The Gospel is such a beautiful thing. It takes our messy pasts and turns them into hopeful futures. I constantly sit back in awe of how the Gospel transforms lives. I’ve seen it in my own life, I’ve seen it in the lives of my friends and family, and I’ve seen it in the lives of complete strangers.
Friends, God is at work in the lives of the people in Romania!
One of my favorite stories of transformations is Stefan’s. Stefan is in a Romanian juvenile detention facility. We get the opportunity to bring the Harmony program to the facility he is in. One day after hearing the Bible being preached, Stefan asked Doru (the Harmony Bible teacher) for his own Bible. Doru told him that he could have one if he memorized Psalm 119 (the longest Psalm) without error. What may have seemed like an impossible task to others, did not faze Stefan. Weeks later, he came back to Doru and quoted all of Psalm 119 verbatim, with no mistakes. Needless to say, Stefan now owns his very own Bible!
The kid who was once labeled “troubled”, is now finding a new identity and hope in the truth of the Bible.
From death to life. From lost to found. From broken pasts to restored futures. Jesus changes everything.
**While the story is true, the name used is generic in order to protect the persona of the youth involved**