of us. Almost every day we had meetings in person and zoom meetings for equipment and counseling.
The morning of July 9, I preached in Akron, Ohio, in the church where I served for 8 years. In the afternoon I served in the church in Cleveland, Ohio. In the middle of July, we were visited by the Tanasescu family Nick and Debora and their children, Levi and Abigail. The Tanasescu family were missionaries for 10 years in Macedonia and now they have gone to Albania. They spent 10 blessed days with us, a time of sharing and equipping and strengthening for mission work.
On July 23rd I was invited to serve in 2 churches, in the morning at the church in Spartanburg, SC and in the evening at a church in Hickory, NC. At the end of the month, I was visited by pastors who requested counseling and clarification regarding the vision and work strategy for the spiritual work in their churches. On July 30, I served in two churches in Pennsylvania. In the morning in Reading, and in the evening I served in Philadelphia. The next day I met with some pastors from Lititz and Ephrata.
We have scheduled meetings with pastors and workers for equipping and counseling in August. And September and October will be even more busy.
We are preparing the 3-week mission in Europe, more specifically in Romania, Macedonia and Albania. In this mission I will serve together with my colleague Ethan and we will be accompanied by our friend and collaborator in the work Endri. Endri is in the discipleship and ordination program. The mission will be from September 12 until October 6. We need your support. Pray for us, as well as this mission, that the pastors we meet with will be impacted and the churches equipped for the ministry of the gospel.
Ethan is preparing for another year as youth pastor of Robbinsville First Baptist Church, and is developing the schedule and meeting with volunteer leaders to work toward a common goal of discipleship of the teens. He is also teaching a 12 week Sunday School class and continuing to preach regularly at RFBC.
The remarkable amount of rainfall we have received keeps our mountains green but, on our mountain campus with several miles of road, it makes access difficult. Since Colin is our only experienced mountain tractor driver on campus, he has been blading the entry roads so those who come for counsel can get to our apartments and offices.
Thank you for your love shown in a practical way towards ETM and implicitly towards us. With love in Christos Valentin Tent and the ETM Team. “The Lord repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given to you by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.” Ruth 2:12
