CEE Story From The Mission Field
A Pastor's Dream
June 20, 2003
by Melanie Smith
It's a pastor's dream, the stuff you'd call a "God-thing". Not just one, but six missionaries come to hold an international missions conference at your church and the Spirit of God moves. Well, that's what happened to Daniel Mercioniu, pastor of four village churches in southern Romania.
God placed an increasing burden for international missions on Daniel's heart over the last year. Since then, he's been preaching on the subject every chance he gets. When given the opportunity to host six missionaries on a Sunday morning, he was ready. In spite of the flurry of activity that day, the group’s members were on first-name basis within minutes and relationships were made that will last for eternity. God's testimony in their lives made a powerful impact on those who came to hear the missionaries.
The first speaker appearing on the scene was Roger Russell, Southern Baptist IMB missionary in Romania. So far, he has spent four years in the former Communist country and has worked closely with Pastor Dan and his village churches. God called Roger to Romania through a volunteer mission trip five years ago. Pastor Dan and his congregation could not find better and more loyal friends than Roger and his wife, Melinda.
Up next was Peter from Sudan. He's serving in a refugee camp outside of Bucharest. His call came out of persecution for his faith at the hands of his own government while he was an economics student. Peter entered the Baptist Seminary in Bucharest where he roomed with Pastor Dan. The two are a shining example of the brotherhood to be found in Jesus Christ.
The third missionary, Moira, is from Scotland. She's spent several years in Tanzania serving God and is waiting to enter Sudan. In the meantime, she's helping Peter in the refugee camp. God has given her a love for the African people, which sparkles in her eyes whenever she talks of all the experiences she's had in Tanzania.
The fourth missionary God brought to Pastor Dan's congregation was Bobby from Tyler, Texas. He's a close friend of Roger and is a member at the Russell's home church, Friendly Baptist Church. He is no stranger to these people. He has participated in three mission trips to this area of Romania since the Russells arrived four years ago. Bobby has one of the biggest hearts for this country anyone has ever seen in a person living thousands of miles away.
The fifth missionary was Melanie from Greenville, South Carolina. For ten years, she made her home in China, serving God while earning her living as a conversational English teacher in three Chinese universities. She abruptly left a career in TV news to take a path toward missions inside the world's bastion of communism. She is scouting out ways her church can meet spiritual needs in Romania on a future mission trip.
The sixth missionary was Luke from England. His mission is working with Romanian students and young adults. He was the youngest of the group but perhaps God used him to make the biggest impact on the Romanian believers, "repenters" as they are called among their countrymen.
Later, the congregation discovered many families worldwide had been praying for Romania over the years. For a nation of people who have spent decades doing all they could to meet their own basic needs, the idea of people they had never met praying for them was ... well ...life-changing. That revelation sunk deep into the hearts of some folks listening that day. Some had already been pondering possible calls to leave their homes and serve Jesus, others were challenged for the first time. One mother had been struggling with the idea of letting her daughter follow an early call to missions. After the conference, she went to Pastor Dan and told him she was now willing to give God her little girl.
Fruit from that day will be harvested for years to come. What was a heavy load for Pastor Dan to carry has now been lightened as more of the flock begins to share his burden for missions. They have already proven themselves faithful in their own 'Judea.' Perhaps one day soon, he'll see God call the first member to service in another land.
View the photo essay for "A Pastor's Dream."