March Update

Flowers outside my apartment building

Greetings from Sighisoara!

There are already signs of spring here in Romania. The weather is getting warmer, my neighbors are preparing their gardens, and there are even flowers beginning to pop up all over the place.

Here is a brief update and prayer requests.


Manual Translation
In February, I participated in the Manual Translation Summit along with others from around the world who are working on translating the Manual of the Church of the Nazarene into various languages. I learned a lot of information which will be very helpful for us here in Romania. Since returning, I’ve resumed work on editing the parts of the Manual which have already been translated and am updating those parts with the 2013-2017 version of the Manual. Please pray for the continuing progress of this project, that it may be completed soon so it will be a great and useful resource for the Church of the Nazarene in Romania. (By the way, while I was at the summit, I had several unplanned “adventures.” You can read about them here.)

Discipleship Ministries. 
I continue to develop discipleship ministries for the Romania district. Please pray for these ministries, including the Bible study I’m leading Wednesday evenings in Sighisoara, for lay training opportunities this spring, and for the development and implementation of resources for children’s ministries.

Teaching in Bulgaria. 
At the end of this month (March 29-30) I will be traveling to Bulgaria to teach the class “God’s Mission and the Church” for those preparing for ministry through European Nazarene College. Please pray for the students who are beginning their pre-course work this week, for me as I travel and teach the course, and for others who play key roles in the course (translators, tutor, etc.).

Coming to the US
I am coming to the United States for the months of August and September for the purpose of sharing with churches about Romania and raising support to continue in ministry. I will be based out of York, PA, with a planned trip to Boston, MA, and a tour of the Georgia district. If you are in any of those areas and would like me to share with your church or small group, please contact me. I still have many openings in my schedule that I need to fill. You can view my schedule here: http://www.jepjon.com/p/speaking-schedule.html.

Thank you for your prayers!

Many blessings to you during this Lenten season. As always, feel free to write to me; I enjoy hearing from you.