As mentioned in my last post, John and Christina were our contacts and hosts in the Village of Lisa. I wanted to tell you their story of how they came to be the loving Christians they are.
John and Christina were always fighting; fighting to the point that she, and others, were very afraid for her life. There were times Christina would hide in the house, due to fear, because she knew John was coming home and would probably be violent.
Through a translator, John looked at me with sadness and said "sister, you know, I used to beat my wife, I used to beat her so bad." In the same conversation, John said "no other woman would have stayed with me, she shouldn't have stayed with me." John was known through the community as being violent, not only to his wife, but in the community also. He had beat many and many were afraid of him.
Raul (our head contact for Romania) would frequently check-in on Christina making sure she was okay and alive. Once John told Raul if he ever came back he would kill him and Christina. This didn't stop Raul from returning and eventually led to John's conversion.
When John came to know Christ he turned a full 180*, 100% sold out and not going back. After John changed his mind and heart to knowing Christ, his actions changed as well. His skeptical wife watched him for a while, not sure if she should believe this change to be real, but soon enough she realized that John was a new man. Not long after, Christina came to know Christ as her Savior also.
John has devoted his life to serving Christ. He frequently visits and serves the sick and unsaved people of the Village of Lisa and the surrounding areas. John is the pastor of the church and devotes his week to serving the congregation as well. One day while in Lisa working with John, he asked us to help him fertilize a field, it turned out to not be John's field, but a friend's. That's the man that John is, a servant, a mentor, an encourager and a lover of God's children. He has raised his beautiful family to love and serve the same way.
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Here John gave the community kids at Kid's Club a goody bag of toys. Photo Credit: Kalin Quigley
When we came to Moldova, John was one of our drivers. Upon arriving I was rushed to the hospital because of severe pain from kidney stones. While I was waiting for our translator to find out where I was supposed to go, John was very concerned. He tried everything to make me feel comfortable, though nothing was working, it was a great gesture. And as soon as we found where to go, he grabbed me under the arm and almost carried me in. His 'daddy-mode' was definitely turned on! He said, "sister, you pray." He had to leave, (because of not being family) almost immediately, and without saying goodbye. I've sent my many thanks to him via Facebook, but it's not the same, my gratitude for him being a part of my life is great, I will never forget him.
