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As a minister of reconciliation, Alex Palade faithfully shares the unsearchable riches of Christ with students and adults.  The wisdom of Christ is very evident in Alex as he has a unique ability to engage people who have suppressed the truth of God in their opposition to the gospel.  The following are a few of his encounters this past month: 

Evangelistic outreach in the campus in Brasov

“I went to the campus with Joao, the student from Angola. We met in the park several high school and college students. I was shocked to see the teenagers (especially those born after 2004) so sinful and burdened with sin (alcohol, smoking, pornography, sexual immorality and so much unbelief). They had never heard what God says about sin and immorality and they understood for the first time that they were going to hell. It was hard for some of them to accept that they were going to hell as they believed that they would only be buried in the ground and that was it. They smiled when they heard about hell. I told them how much God had loved us and punished His Son in our place. They had New Testaments at home, so I urged them to read them. I talked to them for about two hours. One male student was interested in our message and was searched by the Word. Aaron, a Christian student, told me that the students are doing many bad things on the campus (immorality, violence and the girls make pornographic videos for the internet).

After this discussion, I felt discouraged and powerless and I told God how I felt. Then I met two other students. They understood for the first time what God says about killing and sexual immorality and that they were going to hell. One of them wanted to put her trust in the Lord.

Then I met three young men. One of them was really touched by the Word of God. He admitted he had sinned very much. He is from Constanta, but he had never heard those things in his family and he didn’t have a New Testament at home. I gave him one. He asked me to give him my phone number, so he could call me if he didn’t understand something from the New Testament. He heard the Gospel for the first time.

Evangelistic outreach in the campus in Targoviste

Alex is a student. He started believing in God when his ex-girlfriend went to a witch to bewitch him. He started hearing noises during the night, his bed was shaking and he felt that someone was trying to choke him. His parents didn’t believe these things, so they slept in his room and then realized that those things were real. So they went to the priests who could have never solved his problem. Alex didn’t know he was going to hell. He believed he could be saved through good deeds. He listened to me carefully and wanted to put his trust in Christ, but he wasn’t ready to pay the price of following Him.

Then I met Paul and his girlfriend. He had read the Bible before. They found out for the first time that they were going to hell and they wanted to know how they could be saved.

Evangelistic outreach in the campus in Craiova

Iulia is from Craiova. She understood for the first time that you can kill someone in your mind. I told her what God says about sin and she still believed she was a good person. It was hard for her to accept that she was going to hell. She said that God decided that and only He could know that. I shared with her about Christ and she wanted to put her trust in Him. So, I asked her why she wanted to do that and she said, “To get rid of Satan”. I told her that Christ was the sacrifice for our sins.

Eric is from the Republic of Moldova and he is a student in Craiova. He was very open to the Gospel. His mother had taught him about God. He admitted he loved sin and there was a tension in him. He believed he was forgiven through confession to the priest. He didn’t know he was going to hell or how he could be forgiven. He believed he loved God and he was going to heaven. I explained to him what it means to love God and he realized he actually loved other gods. He said he wanted to put his trust in Christ so that he wouldn’t go to hell. He loved living in sin, but he didn’t want to be punished for that.

Haimaiun and Esan are from Afghanistan. They are Muslims. I had heard from a converted Muslim that the Quran speaks about Christ more than about Muhammed. So I asked these students if the Quran says that Jesus performed miracles, raised people from the dead and forgave sins. They said it did. So, is He not God? Jesus said that only God could forgive sins. They didn’t know what to say. They believed in God’s existence and in His revelation through creation. When I told them what Jesus had said about killing and sexual immorality, they were searched and humbled. They understood that God is a just and holy God and He must punish sin. They agreed with me. So, they understood they were going to hell. Then I explained to them the meaning of Christ’s death. They understood they must put their trust in the One who had paid for our sins. They took the Gospel tract that I gave them and also gave me their phone numbers, so I could get in touch with them again.

Peter is from Cameroon and he is a Catholic. At the beginning, I thought he was a believer. He admitted he committed immorality in his mind. He understood for the first time that he was going to hell and wanted to hear how he could be saved. He said he wanted to put his trust in Christ and to meet with the group of Christian students.

Joao and I met Daniel and he was very open to the spiritual things. I shared the Gospel with him and he understood how God sees sin. He felt impoverished. When he was in the 12th grade, his host received a Bible and wanted to burn it, but he asked that person to give the Bible to him. So, he started reading the Bible and God convinced him that he was a sinner. His grandfather had mocked him for reading the Bible, but now he also started seeking God. Two days before we met him, Daniel had a dream in which God told him that he needed to repent or otherwise he would go to hell. So, he wanted to put his trust in Christ. I also read with him the parable of the prodigal son.

Diana and Ramona attended our evangelistic event on Tuesday night. Ramona was crying. Diana said she wanted to put her trust in Christ in order to have inner peace, but Ramona said she wanted to do that in order to be forgiven of her sins.

Dan, who is a student, is a disabled person. I shared the Gospel with him for the first time in December 2017, when he attended our Christmas event. Then I met him again another day and I shared the Gospel with him again. He was searched by the Lord and he understood that suicide is not a solution. He wanted to have eternal life. Several days ago, he attended the Christian students’ meeting in Ploiesti and he cried all the time as he listened to the Christian songs that were sung. He just couldn’t stop crying and he prayed for forgiveness for his sins and for all the bad things he had done. His prayer was similar to the tax collector’s prayer in the Bible.”

Don is serving as the HeartCry Coordinator for Eastern Europe. As an itinerant evangelist, his pulpit ministry is directed toward preaching on the inner life of the believer and the spiritual need of the lost. With HeartCry, his ministry includes organizing Bible conferences and corresponding with the HeartCry missionaries in Europe. He and his lovely wife Cindy live in Tuscumbia, AL.

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