Moldova Report
In late October I had again visited Moldova with Dan Onu who heads up our missions movement. While there, we met and shared Christ with Sasha a renowned forty-something soccer coach. For two months since returning, I had often prayed for his salvation and that of Antonia his wife and daughter Olia. On January 2nd I received an e-mail from Dan that Sasha had received Christ and now wished to be baptized. I greatly rejoiced in the Lord's answer to my prayers, considering this my "year end bonus," as it were. The Lord is bringing key leaders to Himself in Moldova, because He is doing a new thing and it is wonderful to behold.
After returning from a joyous holiday reunion with family, late January found me again with Dan in Moldova. We visited Valerica, now receiving daily care and love from our little Tirnova church plant. We took her to a doctor for evaluation. Valerica suffers from many maladies, including a significant retardation, due either to the initial injury, the years of neglect, or both. We are working with the local authorities to move her in with a Christian family. This is however a complex and thorny issue, with no quick fix.
We then visited Sasha. Upon entering his small home he embraced me, now as a brother in the Lord. One of the ancillary benefits of his conversion was being released from a twenty-five year addiction to smoking. Sasha is known and respected by all in that part of Moldova. Word soon reached Berea that Sasha had come to Christ and, even more astonishing, had quit smoking. Berea's wife had come to Christ and attends the church in Tirnova. Their son is in prison doing hard time for severely beating a man and making him eat glass (did I mention that life in Moldova is grim?). She has prayed for her husband to come to Christ. Berea is dying of a malignant tumor behind his sinus cavity and having consumed a river of rock-gut vodka, which is all too cheap and in local abundance. Berea, upon hearing that Sasha had quit smoking proclaimed that since his conversion had brought this on, he too wanted to receive Christ. All day this couple had awaited Dan and Sasha's arrival (I was just the chauffeur).
Near sundown we entered the tiny hovel that this tortured family calls home. We were offered nothing because they have nothing. As one we huddled in the cramped space that served as dining, living and bed room. Our chatter was idle and superficial until Dan said , "So Berea, you want to receive Christ?" Dan then admonished how important is was to understand who Jesus is and what He has done for us. I watched the exchanged between Dan and Berea. Sasha, a true convert, chimed in, reiterating his having forsaken cigarettes, by the power of the Holy Spirit. Dan then asked Berea if he wanted to receive Jesus Christ. At length he replied, "To please my wife it would be simple to say yes, but I must say truthfully that I am not quite ready."
As a bystander, I watched Berea's expression. It was clear that he was moved by what he had heard. It was equally clear that he took this eternal question very seriously. I took heart from this. I do not believe that Berea will live much longer, he is dying by degrees. I mistook him for the father, not the husband. Although he appears in his sixties, he is only forty-seven. I am confident that Berea will come to Christ, for he knows that it is the end of his road, his lost highway. It has been a life bereft of any future hope. Now he has been given hope. Hope found in the message of devoted missionaries like Dan, Sasha and others. This small band of brothers sent and sustained by you, through Little Texas. Pray for Berea, his time draws nigh.