Category: In English

Spain-Portugal

Spain-Portugal Trip Report

December 2004

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Greetings in the Wonderful Name that is above every name, the precious Name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We have just returned from a two-week trip to Spain and Portugal.

SUMMARY. Five of us traveled to Spain and four of us continued on to Portugal. This was a very different kind of trip from many of our previous trips. Usually, we do everything that we plan and more. This time, we did very little that we planned and yet we say the Hand of God at work in the opportunities presented to us.

DETAILS.
Spain – our team embarked on two areas of ministry. Since there were three Romanians on the team, we spent a lot of time ministering in Romanian churches and to Romanian people. There is a very large population of Romanians near Madrid in a city called Arganda del Rey. One important contact that was made was with Romanian pastor Rus who brought several youth from his congregation for “open air” evangelism with A.G. missionary Jacob Bock in the very center of Madrid (Plaza del Sol). We participated in this for two nights. He is also interested in a making a trip to Romania with brother Constantin Lupancu and a representative of an organization based in Spain called “Remar” (similar to Teen Challenge) for the purpose of establishing ministry in Romania to drug addicts, street people and ex-inmates when they are released.
The other area of ministry was to Spanish speaking churches in Spain. Primarily, pastor Jaime Flores of the Christian Life Center in Tinley Park made contacts, built relationships and generally got very excited about his first mission trip. The Verbo church, started in Guatemala, located near Madrid and other churches expressed interest in becoming affiliates of Chaplains for Christ and establishing prison ministry in Spain. We brought 230 full Spanish Bibles on the plane with us for distribution to inmates in the prisons. One pastor is coming to Chicago Jan. 26 and will minister in the Cook County Jail and discuss affiliation with us. We also made contacts for possible trips to Germany, Italy, Austria and Belgium. In reality, the whole world is open to us. However, we want to go only where He sends us.

Portugal -The three Romanians and I continued on to Lisbon on the overnight train and stayed there three days. In addition to ministry in the Romanian churches, we participated in an Elim Church baptism service in December in the Atlantic ocean. The Romanians seem to take it all in stride but this American was cold. We ministered in the prison at the Estabelecimento Prisional de Alcoentre located 50 kilometers north of Lisbon. Getting into this prison was a real miracle. Because of some miscommunications, our contacts in Spain made no arrangements for us in Lisbon until eight hours before we were to board the overnight train to go there. When we arrived in Lisbon, everyone told us it was impossible to get into the prisons with no notice (we wanted to conduct a prison service the same day we arrived). While I have been able to arrange for such things in Latin America without notice, Europe is quite a different matter. Each one we talked with told us it was impossible but we asked if we could try. We eventually found ourselves working with a Portuguese brother who has weekly services at a prison but even he was denied entrance on the day we arrived because all the inmates were at a Christmas party. When we arrived at the prison with 1000 tracts in Portuguese, we knocked on the door. The first guard told us no entrance but just then a corporal and a sergeant came through the door and we talked with them for a while. Again we were told that the Christmas party was going on and where was our access permission form? They told us that they couldn’t help us but perhaps we should talk with the lady who was also just leaving for lunch. It was the Director of the whole jail. Her timing was perfect. We explained that we wanted just 15 minutes to pass out these tracts that we had brought from the U.S. and she gave us permission. After lunch, we had a one-hour service with four men in Spanish. I translated for the Romanians and at the conclusion, we prayed for each man individually. One Venezuelan was at the service for the first time and as soon as we began to pray for him, he broke down sobbing in repentance. We purchase several Portuguese Bibles for this brother to use in the prison.
“… I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it:” Rev. 3:8

Please continue to pray for us as we are currently making plans for trips to: Romania, Guatemala, Honduras, and perhaps Senegal. May the Lord richly bless you all.

Guatemala

Guatemala Trip Report

October 2004

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Greetings in the Wonderful Name that is above every name, the precious Name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We have just returned from a one-week trip to Guatemala in Central America.

SUMMARY. Three of us arrived in Guatemala City on Mon. and went directly to a meeting with the local missionary and a representative of Ministerios Vida, who would help us get into the prisons. We purchased 140 full Bibles in Spanish to go along with the three suitcases full of new testaments and Gospels of John we brought with us. We proceeded then to the Centro Preventivo prison for men in Guatemala City where we met with 6 inmate “pastor” leaders and conducted the prison training seminar with them. Each of these leaders was responsible to provide pastoral care for their own pavilion (12 pavilions in all) and they were very grateful for the training. In the evening, we spoke at the Philadelphia Assemblies of God Church in the Santa Martha Colony and spoke to about 150 leaders. On Tues. morning, we traveled two hours to the El Boqueron prison in Santa Rosa. We had services in the general patio with inmates and families and also in the Maximum Security areas. In the evening, we spoke at the church of one of the pastors who belongs to Ministerios Vida. On weds. we went to Centro Correctivo Santa Teresa prison, in Antigua. Missionary Jeff Mills helped us gain entrance for a full service there. On Thurs., we traveled to Puerto Barrios for two days of work with the people in the villages of the tropical rain forest passing out 800 pounds of rice and beans to them. On Fri., we returned to the U.S.

DETAILS. This trip was, as usual, a whirlwind of intensity but the Lord put the details together and I sensed His Presence throughout the trip. We left on Oct 18 and returned Oct 22 but so many powerful and amazing things happened in the short days of ministry that we had. On this team were Francisco Sanchez, a Mexican, Constantin Lupancu, a Romanian, and myself.

On Mon., we arrived and were whisked to a meeting with the local missionary who set up the trip for us. We purchased 140 Bibles but that was not nearly enough for our ministry in the three prisons. For the first time, I conducted the Prison Training Seminar with inmate leaders who were encouraged to expand their vision. They have the opportunity to minister to the inmates 24 hours per day while visitors and Chaplains do not. All six who attended were grateful for the materials and training that we gave them. That evening, we spoke to 150 leaders at the Philadelphia church about the importance of obedience to God in all things.

On Tues., we traveled to the El Boqueron prison in Santa Rosa. ALL of the guards wanted a Bible and the Director of the prison was a sincere Christian man who wanted us to give a Bible to every single one of his 160 prisoners. We gave about 100 out at this prison but I have never seen a Director of a prison so cooperative and glad to have us in his institution. We were able to minister to every single area of the prison including “the hole” when the most violent inmates are housed. In the evening, we spoke to more leaders at a Cristiana Vida pastor’s church on the importance of conviction, repentance, submission and commitment to God. The service lasted 3 and 1/2 hours.

On Weds. we all went in for a service at the Centro Correctivo Santa Teresa prison, in Antigua. Because two inmates had been killed in a riot there two weeks ago, we were only supposed to be allowed to speak to the inmates through the bars and have no direct contact with them. However, after talking the administration, they opened up the entire facility to us and we had a full service in the patio with about 40 inmates present. It was as though an Angel of the Lord had opened the prison doors for us. I thought about the Apostle Peter who was in prison and an Angel opened the door and he walked out. We walked in. We distributed 40 Bibles, not enough, including many of the guards. Missionary Jeff Mills is now interested in continuing this new work at this prison and he has already submitted the paperwork to the authorities in order to do this.

On Thurs., we traveled to the Puerto Barrios area and purchase 800 pounds of rice and beans and immediately took them in the tropical rain forest to distribute them to the villagers there. We also had a meeting with the local leaders to make plans for a medical mission trip from Maranatha Chapel in Evergreen Park, IL. in Feb. 2005 at the Mision El Faro children and family ministry site across the bay from Puerto Barrios.

On Fri., we distributed the remaining rice and beans and we returned to Guatemala City by small airplane. While the ride was beautiful, we ran into a storm just as we arrived at Guatemala City and had to make an emergency maneuver at the last minute that provided a little more excitement than anyone was expecting. We landed safely, and then returned to the U.S.

In conclusion, please pray for us because we are receiving many invitations to conduct our training in many countries. We have a specific invitation to San Pedro Sula, Honduras for March of 2005. Also, we have put the training on videotape and DVD in order to equip and prepare trainers to go out and do the same training that I have been doing these past few years. We are also developing a training institute here in Chicago for this purpose. We have an office and an institute director. Please continue to pray with us about this ministry as we continue to build on it.

Dominican Republic

Dominican Republic Trip Report

August 2004

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Greetings in the Wonderful Name that is above every name, the precious Name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We have just returned from a one-week trip to Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic.

SUMMARY. Four of us arrived in the D.R. on Mon. and went directly to the national television station to tape a program to be aired in two weeks. On Tues. morning, we conducted the prison training seminar from 10am to 2:30pm. Then, we bought 347 full Bibles to distribute in the prisons. In the evening, we spoke at Trinidad Assemblies of God Church. On weds. we went to the women’s prison for a service. In the evening, we spoke at a small house church. On Thurs., we went to the Juvenile Jail for two services and then to the Men’s Jail for two more services and distribution of Bibles. The name of the prison was Najayo. On Thurs. evening, we spoke at Calvary church. On Fri., we returned to the U.S.

DETAILS. This trip was a whirlwind of intensity but the Lord put the details together at the last minute and it felt like it had been planned since the beginning of the foundations of the earth, which it was. We left on Aug 23 and returned Aug 27 but so many powerful and amazing things happened in the short four days of ministry that we had.

About a month and a half before his departure, one of our jail volunteers, Willie Ripple, called me to tell me that he was leaving for the D.R. will a team to do leadership training but that he wanted to know if I could arrange for him to do prison ministry instead so I gave him some contacts and that was all I did at that time. On Aug 10, with less than two weeks before departure, Willie called to tell me that an itinerary for a full week of prison ministry was arranged for but the Hispanic minister that was to accompany him could not obtain a passport so Willie would have to do the jail work alone. Another complication was that the leadership training team would be doing their work in Santiago and the prison ministry would be done in Santo Domingo. 92 miles and two mountain ranges separate the cities. Willie asked if I could go with him because he was going alone and he spoke no Spanish. I agreed and on Aug 20, brothers John Janks and Constantin Lupancu also decided to go. We needed the Lord’s help to gain approval at the last minute for these two brothers to go into the prisons. Even though brother John forgot to bring his passport to the government office on Tues. afternoon, but I had brought a photocopy of his passport with me and they accepted that. On Weds., we all went in for the women’s service at Najayo prison. As in other third world countries, the policy is for the women to keep their babies with them fulltime until 3-5 years of age so that the mother can raise their children in their early years but the children are raised in prison.

On Mon., we arrived and were whisked to a television station do be interviewed for a program to be aired in two weeks.

On Tues., we had our Prison Training Seminar from 10:00AM to 2:30PM. With less than one weeks notice, we had over 70 people come to the seminar. At the conclusion, eight came forward to be dedicated to fulltime Chaplain’s work in the prisons. Another 21 were dedicated to be jail volunteers and visitors. At the conclusion, one woman stood up with tears rolling down her checks and gave this testimony. She was a lawyer but her pastor had told her that the Lord had a prison ministry call on her life. A new president had just been elected to the D.R. and just yesterday, this woman had been offered the position of Attorney General for the Dominican Republic. She testified that she now decided that she would decline this position in favor of the one God was calling her to – a higher calling- in order to help organize the prison ministry in the D.R. based upon the training we had given. In the afternoon, we bought $1800 worth of complete Bibles (347 in total), the most anyone there could recall ever having been purchased to be given away in the prisons. In the evening, we preached to several hundred at the Trinidad A.G. church.

On Weds., we all went in for a service in the Women’s prison. In the evening, we spoke at a house church and met a Dominican man who grew up in New York. His background was similar to Willie’s, (one of long term drug abuse, prison and now dedicated to the work of the Lord) but Eric was now discouraged and not attending church. The team was able to encourage and help rebuild his trust in the Lord.

On Thurs., we had two services in the Juvenile prison and two services in the Men’s Prison. All four were very powerful and we were permitted to take photographs in the Juvenile prison. These will be posted at our website, www.chaplainsforchrist.org. In the evening, we spoke at Calvary A.G. church.

On Fri., we returned home.

In conclusion, please pray for us because we are receiving many invitations to conduct our training in many countries. Also, we are putting the training on videotape and DVD in order to equip and prepare trainers to go out and do the same training that I have been doing these past few years. We are also developing a training institute here in Chicago for this purpose. We have an office and an institute director. Please continue to pray with us about this ministry.

Bolivia/Peru

Bolivia/Peru Trip Report

March 2004

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Greetings in the Wonderful Name that is above every name, the precious Name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I have just returned from a two-week trip to Santa Cruz, Bolivia and Lima, Peru.

BOLIVIA. The first week I joined with a medical missions team of 28, many of which were out of my home church, Maranatha Chapel. We set up a medical clinic near Santa Cruz, Bolivia with the team seeing over 1100 patients there in four days and I also visited one prison. The medical team had brought with them a team of doctors and nurses as well as medicine that was given to people without charge. My role was to lead the Spiritual Clinic where I presented the Gospel and prayed with each patient after the doctors had seen them and before they were given their prescriptions. This was an evangelized area but each non-Christian heard the Gospel and 95% of them (199 men, women and children) prayed to receive Jesus as their Savior. It was a privilege to see the transformations that took place with tears, repentance and joy with person after person who heard the message of hope, many for the first time.

On Sunday night, we spoke at a church near the worksite and I sensed “life” as soon as I walked through the doors. With wonderful anticipation, the Power of the Holy Spirit filled the church and a powerful message of submission to God went forth. The church was filled with the team from the U.S., Bolivians and Guarani Indians. At the altar call, almost all of the Bolivians and Guarani responded with weeping and crying out to God. There was a demonic manifestation in one of the Guarani women who had come to the altar. Pastor Jessie Nuñez and I prayed with her for deliverance.

In addition, I was able to enter the Palmasola prison with a team of 5 Bolivian men who worked with me at the Spiritual Clinic. As I walked the dusty road from the front gate to the men’s section of the prison, I found myself becoming very discouraged. It was hot, the rest of the team was enjoying their free day and I was very tired from the work of the week. I found myself thinking, “The rest of the team thinks I’m crazy for going into these prisons on our off day and maybe I am. I don’t want to go in here. I’ll just give a ten-minute presentation and be on my way and I won’t put my heart into it.” Then, when I was about a hundred yards away, I saw one of the many inmates standing at the gate begin to jump up and down when he saw us coming. Then I heard, “Brother, remember me! Soto Prison in Madrid!”

This inmate had been in that prison in Spain when we ministered there May of 2002. He was so excited and encouraged that God had sent me to Palmasola to minister to him that he couldn’t stop jumping up and down. I gave him a Bible but also told him I didn’t want to see him in any another prison somewhere else in the world. Of course, this was also God’s way of uplifting me and we had a tremendous service with 36 men attending and 24 praying to receive Christ. I preached my heart out. At the end of the service, I arranged for my little team of 5 to be able to return with the local pastor for a three-day revival service in the prison and possible weekly ministry there as well.

PERU. In Lima, Peru, I joined with 2 other men from the U.S. composed of Cook County Jail volunteers John Janks and Constantin Lupancu. Both of them preached in all four of the prisons we visited. We also worked with Peruvian members of a prison ministry group named: “Jesus Christ Breaks the Chains” and we also conducted two days of the Prison Training Seminar with almost 100 in attendance. Additionally, we participated in a three-day Regional Congress conducted by Remar (a teen challenge type of ministry headquartered and founded in Spain by Spaniards). The countries represented were: Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador and Venezuela. I was invited to preach all three days including the Saturday meeting at the National Stadium (soccer stadium) with an official attendance of 7,000.

Monday. We traveled 2½ hours to Aucallama prison (650 male inmates) in Hudral, near the ocean. First, we ministered to about 25 inmates who were in “the hole” and many prayed for a changed life. Then, we ministered to about 125 in the exercise yard for about 3 hours. About 30 responded to the altar call. We had permission to take photos and even made a videotape of the service.

Tuesday. This day, we visited Lurigancho prison (7,700 male inmates) in Lima. Again, we started in “the hole” with about 150 inmates there. There were a series of 15 cells side by side each measuring about 10’x10′ with 10 inmates in each cell. Two beds per cell and no bathroom. We used a bullhorn and I presented the plan of salvation to them all simultaneously. Many hands were extended through the bars at the end in response to the Hope of Salvation and Redemption. Then, we went to the “drug unit” which consisted of about 150 men in one room large enough to have the floor covered with the mattresses they slept on. These were not recovering drug addicts. They were active addicts many under the influence of the drugs during our visit. Drugs are constantly brought into the prison. It was difficult to spiritually penetrate the cloud of drugs but God did get through, we believe, to about a dozen who prayed and testified of their belief that their lives were now different since they heard and believed the message given.

Wednesday. Our journey today took us to the Santa Monica prison (700 female inmates) in Chorrillos. We spoke in the visiting area so that many inmates and visitors were able to hear the Gospel presentation. Some there are members of the terrorist organization The Shining Path. Also, there were inmates from Holland, Canada and South Africa so they were glad to hear the messages from Constantin and John in English. Many were weeping and open to the life-changing message of Christ. That evening, we had the first of a two-part seminar on Prison Ministry with almost 100 in attendance. This was one of the most receptive and enthusiastic groups to attend a Chaplains for Christ training seminar.

Thursday. Today, we traveled to Sarita Colonia prison (2000 male inmates) in Callao. We were told before we left for the prison that we would all be denied access but maybe we could talk with the director of the prison when we arrived. Then, a miracle: although our Peruvian volunteers were not allowed into the prison, John, Constantin and I went in with 100 full Bibles and 150 Gospels of John. The inmates in Maximum Security (mostly foreigners) had prepared their exercise yard with chairs, invited inmates from other pavilions, baked a cake on our behalf and prepared a program for us. They had been waiting since 8 AM and we were not allowed in until 1 PM.
During the initial visitor search, the guards took our passports but forgot to ask us for our other forms of identification so I carried in my Cook County Sheriff’s badge and I.D., which I had to leave at the gate of the other prisons. Each prison in each country has different entry requirements. Finally, we stood before the director’s office waiting for an audience. When he finally opened the door and saw us, he quickly tried to close the door in our faces saying he did not have time to talk with us. Before he could close the door, I flashed my gold star. Suddenly, he opened the door, had us sit down and was quite cordial. What door God opens, no man can close.
The director carefully looked at my credentials and said “Captain” (actually, it says Chaplain) and I explained where I worked and in what other countries I had entered the prisons. We asked for permission to go the Maximum-security area, bring all of the Bibles and Gospels of John, one of which we had with us and he asked if he could keep. We also gave him a Bible. He then gave us permission to do all that we asked to do for as long as we wanted, but had his assistant take our credentials to the front gate and ask the guards why we had been allowed to enter with our credentials. No group had had been permitted to visit that area for at least the last 17 months.
We had the service in that area with inmates from Peru, Holland, Germany, Portugal, England, West Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa and Romania. Since most of the inmates spoke better English than Spanish, I preached in English even though I had preached in Spanish in the other prisons. Have you ever seen stoic Hollanders or Germans crying in repentance? We did that day.
Many of them told us that they were truly changed and would never be the same again. A fight broke out between two inmates at the back behind the service but it was quickly quelled. We ate our cake cut by the inmates with a large butcher knife (this is common in Latin countries) and the inmate pastor refused to accept money we offered him for the cake and sodas he had purchase as a blessing for us. He even refused to receive money we offered to send him via the U.S. Embassy. He did agree to accept our offer to buy a guitar, strings, tambourines and 20 full Bibles in English for their church inside the prison. Unbelievable. I have never had an inmate refuse to accept money offered to him. Such wisdom and dedication to the Master.
That night, we had the second session of the training seminar and a dozen people responded at the invitation for prayer for them to enter full-time ministry as chaplains in the prisons. Before we came, there were no prison chaplains in Peru. We are hoping that some of these will fulfill that calling.

Friday. This was the beginning of the Remar Congress. Already, I had been interviewed on the radio and spoken at a church, which was televised and recorded for pastors all over Peru. This morning, I was privileged to be the initial speaker and was given an hour to preach to 500 in attendance. I sensed such a mighty anointing from the Lord and sensed that this was one of the most powerful messages He had even given through me. I challenged the group at the conclusion to come to altar to dedicate themselves to getting prepared to proclaim the Gospel whenever and wherever the Lord sends them. Dozens responded and many remarked afterward about how the message had touched them.

Saturday. This was the day of the Adoration, Praise, and Prayer Celebration at the Soccer Stadium with Latino singers from Bolivia, Peru, Spain and the U.S. I was given 10 minutes (I took 17) and the only other speaker was the founder of Remar, Pastor Miguel Diaz. I spoke on the parable of the one lost sheep and encouraged those who had lost their way to return to the Lord who would speedily recover them from their sins and return them to fellowship with Himself. The ushers told me that many responded to the message but all I could see was faceless people as my words echoed throughout the stadium. The official attendance was 7,000 in a stadium that holds 45,000.

Sunday. Free day and we visited underground catacombs of a Franciscan order.

Other Congress activities were canceled.

For all of this, we praise the Living God without Whom we could do nothing and all efforts are in vain. Thank you for your prayers, support and encouragement.

“… whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” -  Philippians 4:8

Romania 2002

Romania Trip Report

August 2002

Dear brothers and sisters,

Greetings in the Wonderful Name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We have safely returned from our trip to Romania and it is with great joy that we give the following report of our trip. 

SUMMARY. Three of us stayed for two weeks and traveled about 1,700 miles all over the Moldova and Transylvania area of Romania. Two fellow jail volunteers at Cook County, including Bob Faulkner and Romanian Constantin Lupancu, who now lives in Chicago, and I visited churches, villages, and prisons from Bucharest to the Ukraine border and west to Tirgu-Mures in the heart of Transylvania. At the beginning of the trip, I committed myself to not complain about anything and for the most part, each member of the team did well in this area considering the tremendously grueling and arduous aspects of the trip. The eastern Europeans I observed never seemed to get tired and set a blistering pace for us pampered Americans. For two solid weeks we were in a preachers paradise. Constantin knew everyone and they were so happy to see him that we had more invitations to preach and eat than we could accept. Every night, we were in a church somewhere and Bob and I would give a full message while Constantin translated for us and also gave his own testimony. I poured my heart out for the sake of the Gospel. On Sunday, we would do this in three churches. I gave two seminars a total of 63 people and because there is obviously little interest in working in the prisons by the churches, especially in the Botosani area, I preached the seminar (from 10am to 4pm) instead of presenting it in order to inspire and encourage them to work with inmates. In addition, we all preached in services in three prisons to over 100 inmates and staff (including two imposing Greek Orthodox priests/Chaplains who carefully watched and listened to us). Just to get into the prisons is very difficult. One prison worker said that we might have to bribe the guards to get INTO the prison! (We didn’t) Also, there are Greek Orthodox priests assigned to every prison in Romania. We preached the unvarnished message of salvation to hungry hearts who, with only a few exceptions, had never heard the message of the new life in Christ Jesus before. At the invitation to ask Jesus into their heart and to have a new heart, every single one of the inmates rose to his feet and prayed to receive Jesus as Savior. Of course the Enemy was there to try to steal the seed that was planted but to those seed that fell on good ground, we believe that much fruit will come forth. And what about the follow-up you ask? Well, a committed prison ministry sister in Bucharest named Elena Munteanu has committed herself to write to each of the inmates that we ministered and to send each one an envelope and a stamp so that he can respond. We took the names of inmates in two of the three prisons and sent them to her. Also, for the first time, Chaplains for Christ has committed to financially support a Chaplain. We will be sending $150 per month to a man experienced in jail work but who could not be involved in it without financial support. We are praying that as this man begins to work three days a week in the Tirgu-Mures (Transylvania) prison, within one year he will be recognized by the government as the first Evangelical (and non-Orthodox) Chaplain in the country of Romania. One of the chief officers of this prison was very open and kind to us having been an exchange student in the U.S. previously.I could talk of the mud-brick homes and the widows and orphans and so much that was done by brother Constantin in giving financially to the poor and my brother Bob who expressed such a love for the people of Romania. Someone asked him at the beginning of the trip, “What do the people of Romania need most?” They need so much that the question seems daunting. Unexpectedly, at the end of the trip, I was given an opportunity to speak to the people of Romania and address this very question. The director of an orphanage that we stayed at invited me to travel with him to Bucharest and join him in a live, forty-five minute, and prime time interview broadcast to 15 million viewers via national television, which has no Christian television programs ( the tv station was TV O). That morning, the Lord gave me this message for the Romanian people which I believe is their greatest need. The nation of Israel and the nation of Romania share a similar history. Both were delivered from the bondage of harsh rule. When Israel came out, they had no water, they found bitter water and complained about that. Their complaints never changed the bitterness. However, Moses cried out to God and He sent a tree (a shadow of Christ to come) and the tree made the bitter waters sweet. Then, they continued to Elim where they found many wells of water. Even so, Romania can complain and find the waters of their souls to remain bitter or they can allow Jesus to change the bitter to sweet with Living Water that will become rivers of Living Waters and will satisfy so that they thirst no more. At the end of the program, so many calls came in asking me questions about what I had said that the station could not take all of them. I noted seven of the questions including: What do you believe? What religion are you? Why do you go to prisons to preach instead of to free people? Who are more open – prisoners or free people? Finally, the moderator asked me if I had any final message for the Romanian people. I looked into the camera and said, “Jesus loves you and wants to turn your bitter waters to sweet if you will make Him Lord of your life. Find a Bible and read it to find out more about this wonderful message from God to you.”Thank you for your continued support, love and encouragement. Even as we pray that the Lord will bring forth fruit that remains in Romania, I ask that you pray for the next trip, which comes so quickly. On Oct. 4th, I fly to Khartoum, The Sudan to minister for one week in four prisons, purchase and distribute 1000 Arabic Bibles in those prisons and conduct the prison training seminar. Then, I travel to Cairo, Egypt for another week of prison ministry and another prison training seminar.
Please pray that the finances will come in and the Lord will protect me during the journey.
Blessed be the Name of the Lord.

Chaplain Rob Brown