Jefan

The Americans just left to go back to America today, so the relationships between the Americans and Romanians are fresh on my mind. I wanted to highlight one such relationship to both honor and make fun of the guys. It is the relationship between Jeff Pudelek and Stefan Mirauta.

Meet Jeff.

We like Jeff. Jeff just finished his freshman year at UT, and was one of maybe four or five freshmen that Cris and I got to know last year. He is a godly guy, and really does have a heart that bursts for missions. Cris and I know Jeff. We decided that when Jeff was in Craiova he should stay with Stefan. We figured that they we get along. We had no idea what we started...

But first, let's meet Stefan.

We like Stefan as well. Stefan is an evangelist, and a rising leader in OSCEC. He is also a great guy to be around, and is really growing in godliness. Again, we thought that putting Jeff with Stefan was a good idea. After staying with Stefan in Craiova the first night, Jeff came up to us and said, "This guy is awesome! Thanks for putting me here. His whole family is awesome!"

The week of English Camp progressed and Jeff and Stefan began to grow closer, but they were discreet in the interactions, deftly avoiding the paparazzi. I only found one pictuer of them together.

Here they are on the hike...

Jeff and Stefan really did develop a bond of brotherly love for each other. It was so evident that they were dubbed "Jefan" by the rest of the team because they were together so often, and developed such a strong friendship. This commends the gospel. Jeff and Stefan grew close to each other because they recognized each other as brothers in Christ, and were able to work together for the Lord.

It is amazing how love crosses cultures so quickly. Jefan is not the only example. There were many many strong relationships formed in a very short time. I think about Cata and Thorn, Kati and Patricia, Mihai and Jared (as well as myself), Cris and Iulia, Ashley and Ramona... This list goes on and on. God has allowed us to both to grow extremely close to believers as well as develop relationships with non-believers very quickly to accomplish His purposes! Thanks be to God!

(I don't want this to distract from my point, but Jefan fell asleep on the bus, and I have to post this picture.)

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