Both Andi and I were born and raised in Constanta, Romania. We grew up in communism and our parents and teachers taught us that there was no God. The story of God is a fairy tale, they would tell us. We started dating in 1992 and it became obvious that we would have a better life if we left Romania. At the beginning of 1993 Andi’s brother obtained political asylum in the USA and we decided to pursue any means which would allow us to emigrate to the USA as well. After many failed attempts we have finally obtained work contracts on cruise ships and work visas for the USA. This was at the beginning of 1996.
We started, as a result, to deepen our knowledge of the English language and we would do anything to improve our English. At the beginning of the summer of 1996 we were walking on a street in Constanta when we saw an announcement on a lighting pole, that encounter was about to change our lives completely. It was saying: “Free English classes taught by American teachers. Call this number if you wish to attend.” We called the number of course and even though they had already closed registration by the time we phoned, they decided to accept us.
You have probably guessed already the “American teachers” were American Christians on a mission trip to Constanta. There were several missionary teams who came that summer to Constanta to minister to the youth and young adults who joined the English classes advertised all over the city. They would teach English during the day and they would invite us out in the evening when they would preach the Gospel. They were not allowed to talk about God during classes as they were taking place in an actual school which had been rented for the summer. Both Andi and I were saved that summer through the ministry of an amazing pastor from McCook, Nebraska and we have dedicated our lives to God ever since.
These missionary teams planted Grace Church in Constanta and we started to attend in 1996 and some of the new believers from that summer are still part of our body. In 1997 Andi felt God’s calling to become a pastor, but he knew that there will be a time of growth and preparation before entering his actual calling. We served in the church a lot and we loved it and enjoyed it as we were so young and passionate about Jesus and the Word. We had a dream though, to leave Romania and go to the Promised Land (the USA). When we got our contracts and the dates for our departure, we told our pastor (who was American) that we didn’t know what to do. He advised us to go and have the experience, and if God wants us in Romania, He will tell us.
While in the USA, God spoke clearly to both of us that He wants us in Romania. We came back, got married and started working in Constanta. We became more and more involved in the church and in 2003 we went to study theology at Ministry Training School, Hatfield Christian Church in Pretoria, South Africa. The experience in SA has changed us completely and God has laid a new foundation to our Christian lives. After 3 years in school we came back to Constanta and Andi was invested pastor of Grace Church. We have been pastoring Grace Church since July 2006 and our vision is to help people discover God’s plan for their lives and to encourage them to live according to His will.
Protestant churches are little islands in Constanta and evangelism in our city hasn’t bared much fruit over the years. The south-eastern part of Romania is a very dry terrain for the Gospel, people are either very religious (Eastern Orthodox) or very materialistic and atheists. We are praying and hoping for a miraculous breakthrough, although we had had times of discouragement and hopelessness as well.
Both Andi and I work, as well as pastoring the church, we have a custom-made furniture business and we run it together. 
I also teach English (tutoring lessons) and of course we raise three beautiful girls, Anda (18), Becky (16) and Catalina (8).
