PRAYEhR UPDATE MAY 2015       JACKSONVILE, FL

  It was a blessing once again to have passed through thoughts and meditations of the Messiah during Christmas time.  In Isaiah 11:1-5 more details of the Messiah are given.  Verse 5 speaks of His righteousness and His faithfulness as His strength.  Once again the Lord Jesus Christ has been faithful to help me follow His leading in 2014 and now into 2015.  On the summer tour of 2014 I met Jews again in Budapest, HU.  I met a Jew from England who went to Israel with the help of the Jewish Center in the Rex House in London.  In the Rex House I found in London the program with which I went to Israel in 1968.  I stayed in Israel at that time 15 months.    This Jew lingered to talk to me.  Being patient to walk in the Jewish Quarter which is the nearby area of the big synagogue offers me Jewish contacts.  Most of the contacts are from Israel so Hebrew lit. is taken.  I enjoyed sharing in a Gypsy church near Word of Life HU which is north of Budapest.  At the O utca meeting in Budapest I met again a Jewish believer who usually invites me to his home after Sunday morning service.     I was without a car and he offered me a car but I did not take it.  I had no car in summer of 2014 and my planned trip to Ukraine I canceled so I stayed 6 weeks in Romania-RO.  I have been ministering regularly in RO since 1988 so I am in contact with several churches.  I traveled from church to church and many opportunities where given for ministry.  “And some days after Paul said to Barnabas, Let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they do.”  Acts 15:36  Note Samuel’s circuit.  1 Sam 7:15-17

RO – My first stop was in Cisnedia with Ovidiu & Nely Domanariu.  We worked on details of our camp in early August.  Nely is my translator and Ovidiu helps to keep things working in the week of camp in Rucar at camp Isaiah.  Nely is from the Rotaru family of Mioveni.  For the last 10 years I have had a camp with the church in Mioveni.  A camp is planned for Aug. 3-8, 2015.  I spoke in their church and distributed tracts in the city.  The brothers often drove me from city to city to visit other churches and families.  Ovidiu needs to build his house as his city gave him a plot of land for a house.  Ovidiu took me to Medias where I visited Gusti & Eugenie Rossian.  They operate Samuel House which produces literature especially for young people.  Samuel House has its own press.  I always get literature here.  Then Ovidiu took me to Michael Czenti in Hunadora who is pastor of an Independent Baptist Church.  He is Jewish.  I spoke in the church and am invited back for June 2015 to teach on fasting.  Michael comes from the Independent Baptist Church of Beius.  Each summer before camp starts at Baptist Camp Bucharie there is a pastors’ conference.  For the last 2 or 3 years Br Roger Green the retired pastor of Grace Baptist church in Middletown, IN has encouraged us.  I returned to the capital Bucharest to be with the Episcopradu church where I am invited to speak usually at each visit.  I first met this church in 1988.  An elder Dr. David Shukor has a brain tumor.  Another elder is Pishti Benedek who has been a great help since 1988.  I visited pastor Ioan Tone of the Maranatha Baptist Church.  One of his sons Ariel and his wife stayed in my apartment while they visited Paris. They live in London, England. I always enjoy speaking about fasting in this church.  I was pleased to visit the Messianic Assembly in Bucharest where Br Smilovich is the founder, though he lives in Charlotte, NC but still cares for this assembly.  Daniel Sandu is another helper and he attends the Messianic Assembly and I met Daniel in 1988.  I visited Costica Mararu in Toalmas with whom I had a camp in 1988, and other summers as well.  He has serious health problems but he continues to visit many churches to encourage them.  As each year I visited Ioan Poenar whom I also met in 1988 and together we preached in several churches in his area of Brasov.  I am blessed to return to churches where I have ministered for years.  One pastor I spoke in his church I taught in his home the youth group in 1988.  John Poenar has a Bible School directed by his son in law Berbiza.  I was able to give them 500 kgrm. (1500 lbs.) of potatoes.  My first visit to RO was in 1972.  It is my plan to return in June 2015.  I went with John to Piatra Namitz to be with the family of Nelu Timofte and his church.  Nelu helped me many times in the past especially with my vehicles.  Time fails to tell of Pastor Doru & Baptist  Pastors Viorel & Anne Dimitru of Giurgiu, RO & Pastor Viorel Trasca of Rosiori de Veda, RO.

  Traveling on the public transport offered many chances to share Christ and to give literature.  From Paris to Munich I was able to share with Germans and French.  One German I witnessed to helped me get my train connection in Munich.  I was blessed to be at the 50th Anniversary of Word of Life Germany near Munich.  The founder Chuck Kosman and his team of 3 + 1 returned as well.  From WOLD  Alex & Pam Konya took me to the WOLCZ camp near Bruno, CZ.  He left WOL Hungary and is over WOL Europe.  Riding the bus & train in RO gave opportunities.  In Ljubljana, Slovenia while distributing I met a Gideon from SLO.  He was able to talk to a woman who stooped to talk.  On the train ride from Ljubljana, Slo to Trieste, Italy I met a Finnish man who plays chess.  I was glad to distribute again in Trieste.  I did the board walk as usual by the sea.  I had a stopover of several hours in Munich train station which gave me time to distribute German literature and other languages.

  God’s hand was evident in getting me ready to leave to USA.  Only the day before I left could I finish the last task.  I enjoy handing out tracts to the stewards on the plane.  I changed twice so there were more opportunities than usual.  The stewardess seemed blessed on the flight from Miami to Jax, FL.

USA SEPT. 17. 2014-MAY 14, 2015.

  I wanted to attend the annual Camp Meeting of Immanuel Baptist Church in Abingdon, VA which is a supporting church.  Again God’s hand was evident in helping me start an itinerary for my 8 months in USA.  My brother Jim helped me get a good van through Steve Tillman of Tillman’s Auto in Jax.  The Camp Meeting was an encouraging meeting.  It prepared me for the 8 month tour.  I left the meeting early on Sat. Oct. 11 to attend the 55^th reunion of my high school.  The reunion was held in the home of my roommate Antony Birch in the Univ. of MD in 1959.There were opportunities to witness and a fellow Jewish student hugged me.  My goal was to get to Thompson, Manitoba, CN before Christmas.  I spent 2 weeks at a supporting church in Ellerslie, MD.  Greg Miller is pastor and Ken Korns is the retired pastor.  Br Ken helps Br Greg however he can.  I had a week of prayer & fasting and headed to OHIO to see Richard Brogdan who was a missionary in Jerusalem.  On my way to Chicago I visited World Missionary Press in New Paris, IN.  I have distributed their 48 page scripture booklets in many languages for years.  They have new presses but lack paper.  In Chicago Norm & Kathy Oswald received me.  They are friends of the Jews.  I visited the graves of my parents near my mother’s birthplace in Glenn Ellyn, then my Father’s Family in Maywood area which is a suburb of Chicago.  I flew to Winnipeg, Manitoba and Elvin & Nancy Ensign greatly helped me to make contacts in Winnipeg.  I saw Sister Barbara Livingston who was a missionary in Israel with her husband for many years.  There are Jewish women in her retirement home.  I was 2 weeks in Thompson with Burntwood Baptist Church.  Pastor Lee & Donna Picket were gone for about a year but they returned soon after I came.  In the winter of 2015 a water pipe broke so the whole church building is under repair.  Ron Trainor was a great help to me in Thompson.  I did not see Murray the one Jew in Thompson.  David Leonsberry is a member of the church and the church had prayer with laying on of the hands & anointing with oil because David has cancer.  Jms 5:14-15  AS of April, 2015 he still takes chemo.

  I was blessed with good visits as I returned to Jacksonville, FL to be with my brother Jim and sister Lauri Rice.  In Jan. 2015 I visited supporting churches in FL.  It has been a blessing to visit supporting churches and supporting families.  Four years is a long time to be away.  Some of the people I saw this furlough I will probably never see again.  In Feb. I headed north to Toronto, CN area.  I saw friends from Bible School days:  Mal Rabern, who died early in 2015, Mike Crain who had a great loss of memory, Glenn Fogle who has had several throat operations, Fred Templeman in Brooksville, FL, Gary Woods in Mt Eagle, TN, Richard & Jane Pankey in Miami, FL, Richard had a brain aneurism though he is still able to pastor, John Perkins in Milton, FL who has had 27 heart attacks.

  As I return to France I will try to de-register a Ford van I gave away in RO in 2006.  I plan to buy a car.  I need to leave early in June for the summer tour but I doubt I will be able to.  I am invited to a conference June 18-20 in Brasov, RO.  Then there is an Independent Baptist Conference and then teaching on fasting in an Independent Baptist Church.

Your prayers needed,  Jrm 33:3

Michael Bentley