A New Bread Shop- by David and Amy Cato

Almost three years ago, a man from our church, Adi Buhai, met Viorel. Viorel was open to talking about God and started studying the Bible with Adi. In the months that followed, Viorel and his wife, Mirabela, got saved, and since then they have been inviting all their neighbors and family to Sunday morning Bible study.  It’s often a packed living room!  Viorel has a vision for reaching his community with the gospel, and willingly testifies how God has revealed Himself through the Bible and has changed his life forever.

Two years ago, we launched Engage (http://www.engagebrasov.ro), a platform to host meaningful dialogue, events, and social-economic support for Brasov. Our first business initiative was to assist Viorel in realizing his dream of opening a bread shop in his community, Garcini, to economically benefit the people there. We were able to do this with a no-interest loan (greatly sponsored by the business of Adi and his wife, Violeta), that funded the construction of the bread shop. The loan will slowly be paid back through the profits made.

After working through many government inspections and setbacks, Viorel and Mirabela are about ready to open shop. Last night, four men from our church drove out to help Viorel put together finishing touches in his shop, mounting shelves, electrical outlets, and piping. Now it’s time to start kneading bread! We think this shop has a great chance of being a success, as it will be the first and only bread shop in the community, allowing people to get fresh bread without taking a bus downtown. Please pray that this bread shop will not only provide a basic need for the people of Garcini, but that it will also be a place where Viorel’s vision of reaching his community with the gospel will be realized, as God reveals himself to them!