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Evangelism in Aiud and Arad, February 2010
"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Acts 1:8
From the 9th to the 12th of April, four brothers from Denmark joined us in sharing the good news in the Romanian Penitentiearies. Jens Pedersen, Simon Nielsen, Lars Bo Olessen and Esben Jensen are part of the Open Church in Herning Denmark. Some of them have been in the Aiud and Arad Penitentiaries for the first time. They brought a message of encouragement from Our Lord. Simon shared one of his personal experiences with God, when he felt Him very close to him, singing praise songs. He encouraged not only the inmates, but also the youth groups that came along, challenging them to never cease praising God with our mouth and hearts, no matter what situation we are in, because that's when we are filled with peace: when we seek God. Esben's testimony touched especially the youth inmates, because most of them found themselves in his words in the way he looked for happyness in the earthly things. He was part of well kown rock band in Denmark and they held a lot of concerts in clubs, so this took him in that place where you forget that there is a God, and you get to believe that you are god yourself over your life. But the day came when God reminded him who the Creator was. In the present, Esben plays and sings in the worship band in his church and the talent God blessed him with is used to praise God. His message encouraged so many, as it talked about the forgiveness that only God can offer. Any sin from the past is washed away, and God offers a changed life and a new heart. All you have to do is call upon the Lord, who listens and answers. This was underlined as well by the message of Jens and Lars, and the story of the blind Bartimeus. Bartimeus asked for healing and Jesus healed him. Anyone can come before God and cry out to Him, and He will listen and answer prayers.
The youth groups that came to Aiud and Arad sustained these messages of encouragement with the songs they sang. They bring joy every time, and for a few moments they help the inmates forget the place they are in, their problems, and think about the joy offered by God and the true freedom they have in Him.
At the end of the meeting, there were distributed Christian literature, calendars, pencils, stampped envelops, notebooks, and Bibles or New Testaments for those who didn't own one. In the four days of evangelism there were around 500 inmates at our programmes.
Our prayer, as always, is that our message would not be unheard, but would touch their hearts so everyone would find peace in God, and would find forgiveness and salvation.
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