Sept 02 2



First Romanian Messianic Conference Ever! Bucharest, Romania Ministry Report, 2002

Miriam and I want to thank all of you for your prayers for us while we ministered to the Jewish community in Bucharest, Romania. We helped develop the messianic congregations and a number of messianic leaders that came from throughout Romania and Moldova--and yes, people came to faith!
There were two days of travel each way. In the six days we were actually there, Miriam and I both taught and gave training sessions. Miriam led several sessions on messianic worship and women’s discipleship; she also helped lead the worship at all the services, which were many. The guitar they provided for her had no strap, so she had to stand and put one foot up on a chair and play sort-of ‘cowgirl style’. It worked. The worship team consisted of Romanian believers who were professional opera singers, and Miriam had a great time serving with them as they sang Hebrew and Romanian songs, with a little English thrown in.
I had the privilege to speak a total of 19 times in the six days we were there, and thank the Lord, miraculously, my voice held up fine. My topics included The Feasts of Israel (6 messages), Messianic Leadership Training (5 messages), Messianic Doctrine (4 messages) and God’s Concern for Israel (4 messages). Our hosts were Theo and Nora Smilovici; good friends who live ‘part-time’ here in Charlotte, and the rest of the time in Romania.
Though I had three different interpreters, Theo, who organized the various meetings, was the main interpreter. On Monday night we held an outreach at the Bucharest Operetta House where I gave my testimony and Miriam led in a medley of Hebrew worship songs.
Attending were university students from various ethnic backgrounds, the general public and interested believers. It was a great crowd, great place a a great opportunity to get the Great News out! When Miriam and I weren’t speaking, we were counseling messianic leaders and witnessing to Jewish people from the area. We also had television coverage from a believing TV newsperson who filmed several services, and interviewed me for Romanian TV. While there we saw quite a bit of response to the messages, with several Jews and a number of Gentiles coming to faith in Messiah. Theo and Nora were thrilled to hold this first-ever Messianic Conference in Bucharest, and they felt it was a wonderful success. One of the most encouraging things we saw happen centered around ministry to one particular Jewish man,Avner. He was brought to the first day of meetings by a messianic pastor and friend. Avner and I spoke for about an hour after the morning meetings. He had many questions, so we agreed to meet on Saturday morning for breakfast, along with a Romanian Jewish believer who was happy to serve as our interpreter. As Avner and I began our conversation I wanted to get to know him better, so I asked him about his background. His story revealed much hardship. His father abandoned him when Avner was young. Afterward, his mother remarried and Avner found himself being beaten and abused by his stepfather. It became so bad that at fourteen Avner left home. Last but not least, His mother rejected him as well. Was it any wonder that Avner was having a difficult time understanding and trusting in God’s unconditional love for him? Even so, Avner did feel that God was trying to reach him. As a Jewish man, though, he couldn’t accept Yeshua as the God of Israel’s answer for his questions. He explained that his wife, who was Gentile, had been given a Bible a few months ago, and was encouraged to “look into Jesus.” He was enraged, forbade her to pray to Jesus, and threw out the Bibles and literature that she’d been given. Avner did not want to forsake the God of Israel, and he didn’t want his wife to go after Jesus, whom he considered a false god. Avner asked me, “ If Yeshua, or Jesus, is the Messiah then why isn’t His name in the Tenach (Hebrew Scriptures)?” I replied, “As a matter of fact His name can be found throughout the Hebrew Scriptures. Let’s look at one passage in Isaiah 49:6.” We read this together in English, Romanian and then partly in Hebrew. “It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also make You a light of the nations so that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” “You see the words My salvation, in the Hebrew, Avner?” I asked. “This is Messiah’s name, Yeshua, (in this case Yeshuati). What God is saying through the prophet Isaiah is that this Servant would be raised up to restore Israel, but that this would be too small a job. This Servant would be a light to all people, and bring His salvation to the end of the earth.” “This is amazing! I must remember this scripture,” Avner exclaimed as he examined the text. “Look at Isaiah 49, verses 15 and 16 of the same chapter; I want you to see how much God loves you, Avner. I know you have been deeply hurt by the abuse of your father, stepfather and your mother’s rejection, but look at what the Lord says to you.” Avner then read the verses. “Can a woman forget her nursing child, and have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even they may forget, but I will not forget you, Behold I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands….” But Avner had more questions. “Why did Messiah have to suffer and where does it say He would suffer?” he asked. I replied, “Let’s take a look at Isaiah 53.” CONTINUED NEXT MONTH! Please pray for Avner and his wife and children, and be sure to catch the exciting conclusion of what the Lord did in Avner’s life! (Click on 'Next Page' for "Part 2". Names have been changed to protect the privacy of the individuals.
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