In South East Central Europe, in the northern Balkan Peninsula 00:00:39.87\00:00:43.04 is the country of Romania. 00:00:43.07\00:00:44.50 It borders the Black Sea, Bulgaria, Serbia, 00:00:44.53\00:00:47.29 Hungary, Moldova and the Ukraine. 00:00:47.32\00:00:49.80 The Carpathian and Transylvanian Mountains divided. 00:00:49.83\00:00:52.61 The Romanian people drive their name from the ancient Romans. 00:00:52.64\00:00:56.77 Romania is famous for its architecture, 00:00:56.80\00:00:59.18 art, style and culture. 00:00:59.21\00:01:01.40 Back in the late 1800s, Bucharest its capital 00:01:01.43\00:01:04.72 was often referred to as the little Paris 00:01:04.75\00:01:07.17 with its meandering water ways, 00:01:07.20\00:01:09.19 beautiful gardens and ornate buildings. 00:01:09.22\00:01:11.53 Palace Sinaia was the palace of King Michael I, 00:01:22.68\00:01:26.08 the last king of Romania. 00:01:26.11\00:01:27.71 In 1947, King Michael was driven from Romania 00:01:27.74\00:01:30.96 when procommunist forces took full power. 00:01:30.99\00:01:33.37 His castle shows the beautiful designs 00:01:33.40\00:01:35.37 that were common in the mountainous areas 00:01:35.40\00:01:37.14 of Montana and Transylvania. 00:01:37.17\00:01:39.50 The Orthodox Church is the national church 00:01:43.25\00:01:45.15 of Romania, but like many other countries of Europe 00:01:45.18\00:01:48.11 Romania is quickly becoming secular. 00:01:48.14\00:01:52.71 In the cities, people are crowded 00:01:52.74\00:01:54.38 into these block of flats as they are called. 00:01:54.41\00:01:57.42 Under communism it was the design of the party 00:01:57.45\00:02:00.13 that the people should live in the same way 00:02:00.16\00:02:02.37 with the same income and the same social status. 00:02:02.40\00:02:06.00 Out in the country, 00:02:06.03\00:02:07.06 life is pretty much like it was years ago. 00:02:07.09\00:02:09.79 Life is hard and attended by many difficulties. 00:02:09.82\00:02:12.75 In the Transylvanian mountains is the Bran Castle, 00:02:18.28\00:02:21.21 the legendary home of Count Dracula. 00:02:21.24\00:02:23.40 Truth is Count Dracula was a national folk hero 00:02:23.43\00:02:26.72 who became famous 00:02:26.75\00:02:27.78 for his bloody attacks upon the invading Turks 00:02:27.81\00:02:30.52 during the time of the Ottoman Empire. 00:02:30.55\00:02:32.57 Toward the end of his life, 00:02:32.60\00:02:33.63 it is said that he became a prisoner 00:02:33.66\00:02:35.71 in the tower of his own castle, 00:02:35.74\00:02:38.09 but the legends of Dracula 00:02:38.12\00:02:39.55 are not as real too many as the facts about this man 00:02:39.58\00:02:42.16 Nicolae Ceausescu, the former dictator of Romanian. 00:02:42.19\00:02:46.05 The 1949 date was recognized as a starting point 00:02:46.08\00:02:49.22 for the rule of the Communist Party. 00:02:49.25\00:02:50.86 And in 1965, Ceausescu was elected the head of that party. 00:02:50.89\00:02:55.90 Soon he was rubbing shoulders with world leaders, 00:02:55.93\00:02:58.19 mostly from countries, such as, North Korea, Iran, 00:02:58.22\00:03:01.49 Libya, Russia or giving lip service to the Americans. 00:03:01.52\00:03:05.39 Elena and Nikolae Ceausescu successfully established 00:03:05.42\00:03:08.72 a totalitarian personality cult. 00:03:08.75\00:03:12.06 When Ceausescu entered the podium, it was not unusual 00:03:12.09\00:03:14.45 to have him going into tie with that would last for hours, 00:03:14.48\00:03:17.52 intern he would greeted with hours of the audience 00:03:17.55\00:03:20.56 clapping and shouting his name. 00:03:20.59\00:03:22.41 At one event, it was recorded 00:03:22.44\00:03:24.52 that his name was chanted some 467 times 00:03:24.55\00:03:28.15 and the audience cheered him for over 3 hours and 22 minutes 00:03:28.18\00:03:31.49 while he stood listening in a trance-like state. 00:03:31.52\00:03:36.46 He commanded the destruction of many 00:03:36.49\00:03:38.06 of the historic buildings in Bucharest 00:03:38.09\00:03:39.80 to start the building of his new empire. 00:03:39.83\00:03:42.04 The last being the grand Ceausescu Palace 00:03:42.07\00:03:44.63 later to be named the People's Palace. 00:03:44.66\00:03:47.35 This is called the People's Palace 00:03:47.38\00:03:49.66 and it's a fruit of sick imagination 00:03:49.69\00:03:52.39 of the last communist dictator in our country. 00:03:52.42\00:03:56.45 Hundreds of thousands of people 00:03:56.48\00:03:58.83 work here in slave labor. 00:03:58.86\00:04:02.63 You are forced to come here. 00:04:02.66\00:04:04.09 They were coming to your place and giving you a piece of paper, 00:04:04.12\00:04:08.63 telling you with no other explanation 00:04:08.66\00:04:11.76 that you are forced to come for six month, nine month 00:04:11.79\00:04:16.09 or one-and-a-half year to work in this house here. 00:04:16.12\00:04:23.96 The grand marble pillars and flooring testifies of a man 00:04:23.99\00:04:27.60 who was bent on fulfilling 00:04:27.63\00:04:28.82 the glories of his sick imagination. 00:04:28.85\00:04:31.46 The palace was not only use for his own personal residence, 00:04:31.49\00:04:34.29 but for banquets, dances, 00:04:34.32\00:04:36.36 as well as the operations of his government. 00:04:36.39\00:04:40.35 No one dare question the authority of this man 00:04:40.38\00:04:42.72 and if they did their fate would fall 00:04:42.75\00:04:44.91 into the hands of the secret police. 00:04:44.94\00:04:47.11 The most feared place one could end up 00:04:47.14\00:04:49.05 was inside of a Romanian prison, 00:04:49.08\00:04:52.13 a place where the door would be forever shut. 00:04:52.16\00:04:55.14 Well, Ceausescu lived lavishly, 00:04:58.33\00:05:00.32 but people stood in line for hours 00:05:00.35\00:05:02.14 hoping for some bread or simple staples. 00:05:02.17\00:05:04.52 People started to become more restless and unhappy, 00:05:04.55\00:05:07.43 yet whenever Ceausescu visited to shop 00:05:07.46\00:05:09.93 to see how his nation was faring. 00:05:09.96\00:05:11.86 The secret police always had an abundance 00:05:11.89\00:05:13.70 of food ready to greet him. 00:05:13.73\00:05:15.76 In meeting with the common people, 00:05:15.79\00:05:17.86 he would often assure them better times were coming. 00:05:17.89\00:05:20.80 These men do not look too convinced. 00:05:20.83\00:05:25.77 On December 16th, 1989 riots broke out in Timisoara. 00:05:25.80\00:05:30.04 Police opened fire killing scores of people. 00:05:30.07\00:05:32.55 It was becoming obvious 00:05:32.58\00:05:33.64 that the people were becoming fed up 00:05:33.67\00:05:35.16 with the rule of Ceausescu and the Communist Party. 00:05:35.19\00:05:38.80 On the cold gray day of December 21st, 1989 00:05:38.83\00:05:42.31 Ceausescu held a rally that would lead to his downfall. 00:05:42.34\00:05:45.37 While he tried to reason with the people, 00:05:45.40\00:05:47.11 they became more and more restless, 00:05:47.14\00:05:49.02 unconvinced that anything would change. 00:05:49.05\00:05:51.35 Soon they started to shout 00:05:51.38\00:05:52.97 down with the dictator, down with the dictator, 00:05:53.00\00:05:55.80 a bomb exploded on one side of Bucharest 00:05:55.83\00:05:57.70 and then the military was called out. 00:05:57.73\00:05:59.54 Crowds took to the streets and train loads of people 00:05:59.57\00:06:02.06 came from other cities to fight the revolution. 00:06:02.09\00:06:04.82 Hesitantly the military tried to take control, 00:06:04.85\00:06:07.23 but many of them were not convinced 00:06:07.26\00:06:08.93 that they should eat the government. 00:06:08.96\00:06:10.97 Ceausescu tried to escape in a helicopter, 00:06:11.00\00:06:13.47 but even that failed as the pilot down the craft 00:06:13.50\00:06:16.97 and Ceausescu and his wife Elena were arrested, 00:06:17.00\00:06:20.46 tried and then executed. 00:06:20.49\00:06:25.00 The last thing anyone would imagine was that somehow 00:06:25.03\00:06:28.83 God would be able to reach down to the most feared place 00:06:28.86\00:06:32.07 during the times of communism, the prisons of Romania. 00:06:32.10\00:06:35.92 The story you are about to hear is true and amazing. 00:06:35.95\00:06:39.55 Recently I visited Romania, this was my 20th visit 00:06:50.76\00:06:53.64 since the fall of communism. 00:06:53.67\00:06:55.31 Meet Monta, the director of humanitarian prison services 00:06:55.34\00:06:58.66 greeted me at the airport. 00:06:58.69\00:07:00.11 I want to take you on a journey of amazing events 00:07:05.48\00:07:07.78 that happened from the year 1991 and onward. 00:07:07.81\00:07:11.20 The day started early and as always the streets 00:07:11.23\00:07:13.88 of Bucharest are full hustle and bustle. 00:07:13.91\00:07:16.99 In the spring of 1991, 00:07:19.65\00:07:21.21 we came to this old Romanian union office. 00:07:21.24\00:07:23.99 It was closed because it was a Sunday morning 00:07:24.02\00:07:25.89 and we were talking with the lady 00:07:25.92\00:07:27.37 that was cleaning the building and with by divine providence 00:07:27.40\00:07:31.23 there happened to be one man inside 00:07:31.26\00:07:32.89 who heard speaking English and came out. 00:07:32.92\00:07:34.74 His name was Lucian Christescu. 00:07:34.77\00:07:37.10 We ended up at this block of flats 00:07:37.13\00:07:38.93 are what we call in America an apartment house complex. 00:07:38.96\00:07:41.25 And Lucian Christescu took us up to step his apartment 00:07:41.28\00:07:43.86 and shared with us what it was like 00:07:43.89\00:07:45.33 during the communist revolution, 00:07:45.36\00:07:46.60 how they had the lay on the floor for two days 00:07:46.63\00:07:48.99 being careful to stay away from the windows 00:07:49.02\00:07:50.84 because of the flying bullets outside. 00:07:50.87\00:07:52.56 Little that I know that this first meeting 00:07:52.59\00:07:55.68 with Lucian Christescu was gonna develop 00:07:55.71\00:07:57.05 into a very long lasting relationship 00:07:57.08\00:07:59.51 that would have many amazing things happened here in Romania. 00:07:59.54\00:08:02.26 In the next year 1992, I returned back to Romania 00:08:07.93\00:08:10.55 and met with Lucian Christescu. 00:08:10.58\00:08:12.43 He shared with me something amazing 00:08:12.46\00:08:14.01 that had just happened. 00:08:14.04\00:08:16.89 I remember about Elena and her story began 00:08:16.92\00:08:22.77 right after the revolution 00:08:22.80\00:08:25.07 when husband suddenly died, heart attack. 00:08:25.10\00:08:29.87 He was about 40, 42 years. 00:08:29.90\00:08:33.14 The poor lady with her two children, 00:08:33.17\00:08:36.42 they were in the high school. 00:08:36.45\00:08:39.09 She wanted to die. 00:08:39.12\00:08:40.64 She went in such a deep depression 00:08:40.67\00:08:43.74 that it seems that nobody could help her to get out. 00:08:43.77\00:08:48.10 Somebody, I cannot remember who, 00:08:48.13\00:08:52.19 let her to the church and Jesus Christ 00:08:52.22\00:08:56.57 was the only hope recovery to her. 00:08:56.60\00:09:01.10 She was baptized, her children were supportive, 00:09:01.13\00:09:04.56 they went and headed to the church. 00:09:04.59\00:09:06.25 She was living in Brasov, 00:09:06.28\00:09:07.73 you know, nice city in Transylvania. 00:09:07.76\00:09:11.21 She was trying to find out the way 00:09:11.24\00:09:14.92 in order to cope fully with her depression 00:09:14.95\00:09:18.43 because even if she had no hoped 00:09:18.46\00:09:21.09 that the burden was pulling her back 00:09:21.12\00:09:23.89 and she decided to do something absolutely unusual. 00:09:23.92\00:09:29.32 She was decided to go 00:09:29.35\00:09:31.16 and to share her comfort to the prisoners, 00:09:31.19\00:09:35.40 to those who are behind the bars, 00:09:35.43\00:09:39.20 but this idea was totally crazy 00:09:39.23\00:09:43.75 because in that times a civilian entering the prison system 00:09:43.78\00:09:48.31 which was in a communist way that was something secret, 00:09:48.34\00:09:53.81 it was impossible and Elena was praying 00:09:53.84\00:09:58.38 and said, "God, Lord, do something for me 00:09:58.41\00:10:01.77 and for them and let me in." 00:10:01.80\00:10:04.28 She went to the prison, but nobody let her in. 00:10:04.31\00:10:08.24 But she wanted to be there, 00:10:08.27\00:10:10.41 no rights to reach the prisoners. 00:10:10.44\00:10:13.17 The last word of the guard to Elena was, 00:10:13.20\00:10:17.39 "Woman, go away from here and never come back." 00:10:17.42\00:10:22.78 And while trying to withhold her tears 00:10:22.81\00:10:27.92 she said, "I don't know. 00:10:27.95\00:10:30.19 I will go to the prisoners." 00:10:30.22\00:10:33.41 To Bucharest, she knew nobody there. 00:10:33.44\00:10:36.25 She was a simple member, 00:10:36.28\00:10:37.80 new baptized member in a far away city of Brasov. 00:10:37.83\00:10:42.14 But she said, "I don't need anybody. 00:10:42.17\00:10:44.64 I will go there and I will fast for three, four days 00:10:44.67\00:10:48.23 that means 72 hours. 00:10:48.26\00:10:50.41 And I will stay there until God will do justice for me. 00:10:50.44\00:10:54.51 I want nothing for, but only justice." 00:10:54.54\00:10:58.40 And the important part of Australia 00:10:58.43\00:10:59.70 how the prison ministry started was right here 00:10:59.73\00:11:01.88 at this building at the ministry of justice. 00:11:01.91\00:11:03.94 And finally, I don't know how and who told her the address 00:11:07.67\00:11:11.38 of the General residence 00:11:11.41\00:11:17.71 or headquarter of the prisons, 00:11:17.74\00:11:20.32 but she found those three. 00:11:20.35\00:11:23.35 At that time I didn't know it existed such thing. 00:11:23.38\00:11:28.25 And she went to the door. 00:11:28.28\00:11:30.79 Look what, an officer opened. 00:11:30.82\00:11:33.63 Whom do you look for? 00:11:33.66\00:11:34.69 Do you have a son in the prison? 00:11:34.72\00:11:36.22 No, sir, I want to get the permission 00:11:36.25\00:11:38.76 from the highest level 00:11:38.79\00:11:41.10 for entering the prison from Brasov. 00:11:41.13\00:11:46.02 What? 00:11:46.05\00:11:47.40 I want to work with the people. 00:11:47.43\00:11:49.66 Lady, it's impossible. Go away. 00:11:49.69\00:11:51.98 We have here rules. 00:11:52.01\00:11:53.88 These are prisons, not the hotels. 00:11:53.91\00:11:59.08 Second time she stood there. 00:11:59.11\00:12:01.14 Are you still here? 00:12:01.17\00:12:02.34 Yes, I want to talk to the General. 00:12:02.37\00:12:05.94 Lady, the General is very busy. 00:12:05.97\00:12:08.25 He is a high officer. 00:12:08.28\00:12:09.83 He has big problems to solve not to stay to talk to you. 00:12:09.86\00:12:14.45 Go away. 00:12:14.48\00:12:16.05 She stepped down the steps 00:12:16.08\00:12:18.68 and she stayed there up to evening. 00:12:18.71\00:12:22.66 In the morning, 00:12:22.69\00:12:23.72 it was a seventh day of fasting for Elena 00:12:23.75\00:12:26.91 and in the morning at 7 O'clock 00:12:26.94\00:12:28.83 she was ordered at the entrance 00:12:28.86\00:12:33.17 of the big huge building. 00:12:33.20\00:12:36.03 At 8 O'clock, 00:12:36.06\00:12:37.77 a nice polished car pulled in front 00:12:37.80\00:12:41.80 and the high officer get out, 00:12:41.83\00:12:45.27 it was the General. 00:12:45.30\00:12:47.75 And Elena was there. She was sitting and praying. 00:12:47.78\00:12:52.75 The General went by her and while he stepped up 00:12:52.78\00:12:56.65 he asked the officer which was on duty. 00:12:56.68\00:13:00.26 Who is this lady? Oh, she is a crazy lady. 00:13:00.29\00:13:04.12 She wants to go as a civilian to work with the prisoners, 00:13:04.15\00:13:07.66 but she is not home. 00:13:07.69\00:13:10.30 And the General stopped. Let her come to me. 00:13:10.33\00:13:16.83 Okay, they met in the door. 00:13:16.86\00:13:21.27 Mr. General, please give me allowance to go into the prison 00:13:21.30\00:13:26.49 because I've such a burden for those what he meets, 00:13:26.52\00:13:30.25 they have no cares, no love, nothing. 00:13:30.28\00:13:35.10 They need some comfort and I need to go to. 00:13:35.13\00:13:39.29 Who are you? I'm Elena. 00:13:39.32\00:13:42.07 I'm a nurse. 00:13:42.10\00:13:44.03 Do you have a religion? Yes, I'm Seventh-day Adventist. 00:13:44.06\00:13:48.20 Seventh-day Adventist. 00:13:48.23\00:13:49.47 Okay, woman, go to your church and call somebody. 00:13:49.50\00:13:55.49 Do you have a chief there? 00:13:55.52\00:13:57.05 Call him to come and visit to me. 00:13:57.08\00:14:00.44 I want to talk to him. 00:14:00.47\00:14:02.35 And suddenly in the lobby of the union office 00:14:02.38\00:14:05.74 I saw a woman. 00:14:05.77\00:14:07.30 They told me somebody is looking for you. 00:14:07.33\00:14:10.39 She was a humble looking lady. 00:14:10.42\00:14:12.38 She seemed that she was staying there and praying. 00:14:12.41\00:14:16.09 It touched my heart. 00:14:16.12\00:14:18.03 I had some pity for her 00:14:18.06\00:14:19.85 because she looks somehow depressed. 00:14:19.88\00:14:21.93 And as she begins to talk to me I thought she was crazy. 00:14:21.96\00:14:26.89 She was speaking me about going to the highest officer 00:14:26.92\00:14:30.93 of the prison system to the General. 00:14:30.96\00:14:32.99 And that she was getting his acceptance to begin a work 00:14:33.02\00:14:40.12 and ministry in the prison. 00:14:40.15\00:14:41.73 It was unbelievable 00:14:41.76\00:14:44.40 because I was prosecuted by the communists 00:14:44.43\00:14:48.85 and I know what did this mean. 00:14:48.88\00:14:51.97 It meant to go in the darkest place of all the world 00:14:52.00\00:14:57.57 where people go beyond the doors 00:14:57.60\00:14:59.83 and sometimes never came back. 00:14:59.86\00:15:04.21 And it was something like touching than death. 00:15:04.24\00:15:08.50 Finally she gave me address, she gave me everything 00:15:08.53\00:15:11.46 and now I was fasting and praying, 00:15:11.49\00:15:15.37 asking the Lord to open the large, large door. 00:15:15.40\00:15:18.61 In that morning 00:15:28.62\00:15:30.17 in the nicest suit and shirt I have. 00:15:30.20\00:15:33.48 My heart was beating strong. 00:15:33.51\00:15:36.16 I was approaching the building of the ministering justice. 00:15:36.19\00:15:41.24 Nobody likes that building 00:15:41.27\00:15:43.71 because there is a menace beyond the walls. 00:15:43.74\00:15:47.33 I was met at the door, my documents were asked, 00:15:47.36\00:15:51.06 I was waiting for 45 minutes in the lobby 00:15:51.09\00:15:54.03 and I was alone there. 00:15:54.06\00:15:56.03 Finally I was let, I was let by a soldier to the office, 00:15:56.06\00:16:00.65 I got put on the chair for 15 minutes 00:16:00.68\00:16:02.75 and then please the General looks for you. 00:16:02.78\00:16:06.50 I knew that I was somehow an ambassador 00:16:06.53\00:16:10.32 even if I was pleaded, somebody 00:16:10.35\00:16:13.15 who was pleading for God's justice. 00:16:13.18\00:16:17.36 The General was serious, but soft. 00:16:17.39\00:16:22.56 If I say that is something human face of the communism, 00:16:22.59\00:16:28.53 but after I spoke to him 00:16:28.56\00:16:30.79 offering our people and our ministry, 00:16:30.82\00:16:35.63 he was speaking soft with a deep concern is that 00:16:35.66\00:16:40.50 we the prison system since long I won 00:16:40.53\00:16:43.80 that we should involve the civilians 00:16:43.83\00:16:48.36 and working with the inmates. 00:16:48.39\00:16:50.56 We need you because we cannot reform, 00:16:50.59\00:16:54.28 we cannot reborn these people 00:16:54.31\00:16:58.25 and you are the link in rehabilitate 00:16:58.28\00:17:03.49 these people with lost hope. 00:17:03.52\00:17:07.97 Finally, the plans were done, but I was alone. 00:17:08.00\00:17:12.62 I never saw how this work would be done, 00:17:12.65\00:17:17.87 and by none expected chance 00:17:17.90\00:17:24.31 I met not a very tall man 00:17:24.34\00:17:28.29 with his mustaches in the lobby of the union. 00:17:28.32\00:17:31.61 He seemed to me like a stranger 00:17:31.64\00:17:34.42 and the Lord said, "Go and say 00:17:34.45\00:17:36.49 may I help you, I'm home." 00:17:36.52\00:17:38.77 And this was the beginning of huge, 00:17:38.80\00:17:43.83 huge project maybe one of that above the strongest 00:17:43.86\00:17:49.37 and strongest experiences in my life. 00:17:49.40\00:17:53.56 How much is this pot? Okay. 00:17:53.59\00:17:57.73 Okay, and you could keep that one, it's a gift. 00:17:57.76\00:18:01.76 When we return back to America we realized we had two problems. 00:18:01.79\00:18:04.86 One is, is that we needed literature 00:18:04.89\00:18:06.34 and Bible lessons for working inside the prisons 00:18:06.37\00:18:09.03 and we needed to work with some other organization 00:18:09.06\00:18:10.88 that had experience in working inside the prisons. 00:18:10.91\00:18:13.77 When I got back to America 00:18:13.80\00:18:15.76 I have found out that there was this Romanian couple 00:18:15.79\00:18:18.31 that had started translating booklets and tracks 00:18:18.34\00:18:20.54 into the Romanian language. 00:18:20.57\00:18:21.60 In fact they had found out about 00:18:21.63\00:18:23.25 Laymen Ministries Bible lesson sets 00:18:23.28\00:18:25.14 that we had already culturally adapted 00:18:25.17\00:18:28.24 for using communist countries 00:18:28.27\00:18:29.71 and they started translating these Bible lessons sets. 00:18:29.74\00:18:32.74 So together with Val and Valley Brusher 00:18:32.77\00:18:34.66 this Romaniancouple and like theirs ministries 00:18:34.69\00:18:37.23 we send over 3.8 million pieces of literature 00:18:37.26\00:18:39.49 for the work here in the prisons 00:18:39.52\00:18:41.25 in evangelism in Romania 00:18:41.28\00:18:42.94 and then later we had those lesson sets printed. 00:18:42.97\00:18:46.54 The next thing I did as I contacted 00:18:46.57\00:18:48.09 Richard Bland from United Prison Ministries 00:18:48.12\00:18:50.23 and asked him if he'll be willing 00:18:50.26\00:18:51.47 to team up with Laymen Ministries 00:18:51.50\00:18:52.90 to go to Romania to do training. 00:18:52.93\00:18:54.97 We realized that see Laymen Ministries 00:18:55.00\00:18:56.82 has always been an organization 00:18:56.85\00:18:58.06 that was dedicated to training and motivating 00:18:58.09\00:19:01.00 lay people in practical ministry work. 00:19:01.03\00:19:02.86 United Prison Ministries a ministry 00:19:02.89\00:19:05.00 that was working inside prisons doing Bible studies 00:19:05.03\00:19:07.20 and such with prisoners. 00:19:07.23\00:19:08.50 We realized that this would be a wonderful opportunity 00:19:08.53\00:19:11.71 for our two ministries to merge together to come to Romania 00:19:11.74\00:19:14.60 and start training seminars for common lay people. 00:19:14.63\00:19:17.69 Few weeks later we got tickets, we flew together to Romania, 00:19:17.72\00:19:20.40 we traveled the four corners of Romania going to churches 00:19:20.43\00:19:23.04 training lay people to start doing Bible studies 00:19:23.07\00:19:25.79 and working with the inmates inside the prison. 00:19:25.82\00:19:28.05 And this was the beginning 00:19:28.08\00:19:29.19 of Humanitarian Prison Services work 00:19:29.22\00:19:31.45 that started to spread all across Romania. 00:19:31.48\00:19:33.94 1993 was a very exciting time for Laymen Ministries 00:19:33.97\00:19:37.65 because it was that year that Laymen Ministries together 00:19:37.68\00:19:39.78 with Lucian Cristescu in the Romanian union 00:19:39.81\00:19:42.47 formed legally HPS which is Humanitarian Prison Services, 00:19:42.50\00:19:46.62 the prison ministry here in Romania. 00:19:46.65\00:19:48.72 And that year we also start sponsoring the lay evangelist 00:19:48.75\00:19:51.61 by the name of Nicu Butoi. 00:19:51.64\00:19:53.40 Nicu Butoi was doing evangelism across Romania 00:19:53.43\00:19:55.83 and over the next several years literally thousands of people 00:19:55.86\00:19:59.26 were baptized and connection with Laymen Ministries 00:19:59.29\00:20:01.64 sponsorship of these evangelistic campaigns. 00:20:01.67\00:20:04.69 We also had the opportunity to go 00:20:04.72\00:20:07.33 to the Republic of Moldova, 00:20:07.36\00:20:09.35 the former part of the Soviet Union. 00:20:09.38\00:20:10.98 And we had 100,000 Bible lessons 00:20:11.01\00:20:14.00 that's printed for the prison ministry, 00:20:14.03\00:20:15.86 that's over three million individual Bible lessons set. 00:20:15.89\00:20:19.40 Plus, we printed that same year 00:20:19.43\00:20:21.33 100,000 little booklets called the Impending Conflict. 00:20:21.36\00:20:26.16 It was in 1994 that HPS held its first prison convention 00:20:26.19\00:20:29.80 and we invited General Major Ion Chis 00:20:29.83\00:20:31.89 as a special guest to attend this convention. 00:20:31.92\00:20:34.45 At that time, we presented him with the special gift 00:20:34.48\00:20:37.06 the book Desire of Ages. 00:20:37.09\00:20:38.88 Little did we know what was gonna happen 00:20:38.91\00:20:40.38 because the presentation of this one gift. 00:20:40.41\00:20:43.38 That next August we invited General Chis 00:20:43.41\00:20:46.62 to come to ASI in America. 00:20:46.65\00:20:49.68 And I was there he had under his arm, 00:20:49.71\00:20:52.12 the book Desire of Ages 00:20:52.15\00:20:53.18 which we had given him as a gift. 00:20:53.21\00:20:55.00 And he was telling Richard Bland and myself he said, 00:20:55.03\00:20:57.34 "This book is such a wonderful book. 00:20:57.37\00:20:58.92 I read it three times." 00:20:58.95\00:20:59.98 He said, 'It portrays Christ in such a wonderful way." 00:21:00.01\00:21:02.44 He said, "You know, I was thinking 00:21:02.47\00:21:04.01 it would be nice to be able to give this book 00:21:04.04\00:21:05.53 to all the inmates in Romania." 00:21:05.56\00:21:07.48 And Richard and I were looking each other like, okay. 00:21:07.51\00:21:10.07 And he said, "You think 00:21:10.10\00:21:11.13 you could print about 40,000 copies 00:21:11.16\00:21:13.98 or 45,000 copies of this book 00:21:14.01\00:21:15.73 to give to the inmates in Romania?" 00:21:15.76\00:21:17.91 And we kind of went, "Sure, okay". 00:21:17.94\00:21:21.01 And then he said, "You know, we have inmates 00:21:21.04\00:21:23.29 coming and going in the prisons 00:21:23.32\00:21:24.35 all the time, it would be nice 00:21:24.38\00:21:25.41 if we had extra copies in reserve for the new men 00:21:25.44\00:21:28.34 that are constantly coming into the prisons 00:21:28.37\00:21:29.94 we can be giving this book to them." 00:21:29.97\00:21:31.50 And he said, "You know, also all the members of the staff 00:21:31.53\00:21:34.43 of the Ministry of Justice for working inside the prison, 00:21:34.46\00:21:37.17 you know, the guards and the administrator people 00:21:37.20\00:21:39.27 they would be benefited by a copy of this book, too. 00:21:39.30\00:21:41.26 Could you print, you know, 60,000 copies, 00:21:41.29\00:21:43.42 so we could give it to all the administrative staff?" 00:21:43.45\00:21:45.83 And then he went on and said to himself a little bit more 00:21:45.86\00:21:48.08 and he looked at us and he said, "You know, 00:21:48.11\00:21:49.78 I'm friends with Eli Esco, the president at that time. 00:21:49.81\00:21:52.51 He said, "I'd like to give a nice hardbound copy 00:21:52.54\00:21:54.49 of this book to the president of Romania 00:21:54.52\00:21:56.51 and all of the members of parliament 00:21:56.54\00:21:58.00 and all the members of Ministry of Justice. 00:21:58.03\00:22:00.08 Could you print 100,000 copies of this book?" 00:22:00.11\00:22:03.19 And Richard and I decided that 00:22:03.22\00:22:05.21 if the Holy Spirit could impress him to ask, 00:22:05.24\00:22:08.13 the Holy Spirit could impress people to give 00:22:08.16\00:22:10.68 and over the next several months as these books are coming off, 00:22:10.71\00:22:14.45 these former communist party presses the books 00:22:14.48\00:22:16.63 that were actually being printed on these presses 00:22:16.66\00:22:18.61 where the books of Stalin and Lenin, 00:22:18.64\00:22:20.40 now printing the Desire of Ages 00:22:20.43\00:22:22.08 as these books were coming off the press, 00:22:22.11\00:22:24.36 people from allover the world were donating funds 00:22:24.39\00:22:27.25 and they were coming in and-- 00:22:27.28\00:22:28.37 Every time we had a shipment of books, 00:22:28.40\00:22:30.48 the exact amount of money was there to be able to pay 00:22:30.51\00:22:33.54 for each one of those books as they came off for shipment. 00:22:33.57\00:22:36.62 The idea of having the Desire of Ages printed 00:23:39.75\00:23:42.21 and then distributed in the former communist 00:23:42.24\00:23:44.17 prisons of Romania with the help 00:23:44.20\00:23:46.18 of the government seemed like an impossibility. 00:23:46.21\00:23:49.71 Our HPS workers together with prison guards 00:23:49.74\00:23:52.27 went from cell to cell in the entire maximum, 00:23:52.30\00:23:55.45 medium and minimum security prisons all across the country. 00:23:55.48\00:23:59.37 One at the juvenile facility in Craiova, General Keech, 00:24:02.81\00:24:06.17 well both are national Romanian television and CNN 00:24:06.20\00:24:09.70 boldly stated to the inmates and prison administration. 00:24:09.73\00:24:13.14 "We used to put people in prison for books like these, 00:24:13.17\00:24:15.86 now we are putting these books in prison." 00:24:15.89\00:24:18.34 We will never forget the looks 00:24:21.50\00:24:23.10 on the faces of some of these young men 00:24:23.13\00:24:25.42 and in their hands was a book 00:24:25.45\00:24:27.33 that could forever change their lives. 00:24:27.36\00:24:30.99 The entire faculty in every prison received a free copy 00:24:31.02\00:24:34.75 of the book Desire of Ages as well as the lifers 00:24:34.78\00:24:37.93 in the maximum security prison in Craiova. 00:24:37.96\00:24:42.64 In Focsani, the commander received as with open arms 00:24:42.67\00:24:45.54 for distributing the book the Great Controversy. 00:24:45.57\00:24:48.19 This orthodox pre-shows off 00:24:48.22\00:24:49.92 all the books distributed in his prison. 00:24:49.95\00:24:52.17 Well, holding the Great Controversy in his arms. 00:24:52.20\00:24:55.07 Today Laymen Ministries continues 00:25:12.94\00:25:15.23 to support the work of HPS. 00:25:15.26\00:25:17.67 They now have around 1,000 volunteers working 00:25:17.70\00:25:20.54 in all the 44 prisons of Romania. 00:25:20.57\00:25:23.06 While I was in Romania this trip meet Laymen Ministries 00:25:31.63\00:25:34.95 sponsored Director of HPS 00:25:34.98\00:25:36.72 and I were going to go and visit a few of the prisons to see 00:25:36.75\00:25:39.20 what HPS is doing today. 00:25:39.23\00:25:41.10 This morning we're heading over to the women's facility 00:25:45.31\00:25:48.49 at Targsor just outside of north of Bucharest. 00:25:48.52\00:25:53.61 It's north of Bucharest, right? Oh, yeah. 00:25:53.64\00:25:56.66 We're outside the women's prison here 00:26:08.25\00:26:10.48 and we're gonna be able to go in and talk 00:26:10.51\00:26:12.77 a little bit with some of the female prisoners. 00:26:12.80\00:26:14.58 Today isn't Sabbath, but they have allowed us 00:26:14.61\00:26:16.83 to gather a small group of the girls together 00:26:16.86\00:26:19.17 and have a meeting with them. 00:26:19.20\00:26:20.39 HPS worker such as Ujan Mindinano 00:26:30.05\00:26:33.08 teaches inmates how to study the Bible 00:26:33.11\00:26:35.43 and how to have a relationship with Jesus Christ. 00:26:35.46\00:26:41.41 And I can't find words 00:26:41.44\00:26:43.06 to thank you for all your ministry 00:26:43.09\00:26:46.06 and what you have done for me and with me. 00:26:46.09\00:26:48.53 An year ago I received a Bible from you 00:26:48.56\00:26:52.08 and this Bible changed my life. 00:26:52.11\00:26:57.20 Our next stop was here 00:26:57.23\00:26:58.26 at the Maximum security prison in Bacau 00:26:58.29\00:27:00.39 way up by the Moldavian border. 00:27:00.42\00:27:03.25 Inside the security area 00:27:03.28\00:27:04.31 they have some HPS workers actually walking 00:27:04.34\00:27:06.31 around with some of the inmates in here. 00:27:06.34\00:27:10.94 You run ahead? 00:27:10.97\00:27:13.40 These visits are just a small sample 00:27:13.43\00:27:15.53 of the work of HPS all across Romania. 00:27:15.56\00:27:22.78 From what I understand that two different types 00:27:22.81\00:27:25.40 of meetings here in this prison. 00:27:25.43\00:27:27.65 It's is a typical I guess Sabbath service like, here 00:27:27.68\00:27:30.34 we're just like preaching, it's more like a formal church, 00:27:30.37\00:27:33.05 but a lot of times what they are doing 00:27:33.08\00:27:34.49 is they make a circle 00:27:34.52\00:27:36.00 and they had interaction Bible studies 00:27:36.03\00:27:38.60 and whatever its called here in this prison in yacht 00:27:38.63\00:27:41.59 that the inmates are leading out in a lot of the services, 00:27:41.62\00:27:44.31 not only the Bible services, Sabbath school studies, 00:27:44.34\00:27:47.87 even some of the preaching here. 00:27:47.90\00:27:49.62 But the neat thing is, 00:27:49.65\00:27:51.11 is that still the principle of teach-to-teach 00:27:51.14\00:27:53.66 that the inmates are working 00:27:53.69\00:27:54.72 with one-and-one with each other, 00:27:54.75\00:27:56.27 group discussions, interactions. 00:27:56.30\00:27:59.13 The commander of the prison here 00:27:59.16\00:28:01.05 General Director is what they called 00:28:01.08\00:28:02.44 and now what saying that 00:28:02.47\00:28:03.79 out of all the different groups that come entered the prison. 00:28:03.82\00:28:06.05 This has been the most successful program 00:28:06.08\00:28:08.10 we've seen so far working inside this prison facility. 00:28:08.13\00:28:11.57