It’s wonderful when Christian parents prayerfully name their children, especially when that name turns out to be prophetic.  Teofil Ciortuz (tay-oh-FEEL chor-TOOS) seems to be the prophetic fulfillment of his first name — Teofil, an eastern European form of Theophilus (see Luke 1:3 and Acts 1:1), meaning lover of God. One of the great blessings in my travels is to meet sanctified, joy-filled, no-nonsense servants of God, men and women who are loving and serving the Lord Jesus with all their heart, mind, soul, and strength.  Teofil certainly fits that bill.

Pastor Teofil is the second assistant pastor at Biserica Crestina Baptista Harul Lugoj (Grace Christian Baptist Church in Lugoj). Harul means grace.

Teofil earned his degree in mathematics and taught that subject for a time before he was tapped by the Lord to go into full-time pastoral ministry. Not long afterwards, the Lord opened the door for him to study theology in the United States, so with his wife and young family, Teofil moved to Wake Forest, North Carolina, where he earned a Master of Divinity degree from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He pastored in New York City for a few years, as well as planting a new church in the Philadelphia area, before being called back to Romania to serve the large Baptist church in Lugoj.

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2. Ruben and Karen Popet, founders of Beraca Foundation in Jdioara. A6′-2″ record-setting American college basketball center with a heart for missions in Eastern Europe marries a lucky Romanian fellow with a heart for abandoned and at-risk Romanian children. Ruben, Karen, Beraca, and the kids – a three-point swoosh!
   
3. An exciting update from Roy Olsen on the work at Apa Vie Ministries in Pestere. You may remember Roy from the KernelsOfWheat.com/b1 interview — but a LOT has happened since then!
   

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Podcast theme music: “Steam Train” from the John Williams album Dusty Porch, under license from Magnatune.com. Photo by Rev. Roy Olsen of Apa Vie Ministries, Romania. Map courtesy of Wikipedia, s.v. Lugoj.