Missionary Letter

TO preface this letter, Max last week told us about this man Vlad, who has a drug problem, and also going to jail. He didn't have to go, all he has to do is fill out some paper work, but he felt it was the only way to get over his drug and alcohol addiction.

Remember how I wrote about that man, Vlad, that was preparing for jail?Well last week we were just walking out the door of the church to go knocking and almost ran into Vlad. It was like seeing a ghost.... we thought he was locked up. I was actually so surprised that I spoke to him in English, asking "are you here to talk to us?" We made our way back up the stairs and sat down with him. Tears came pouring down his cheeks and he said "Did you pray for me?" I kind of just looked at him. Then he asked again, "Did you pray for me every day?" I told him that yes, I had. He went on to explain that since our meeting last week, he felt what he described as a burning in his stomach that spread through his whole body like fire. He said that he knew without a doubt that somebody was praying for him. He did something with the government so that he doesn't have to go to jail till the end of this week because he wanted to find out who was praying for him. Right before he came to us that day, he went into a big church, knelt down and asked God to help him and forgive him his sins. He said that at that moment, the words came to his mind "You have a serious problem" and he immediately knew where to go for help. He came to us. The next day he came again and was extremely scared... he hadn't taken drugs for about a week and I think his body was going through withdrawals. He said that a band of 20 women was following him outside and wouldn't leave him alone. He was terrified. We walked with him for a while and helped him calm down. Yesterday he came again. We sat down and I instantly felt a different feeling than we usually have with him. I felt the spirit and the room just felt light. He smiled at us for the first time since we've met him and said "I'm not going to jail." He was given the choice to go to jail or go through a rehab program. If he gets into the program that he wants,we'll be his sponsors... the only people that can come visit him and take him on walks through the city! He really recognizes us as servants and he knows that all of this good is happening only because of his prayers and determination to get better.

This has just strengthened my testimony that the Lord loves us each as his sons and daughters. He knows what we go through every day, and will send us help if we humbly ask him. Isn't my brother a great missionary!?