A light began to shine deep in the heart of Romania, as a small town of farmers and sheepherders saw the love of Jesus shine through acts of kindness, singing, health ministry, multimedia, and preaching.
Les Zollbrecht, then Hood View Church youth pastor in Boring, Ore., and his wife Marschelle, recently led six Portland Adventist Academy students and four others on a two-week evangelistic journey to Novaci, Romania.
After the first Saturday night’s meeting, local Orthodox priests warned their members not to attend the meetings, but attendance still grew from night to night.
Each program during the first week began with an informative health exposition, including a display of posters, health testing, massage, and circulation of health pamphlets.
The team also presented a daily program for children, with puppets, storytelling, singing, and simple crafts.
Then, at 7 p.m. everyone would meet in the large meeting hall, where John Gobble, M.D., began the presentations with a lecture on the principles of healthy living.
The group then showed segments of “Visual Bible—Matthew” on a large movie screen, followed by a drawing for a free Bible. Pastor Zollbrecht then delivered his sermon, illustrated by PowerPoint slides using local scenes and Romanian text.
Community Service
The group enjoyed their visits to a local orphanage, where they taught about 80 children about basic hygiene skills, gave away toothpaste and toothbrushes, played games, and sang songs.
Local people often approached Dr. Gobble about health issues, and he prayed with them and shared simple remedies and important lifestyle tips.
On the final evening, the group gave away nearly 200 Bibles. The people were thrilled to receive them, many people asked group members to sign their Bibles, and some asked to be baptized. A Romanian Bible worker remained behind to study with them, as they prepared to join the church.
As their final act of community service, the group delivered bags of staple foods to 30 of the town’s most needy homes.
In a land where many are losing hope for a better tomorrow, the Hood View mission group helped kindle fire in hearts of many Romanian people •
The Hood View mission team gathers at the Targu Jiu Church, on a Sabbath morning.
