Saturday, December 10, 2011

Pastor Viorel

Pastor Viorel and his wife Nicoleta

Pastor Viorel is our partner in the cities of Deva and Hunedoara.  He works full time doing construction work with his Caterpillar backhoe to support his family.  He often gives generously to the church and orphanage to expand or meet a need. 

He is a fearless evangelist.  I remember stories of his van almost being overturned when he drove into a ghetto gypsy village to hand out some clothes and evangelize.  He is always willing to pray for the hopeless.  Many people have been delivered as a result of God answering his powerful prayers. 

He is the father to two grown children and the grandfather to an increasing number of grandchildren.  However, many more children know him as their Tata (father).  He treats all of the children at the orphanages as if they were his own.  Pastor Viorel pastors as the senior Pastor in Deva and oversees the church in Hunedoara.  He was responsible for the development and construction of a completed orphanage in Deva, a partially completed church in Deva and a completed orphanage in Hunedoara.

There was a time before we began to support Pastor Viorel with regular monthly support when he learned to trust God completely.  The orphanage was built from the support of a generous American who has a heart for missions and felt led of God to build an orphanage in Romania.  After a few years of operating the orphanage, the monthly support from America stopped abruptly.  For four months, Pastor Viorel cried out to God (physically and spiritually) for an answer.  He could not bear to let the children go hungry, but there was no way he could support the orphanage on his own.  It was a test of his faith.  God met their needs during that period and lead them to a relationship with our organization.  We have supported him ever since and worked with him to expand the ministry to Hunedoara and in other ways. 

In addition to completing the church in Deva and adding a church to the grounds in Hunedoara, Pastor Viorel has a vision to build churches and orphanages in many additional cities as well.  His association has even been given land to build in some of those cities when that time comes. 

Those who know him, know he would be lost without his faithful wife Nicoleta.  She is the mother to all the orphans.  It is a family affair for Pastor Viorel.  His son and daughter, along with their spouses, help to administer the orphanages and lead the churches.  His children will be the next generation of leaders in the church and ministry. 

Small Deeds

"A Small Deed is better than a Grand Plan"

I heard this quote recently and it made me think about how we should be living our lives.  I don't want this blog to be full of preaching or my opinions, so I will stay focused on how this quote applies to the work we are doing. 

So many times, when I tell people about the work in Romania, they respond by telling me about the rich people they know who they think will support a project.  I've learned to kindly move the conversation along because I have never seen a "grand plan" like this come to pass.  Most people, regardless of their position in life, do not believe that they can make a difference.  Sometimes they don't believe that they have enough for themselves.  More often they have plans that if they come true will enable them to make a difference.

There are two parts to this quote.  What we can do may seem small to us.  When we fly on a missions trip, we always fly coach.  The least expensive itineraries often have long layovers and less than routing.  The trips are short and our agendas are sometimes questioned as to whether they are worthwhile.  The buildings and churches that were built are meager.  They are practical and not ornate.  In every way, the works are "Small Deeds".  But they are not small in God's eyes.  The humble church was no small deed to the person who gave his heart to Jesus with a stream of tears.  The seemingly uneventful agenda was very eventful to person that was prayed for who just needed to know someone loved them.  The small orphanage means the world to the child who would be lost without it.

There is nothing wrong with having "Grand Plans".  Planning is important to everything we do.  Without them, nothing would be accomplished.  The danger is that sometimes our focus can linger too long on the future and we can forget about the present.  There are people in need today who may not survive to see the "Grand Plan" in action, if it ever comes.  Living too far in the future puts our present in danger.

"You can never out give God."  There are so many promises in the bible that relate to our finances.  They all have the same theme, of course.  What you sow with the wind, you reap with the whirlwind.  You will receive with the same measure that you give.  Test Me and see if I won't open the windows of heaven and pour out such a blessing that you won't be able to contain it.  I'm sorry for the paraphrasing, but those are all promises from the bible.  No where does it say that God will give us much so that we'll have extra to give away.  First we give, then we receive; Never the opposite.  Its not how we might prefer the system to work, but I can honestly say that I have never met a sincere giver who ever regretted their "small deed".

I'm encouraging you to dream big and believe God for miracles in the future, but don't forget to sow the seed of faith with whatever small deeds you can in the here and now.

A Strong Structure

Its important to understand the different roles that everyone play in God's work.  "Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body" - 1 Cor. 12:12  We support pastors and missionaries so that they can do the work they have been called to do.  Without them working day in and day out on the ground, nothing would get done.  Without our support, they would not be able to do their part. 

The work in Romania is done though local foundations.  They are properly formed NGO's that have their own independent boards, rules and oversight.  They are set up to exist as independent organizations, even if we someday are unable to do our part. 

The local pastors provide the leadership over all the good works that are done.  They are fully committed to being pastors and receive no personal financial support for all the work they do.  They work at jobs or in business to support themselves and their families.  I'll expand on this in another post, but they are the hardest working men I know.  They work full time, are full time pastors and run orphanages full of children.  And they do it with excellence. 

The Haven of Hope Foundation is a non-profit organization that has received its 501(c)3 status from the US IRS.  Any financial contributions made to the Haven of Hope Foundation will be fully tax deductible.  The Haven of Hope Foundation has no (zero) overhead.  100% of money contributed goes to the work it was intended to support.  We have done everything we know how to do to ensure our work is done with transparency. 

These points may seem pretty basic and you might otherwise expect that they are to be taken for granted.  However, these points are what sets us apart.  We have local leadership who have committed their whole lives to the work they are doing.  We have done the same in our own ways.  Working with this structure allows people to know that 100% of their contributions are used as they are intended to help people.  Nothing is spent on "administration".  We have the ability to closely follow every program and make sure that the part of the body that provides the funding stays connected to the part of the body that administers the giving.