8/27/2015
Romanian Youth Update

On August 13 The Feed reported on two serious accidents involving young believers in Romania who were travelling to a youth camp in Sistarovat, near Arad, Romania. “Camp Şiştarovăţ 2015 - Overcoming this age" (The camp was not sponsored by VGR or YF).

Our Romanian office quickly informed us of the accidents and reached out to the injured youth. Brother Joseph sent Brother Gerald Buitenkamp from our European office along with Brother Petru Muntean and Brother Alin from our Romanian office to see them. We received this latest update from the VGR team and we ask that you continue to remember them when you speak to the Great Physician.

First visit:

Sister Diana is 23 and is from the city of Bacau, which is about 700 km from the VGR office. She was injured in the 2nd accident.

We visited her Saturday night in the hospital in Timisoara. Her parents also came all the way from the Eastern part of the country to see their daughter.

There are still pieces of debris in her face and she will have to come back for a check up to have this removed later, but it sounds like she will be released soon from the hospital. I also met her parents at the hospital. We tried to encourage them and had prayer with her. She was very positive and we assured them that many believers are praying with them.

Second visit:

We met with Brother Alex, 17,the next day at the hospital in Oradea. He was still in the emergency room, and we were only allowed to spend a little time at his bedside. He was in good spirits and we were able to talk to him while we were there. It is a real miracle how this young brother survived. The doctors said that when he first came in the hospital right after the accident had just happened, they did not give him much of a chance to live.

They had to immediately operate on his lungs and he had a lot of stitches all over his body. His leg was badly injured and had to be operated on. But when we got to the hospital it was amazing to see how he had recovered in a week’s time. We were able to talk to him, and the doctors were so amazed about how he had improved so well, because his whole insides were all tore up. The doctors had put him under an X ray again and said it is a miracle how all his organs and bones had recovered. We tried to encourage him and let them know that others are praying for them as well. I shared a testimony from the Message of a similar case that I had read before I came to Romania which blessed me very much. It is from the message 54-0402 "Blind Bartimaeus,” paragraph 2.

Third visit:

Our third visit was at the hospital in Baia Mare in the North of the country, where we visited Bro Laurentiu with his parents at the hospital. He was the driver of the vehicle that was in the first accident. He will need extra time to recover.

The doctors said that it will take a long time for him to recover from his brain damage, and they could not guarantee that he would ever fully recover. When I spoke to him in English he greeted me with a "God Bless you" and said “Thank you for coming.” I thought it was quite a miracle for him to respond like that, and for him to do it in another language.

He was really tired, but after a while he wanted to go for a walk in the room. We got him up and with the help of the nurse, he was able to take some steps and walk in the room. It was very encouraging for us and the parents to see him being able to walk again. That was a another miracle to see such an improvement!

We tried to encourage the family to claim the healing for their son and read the same quote from the message, “Blind Bartimaeus” about the boy that was in an accident and was miraculous healed. We again had prayer with the family and said that many believers are praying with them in this difficult time.

Fourth visit:

Our last visit was at the home of Sister Alina (she is only 16), who had already been dismissed from the hospital. The doctor told her that she has to lie on her back and rest for a month while she's at home because of the heavy impact on her neck and back. She was wearing a neck brace as she was lying in bed. I was surprised that nobody, besides her family, had been there yet.

The mom was waiting in the dark by the roadside up in the hills in Northern Romania. We parked the car and walked up a dirt road. As I arrived it made me think of when Bro. Branham was being led of the Spirit, and he met the colored lady (Shunammite woman at the gate of her home). She greeted Bro. Branham at her gate while calling him “parson.” When Alina's mom saw us coming, tears was in her eyes. She said she didn’t feel worthy to have us in their home.

As Bro. Alin and I arrived, the mother started to explain to us that they live in a very poor home with no running water and hardly any light, they have to pack the water from a nearby well, and they try to fix their little home with whatever they can. It just breaks your heart, but then when you enter into their home you just feel that real humble sweet spirit, my! You just can’t help it, but it really moves you.

As soon as we got inside, we sure felt the presence of the Lord in this little humble home. I could only imagine that Bro. Branham must have grown up to something similar like that. There wasn't hardly any light, but there was a sweet presence that was in the little home. I been in many places, but when I looked around there was only two beds and no furniture; hardly anything there, just the two rooms. I saw an old wore out MP3 album with Romanian messages lying there with the covers all gone from the CD holder. We were told that whenever they play the messages of Bro. Branham, they feel a real sweet presence come into the room. Wow, that just blesses you when you hear that. We were so moved that the girl had such great faith. It wasn't long after talking to her that she asked if we could pray with her, because she wanted to rededicate her life to Jesus Christ.

She said, “I want to follow every Word of God in my life, and I want to live only for Him.” It was like talking to somebody that knew what she was talking about. We all knelt down with the entire family at her bedside, and asked the Lord for a complete recovery, and that He may grant her the desires of her heart. You could feel the presence of God moving down in that little room.

Again we encouraged this young sister like we did to all the others that got injured in the accidents by telling them that we believe in the power of prayer, and that all things work together for the good to those who love God.

It was hard to break away from this precious home, where we felt so welcome, and as I told them, “If Bro. Branham would have been able to come here in your home, he would have felt right at home too.”

Bro Gerald B.

VGR Holland Office