Baptisms

HeartCry missionary, Alex Palade, has been doing the work of an evangelist in the village of Zizin. He has teamed up with Emanuel Ivan, who had a burden to share the gospel in what is primarily a Gypsy community. Recently, Alex has seen fruit from his labor as five people who trusted Christ followed the Lord in believer’s baptism. In his recent report, he relates how the Lord has blessed the outreach in Zizin:

By God’s grace, five peoples were baptized on August 1st: Marin and his wife, Aurica, Naoki and our daughter, Estera. The baptism took place in Marin and Maria’s courtyard, where we usually have our meetings during the week. Several believers from Providence Church in Brasov attended the baptism service. But God brought many non-Christian people from the village to attend the service where they heard the gospel. The courtyard was full of people and God gave us grace and great joy. Aurica’s children attended the baptism service. They are Orthodox. Also, brother Marin’s children and grandchildren attended. I could also see that there were several people that I had shared the Word with on the street. Following the baptism service, I approached several people and preached the Word to them.

One young man who I preached the gospel to is an Orthodox. He’s involved in gambling and drinking alcohol. He understood for the first time that he was going to hell and that he could only be saved through repentance and faith in Christ. Another couple is Orthodox. They came to see the baptism. I told them what God said about sin and they realized that they were lost and that only Christ could forgive them. I also preached the gospel to Rahela and her husband, Alex. He used to go to the Pentecostal church from time to time. As I preached the Word, he realized he was only religious and hadn’t been regenerated. At the beginning of our discussion, he was convinced that his good deeds would take him to heaven. He understood that he was lost and that he needed to put his trust in Christ for the salvation of his soul.

A week before, I visited Catalin and Celi. They came to church in Brasov with Dan and Adela. I visited them along with Naoki, Dan and Adela. When I got to their place, there were several people waiting to hear God’s Word. They all realized that they were lost and could only be saved through Christ. On Tuesday, I went to Zizin again and visited them. I found Celi, Ana, Marcela, Ilie’s mother, who had attended the baptism service, and Madalina. Marcela and Madalina left to invite where husbands to join us, but they didn’t come back. God had mercy on Celi and Ana as they turned to the Lord. In the evening, they also attended our meeting along with their children. Celi’s daughter also attended the children’s program. Celi told us that her husband, Catalin, had been rebuked by a relative, who had urged him not to repent because he couldn’t dance and drink anymore.

I met an older lady about two months ago and she realized she was a sinner. She has given birth to 10 children, but confessed that she had aborted four babies. Her husband is an alcoholic and a demon-possessed man. He mistreated her very badly. He shepherds sheep, and rarely comes home. The woman came to our meeting and I talked to her along with sister explaining the Word to her again. God searched her heart and she said she wanted to repent and ask the Lord Jesus to be her personal Lord and Savior. Praise God!

Razvan is a young man from Bucharest. He had come to Brasov to attend his uncle’s funeral. He said he didn’t need God or an intercessor. He said he had his own faith and he didn’t have to believe what I told him. So, I explained to him that this was not my message, but God’s message from the Bible. I noticed once again the force of God’s Word as I was sharing with him different Bible verses. He was listening to me silently. In the end, he understood that he was a sinner and that his sins would take him to hell. He was eager to hear how he could be forgiven through Christ.

Simina is Aurica and Sorin’s daughter. She was open to hear God’s Word and understood that she was lost, even though she used to have a good opinion about herself. She used to believe that going to church would save her. I preached Christ to her and she understood that she needed to put her trust in the Lord Jesus. I gave her a gospel tract and she sat down and read it. May the Lord have mercy on her and on Alex, her husband!

Through God’s grace, I continued my ministry in Zizin, with the children and adults. I made evangelistic visits. I continue to disciple Naoki and challenged him to prepare his first sermon. We checked it together and he preached it to the children in Zizin. He preached from 1 Peter 2:1-3 and I was very encouraged by the depth of his study. It was a Christ-centered sermon.

I spoke to the young people in “Providence” Church and preached to the church. I counseled a family of former students from Ploiesti. He’s a pastor now. He asked us to help them as a couple. At the end of our meeting, God helped each of them understand their problems and they repented. When we talked again, he told me that his wife’s attitude towards him had changed. Praise the Lord!