Half Marathon!

Hello Ministry Partners,

I do not know if this will interest you guys, but I was able to run a half marathon on April 1 (not an April Fools day joke)! I really enjoyed it although it was very exhausting.

This experience reminds me of Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize."

So I got my 'crown' (that will not last) for finishing the race and I did run trying to win (although I did not come close :-)). I am proud of my time of 2hrs 8min. I hope my running of this race encourages you to press on in the race of life that God has put before you that you might run in such a way as to get the prize. I think the writer of Hebrews puts it best in Hebrews 12:1, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."

My trip to Panama is just around the corner. I will be taking a team of 15 mainly made up of Liberty University students to David, Panama on May 25 - June 2. The team looks good. We have a few pastors and student evangelists, some people excited to work with kids, and we even have an international student from Peru joining us. She has actually worked with e3 in Peru so she will be a great asset to the team. I also have a good friend of mine from Texas joining me. Please keep this team in prayer as they finish raising their support and prepare for the trip.

Also remember to keep my trips to Romania in your prayers. I will be in Romania for the whole month of July practically. I will be heading out July 6 and not returning until August 4. I will be leading 4 trips back-to-back-to-back-to-back! I will start with a team from NJ and TN with a youth focus working in Bocsa, which is in the West of Romania. Then I will work in Galati where I have worked for the past 3 years. Then I will work in Resita. Last I will work in Deva (a new ministry area for e3).

I am always humbled when I think of who I am sending this message to. I know you all hold me up in prayer and are the only reason I can continue doing this ministry that I love. Thanks for your partnership!

Agape,

Chris Truax

Happy St.Patrick's Day

Here is a great message about St. Patrick's Day from Curtis Hail, the president of e3...

"How The Irish Really Saved Civilization

As Evangelicals, most of us know little more about St. Patrick’s Day than it is a happy occasion for many Irish, and many more who at least once-a-year wish they were Irish, to have too much beer and participate in a good-natured moving party called a “parade”. Even the most fervent Protestant among us might sneak a bit of green into our wardrobe on this occasion; if not to pay homage to Patrick, then to at least avoid being a kill-joy at the office or to escape a pinch.

In the revelry, the inspiring story of Saint Patrick is often lost. Even less appreciated is the spiritual legacy he left behind which indeed could be argued truly did save, perhaps even create, the western civilization we’ve known for a thousand plus years. Patrick was born in Roman Britain, probably in the late fourth century. At age sixteen he was captured by Irish raiders and taken to live as a slave in Ireland for six years. He escaped and returned home – and returned to serve in The Church of his forefathers.

Patrick, as a Christian missionary, eventually journeyed back to the land and people who once enslaved him. In Ireland, he ministered the love and good news of Jesus Christ to those who had so abused him. His sacrificial life and forgiving heart served as great testimony to the reality of his message. You probably know about this part of the story and how he went on to establish Christianity among the Irish, being remembered by all as St. Patrick by the eighth century.

But, do you know about his greatest spiritual legacy – the Celtic Church? George G. Hunter III, in his book, “The Celtic Way of Evangelism; how Christianity can reach the West…again”, describes well the unique characteristics of the Celtic Church and its incredible impact on Europe and the world. And he argues that these same patterns and principles, which were lost when the Roman Church finally overwhelmed the Celtic Church with its rigid, formulaic “Western” forms, can be utilized today to win again a pagan Europe – and others elsewhere unfamiliar with the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

The Celtic Church developed a missions approach to evangelism and church planting which is both biblical and historically significant. They moved in close to indigenous people, learned their ways and beliefs, befriended and served them. Then using language and models which the indigenous would understand, the Celtic Christians began to introduce Christ to the people, one at a time. As they thoroughly equipped the new converts, they instructed them how to win and disciple others. And they deeply and firmly established a new church in the indigenous community before moving on. These churches continued the outreach. And though they were encouraged to adapt their own cultural elements, such as worship and music, it was inevitable that the indigenous Church transformed their communities and cultures - not conformed to the Celts ways, but transformed to the likeness of Christ and what His people should look like in their distinct cultural context. The Celtic church quickly succeeded across Ireland and then proceeded across Europe. Hunter argues that the Celtic Church is largely responsible for the truly effective evangelization – and “Christianization” – of Europe.
What was the core of the Celtic way of evangelism? It was church planting! It was bringing the Gospel to people in forms they could understand and in a heart language that touched them. And it was establishing Churches with indigenous leaders, rooted in their own relevant cultural expressions. And it was training those indigenous Christians to continue on the good work as the Celts moved to the next community to begin again. This biblical, practical, methodical and highly effective approach produced a vibrant and multiplying church across the Isles and the Continent of Europe. That is as much responsible for what the West later gave rise to as anything else. Thank you Patrick and the Celtic Church for being faithful and wise, and laying the foundation for things which would arise generations later – a few of those little “Western Civilization” ideas like democracy, value of the individual including women, free speech…

So when you see Thomas Cahill’s not-so-tongue-in-cheek book title, “How The Irish Saved Civilization”, know that there is even more to the story. Have greater appreciation for the role of St. Patrick and the later emergence of the Celtic church planting movement as one of the great forces in human history. And realize that The Church of Jesus Christ urgently and desperately needs to return to many of the Celtic Church practices and patterns."

I hope this helps you celebrate the day, Happy St.Patrick's Day!

Agape,

Chris

Celebrating 20 Years!

Back in January, e3 Partners Ministry held its international conference which we have every other year. This conference was extra special because e3 Partners was celebrating its 20th anniversary! We actually flew in around 30 of our international coordinators to make it a true family reunion. We had a great time of fellowship and praise to God for all he has done through e3 (formerly Global Missions Fellowship). I would like to share with you some statistics and a great exposition from our e3 president Curtis Hail that I hope will cause you to give Glory to God!
Celebrating 20 Years of God’s Blessings…

______________________Yrs 1-18___Yrs 19-20_____Total
Campaigns Conducted_______952______253_______1,205
Americans Mobilized______17,359_____5,228_____22,587
Nationals Equipped_______51,038___209,455____260,493
People Evangelized____1,735,900__1,516,323__3,512,716
Professions of Faith_____491,499___528,859___1,020,358
Churches Established______4,452_____5,937_____10,389

Trusting God to use e3 to…

Equip 10 million Christians to
Evangelize 1 billion people and
Establish 1 Million Churches!

A bright tomorrow!

With 3,000 Americans mobilized annually and a budget of $4,000,000 we project the potential to see this doubled again in the next two to three years, as we could potentially...

Equip 600,000 nationals to
Evangelize 7.2 million people and
(winning perhaps 2 million to Christ)
Establish at least 8,000 new churches!

Remember - these are all First Generation stats and projections only!

From Curtis Hail [President of e3 Partners Ministry]:

"God has blessed us with a wonderful history and substantial ministry for twenty years now. We began taking just a few teams to Mexico in 1987 and now we take about 150 per year to some 30 or more countries. Over those two decades we have now conducted over 1,200 short term church planting campaigns, mobilizing around 23,000 North Americans (we plan to take another 3,000 people just in 2007!). Today, e3 Partners also provides the national church leaders Evangecubes, First Steps church planting materials and training resources so they can continue mobilizing their own churches year round – long after we come home or to places we can never get to with our U.S. teams!

We are thrilled to report that through the long and, now, comprehensive ministry of e3 Partners, we’ve been blessed to see one million people accept Christ – out of an estimated three million evangelized – as ten thousand new churches have been planted. (Sure, we know that not all the churches made it but we also know that many have gone on to plant multiple generations of daughter and grand-daughter and great-grand-daughter churches! Just like so many of the people in our Evangecube training have gone on beyond the training sessions to personally lead hundreds to Christ throughout the following year! So, we are only seeing and reporting the tip of the iceberg.)

God is moving in an awesome way around the world in these days. And so it is at e3 Partners as well. God used us to win about ½ million people to Christ and plant around 5,000 new churches in our first 18 years. Now, in just the last two years He has doubled those numbers to one million people professing faith in Christ and ten thousand new churches – again just as a direct, immediate result of the e3 Mission teams and the e3 Training strategy! And here is the amazing thing – today God has positioned us with the national leaders and networks on the field, the tools and strategy, the staff and infrastructure and now the experience to be able to double that again in just the next year or so!

We have the opportunity before us to equip at least 600,000 leaders and laymen in 19 countries to evangelize 7.2 million people. Based on the confirmed reports to-date, we can expect nearly 2 million people to receive Christ and we can help plant at least 8,000 new churches! By the grace of God! Here is all we are lacking, as God goes before us...

1. An army of Pray-ers to pray for these believers, for their nations, for e3 Partners and to pray according to Matthew 9:38, “Pray the Lord of the harvest to send forth laborers into his [ripe] harvest field.” Just imagine if one million people around the world prayed this prayer daily!


2. An army of 5,000 Go-ers who will go on one of our upcoming e3 Mission trips to help equip, encourage and mobilize our national partners in these countries – giving them the vision, experience and head-start to win souls and plant churches. (3,000 in 2007, but we should be taking more!!)


3. And Giv-ers – We are asking God to raise up an army of 20,000 financial partners to connect with these national leaders - empowering them with the resources to mobilize THEIR churches to equip, evangelize and establish! Sure, like Gideon, we need a few hundred major donors underwriting large national level strategies – and that is great – but we also offer everyone an opportunity to make a global impact at their own personal stewardship level. The blessings are open to all – and they all count equally!

YOU can make THE difference. Join with us as we partner with God and His people around the world. There is power in partnership – we’ve seen God use it to win a million and plant 10,000 churches. Let’s ask Him to use us to see that happen again in the next two years! All for His glory!"

THANK YOU for your partnership in this ministry!

2006 Year in Review

Check out my photo video montage of 2006 ministry @ http://www.christruax.org/chris.truax/yearinreview/


MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Wow, already another update...I'm on a role...

Hello Ministry Partners,

Thanks so much for your prayers and support! I thank God every time I remember you and get the privilege to call you a friend. Thanks for the encouraging emails in response to my last post.

Even though it has only been 11 days since my last post, my mission schedule for next year has grown and been shuffled around. I thought I would post again to get you all updated so that you could be praying specifically for each trip. I added a trip in March to Costa Rica. March 10-17 I will take a group of students from Dallas Bible Church during their Spring Break. I am still going to Panama May 25 - June 2. Recruiting still seems to be going well among the Liberty students. We have gotten a lot of inquiries, but none have actually signed up yet. I know now that I will be working in the city of David. David is the hometown of our main national coordinators the Vegas. I look forward to working with the whole Vega family. I will probably be traveling to Panama in April for a setup trip

Now onto Romania where the big explosion of campaigns happened :-). In my last post I told you I was doing two trips back-to-back in July. Well now I am going to do four trips back-to-back-to-back-to-back in July! I better keep working on my Romanian! I will start by helping Joe Barron lead a trip to Lugoj/Resita on July 6-14. I will lead the part of the team working in Resita. Then I will help out Craig Poston in Galati on July 13-22. Like the last two years I will lead the part of the team working with Emanuel Church. I will still be leading a student team to Bocsa, but it has been shifted back a week to July 20-28. I will finish off my excursion to Romania by co-leading a trip to Botosani on July 26 - August 5 with Gary Pettet. This will be my third time spending a month in Romania, but first time with four trips to help lead. To help me lead these trips I will probably travel to Romania in May for a setup trip. The dates above are the full dates of the campaign including travel days that is why they overlap.

I put the full dates because I want you to join me on one of my trips. So while you are praying about me and my trips, pray specifically about if God wants to use you on one of them. You might not feel adequate, but Christ in you is the hope of glory! You might be afraid to share your faith, but Christ in you is the hope of glory! You might not feel worthy, but Christ in you is the hope of glory!

The mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me. ~Colossians 1:26-29

Agape,
Chris Truax

Monday Ministry Mupdate...er...Update

Hello Ministry Partners!

Sorry it has been a little while since I have posted an update. Let me try to catch you up on what I have been doing...

As you know I got back from Romania August 3. At that time I was still thinking I had one more trip to end the year, but that trip was postponed a few weeks ago because our national workers were bogged down and could not handle a mission team at this time. That has given me some extra time to prepare for next year's trips. As you may or may not know I am still working on my recruiting skills for trips, I have had to cancel a few trips in the past because of lack of recruiting. So I ask that you pray that I allow God to build me into a better recruiter and also ask that you pray Matthew 9:37-38 as Jesus told us to pray for more workers for the harvest fields.

As of right now I have three trips planned for next year all during the summer months. At the beginning of the summer I am taking a team from Liberty University to Panama, May 25 - June 2. I am excited to say that with very little publicity and still being months away we have already had 19 people express interest. Please pray with me for a team of 30.

In July I will be leading two trips to Romania back-to-back. First I will be taking a team to Bocsa (this is the second city I worked in this summer near Resita) July 13 - 22. For this team I will be focusing on recruiting youth (high schoolers). We have just started running trips that are geared toward youth called 'epic journeys'. These trips will have the same ministry objective but we will spend more time discipling the youth before, during, and after the trip.

The second trip will be to Botosani July 26 - Aug 4. This is the city I visited after my mountain camp this summer. It is also the first city I did a trip to in Romania. The Christians we work with there are on fire and great to work with. Although in the past this has been a hard trip to recruit I believe God wants to raise up a large team this year. Please pray with me for a team of 30 or more. Another way you can help me recruit is to actually come with me yourself, and this is the trip I would encourage you to join me on.

In addition to planning next year's trips I have had a few other things to keep me busy. I and a few others have been assisting David Kaufmann who is heading up our 'epic' ministry with strategic planning and launching this ministry. Along with that I was 'hired' (because of my web design skills) to design a website for epic. As I got into the designing I decided I wanted to use a lot of Flash elements, but did not have a lot of knowledge in Flash. So for the past few months I have been learning Flash while designing in Flash for the new e3 epic website. Please check it out @ www.e3epic.org and let me know what you think.

Also one last and important thing to pray with me about, I have been looking over my support account and see that I have been pulling out more than I am putting in each month. Thankfully, I have enough saved up to continue like I am for a few months, but I need to raise some more ministry partners so I can continue my ministry into next year and beyond. I ask that you all pray that the Lord speak to the hearts of those He desires to fund this ministry, and He directs me to them.

I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. [Eph 1:16-19a]

Agape,
Chris Truax

Timisoara the town of Revolution

Hello Prayer Team,

The past two days in Timisoara have been very nice and relaxing (although a little lonely). I have enjoyed touring around Timisoara and seeing its sites. One of the coolest sites is the Opera House because this is where the revolution started in Romania. Pastors and others who wanted freedom from communist reign spoke from the balcony of the Opera House and people filled the courtyard to support the revolution. It was very cool to stand in this courtyard where the people cried out to God to save their country. It gave me goosebumps.
As you look the other direction away from the Opera House you see the beautiful Victory Walkway leading to the Mitropolitan Cathedral.
One of the other big tourist sites that is much more recently built is the Iulius Mall which I visited today. That's right I said 'mall'. And this mall was quite something, a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers New York this mall made many of the malls I have been to in America look pitiful. Here is a pic of the outside.
It has 4 levels and over 200 stores many you have not heard of, but many you have like Levi, Nike, Guess, Adidas, KFC, and Swatch. It has indoor waterfalls and fountains, a rock climbing wall, a swimming pool, ice skating rink, casino, and they will be installing a movie theater. It made me feel like I was in the US. It gets about 10 million clients a year.

So pray for me as I 'rough it' :-)! Actually do pray for safe travel for me. I start flying tomorrow morning at 6am which is actually 10pm Central Time on Wednesday for you guys. I am looking forward to being home but I am also sad to leave Romania. Lord willing I will return here next summer and be able to see the Glory of God reflected again through His people here in Romania. Until then I hope my life in the USA continues to reflect the Light of Christ in everything I do.

Agape,
Chris Truax

Heading on...

Hello Prayer Team,

Saturday I attended a Romanian wedding. It was very beautiful. A lot like a American wedding accept the wedding lasts about 2 hours with multiple sermons, but the bride and groom get to sit on stage throughout the ceremony. Weddings always remind me of Christ relationship with the church. How He loves us and protects us, but also how He desires that we hear His voice and follow His direction.

Yesterday I enjoyed worshiping in the Brethern church in Botosani. During the morning service 9:30 until 12:00 I gave a short sermon and sang the old Hymn "Where You There". We also had an evening service from 6 -8. I love worshiping in another language it gives me a glimpse of what heaven will be like with every Tribe, Tongue, and Nation, crying out "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lamb!"

Multumesc (Thank you) to the Cojocariu family that allowed me to stay at their house and eat their food here in Botosani. It has been a blessing! This is a great family that really tries to seek the Lord in all they do.

Today I will meet with the Baptist pastor in town and invite him to join the e3 and Brethern team next year for a Church Planting mission trip. Then I will head to Suceava (about an hour drive) to meet with Dan Boingeanu another Baptist pastor but also one of e3's Romanian coordinators. Tonight I will take a train bound for Timisoara and have a little bit of time there to tour around before I get up early Thursday to fly home via Vienna and Frankfurt.

Thank you so much for your prayers that fuel my ministry!

Agape,
Chris Truax

Botosani Blessings

Hello Prayer Team,

Thanks for continuing to lift me up while I am in Romania! Yesterday I got the unexpected blessing of going and worshipping in two small village churches that my ministry got to help plant in 2001 and 2002. I was able to encourage them to live for Christ and be a light in their community. I also gave them the challenge of praying Matt 9:35-38. Where Jesus tells us we need to pray for more workers for the harvest. I challenged them to pray for more Romanian workers but also to pray for the recruiting of the team I will be bringing next year to this area. We always have great ministry here but the American teams have always been on the small side. The harvest is plentiful here and a bigger team would be a blessing. So join with the Romanians in these two villages and pray to the Lord of the Harvest that He would raise up more (American) workers for His harvest. I would love to see a team of 30 or 40 raised up.

I finally got some of the pictures of the mountain survival camp downloaded. It was a great time to build each other up in the love of Christ as we faced the struggles of survival in the mountains. I am looking into the possibilities of making this camp an add-on to my mission trip next year, allowing more Americans to experience God's majesty in the Romanian mountains.
Left: Camping under a tarp.
Below: My team on the top of Moldoveanu the highest peak in Romania (2544 m).




Above: Hiking through the fog. Above: a small taste of the beauty I saw.

Please continue to pray for me, I fly home on Aug 3. Also if you could please pray for an 'unspoken request', I have someone close to me that needs to know God's peace and hope.

Agape,
Chris Truax

I survived the Mountain Survival camp!

Hello Prayer Partners,

I Survived! Thanks for your prayers! I am still in Romania until Aug 3, but I just finished the Romanian (and German) led Christian Mountain Survival Camp. It was a lot of fun, but also very exhausting. I got to see the majestic Romanian mountains and climb the tallest mountian in Romania Moldoveanu. I became very close to 16 Romanians and 1 German even though most did not speak English. We were all a family in Christ, and even through the language barrier worked as a team to survive 5 days in the mountains. Soon I will post a few pics.

This next week I will be in Botosani, Romania visiting old friends and setting up a mission trip for next year. Please continue to keep me in your prayers! May God be glorified in everything you do!

Agape,
Chris Truax

Update On end of ministry in Resita

Buna (hello),

The ministry is Resita is over and it was a great week. It was great to minister for God's Glory. On the Bocsa team we worked in two sites, Izgar and Ezeris, and we presented the Gospel to 176 people and of those God added 45 to His Kingdom! For the whole team that worked in the Resita area we had 412 presentations of the Gospel and 128 people prayed to recieve Christ as their Savior! God is good! Your prayers were answered!

I am traveling to the Christian Survival Camp in tomorrow. Please pray for me for strength (I am a little tired after two weeks of ministry). I will be out of email contact for about a week and a half, but will try to update you on my condition when I get back to civilization.

Agape,
Chris Truax

Catch-up Update

Buna Ziua (Good Day),

Sorry it has been awhile since I last updated you on my ministry here in Romania. It has been great but also busy and tiring (so internet has been a lower priority than sleep). I am in Resita now with a new team (some stayed over from the first week). We all made it here safely with all bags but one and it got here the next day. But before I get into updating you on Resita let me finish telling you about Galati.

Thursday ministry was great in Tecuci. It actually started out really hard. We had two team members join our group that dressed up as clowns with the idea of them drawing a crowd and the rest of us being able to share the Gospel with them. We went to what we thought was the perfect spot, the public park where many were gathered, but the grounds keepers kicked us out. Yes they kicked us out of a 'public park'. We tried to walk down the street but it did not seem to be working. We went back to the church for lunch and were trying to decide if we would even use the clowns in the afternoon. We prayed for awhile before we went back out. We decided to take the clowns but only send two groups with them (instead of the whole team) so as not to look like an army invading. The Lord blessed, while I was witnessing (talking in circles) to a very knowledgeable lost man, the two teams with the clowns were swamped with people to talk to and many prayed to receive Christ!

I do not have the stats in front of me for Galati but I believe we planted or revived about 6 churches!

In Resita we are working with three mother churches. My team's mother church is actually based out of a neighboring smaller city named Bocsa. We worked for the past two days in a village named Izgar and saw about 20 pray to receive Christ as their savior! We start in a new village tomorrow, please pray for open doors and open hearts. We got to go back to houses today of individuals who prayed yesterday and do some discipleship. It was very cool to show someone how to use the Bible for the first time. Most of us forget that someone had to show us how to use the Book, Chapter, and Verse system of reference in the Bible, but that is the first step needed to feeling comfortable reading the Bible on your own.

Hopefully I will be able to update you again tomorrow or Thursday!

La Revedere (Good Bye),

Chris Truax

Wednesday Update...

Hello Pray Team,

Thanks so much for praying for me (and thanks to those that sent me notes of encouragement). Tuesday and Wednesday were good. Tuesday was our second and last day in Culdabi. I got to share with a lady named Marianne. She is the mother of some of the kids that came to our children's service. She was very receptive and looked like the Lord was really working on breaking all the barriers in her heart. She did not pray with us but I feel with follow up she might pray soon. Her she is...

After visiting Marianne we had a few minutes before lunch so I suggested to my small team of two that we stop and pray for the rest of the day. My Romania friend Nicolai suggested we go just down the street to a lady's house who has been a Christian since 1953 and would love to pray with us. I thought that was a great idea so we went to her house. We found her studying her bible! We asked her to pray for her neighbors and country and I felt like I was going to explode with the power of God being called on from her prayer, and I could not even understand a word she said. My translator afterwards told me he shivered and the power of her prayer also. I felt blessed being in the presence of a real Prayer Warrior so passionate about God's Glory and her lost neighbors. Her name was Tinka and her is a pick (she is the one in the middle she is 91 years old)

Please pray for us in Tecuci for Thursday. Wednesday was good there but harder ministry because we are doing park and street evangelism in a larger town. Pray for divine appointments and boldness!

Agape,
Chris Truax

A great day of ministry...

Hello Pray-ers,

It was a great first day of ministry. Thanks for praying! We did have a few glitches along the way but that is typical for a first day. My team enjoyed ministering in Culdabi today. We presented the Gospel to over 50 people and 18 accepted Christ as their savior!

On the way out to the village our van stopped and we were able to admire God's beauty. Sunflowers! This is me with my teammate Ashwin.

This afternoon I got to help lead a children's service. It was a lot of fun and 15 children got to hear the gospel. Here is a pic of some of the kids...

Continue to pray against the spiritual forces at work in these villages. These people are in bondage thinking they are Christians (Orthodox) but their twisted knowledge of scripture only seems to confuse the Gospel message in their minds. Please pray that the Lord gives the villagers wisdom and clarity to understand His simple message of Hope.

Agape,
Chris Truax

Great day of worship!

Hello Prayer Team,

My team made it safely to Romania. We had a few bags delayed but they all arrived today! We had a great day of fellowship and worship with the Romanian church. I got the privilege of preaching! I gave a motivational message about the Gospel from Romans 10 and a bit about the church being the body with many parts from Romans 12.

We had a great training meeting where the American team got to meet the Romanians they will be working with for the week. We also reviewed our schedule and tools for evangelism.

The best part of the day was the evening service. We got to go to the village church of Tudor and attend their baptism service. This was extra special for me and another couple on our team because we had worked in this village two years ago. I got to see how God had been working and growing the church. God had even blessed them recently with a church building (they had been meeting in a member's house). Here are a few pics from the baptism service. Thanks for your prayers and please continue! We will be going out for our first day of ministry tomorrow. We will be working in two villages: Sendreni and Culdabi. Pray that God grants us boldness and wisdom and guides us to the homes He wants us to visit.

Agape,
Chris Truax

Please pray for my trip to Romania! I leave today for a month! Please pray for safe travel, pray also that God will go before us and prepare the hearts of those He wants us to talk to. Thank you so much for your committment to pray for God's Glory to be reflected in Romania.

Agape,
Chris Truax

Romania Funds

Hello Prayer Team,

I would like to make a financial need known. On e3 trips the budget is set to include two staff to lead and organize the trip, and normally I fit into this category. For my Galati, Romania trip I am the third staff member and because of higher priced tickets and because the team is not big enough to cover the costs of three staff I will need to raise my cost. The costs for my second trip to Resita, Romania in essence will be covered by this money as well.

Please pray about how the Lord might want you to partner with me for these back-to-back trips to Romania. The cost I am trying to raise is $1800. I do have some money saved up in my support account that I can put towards this but wanted to give each of you the opportunity to help get me to Romania to share God's good news. Thank you for praying and following the Lord's direction!

If the Lord leads you to give to this opportunity, you can give online or by mail. To give by mail, write a check made out to e3 Partners Ministry with a note saying it is for Chris Truax send this to e3 Partners Ministry, 600 Development Dr Suite 120, Plano, TX 75074. To give online (by credit card), go to https://www.gmf.org/donation/donate.asp, near the bottom click 'I'd like to give to an e3 staff member' another box will appear asking for my name and amount you are giving. Giving either way is tax deductible and you will receive a receipt in the mail.

If the Lord is leading you to pray for these trips, please start praying now for preparations, open hearts, team unity, and that all of us will reflect God's Glory in everything we do!

SIDE NOTE: I love it when people leave me comments on my blog. Although, I would like to reply to some comments, but have no clue who you are because you are using a screen name I am unfamiliar with. It is probably best just to reply to my emails with comments but if you leave a comment on my blog please sign it with at least your first name. THANKS!

Agape,
Chris Truax

Back from Colorado

Hello,

Thanks for your prayers for my church retreat to Estes Park, CO! I had a great time ministering to 11 Kindergarteners, and leading worship for K-5th grade. I also enjoyed my free time in the mountains.

The kids ministry was great! I enjoy leading worship for kids because they really get into it. The drama, games, and bible studies were fun with the Kindergartners. They were (for the most part) well behaved and attentive. On our last day I made sure to give a clear gospel presentation (I brought an evangecube to help me) and two kids Alex and Dawson said they wanted to pray to receive Christ. And there was much rejoicing (in heaven and on earth)!

Dawson

Seth, Alex, and Hays

Worship Band the "Realities"

The whole week we were teaching the kids to keep it R.E.A.L. for Christ. The R - redeemed, E - eternal, A - abilities, and L - legacy were the talking points of each day. I hope that each of you realize that Christ has redeemed you (even though you did not deserve it), He has an eternal destination for you, He has given you abilities to serve Him, and He desires that you will leave a legacy that points others to Him.

Thanks again for your prayers! In 20 days I will be leaving for Romania! More to come on that.

Agape,

Chris

Colorado Bound

Hello Prayer Family,

I get the joy of going with my church family (Watermark Community Church) to Estes Park, CO for our annual church wide retreat. I leave early tomorrow (June 1) to help drive up the trailer of sound equipment, and will be there until I help drive the trailer back on June 9 and 10.

I am looking forward to serving in Colorado in the Children's ministry. I will be part of the worship band for the kids (5th grade - Kindergarten), and when we break out into smaller groups I get to minister to the Kindergarteners. Please pray that the kids will be attentive and able to learn more about who God is while having a lot of fun, and pray that I am able to share Christ in a way that is understood by all and many come to know Christ as their personal Savior.

Agape,
Chris

News from Catalin

Hello Ministry Partners,

I wanted to share the following email with you that I found encouraging. It is from Catalin Covaci one of the Romanian heads of e3 Romania. Just in case I have not shared this in the past, the Lord has opened up some great opportunities for us (e3) to partner with our Romanian brothers. They had a vision for a nation wide movement to get churches excited about missions just as we were looking into how we were going to try to expand our work in Romania. It was such a God designed partnership. e3 is now partnered with the Romanian Baptist Assoc. in a plan they call Torch Mission. We are coming alongside and providing training materials and Evangecubes as well as coordinating all of our teams to work within the Torch Mission network. Catalin is going around training up pastors and lay-leaders with the training materials, and here is an account of just a portion of what is happening over there...

Last week I was in a small tour. As I was invited to preach in one of the churches in Bucharest, I also wanted to use this opportunity to meet the E3 Instructors in the areas I had to go through: Nicu Sotir and Radu Oprea in Bucharest and Daniel Patru in Craiova. I emailed them, I talked to them at the phone and we planed the meetings.

On saturday april 8 I called Daniel in Craiova to see if the plans to meet on tue morning, April 11, are still ok and if will be possible to also present the E3 to some pastors in Craiova.

His answer prooved that all these plans were from the Lord.
Whithout our knowlege, the president of Craiova Association scheduled the General Assembly of the association exactly in that tuesday morning. I called the president, Pastor Nelu Maior. He is an old friend of mine, since I served as a pastor in South Romania in Giurgiu. We know each other and we appreciate each others ministry in that part of the country. I call him and explained to him what I intend to do while in Craiova that tue morning. He answered that will allow me to speak to the General asembly for 45 min or more.

I arrived from Giurgiu in Craiova on time for the meeting, little bit after 10.30 am.
The surprises that the Lord had for us were not yet finished.

Before my presentation, the subject discussed was regarding the little growth of Baptist churches in last year, and ideas, solutions, problems to be faced.
I will write here some of the issues that some of the pastors who partricipated were saying. (I especially wrote them down in order for you to be happy as I was and see the mighty hand of God at work in Romania with/using E3 and Torch Mission.)

"We need a country size mission strategy!" said one of the pastors, after a long speech with his sorrows related the small growth of baptist churches in Romania in 2005.

"An evangelistic tool that will be good to reach adults, but also youths, teenagers and kids, as these are the future of the church. We don't pay enough attention in transmitting the message of the Gospel to the other generations!" said another pastor.

One of the pastors actually used "our words" in a sentence when he was trying to explain how important is to offer a vision to churches, like a mentorship from pastors with much experience to pastors with smaller experience. He said: "It was not enough promoted the concepts of extend and evangelise, even in association meetings."

All this time, I was sitting there like on springs. Several times I wanted to stand up and almost say like Paul in Athens: "What you are looking for and don't know I come to bring to you!". I hardly waited silently and took notes, even if at a certain moment I wanted to quit writing as almost everything that was said there was preparing the very presentation of Torch vision and E3 ministry. During this time I was praying: "Lord, help them to see, put the words in their mouths!" And finally, the Lord answered my prayer and somebody stood up and said:
"We need to personally build up and involve the church members. We need to re teach the church members that they need to be disciples.!"

Not long after that I was invited to speak.

I introduced using powerpoint presentation - praise God for Laptop and VideoProjector! Powerful tools! - the Torch mission Vision and GMF involvment in Romania since 1991. I explained the E3's: Equip, Evangelise, Establish (in Romanian, Expand) presenting them First Steps manual. I was very happy I came prepared from Timisoara, (even I didn't knew why I carry all these materials with me all around the country) and I offered to each of them the First Step manual. I saw them moving their heads as approval. I also introduced them the E-Cube and I gave to each of them a Cube and a Workbook manual. You should saw these pastors; They were enthusiastic like children, like their prayers were finaly finding answeres! I also took the opportunity to introduce Daniel Patru as E3 instructor in their association and I encouraged them to contact us to start working together.

Even it was the time for lunch, even I was invited to speak for 45 min, after 1 hour and 15 minutes of presentation (they kept interupting me, adding details, becoming enthusiatic, asking me related questions), when i was done with the slides, they still kept me 30 more minutes to talk with some individuals.

I am very grateful for all of you who were praying for this country trip.
It was very worthy, as another association was exposed to E3 vision and ministry.
It was worthy as we have the opportunity to see that indeed, God is in control and is using this ministry to help Romanian churches to be more and more dedicated to His Kingdom.
It was worthy as we have now a new and fresh assurance that this vision is from God and is His answer to many pastors and leaders that are crying and praying for church members that need to be more mature and for many unsaved people who need to be transformed into discipols of Christ.

Rejoyce with me seing the wonderful works that our Lord and Savior is ready to do with those that are ready to serve Him.

Catalin Covaci

Agape,
Chris Truax

PS I will be leading two teams to Romania soon, the first will be in Galati from June 30 - July 8 and the second in Resita on July 8 - July 15.