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Parliament
Destination - these distant mountians
| It was fun buying the coats, blankets, hats, gloves, shawls |
| Starting every day with worship |
| Sizing up the clothing items |
| The Recreation Center |
Doreen Gube speaking to the Kids
Actually I want to start with a personal desire I was able to fulfill on this trip. I arrived a day early in order to rest and do some praying in the capitol city of Bucharest. I arrived in the afternoon on Tuesday January 11th. After arriving at the hotel, shortly I fell asleep. I woke about 5:00 o’clock AM and ate breakfast. I talked with the receptionist at the desk and got a plan for visiting the center of Bucharest. I wanted to go to the Parliament (the third largest building in the world) and do a prayer- walk around it. I took a bus to the center but got off at the wrong stop. I walked around the center for about an hour hoping I would find the Parliament. I didn’t find it but seen some interesting sights. Finally I got a taxi and had him take me to the Parliament. Actually I was only $2.50 (7 Lei) away. I walked around the Parliament praying for Romania. I think they said it was about two miles around the outer wall. My desire is to complete a prayer-walk around all the Supreme Federal government buildings of all the Balkan countries. Day 1 – Jan. 12, 2011 We left Bucharest about 2pm on our way to Apata. We stopped at two superstores to buy coats, blankets, gloves, scarfs, etc. We really had a joyful time buying for others. We arrived in Apata around 9pm and shortly went to our hotel rooms. We were tired. Before retiring we went over plans for the next four days. Day 2 – Jan. 13 Our foreign team, Matt Lankenau , Doreen Gube, Jerry Low and Karl & Elvira Schuller and met for breakfast in the hotel restaurant. We then drove into Apata to the church, “Church on a Hill”. It is upon a hill. We met with the team from the church along with Senior Pastor Eduard and Second Pastor Gyuszi Simon. We spent about an hour in worship and prayer. There were words of encouragement from Pastor Edward, Matt and Jerry. Jerry had a bottle of anointing oil that was sent from a prayer group in Texas. Pastor Edward took the oil and went around the room anointing everyone and praying over them. I counted eighteen people, us foreigners and all the church workers. An amazing thing happened after the time of anointing; there was a mighty rushing wind that blew against the building blowing the door open. Some of us went outside to investigate just as the wind was calming down. There had not been a wind before that or after. I think the Lord had just manifested Himself and anointed us Himself. We brought in the coats, blankets, etc. The shoes were brought in from storage that had been bought earlier. We then sorted all the items into sizes and boxed them accordingly. After lunch we loaded up and left for the village with the plan of going house to house inviting the people to the recreation center, we had rented, for the showing of the “Jesus Film”. (The good thing about the Gypsy culture, you tell a few families and then word spreads throughout the whole village.) We had scheduled to show the film about 4:30pm. By 4:00 o’clock there was a big crowd waiting outside the recreation center. Inside as they were setting up the movie equipment, someone plugged in the amplifier into the wrong outlet and it blew a fuse. They had to send for another amplifier which took more than an hour. All this time the crowd stayed waiting outside. There was no heat in the rec-center and it was actually colder inside than outside. (It would of took two days to heat the center with their heating system. What amazed me was to see these people patiently wait for over an hour outside, eager to see a movie) The equipment arrived and was set up. The doors were opened and the people rushed in and scrambled for the best seats. The teenagers took the back rows like teenagers everywhere. About 50% children, 25% adults and 25% teenagers were in attendance. The film was introduced and shown. (There was much talking during the film and people moving around. The church workers did their best to keep people quite.) After the showing, Matt got up and gave a short testimony. Then Karl exhorted them to receive Jesus. There was much confusion in the room. Only about half of the people were listing while the others were talking, laughing and moving around. I went to the back of the room and begin to pray. Although I did not know what was being said, I looked up to see many hand being raised. Out of about 125 people at lease half had their hands raised for the invitation Karl was giving. Then they were ask to come forward to receive Jesus and about half did so. There was prayer for them. How many received Jesus we do not know. You could tell many were not repeating the sinner’s prayer and it seemed to me many were confused about what was going on. Many were moving around and even leaving the room. The fact is, the Gospel was presented and the Bible says God’s word does not return void. The people were released and we packed up and left. Day 3 – Jan. 14 After breakfast we (the EI team) met for prayer before leaving the hotel. It was a good time of prayer. We arrived at the church and once again started the day with a powerful time of worship and prayer. We then packed up the van and a trailer with the coats, shoes, etc. We went back to the village were we had shown the “Jesus Film” the day before. Having observed the direct attacks of the enemy the day before, I ask if I could prayer-walk the city. Elvira said she would like to join me. Elvira and I had them let us out at the village marker sign and we walked and prayed to the marker sign at the other end of the city. We walked down the main street of the city praying and asking for God’s favor, asking that the enemy be bound and that the people would be loosed. At the beginning of the village and at the other end we put a stick in the ground and proclaimed that the village was now set apart for the Holy Spirit to work and that the enemy could not pass those sticks and enter the village. Meanwhile, they had parked the van along with the trailer where the coats, blankets, etc were packed at a home that could be used as a base. They divided into teams of four people on each team and begin visiting the houses. Elvira and I met up with our teams after our prayer-walk. We started going house to house visiting the families. We were welcomed into every house, which is the way of the Gypsies and Romanians. The team I was on was Pastor Eduard, a lady named Laura, me and another young man whom I don’t remember his name. Our team first went to a house occupied by an elderly lady and her granddaughter about 7 years old. She told us the little girl’s mother lives in another place. Because there was not enough room for this child to live in her mother’s house she stayed with the grandmother. This house was actually just one room about 12 by 10 feet. There were two couch/beds, a little wood burning heater, a wood burning stove and a table. I did not see a sink so I guess they have to wash plates and their clothes outside. They must have to use an outdoor toilet. The grandmother said she had a problem with varicose veins. They said they were Christians. We prayed for her and the daughter and they were so thankful. Two members of our team took the grandmother’s and the girl’s shoes and coat sizes and went to the trailer for a the items. They were so happy to get these items. I got misty-eyed watching them try them on. They were so happy. We left that house knowing God’s peace was left there. We then went to another house where there was a family living in even a worse situation. At this house there was a lady with five (5) children. This house was about 10 feet by 10 feet. Also the lady told us her husband lived there with them but he had a two day job in the larger city of the region. Imagine that seven (7) people living in a 10 by 10 house. The children were from ages 1 year to 12 years old. The 12 year old had cerebral palsy and would squeal very often, even in the middle of the night. The lady had some medicine she would give him to try to calm him. He could not walk but just had to stay laying in the bed all the time. The lady uncovered the child’s legs to show his legs as just skin and bones. She started rubbing the child’s legs and said she had to do that often. I ask her through translation if I could rub his legs. I begin to rub and pray for healing. Finally I got to the point where I could only just weep. No sign of healing but God will do His work in His time. We took the children’s sizes and part of the team went to get coats, shoes, etc. The small children kept wanting to get in my lap. The woman said the husband drinks away most of the money that he makes. We left God’s peace but were very sad for their situation. This lady said she was a Christian. We then visited another Gypsy home where the people were a little better off. It was a family with three children. We talked to them about Jesus and His love for them. We told them the plan of salvation and the father, mother and the oldest child ask Jesus to come into their hearts. The three children were all boys. We got their sizes and part of the team went to get the coats and shoes for them. That left Pastor Eduard and I and I felt led to tell them about the Holy Spirit and how He could fill their lives with overcoming power. They also prayed to be filled with the Holy Spirit. We fit them with coats and shoes. We left behind great joy. Our team then went to a house were there were Christians. It was an elderly couple and their three grandchildren. The three children were all girls, ranging from ages 7 to 10. They told us that the children’s mother was in jail. So we blessed the family with prayer, especially praying for the mother in jail and that the family would not feel shame. We took the sizes of the girls and fitted them with coats, shoes, and scarves. While part of the team went to get the items, I just felt like the oldest girl should pray for me. I had translated to her that I had a long ways to go in order to get back home. I asked her to pray that I would have a safe trip. She put her hand on me and prayed. I did not know what she was praying but I could feel it was from her heart. (I had a smooth trip home with comfortable seats all the way.) We then went to another house were three families were gathered. We told them about Jesus and how He could take away their sins and give them new life. We ask them if they wanted to receive Jesus in their hearts. There were two ladies that said they could not receive Jesus because they smoked. We assured her that Jesus would accept them just as they were; all they needed to do was repent of their sins. Everyone in the house prayed the sinners’ prayer. It was amazing. I counted fifteen (15) people. Then we took the sizes of the people and went and got the items for them. Our team left this house with much joy. The Lord had truly done a great work in that house. It had become dark and it was time to leave. The other teams reported salvations also. The husband at the house where we were able to park the van and trailer got saved also. Saturday, January 15th We met with the leadership team at the church there in Apata for prayer. It was a powerful time of prayer. After prayer the church was opened for the children’s program that morning. At first we were wondering if they were coming. Finally the children started coming along with some adults that escorted them. (Found out later that there was something else going on in the village that took a lot of the children away) Those that came were blessed by the “Jesus Film” and Doreen gave her testimony of being saved as a child. Many children came forward for prayer at the end. It was great to see these children eager for God. We had lunch with the church leadership; beans and wennies and good bread. We then went to another village where the church had done outreaches before. I think we may have went to another side of the village to visit people they hadn’t visited before. We divided into teams and started going house to house. The first house my team went to was an elderly couple. I remember the ceiling was so low I had to really watch my head. They had a son that was in prison and were very stressed over that. They were fearful for their son because the prison is so bad; violence and lack of adequate food. Also the man had problems with his legs. These people were Christians and you could tell they had a higher level of hope. We prayed for their son and the man’s legs. They were so grateful we came. Next my team went to a home of four people. There was an older couple and their daughter and son-in-law. I don’t know if the younger couple had children or not. There were no children present and it was never translated to me about children. We found out they had never trusted Jesus. The family was very concerned about the mother and her deep depression and was suicidal. You could see it on her face. One of the team members ask me if I would pray for her. I begin to pray and there arose anger in me. I was just so mad at the Devil for oppressing this lady. I told the Devil to get out of the house right now and go into the ditch out front and be washed away. We then told the family about Jesus and how He could wash away their sins. The older man was an alcoholic and had brought much stress to the family. We ask them if they would like to receive Jesus. All said yes except the older man. He got up and left the house. They repeated the sinners prayer and afterward proclaimed they were now Christians. The older lady who had been suffering depression actually began to have a smile on her face. Then we gave them some coats and shoes. We were outside about to leave, but before we did we ask the man again if he wanted to receive Jesus. He now agreed and repeated the sinner’s prayer and afterward proclaimed he was a Christian. Outside it was raining; so he ask Jesus to come into his heart in the rain. I went on to pray that the Lord would help him stop drinking. I actually prayed that alcohol would now make him sick went he drinks it. We left from there and went to a village further up into the mountains. Most of the people in this village are Hungarian but there are many Gypsies also. They actually have a small church building but there is no electricity in it. They had brought a generator but it would not start. So they ask the neighbor if they could run a cord from his house. He agreed. Pastor Edward told me afterward that this was a real miracle for him to agree because the neighbor really didn’t like them. We now had electricity. We had another Jesus film that was in the Hungarian language. We showed the film and I was asked to give my testimony. There was about forty (40) people including our team. After giving my testimony I asked for those that wanted to accept Jesus to come forward; there was three children and two ladies that came forward. We gave them instructions on receiving Jesus into their hearts and before we started having them pray the sinner’s prayer another man came forward to receive Jesus; so six (6) people accepted Jesus. Afterward I had them turn around and confess to the congregation that they were now Christians. There was excitement in the room with everyone clapping for them. Before leaving this village, Pastor Edward told me an amazing thing about this little church. In this village there is much strife between the Hungarians and the Gypsies. Many fights with people having been killed. The fact that people from both people groups come to the church is a sign of God’s power. Sunday, Jan. 17th The Sunday morning service at “Church on the Hill” started about 11:00am. We worshiped the Lord and felt His presence. On a Sunday morning many people come or are transported in form other villages besides Apata. There was a section of the church were the Hungarian speaking people sat together so they could get a translation of the service. After worship, us foreigners were given the service. Matt started by exhorting the church and had a word from the Lord that there was people in the service hurting or stiff wrist. Looking around, I think about four (4) people responded out of the now assembled estimated one-hundred and fifty (150) people. Those around them were asked to pray for those that responded. The lady I prayed for held her arm out and it was obvious she could not move her wrist. After praying she started moving it all around and was happy God had healed her. Then Matt called me forward to give my testimony. The theme of my testimony was the rejection I received from my father and how that led me to a life of drugs. Because of my feelings of rejection, I had found acceptance from those living a drug dependent lifestyle. Then I invited those that had never accepted Jesus to come forward. First there were four or five younger children that came. Then I ask if there were others and three teenagers came forward. There was clapping and rejoicing from the audience. They repeated the sinner’s prayer with me through a translator. After they had prayed, I instructed them that Jesus is faithful and because they had ask Jesus to forgive their sins, He was now in their hearts. I ask them to now turn around and face the congregation and say out loud “I am now a Christian”. Then Pastor Edward ask me to extend the invitation for those Christians that had suffered rejection or just needed prayer. Many more people came forward and all the church workers plus us foreigners started to pray for the people. It was so good to see people getting set free. There was a fifteen minute break and then we reassembled and had a time of praise and worship. Then Karl preached a message to us that was very inspiring. After the service was over it was hard saying our goodbyes. We had spent these days working with these church workers that are so dedicated to serving the Lord. They had translated for us as we spoke in the services, ask we talked with and prayed for the people. My prayers will always be for these workers who are on the front lines touching the people daily. Before we left we had a Hungarian meal with the Pastor Edward, his wife Ibi, and a few other people. Oh, that tomato soup was so good, just like my Hungarian mother-in-law makes. (There are many ethnic Hungarians in Transylvania and the pastor and his wife and Gyuszi the Second Pastor are Hungarian and to see them giving their lives for the Romanians and Gypsies is such an example of God’s love) I want to thank all of those that made this trip possible. This trip changed my life and I was able to see Jesus change many lives. You should be encouraged that you had a part in Jesus being lifted up in a dark land. JERRY LOW |
Ministry in the Hungarian Village
Children that came forward for prayer
Confessing they are now Christians
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