Kim Marks ('98) (and fiance!)

Kim has some exciting news to share:

"This last spring, the Lord brought a wonderful Christian man into my life. His name is Marcel Petruţiu (said Mar-chel Pe-trut-ziu). You can read our story below from Marcel."

A Note from Marcel:

"Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Pacea Domnului (God bless you!). Let me introduce myself. I am a Romanian who grew up in Oradea, Romania. My family has been attending Maranatha Baptist Church (a BMM church plant) for the past two years, but I wasn’t there because I was in the United States.

"I lived in the States for four years while Kim was living in Romania for 4 years. After I returned to Romania, I met this wonderful lady. Actually we were introduced by Maranatha’s pastor, Rev. Valentine Ţenţ. During the time we spent together, we realized that our personalities complemented each other and we believed that the Lord would like us to spend the rest of our lives together serving Him.

"On the 3rd of January, Kim’s parents are coming to Romania and together with my family and Pastor Valentine, we will celebrate our engagement with a traditional Romanian engagement dinner. The wedding will be on May 17, 2009 at Golgotha Baptist Church (Oradea, Romania) where I grew up. After our wedding, we plan on coming to the States for a short visit to celebrate our marriage with family and friends and to meet you, Kim’s faithful supporters.

"We believe the Lord would have us to continue in full-time missionary service. I have a desire to finish my nursing degree so we can help suffering people through a medical ministry. During my schooling, we plan to continue serving the Lord with the BMM Romanian team. We know that it’s not going to be easy, but we trust you will pray for us as we follow our Great God. We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a joyful New Year."

Kim Marks ('98)

Here's a picture from last Christmas of Kim and the Rom (Gypsy) kids who she teaches in Ciumeghiu, Romania.

Kim believes that there are two qualities that are especially important to an aspiring Christian professional--"fierce integrity and a genuine interest in people."

"Your integrity is the one thing that slips away from you ever so slyly until you find yourself out in left field. Both in the US and outside in other countries, people have told others that they can trust me because of my track record of keeping my word and telling the truth. The few times I have decided to 'only disclose what is necessary' or 'soften the truth' I saw the results later when people were hurt not only by the truth, but also by those who withheld all the necessary details.

"We must value people. People respond when they see your genuine concern for THEIR interests. I have found that getting to know people and their families you raise morale, increase their work ethic and even open the door to share the Gospel with people. When we truly love our neighbors as ourselves, God is glorified, work gets done and we all feel better."

Kim Marks ('98)

We are so grateful to have one of our own alumni serving the Rom people in Ciumeghiu, Romania near its border with Hungary. You really do need to check out Kim's blog at http://krazymarks.blogspot.com/ .

Excerpts from Kim's most recent email update:

"For 2 years, we have been having children's class in Ciumeghiu with very little visible spiritual growth. Spitting, fighting, and constant commotion are normal for class and make anyone question if these uneducated children are getting anything. But God has a plan. Last summer, one boy accepted Christ as his Saviour at camp. A few weeks ago, a young VERY timid girl came up to me after class and asked me to help her pray and receive Jesus in her life. The older children are regularly singing songs in church services and are memorizing Scripture despite obvious learning difficulties like dyslexia and illiterate parents.

"The almost 100% illiteracy among Rom women spurs me on to continue helping these women memorize Bible verses and learn how to apply God's word to their lives. ... Every week around 10 women come to class with a true spiritual hunger that only God can produce. ... The Word of God is becoming the building blocks of these women's lives supporting them daily and enabling them to have victory in life."

Praises from Kim:

"After weeks of calling and headaches, Romania granted me another one year residence visa to work with the Rom people. Thank you, Lord!

"A wonderful week spent in London, England at a Baptist Mid Missions European Missionary conference. About 40 attended the conference and were blessed by good teaching and much needed fellowship."

Kim Marks ('98)

A visit to Kim Marks's ('98) website is always a blessing. She serves the Rom people in Romania under Baptist Mid-Missions. Check out www.krazymarks.com to read her blog.