Testimonies from the 2001 Romania Crusade

	GoodNews International "Preach the Gospel to all creation" Mark 16:15
	*Testimonies of Romanian and American Participants in the 2001 Romania Crusade*
GNI Home Romania 2001	Jennifer S. (U.S.A.) There are so any things I could write about, I'm not sure where to begin. This was my first experience with street evangelism, so I asked people to pray for me that I would have words to say. It was not an easy week in that respect. I often struggled with how to begin talking to someone or how to keep the conversation flowing. However, there were several times that God opened doors for me to begin talking about the Gospel in a way that was natural and flowed. Two instances in particular standout. One was at Ani's house. After getting married, she moved to a new village. I told her I understood moving since I've done so three times in 10 years. She said something about it being hard with no roots. I agreed it was hard, but what made it easier was that my roots (home) were in heaven. From there, we talked about the gospel. The other time I was telling jokes about languages with some ladies, two of which included what language was spoken in heaven. I asked if they ever thought about heaven or eternal life. This open a floodgate of questions about spiritual matters. Our God is good. Franz K. (U.S.A.) This was my second time traveling to Romania. In many ways I experienced several of the same emotions I felt during my trip in July 00. Certainly I was missing the States and my family, but in other ways, after one year, Romania had become familiar and almost comfortable. I expected much of this can be attributed to my "family" in Romania. The truth is, on Monday, the first day of the mission, I woke not really wanting to share Christ. Instead, I wanted to get on the next plane for the United States. I remember praying and being honest with the lord. If I was to make it through the week, he must give me the strength and the desire. Philippians 2:13 came to mind. That God was working in me to give me the desire to obey end of the will to do what pleased him. I can only say that God worked in me through the whole week. Judy C. (U.S.A.) Overall, it was a great week because we got to spend time with the children in the village, playing with them and giving them a Bible lesson. The first man I talked to in Calinesti was 74 years old. I asked him if he were to die tonight, does he know that he will go to heaven? He said no, because no one has ever told him how to get to heaven; he's getting old and will probably die soon. I was very touched by this and told him that's why I'm here. Another man I talked to didn't want to tell me his name. I thought, he's probably not going to be receptive to what I have to say, so I just gave him my printed testimony and left. I found out later that he went inside his house, read my testimony and the sinner's prayer. He had come back outside to look for us. He was now interested in what we had to say, and ended up talking with Brother Rusu, a Romanian evangelist with whom we were working. He told Brother Rusu we should plant a church in Calinesti and gave us his name and address. We then spent all afternoon with about kids, playing games, singing, and holding a Bible study. I talked with a man in Filipesti de Targ who responded to my question "Are you ready to receive the gift of eternal life?" with "Not yet, there are still some sins I want to commit". He did not have a Bible so I gave him one. He said that this was a good gift, after realizing I was not going to charge him for the Bible. I talked with a man whose right arm and leg were paralyzed. He was paralyzed because his uncle, who was always drunk, dropped him on the cement when he was one-and-a-half years old. I asked him if there was anything I could pray concerning him. He said his mother's health, because she have hurt her shoulder. I was touched by this because he did not ask for prayer concerning himself, but thought of his mom first. My experience can be summed up in this illustration: you have a glass of water. Someone bumps into and the water spills on the ground. One is the water on the ground? Is it because someone bumped into you? No. There is water on the ground because there's water in the cup. Whatever is in your heart will spill out, and in Romania I found many opportunities to spill Jesus onto others.
	Catalina C. (RO) During this week of mission, I found out that people are not that eager any more to hear about the Word of God. Yet, I met people that wanted to be told about God, but when they would be asked the question:"Where you will go if you would die tonight? "They would answer that only God knows." They weren't sure where they would go because they know they are sinners and they didn't do to many good things. So, if they did all these things, how can they be sure they will go to heaven? People didn't understand that it's only by faith that they go to heaven and they must ask Jesus Christ to enter their hearts. People didn't really understand this because it was too simple and they are used to work hard to gain or to accomplish something. So it was too simple to be through faith, they needed something more difficult. Camelia S. (RO) During this mission I've learned and experienced lots of things . I met different kind of people. There were people that said that they never thought of death and they weren't interested at all about the place they will go after death. One of these persons was a man that told me that he never thought of death and that he will go to heaven because he paid the priest to pray for him. I told him that everybody is responsible for his own acts. A lady that was too busy to pray told me that God didn't make too many things for her. Then, she admitted before God that she is a sinner and left into her house to pray. I met people that knew about God, but nobody told them how they can be sure if they go to heaven or not and they thanked us because we talked to them. Then I realized that, as the Bible says, people die, just because they don't know anything about God and we have this job - to go and share the Gospel with them. I met a man that didn't want to talk to us just because we asked for his name. I gave him my testimony and I left. Then he went inside the house, read it and then he came after us and asked us some questions, about the way he can go to heaven. I felt that God used me, because lots of people asked me how they could receive this gift. A person was so surprised that he can receive this gift that he asked me 3 times how he could have it. A lady told me that she never had peace and calm in her heart a nd that she can't receive Jesus Christ right now. I told her that the only one that can give her peace is Jesus Christ and she received Him in her heart. A thing that really touched my heart was the words of a paralyzed man. He understood that not by work we could get to heaven, only by faith. Even if he was very poor, when I asked him if he has a special prayer request, he didn't ask for money, but for his mother in order that she will understand God, too. Judy was the girl that was in my team and she was very friendly and we had a lot to learn one from another. I felt that God used me for Him and I hope that I will have thi s experience some other time too. I grew up spiritually and I am thankful t o God for the privilege that He gave me. Cristina V. (RO) "Remember the words I spoke to you: <<No servant is greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also>>". John 15: Dana I. (RO) God allowed me to be involved in this mission, in the Republic of Moldova. Until now, I've been near the American team, just as an interpreter for 8 years. This time I was exactly like them, the one that told people about God. I was very impressed when I saw the church there - a church with 600 members in a village with 6,000 habitants. So 10 % from them were Christians. My church in a town with 45,000 habitants has 60 members! How could I share about Christ in such a place? I was frustrated! But I thought that if God allowed me to go there I have to do only His will. And this is what I did. Those that wanted to know God in the most serious way impressed me. A man, not too old, who was working inside his house, heard tha t I was knocking at the gate and when I wanted to leave, he opened the gate . But he didn't open only the gates, but his heart too. He asked me what he should do in order to be in heaven with God. He listened to everything I told him, he wanted to pray so God will forgive all his sins. I talked to his wife too. They prayed together. At the end I prayed for them and their house. When I left they thanked me with their eyes full of happiness. Another lady was listening to what I was telling to her mother in law about God. She was very impatient to pray with me. She had tears in her eyes. Her children were the first ones that prayed. I was amazed by the sincerity of some persons and the fact that they opened their heart. But who did all this work? God. And He is the one that does miracles. I thank to God for this ministry. I am ready to go in this kind of mission if He calls me again. I never thought that God will fulfill a hidden desire of my heart, even if I didn't pray special for this: to talk to everybody about God. He fulfilled this desire of mine, but the accomplishment belongs to Him. Ioana V. (RO) I am thankful to God for the great opportunity that I had to go to Republic of Moldova and share with other people about God. In this mission I had experiences that I will never forget. I met people that knew lots of things about God, but yet they didn't have a personal relationship with Him. But the most difficult thing to do was to talk with people that didn't even care where there soul is going to be or that this is not their business and all this kind of ideas. But God was there nearby me. One day, I was walking on the street and an old man saw me with the New Testament in my hand. He just called me and asked me what I was doing there. I told him the purpose of my visit and then he allowed me to share with him about God. He was very interested to find out as many things he can about God and finally he prayed and received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior in his life. It was a great joy for me, but I could see on his face the happiness of a redeemed sinner. Some other day I met a lady that knew a lot of things about God , but she felt that this is not enough. She started to cry and asked me to explain what she should do in order that she will become a child of God. I did that and finally she received Jesus Christ as her Master in her life. Her happiness was tremendous, especially after I prayed for her 10 years old daughter that was in the hospital. She told me that she never had a peace in her heart greater than in those moments. From all of these I've learned that God called me to be a missionary and I pray to God to help everybody to go and share with people about God. I've never thought that I will be able to do this thing, but it seems to me that God has other plans with my life. I can say that He showed me some things about myself that I had no idea about them before, but now I can say that I am ready to go until the end of the earth to tell the others about God and His wonderful plans for their lives. Razvan G. (RO) In this mission I've experienced again the spiritual fight that a Christian has to face with it on this earth. The first day of this mission was a good one, but on the second day Satan started to be against us. First of all my car had some problems on the way to Secaria and I had to leave it on the road. Yet, Lord taught me to take care of His work, because He will take care of the material thing s that help us in His work. So we found a mechanic to fix my car and he offered his Jeep to continue the ministry. The second obstacle came from the orthodox priest that, being drunk, sent our team out of town. Yet, there are over 60 souls in Secaria that want Bibles and th at cried when they heard the Gospel. In the evening we continued in Valea Doftanei, but for this we needed the car that was still out of order. On the third day the car was ready, but. we had another obstacle to pass: the mechanic lost the keys from my car. I've thought that Satan doesn't know too much about cars, so we broke the car, like the thieves from movies, and we tied two wires and the car started to move. We've tried to use two ways of sharing Christ: on the streets and visiting families. Both of them were great, but we had to use them by no icing the culture and the specific of each place. Don't forget! We have to be wise before everything. God loves us and we don't have to forget that first of all the ministry belongs to Him. I had the desire to be in Moldova and I was sorry that I haven't been there, but God used me here too. Vasilica N. (RO) I am happy that I could share the experience of going in mission -- A mission that was a living experience in God's work. In this ministry I had the opportunity to meet people that wanted to listen and to receive the gift of God, but also people that rejected this gift. I met people that knew the Word of God and also people that were against us, especially in Secaria where we met the orthodox priest who was drunk with a cigarette in his hand and was talking with a gravedigger when our group arrived to his house and Roger wanted to tell him the way that God worked in his life. This priest had power over the habitants of the village. But in Filipestii de Targ I met kind people and I made a team with Razvan and the last day we split and I had the chance to talk to the people. It was an experience in God's ministry that gives you that desire to tell everybody the Good News. Lots of people in Secaria heard the Word of God, but not everybody received Jesus Christ. I thank to God for this experience and I hope that all those th at heard the Word of God, the "Good News" will find a church to grow up spiritually. Anca S. (RO) Even if I have 30 years walking on God's Way, this kind of occasion I've never had before. I had many chances to tell my friends and my neighbors about Jesus and when somebody was asking me about my faith, I alway s had a word from God. But I've never worked like this before. This week was something unique, something special, but wonderfu l. I had the privilege to talk with 35 people (men, women, children) about my personal relationship with Jesus. They were wishful to listen more thing s about Jesus Christ, they prayed, and some of them accepted Him. I could see that God is working. In Calinesti I met a lady that was going through a great trouble. Her son was very sick. I talked with her and told her about Jesus Christ , that He is the Great Doctor, the One that can give health to her son. I've prayed with her and she was confident that God could help her son. Most of the people that I talked with were from Calinesti. Then, I went in Filipestii de Targ where I met resistance from people. But the children from here were responsive and we were amazed listening to their answers about the person of Jesus Christ. The thing that impressed me more was an old man and when Franz asked him: " Where will you go if you would die tonight?" he answered very sure that he will go to hell and that actually that was his desire. I've talked with other 37 persons that where hurrying or just didn't want to talk about Jesus Christ. Yet, I've tried to explain briefly about my relationship with Jesus and the way that they can have their own relation with Him. Anyway, the seed was spread and we want it to return fruitful. I don't want to say this again, but it was an extraordinary week. This is exactly what we did and may God bless every person that we talked with. Andi N. (RO) First of all I would like to thank God for this opportunity to share the Word of God, to share the Gospel with people from Secaria and Filipestii de Targ. At the beginning I didn't understand why God allowed me to have my holiday in this period of time. I was thinking that I would have 14 day s of rest, or if I would find some other job I would earn more money but pr aise the Lord for our thoughts are not His thoughts. In my first week of holiday the Lord allowed me to work at the church in Filipestii de Padure with some brothers and in the second week I could carry the Good News of the Gospel, first in Secaria and then in Filip estii de Targ. Indeed we had oppositions from Satan, because all the cars that we used in this mission had different problems, and on the other hand the priest from Secaria, together with those that didn't let us talk with other people, stood against us. We don't have to look at these little incidents, because the blessed part of the work we could see and we will see through those persons that accepted to receive Jesus Christ in their hearts as Lord and Savior and even accepted to receive more visits. This time, as always, God had the victory and as Isaiah 55:10,11 says, the Word of God will not return to Him empty, but will accomplish what He desires. The thing that impressed me more was a family from Secaria, Ioachim and Cornelia, that received Florin and me in their house joyfully and they listened to the Word of God, praying and even crying. They wanted to give us money but I told them that we do this thing because of the love that we have for God. Indeed, now I can say that I couldn't spend my vacation in a better way. I am glad that God used me in this ministry and also I had a lot to learn from the experience of the Americans brothers. Mari D. (RO) I had the grace to be an interpreter in this mission; it's my 3rd time when I work this way and every time I realized that God used me. The American volunteer that I had in my team was Jennifer. I've talked to many people, especially women, mothers, and future mothers. I was very impressed of the way that God works with such a great accuracy. In Valea Doftanei I've visited a family and the mother was pregnant in 8 month. But after an hour, after we left she went to the hospital, because it was time for the baby to be born. I was very happy to hear that she put all her trust in God. The new baby, a girl, had some problems when she was born, but after few hours the doctor told to the new mother that the baby is OK. What impressed me more was the mother's confidence that said that God gave life to her daughter. Visiting another family, a mother and her 2 daughters (26 and 20 years old) were very curious to know more about God's Word and they saw in the Bible the only source of authority. Because Jennifer shared her testimony, another lady admitted, having tears in her eyes, that her life is not the way she wanted to be and that in the future she wants to be as God want her to be. Every person that we met was a person that God put in our way and may that the seed that was spread return to God fruitful.

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"Preach the Gospel to all creation" Mark 16:15