Mission Trip to Romania and Ukraine
May 5th – June 11th, 2014
Dedication of the new Elderly Nursing Home – Chritian Social Blessed Hope (Nadejde Binecuvantata)
I want to thank God for what He is doing when we are moving in obedience according to His Will. It is always important to move where God moves first and be blessed by the Work that He is already doing. In the last twenty seven years, I was blessed to visit Romania many times for the purpose of mission and charity. Our goal and purpose was to reach families in distress, hopeless or broken from all over the country. Whilst travelling all over the country after the revolution, I could see the effects of the former communist regime that ran the country from 1965 to 1989 and that motivated me to do something for the poor and needy. Years ago, we had a plan to construct a school center in Romania. After making a lot of efforts to obtain a prime land from the government in the city of Radauti, our efforts were not granted by the government. When I visited Europe and Romania in May/June 2013, I passed through my village and my eyes were opened to see the elderly that were ignored living in houses that were collapsing. A lady approached me and asked me with a soft tone, “Are you not doing something for us?” I was very touched by her voice and moved with determination to do something for the first time in the village where I was born despite the attitude that I had when I departed Romania (deciding not to return to or visit this country again). The Lord changed me and I visited it many times with this purpose – bringing hope to the hopeless. Due to the attitude and cruelty of the people from this village, Satu Mare, I told my parents to move from that area permanently because of the theft and other crimes. When you are serving the Lord, you have to move in obedience where the Lord moves and so He moved me to start a house project for the elderly. Since we donated the money already for the school project, the BHIM and Nadejde Binecuvantata boards both approved to start the project on the land that my parents donated to Nadejde Binecuvantata Association years ago. With determination not to change the plan, we met the mayor of the city and architect from the village and told them of our plan. The officials welcomed and agreed with this project so the construction company was hired and the work began. When I had a visit in October, they already had poured the foundation and built the structure because the winter weather was still favorable and they were able to continue with the interior. In the month of February 2014, my sister Tabita and my brother in law Cornel Muresan (treasurer of BHIM), called me and asked when we will do the inauguration of the center. This motivated us to accelerate the work and finish by June 7th, 2014 which was also the date that Cornel planned to visit Romania with his family. This date accommodated my schedule due to the fact that I had a school seminary to attend and other obligations. God orchestrated everything and I departed from Chicago with my father and Pavel Sav on May 5th. Arriving in Bucharest, our team separated – My father and I went to Satu Mare and Pavel Sav went to Timisoara. When I arrived in Satu Mare, the work had advanced rapidly. I could use my BHIM credit card to purchase the materials from Radauti for the finishing touches from a warehouse named Olint. I stayed in the house and worked from the morning until late evening and coordinated everything according with our plan. I fenced the property all around with an iron fence.
When I decided to build the nursing home in the back of the old house behind the barn, I noticed there was a problem with the access to the house and I talked to my uncle Valerian (who owns the land nearby) to allow us to pave a path; which he agreed to. However, after we started building the house, he changed his mind. The Lord gave me wisdom to open the barn and have access to the house through the barn. Despite the plan of others that wanted to destroy the barn, I convinced them to open a driveway and keep the barn to raise chickens because the elders that we will help will be sheltered and fed here. On some evenings, I preached in Satu Mare and the nearby villages (Voitinel, Bilca and Vicov). I also went to Timisoara where I preached to the church in Ghiroda and attended a service where Hristic Mission was celebrating 16 years of musical ministry and charity. On May 27th – 30th, I attended RoMisCon of APME (Agentia Penticostala de Misiune Externa) in Calimanesti Caciulata, Valea Oltului. At this conference, I met a lot of Romanian missionaries that are working all over the world. I was able to speak to them and motivate them to continue the good work because the reward is great for those that don’t give up. To my surprise, I met a pastor that was attending high school in 1977 in Sibiu where I met him but have not seen him again since then. After the conference, I passed through Cluj where my brother in law Cornel and Tabita and his family came from Chicago. Together with them came the VP of BHIM, brother Edgar Garza. We had a great time in Cluj with his family and departed to Bucovina and arrived at midnight in the northern part of Bucovina in the village Nisipitu.
Great Work in Satu Mare (the Grand Village)
GOD Still Performs Miracles Today!!
From the time that I sensed the call of God to mission, I consider this a great privilege and responsibility and I based on clear vision that must be fulfilled with much passion. I learn to seek and depend on the guidance of the Holy Spirit and cooperate with God in all my mission trips that God moved and empowered me to join Him in on the work that He was doing in so many places around the world. When I left communist Romania in the summer of June 1987, never thinking or hoping that I would return back to the country or the village where I was born and raised in. However, God has His way of changing and transforming our stubbornness and mentality. After my born again experience and baptism in the Holy Spirit in the Chicago Southside Romanian Church of God my first desire and affection was to go back to Romania and give my testimony of my changed life to my family, neighbors and the village where I first heard about God. Since my first visit in Romania in 1990, I have seen the hand of God moving and guiding me to join God in the work that He was doing throughout Romania changing lives in prisons, jails, helping the poor and needy many times. Through my all the trips to Romania I have joined God in building churches in many villages and cities around the country, but never thought of any project to be done in the village of Satu Mare (close to Ukraine border). As I visited the poor and elderly people last year, I was moved by the words of a very old widow whose house was with a damaged roof and the structure beyond repairs. “Can you do something for us, the old people that live in damaged homes?” she asked. I was moved to tears by her words and the Holy Spirit moved me with determination to start a home for the elders and those without shelter. I decided the same day and contacted the village architect for blue prints and city permits to build the house for elders on the land that my parents donated to Blessed Hope International Mission (BHIM) years ago. Now God was doing something new for the elderly. With the funds that the Lord had provided years ago, the home was built and finished on June 7th, 2014, the day of inauguration, dedication to the Lord, and the day when the elderly came in very happily and moved in. Our team that came from USA together with the local church had prepared for this event with fervent prayer and fasting pleading and asking God to move and attract many unsaved people to hear the gospel of good news. In spite of the big opposition and ignorance, God’s hand moved and mobilized over 250 peoples that responded to come and were stirred up in their soul by an atmosphere of music, and the word of GOD was preached like words of fire that melted the frozen hearts. Almost everyone was touched and blessed by God’s mighty presence. Those that participated in the service were pastors and leaders from different churches around the country. To name a few; Liviu Axinte – overseer of Moldova Pentecostal Church, pastor Stefan Morar from Radauti Maranata Church, Viorel Bordei that was born in Satu Mare but is currently a pastor in Radauti, Constantin Moisa from Bucharest former Orthodox priest, Bogdan Ionescu from Ploiesti. Lidia Rascol an 82-year-old lady that resides in Detroit but works with poor people in Vaslui, pastor Ilioi from Phoenix Arizona, singer Costel Busuioc from Timisoara, Dorel Pantea with Hristic Worship Group from Timisoara, Petrica and Filon Moloceniuc from Radauti that had a very big contribution during the construction project, and other leaders from the local church of Satu Mare.
On the next day, Sunday June 8th, the day of Pentecost, I decided to attend the local church with the desire to build a strong relationship between the church and the Christian Center for Elderly. On this day, I was surprised by the Lord like never before in my walk with Him. At the service that morning Adina Nistor (a lady from another village) attended our church service for the first time. She was crippled due to a car accident that happened 2 years ago in which her sister in law died in the car accident. This woman that came that morning to the house of prayer came with her crutches to the altar as I made the invitation for the sick and needy to come with expectation to approach the throne of grace and mercy and I would pray for them. As I joined them in prayer with the church in unity I saw the portal of heaven open and the glory of God manifesting and touching people. I was part in a service that is hard for me to describe. I was not even preaching on the topic of healing, because it was a Sunday when we remember the event of Pentecost with its demonstration and experience “Jesus went up and Holy Spirit came down”. When the glory of God touched the body of the woman supported by the crutches, she raised her hands toward haven in a sudden praise to the Lord for what she felt was happening in her body, forgetting about the crutches that supported her body and help her to move about. As she raises the arms the crutches got loose and fell on the floor. While praying for her and 
being a witness of all this confirmation and demonstration of the healing power, I was moved and compelled to grab her hand instantly and encouraged her to continue exercising faith looking at Jesus (like Peter waking on the seawater), standing on her feet jumping up and down (without the help of the crutches) to the back of the church and returning back to the altar where she came to thank the Lord for her miraculous healing saying: “I thank God, I thank God.” All of the church was moved to tears and revived the life of their spirit in the Holy Spirit.
The most moving testimony was when she described in her own words when she said how surprised she was when she felt the surge of the Holy Spirit’s real warmth, not imaginary. She actually felt her legs on fire (during the prayer). She felt astonished as the heat surged throughout her body; she was moved with excitement to lift her hands towards heaven and forgetting about her crutches. The cloud of magnificent splendor changed the condition of this woman and brought revival to the church that never experienced such a move of God’s power. After this healing experience, Adina went and visited many churches and testified what the Lord has done to her. I spoke with her a few weeks ago on the phone and full of joy and great thanksgiving she said, “I am so happy to walk and run like before the accident.” Adina was totally released and restored from her conditions and completely healed by the power of the Holy Spirit confirming the words and works of the gospel with signs and wonders. We can continue to keep the declaration that great work started and is growing in Satu Mare and not only there but also everywhere where people proclaim a declaration by faith and believe that the power of God is greater than every sickness, difficulty or any other adverse circumstances.
Nothing can replace the joy of seeing others come to know our amazing God and no great fulfillment comes in our life until we find our self doing and working for the purpose of what God created you to do. Our desire is to show everybody that it is possible to have a vibrant and passionate life for Jesus Christ and to give to the people around the world a flavor of what the Christians were doing in the book of Acts when they were working together with the Power of the Holy Spirit to reach the lost and help the needy. If people can get close to God and a hold of God’s heart, they can influence and change a community through mobilization of others to care for their community and reach others for Christ. For this purpose, it is going to take men and women who see their life as purposeful for Jesus Christ and not for their self. This will elevate them for influence to do the greater things God has called them to do.
“Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.” Ephesians 3:20-21
Rev. Constantin Lupancu together with the Blessed Hope International Mission Team
