Romania 2009

Mission Trip to Romania

December 15-29, 2009

Bringing Christ to Prisoners Everywhere

“..you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

It was only by the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that he gave us the opportunity to have another mission trip in the last month of 2009.  Sorin Iacoban, from Bethel Church (Detroit) and I, from Golgotha Church (Chicago) decided to spend the last days of 2009 in the mission field.  We arrived in Bucharest when the snows fell heavily.  This made the traffic very bad and the people got stranded on the roads for long hours because of the weather.  Some had to be carried off by helicopters because they ran out of gas or food and needed to keep warm.  Our driver, Daniel Ursulean, who came from Suceava to Bucharest with my father Vasile Lupancu were blocked for 18 hours on the road before arriving to Urziceni.  Despite the circumstances, we were not completely stopped from beginning our mission in the prisons.  On Tuesday, we met our contacts; Constantin Gramada, Tamara Ulmeanu, Potop Ioan, and other volunteers, in Bucharest.

On Wednesday, we visited Prison Jilava where we went to the hospital inside and held a meeting with each patient in their cells individually.  We brought them gifts and words of encouragement and we prayed for them.  After visiting the hospital we held another meeting with other inmates in their main conference room.  There was a great response from the inmates.  Majority of them decided to give their life (and some rededicate their lives) to Jesus Christ.  A former inmate was one of the volunteers that assisted us in our mission.  He dedicated his life to Christ years ago while in prison.  He shared the testimony of his salvation and many of his former friends [inmates and guards] were affected and impacted by his testimony of how his life was transformed.  There is power in the Gospel of Jesus Christ who transforms lives from inside out and people that are coming from nowhere are getting somewhere with hope, dedication, vision and purpose.  This motivates and fuels us in the mission field because we see the results and transformations are real!

On Thursday, we ministered in the Prison of Rahova where I was not allowed access because the approval was denied that day but our volunteers from Bucharest were given access and continued to minister the gospel of Hope and brought gifts for the holiday season to the inmates.  We were planning to go to another prison around Bucharest but due to the weather conditions were unable to go.  After 18 hours, the roads were cleaner and traffic was permitted and my driver was finally able to arrive in Bucharest with my father after a day.

On Friday morning, we left Bucharest and went to Tirgu Ocna Prison, where Sorin Iacoban was an inmate 22 years ago and he had a desire to see this place.  On our way to Tirgu Ocna, we stopped at Focsani, where we ministered to the inmates there.  We did not have material gifts for them but we brought the greatest gift which is the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ who came to seek and save the lost.  We arrived at Tirgu Ocna in the afternoon and the directors together with all the staff welcomed us.  They were very impressed to see someone changed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ and they gave us access to minister to the juvenile inmates.  The testimony of the life change of Sorin impacted the guards and the inmates.  They granted us access and showed us all of the facilities.  It is now a modernized prison compared with what it was 22 years ago.  We headed north as the night approached.  We visited Botosani Prison but we were denied access because of the swine flu threat.  We were able to deliver bibles, gifts, and supplies.  We had one of our old friends, Severin Tcaciuc incarcerated and we really wanted to see him to bring him encouragement but we couldn’t.

During the next few days, we ministered in churches from the north part of Romania.  We visited the churches of Radauti, Voitinel, Suceava, Mitoc-Prut, and others.  One church that we our mission helped to build years ago, was a church in Darmanesti and I was able to minister in this church on one Sunday during the time of communion.  The Spirit of the Lord revealed to an elder brother that never met me that I was an ordained minister and to come and do the communion service.  Also, we visited poor families and helped them with gifts.  In the village of Mitoc-Prut, we began a church construction project 2 years ago, and is currently upon completion.  This village is very isolated from the city and not a lot of people have access to it since it is very close to the Ukrainian border.  During this time, God planted a desire in my heart to build and kindergarten school and a recovery home for the future of the children in Northern Romania.  This is a vision which can only be materialized by God’s providence because we believe where God guides he also provides.  The words from the Lord through the gift of prophecy confirmed that this is God’s will to do this Christian project.  My cousin, Petrica Moloceniuc from Radauti, and I were deeply moved by God’s desire that sought to use us for this plan.  For this purpose, we contacted other brothers and pastors that were involved  in education fields.

Pastor Ioan Badelita had built such a project years ago in Suceava, RO.  He has been successful in educating and making a big difference in the lives of a lot of children with a Godly principle.  He has encouraged us and promised us that he will give all of his support.  Another brother, Orest, who is involved in government and was even proposed to be a minister of agriculture also encouraged us and agreed to support us and make the arrangements to begin.  Launching this vision was received by other businessmen and teachers that we got into contact with.  Our prayer now is that the Lord will provide the land where to start the construction.  Since then, Petrica Moloceniuc with other brothers, continues to communicate and search for the interest of the vision to be accomplished.  It is also our prayer that God will connect with serious and holy people and establish the mission board for this project.  We encourage others to unite in our prayer and seek God’s guidance and providence in fulfilling this vision which is far beyond our abilities.

With this mission, we conclude 2009 and thank God for what he has done through us through our weak vessels and we believe that as we walk in obedience to his calling, he has greater things to accomplish for the future.  This is only appointed by the grace of God.