Photo gallery: Moldova

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After school

Children attend classes at the Christian community center for children whose parents have left the country to find work. The center offers recreation and help with schoolwork in a Bible-based environment.

Checkmate

In Moldova you often find men and children playing board games such as backgammon, chess and checkers in parks after school.

Come to Jesus

Almost 1,000 women from across Moldova attended the national Women's Ministry Conference at Bethany Baptist Church in Chisinau.

Door to door

Larry and Dianne Martin, International Mission Board missionaries, work with youth from Holy Trinity Church in Chisinau, Moldova, to visit families and hand out Bibles in Hirtopul village.

Father and son

A Moldovan father holds one of his five children. In a country where the monthly average wage is just $120, many families find it difficult to afford basic necessities.

Handful of hope

The hands of a Moldovan man in Hirtopul village show proof he's a farmer. He holds tight to his hat and Bible during prayer.

Kids at play

Children play in the dirt paths of Hirtopul village in Moldova

Larry and Dianne Martin

IMB missionaries to Moldova, Larry and Dianne Martin

Light a candle

Orthodox Christianity is Moldova's "official" religion. The government builds churches, supports priests and constructs elaborate icons of Jesus on the cross. Moldovan Orthodoxy associates Christianity with heritage.

Portrait of an artist

A Moldovan artist laughs and jokes with passing tourists, trying to entice them to buy his artwork.

Prayer of a child

Children listen and pray in Sunday school at Jesus the Savior Church in Chisinau, Moldova. The church was the first Romanian-speaking church in Chisinau.

Ripe for sale

A feast for the eyes and mouth, pomegranates are displayed for sale in an open market in Moldova.

Tae Kwon Do champ

Marika Sofianu is a Moldovan Tae Kwon Do champion. She learned tae kwon do through classes at a Baptist church. She also accepted Christ there and is now the only evangelical Christian in her immediate family.

Wasted youth

Moldovan teenagers hang out on the street of downtown Chisinau, smoking and drinking large bottles of beer at 11 a.m. "It's no big deal," said one of the teens. Alcoholism is a major problem among men of all ages in Moldova.

Wedding guest

Portrait of a wedding guest at an Orthodox wedding in Moldova

Thankful

A Moldovan woman clutches a Bible given to her by International Mission Board missionaries and youth from Holy Trinity Church in Chisinau.