The summer of 2010 was an answer of many prayers for Becky’s Hope Ministry.
God has given us an “impossible” assignment to minister to the families of special needs from Romania and Moldova. Why “impossible?” Because Becky’s Hope had not held a retreat since 2007. In the summer of 2008, as many of you know, we worked together with Billy Graham Association for the Festival of Franklin Graham in Romania, but we were unable to have a retreat for Becky’s Hope.
We are often tempted during a crisis to wonder if God will be faithful to His promises. Looking back, however, I am reminded that God has been faithful to His Word; Becky’s Hope is His Ministry and He will provide.
This year, the retreat was blessed because of last year’s fundraising in San Antonio. During the first week of September in Romania, the retreat for families with special needs brought Heaven to Earth and God smiled, listening to His children praising Him for His faithfulness. The nationals were the main speakers and leaders at the retreat. Romanians are very well-educated and they were glad to come on board and help Becky’s Hope retreat.
We had two couples, Corina and her husband Doru, and Mihaela and her husband, David. They are in their 30’s. They have a Master’s in PhD in Theology, Counseling, Christian Psychology, and Business. I asked Corina, who was the main speaker, to share her thoughts.
"I have been extremely privileged to meet Lidia and to become acquainted with Becky's Hope Ministries, and to be able to serve along with them for one week at Valea Draganului. The dedication, the self-sacrifice and total commitment to bringing the comfort of God to those who are always left aside or ignored as being "not so important for the society" was, in itself, a living testimony to me. When it comes to special needs children or individuals, Romania is not educated as to how to treat them, or how to encourage and help them so that they have a sense of usefulness and self-esteem in this life. Therefore, I consider that Becky's Hope Ministries address, in a very efficient way, not only the spiritual needs of these families but also their social and psychological needs. Most of them have never ever been outside of their own household (especially the mothers). It was so amazing to me to see the mothers smiling and enjoying their fellowship and time of rest away from both home and workplace.
Another thing that amazed me, once I got there, was the hunger and thirst for the Word of God of all of the parents who took part in the conference. They were like dry sponge ready to absorb every drop of living water and fresh bread from the Word of God. I was very impressed with their eagerness to learn more about how they could please God and how they could better fulfill His plan for their families and children.
There could be so much more to tell about how God edified me through their testimonies and their courage and strength to fight.
I can't wait to see how God continues and extends His work through Becky's Hope Ministries to these wonderful people." Corina Pirvu, Cluj Napoca, Romania
The morning sessions were the “meat” of the retreat... worship, teaching, small groups, and a lot of prayer and counseling, while the evening sessions were more relaxed through worship, testimonies, laughter and tears. Praise God that many souls were delivered and spiritually healed!
Paulette Baribeau, one of the board members of Becky’s Hope came with me to Romania. Her life has been changed since. Her testimony and presence blessed all the participants.
I would like to give you an example of how God changed one family’s life coming back from the retreat. “One man and his wife, for the first time in their lives, came from a very far distance to the retreat. They have a small farm of 99 chickens and 1 pig. They were very reluctant to ask their neighbors to take care of their animals, because both of them belong to the Orthodox Church, and the couple was ashamed to admit that they were going to a Christian retreat. So, they decided to leave a lot of food fir the animals and to see what would happen upon their return. After 5 days, when the couple returned from the retreat, all the animals “welcomed” them home, but nothing bad had happened. When the man saw this, he knelt on the ground and raised his hands toward Heaven and said “If this is the God who took care of my animals, I want to dedicate my life to Him!” His heart had been touched at the retreat and God found the perfect moment for this family’s salvation. Praise Him!”
I would like to leave you with an encouragement from one of my favorite missionaries, William Carey. Because William Carey refused to surrender his belief and quit, he marked an entire nation for God. How many Indian wives and children were saved because William Carey braved the Bay of Bengal? Only Heaven knows.
How many lives were saved because of Becky’s Hope Ministry? Only Heaven knows.
To God Be The Glory.
In Christ for His Glory
Lidia Oprean
www.beckyshope.org
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