Help translate Christian books into Romanian! Through the ministry of Dinu Moga and Faclia Publishin
What's the best Christian book you have ever read?
Recall for a moment how it lifted your heart, encouraged your soul and put a spring in your step, spiritually speaking. Perhaps it gave you a deeper understanding of God or outlined a path in your life for Christian growth. Either way, its blessing was profound and lasting. Then imagine if this had never happened due to the text only being available in a foreign language and that you had been separated from its teaching by a permanent linguistic barrier. That, we’d say, would have been a pity. It could adversely affect a generation of Christians! Something must be done to put it right. Well, in Romania, that something is what Dinu Moga has been working on for 25 years.
It all began in 1987 when several parcels of reformed books arrived at Emanuel Baptist Church in Oradea. Dinu, already familiar with English, was given some of these. Their contents proved sufficiently exciting for him to pledge his future to translating such works, regardless of communist persecution. The first book he translated was Douglas Macmillan’s well-known work on Psalm 23, which was followed by John Murray’s Redemption Accomplish and Applied. A further 200 Christian titles have been translated since.
We enjoyed a pleasant morning with Dinu and his wife Lidia at their spacious Oradea office in November 2017 .
The fire of the original vision was still burning brightly. Dinu spoke of his future aspirations. He expressed a desire to complete his work on Dr Martin Lloyd Jones’ sermons on Romans 9, 10 and 11, each of these only partially translated due to a lack of funds. Other books on Dinu's schedule include works by british authors Tim Chester, Mark Johnstone and Christopher Ash. He has already translated the Christianity Explored materials so popular in the Uk and around the world.
One aspiration Dinu has is to translate all of Dr Lloyd-Jones studies on Ephesians and Romans by the time of his 60th birthday in 2023!
Costs of translation and editing amount to approximately £10 per page, with printing expenses recouped by income from book sales.
The reasons for doing this are many and varied. Classic Christian literature is a powerful weapon against the Romanian Orthodox Church, which is a virulently anti-evangelical organisation. The moral infrastructure of Romanian society is starting to collapse, with high rates of abortion and divorce, and a Christian book placed in a friend’s hand can make a huge difference. Further, many young Christians in Romania possess a highly regrettable thirst for the latest and worst fads of the American church. Again, Christian literature may help with this.
In 2017 Romanian Ministries paid for Stuart Olyott's book on the trinity to be translated. We also gave Dinu's publishing house a gift to enable copies of this to be made available to pastors free of charge once translation is complete.
So how can we help as Dinu looks to the future?
Well, he has indicated three ways in which we can be of assistance.
Firstly, Dinu requests prayer so that he might know the Lord’s guidance and strengthening in all things. Secondly, he seeks funding for the translation of further books, details on costs provided below. Thirdly, gifts that would allow books to be given to poor pastors free of charge would be most welcome.
So let's pray! Please do remember the value of Christian literature in your own life, and consider helping in some way!
Titles / Associated Costs:
Please note: in Romanian Ministries we have a general fund for contributions towards Dinu's work. Please don't be put off if the costs of the projects below seem too high for you to pay for individually! Unless specifically designated, gifts will be put into a general fund for Dinu to use throughout the year, allocating to whichever books he believes should be translated next. Thank you!
Sermons on Romans 9 by Dr Martin Lloyd-Jones - to complete translation - £2,296
Sermons on Romans 10 by Dr Martin Lloyd-Jones - to complete translation - £2,800
Sermons on Romans 11 by Dr Martin Lloyd-Jones - to complete translation - £2,030
Sermons on Ephesians 1 by Dr Martin Lloyd-Jones - whole translation £4,460
Let's Study Colosians and Philemon by Mark Johnstone - whole translation £1,900
Let's Study 2 Peter and Jude by Mark Johnstone - £1,200
Let's Study 1 Peter by William Harrell - £1,880
Let's Study the Letters of John by Ian Hamilton - £1,400
From Creation to New Creation by Tim Chester - £1,800
Perfect Sinners by Matt Fuller - £1,440
Where was God when that happened? by Christopher Ash - £960
How can i be sure? by John Stevens - £960
