She said Yes!
“What can you tell us about Jesus?” was the question I asked. All I got was a shoulder shrug and a blank expression. Woah, here we are in a small village of about 9,000 people here in Romania and thats the response I recieved?
This month in Romania our squad is partnering with Hope Church. They have a variety of ministries and outreach projects. One ministry my team and I are working with is called “9,000 souls.” The heart behind this project is to reach all 9,000 souls in Draganesti with the gospel.
One way this project works is through family house visits. This Tuesday a teammate of mine, Jessica, a translator and myself went. The daughter of the family, visited the church before and left her contact information with them. Jess and I popped in for a friendly unexpected visit.
Three ladies at the house warmly welcomed us. I cannot remember their Romanian names, only their faces, so for the sake of the story, they will be referred to as grandmother, mother, and daughter. It wasn’t long into small talk before they asked why we were here, and we were able to introduce the World Race and ultimately Jesus.
They were quick to say “we know Jesus, we are orthodox” to which we replied “what can you tell us about Jesus?” Fortunately, a shoulder shrug and a blank expression (similar to most of my replies while talking to college professors) are universal nonverbal cues so I was able to assume they did not really know Jesus.
First, let us go on a quick but vital tangent about the Orthodox Church here. Backstory of people being ‘Orthodox’. There is a lot I could say about this that I do not agree with but I will be brief. Basically be are born into the Orthodox church and they assume they are Christian and saved because they are christened as a baby. They typically do not pray directly to Jesus, but through the priest. It seems as though it’s a religion not a relationship with Jesus.
Back to the visit. We talked for quite some time. I was gentle, but uncomprimising. I explained the differences between believing in Jesus, and putting your faith in Jesus by having a personal relationship with Him. At the end, the mother responded with a “Yes” to receive salvation. The grandmother though, had a different story.
While the mother was ready to come to Jesus, the grandmother hesitated and without saying anything, got up and left the room. It was like watching a movie up until the climax and leaving the theatre right before you saw what happened. Although the grandmother walked away, we continued to pray with the mother to accept Jesus. She said she could feel something inside of her and it made her happy.
Immediately as we said “Amen,” the grandmother returned into the room. I knew this was an attack from the enemy trying to prevent her from talking directly to Jesus. After about 10 more minutes of conversation we asked again. (#persistence) “Would you like to pray to Jesus and ask for salvation?” We sat there awaiting her response….
She said “Yes!”
In excitement we all prayed and she accepted Jesus that day. AHOO AHOO! Words cannot describe the joy I feel when I see someone go from death to life in Jesus, this makes my whole World Race trip worth it already!
I am still uncertain how whole-hearted the grandmother may have been. But I feel confident that the mother not only accepted Jesus that day, but she was also able to be connected here to the local church. And Lord willing the grandmother accepted Jesus also, and if not pray the Lord would haunt her until she really did come to “know” Jesus!
