Sometimes ministry is really relaxed, and sometimes, I get threatened by a 90 year-old Romanian woman.
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One of our main ministries here at Hope Church (Biserica Speranta) is street evangelism. That’s a pretty “churchy” word, and basically, all it means is we walk down the street, talk to people, get to know them, and tell them about Jesus if they’re open to it. We do this in grace and in love; we do not try to manipulate or convert, we just ask them about what they believe and share the Gospel in which we believe.
Walking the streets of a Romanian neighborhood, Dolj, we handed out bibles to the residents. Though many of them were elderly, some were still very lively, like this gentleman, who corrected our translator, Ana, when she said “he was an engineer” by saying “no no, I AM an engineer!”
He is the gentleman in the center in the orange hat.
While we were talking to him, I spotted an old woman, crouched over, shuffling down the road. She had a tall walking stick, and I felt like I should hand her a bible. I greeted her with the typical respectful “buna ziua!” (pronounced “boona ziwa”) and a smile, and offered her a bible.
She immediately straightened up and shook her walking stick above her head. She began shouting something in Romanian and moved towards me.
It was really eye-opening. I know obviously that I am not in any real danger of this petite, elderly woman, but it shocked me. Living in a community of ~30 Christ-followers, it’s easy to forget Jesus’ warning “if they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.” (John 15:20)
I went back to the group, a little deflated, but I started to pray.
“Lord, change this woman’s heart. I want to speak with her, give her Your peace.”
She went a little bit down the road and circled back to us a few minutes later. Ana spoke with her for a moment, and she started crying; her son had died just a few months earlier.
I heard my own broken heart crack a little.
This woman let me put my arm around her and cry with her. I shared with her how I, too, had lost someone very important to me and that, even though it hurts and it doesn’t make sense, God is still so good.
It was a precious gift from God. In trusting me with pain, He has invited me to bear His image as a comforter, as 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 says:
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”
An answered prayer. A changed atmosphere. Grief. Comfort. What an absolute honor to be a part of it all.
She didn’t say much after that, but she did continue to walk with us while we went to talk to another woman named Luchika.
Sweet, sweet, blue-eyed, Luchika.
Face wrinkled from years of gathered life, Luchika.
Heart softened and ready for Christ to intervene, Luchika.
My squadmates Hunter and Caitlyn shared the gospel with her while I prayed. She was carrying some heavy guilt which led her to believe she was going to Hell when she died. How she lit up when we told her that she could go to Heaven if she wanted! She could live with Jesus forever, and she said she’d like that, if we could tell her how.
And friends, that is when I saw someone accept Jesus for the first time in my life.
Then she jumped up and started walking down the road with us, ready to help us hand out bibles. She told us she would tell her daughter about what had happened, and she would have her daughter read her bible to her.
This, this is why I’m here: to share a message that changes people’s lives literally forever. To use my story and my pain to comfort others. To see God redeem a situation from hostility to comfort. To laugh and love and enjoy this beautiful and good gift from above that we call life.
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Hope Church Romania is the church we are working with in Draganesti-Olt, Romania. I am awestruck at how they are following Matthew 28:18 in this spiritually dark place. They are partnering with the Lord and are seeing revival come to this land. They are constantly in need of more laborers to reap the harvest in Romania! If you’d like to partner with them, or join them in short or long-term missions, check out their website here for more information!
