SWAT REPORT
# 28 07-10-05
Alcohol Free
Zone ??? in Racos ???
As I preached hard against sin, particularly alcohol, this week in the Hungarian
side of Racos village, I noticed ONE man
paying diligent heed to my message as my
young translator shadowed my words. I emphasize ONE, because there were about a
dozen men in different stages of inebriation who could hear me even though my translator’s
voice did not cast a very long shadow. This one man was a pitiful sight…filthy
is not descriptive enough. Then I noticed a very concerned woman standing 10 feet
behind him. If you have read my book “I AM NOT ASHAMED” you will
understand when I say that I could notice this, all the while I was preaching to about 50
folk both gathered and spread along the dirt path…keeping my balance on the rough
stones…with mothers nursing…babies crying…old women listening…drunks
ignoring and gambling…a horse-drawn gypsy farm cart passing through…the sun
roasting me…my translator missing a phrase…I’d say I had reached at least
the third, if not the fourth stage of growth in publick ministry. I thought, as I
preached, if this might just be the wife of this poor drunk. I reached the time for
an invitation or at least a challenge and the man responded. He came and kneeled
right down beside me while I kept up the heat of the challenge and invitation.
I got Dan’s attention and he dealt a long time with the man. The
woman now is weeping and much in consternation over this scene…she has to be his
wife. Several others were kneeling within my vision and doing some sort of business
with the Lord.
As it turns out, the man had already been saved but was a miserable slave to the bottle but tearfully wanted victory in Jesus. His wife now joined him hand in hand with my hand as well as I prayed with all my might for the Lord to grant total victory and restoration to this home. I learned from neighbors later that this man had been a very intelligent, productive husband but had fallen victim to the demon of liquor. I couldn’t make out the man’s name but it began with a “C”. He invited me to his home but I made the proposition that when I come next week, if he has been true to his promise of abstinence that I, indeed, would visit his home. Both of them now walking off smiling, promising, hand-in-hand was a lovely sight. Stay tuned to this channel for next weeks episode. Pray for Mr. “C” in the mean time.
Dinner with the Gypsies
After
ministering in both the Hungarian and Romanian sides of Racos we were invited to the home
of one of the families that
have been saved and now ride the train to
our church. There was a strange compelling accompanying their invitation and when we
arrived we saw the reason. You simply must understand that these folk have NOTHING.
This table is in one of the two rooms in their home where 6 people live. We
provide a meal for them every Sunday when they come in to church and give them a large bag
of groceries when they leave for the two hour train ride home. Now they have spread
a meal for us. Where did it all come from…chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, it
was very tasty. Who knows but what they had greatly sacrificed in order that the
servants of the Lord who had broken the bread of life to them that day could be refreshed
before the long journey home.
Shall we gather at the river
A whole
lot of planning, preparation and payment went into this Sunday including renting a van to
haul all of our church folk to the river for our first baptismal service. Folks…WE
NEED A VAN BAD…Including some guests from Hawaii our church had well over 50 folk
worshipping the Lord today. We made the 40 minute journey to a swift flowing river
where seven recently saved folk followed the Lord in believer’s baptism.
We stayed for a meal in the open air (it was supposed to rain …BUT GOD…)
and fellowship and returned to the church for another great service.
SPECIAL MEETING
Please
pray for our GREAT BIG MEETING this week on the evenings of the 13th and 14th.
A huge effort has gone into this with a great deal of expense. The auditorium
in Brasov seats 850 and we have it for those two nights…pray that we can pack it.
We have advertised in newspaper, radio, flyers, and banners. We are giving away a
free, really nice, hardback, Romanian Bible to all who attend…please pray our efforts
and expenditures will be rewarded accordingly.
I
discovered Air Conditioning
That’s
right…after 8 months of owning my car…sweating the past two and a half months…I
discovered that my car has air conditioning. Sounds strange but every car I have
ever had before that had AC had a button on the dash notifying the driver of the feature.
This care has nothing to indicate that on the dash. Being in Europe where it
is common for a car not to have that convenience…I naturally assumed it did not have
AC…but praise the Lord for the big blessings of life as well as the small.
Mary Bethany
Mary has
neighbor girls that she plays with. The other day her mother was listening as the
girls tried to communicate. Two speak German with a smathering of English and a
dribble of Romanian. Two others speak Only Romanian…and Mary speaks Only
English with a few words of Romanian and one or two words in German. The girls had a
wonderful time playing together.
Keep in
touch
From the USA…011-40-268-477-243
Tell others about these reports…
Serving with you but on the eastern front.
Gerald Sutek and the SWAT TEAM for Christ