Participants: Shelley Quinn (Host), Octavian Poenaru
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY016006A
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00:01 I want to spend my life
00:07 Mending broken people 00:12 I want to spend my life 00:18 Removing pain 00:23 Lord, let my words 00:30 Heal a heart that hurts 00:34 I want to spend my life 00:40 Mending broken people 00:45 I want to spend my life 00:51 Mending broken people 01:07 Hello, I'm Shelley Quinn 01:08 and we welcome you to 3ABN Today. 01:10 We're so glad that you are sharing 01:12 a portion of your day with us 01:14 and we believe you are going to be blessed 01:15 by the testimony you hear this hour. 01:18 We want to thank you so much for your prayers, 01:21 and your love, and your financial support of 3ABN 01:25 because you are helping us to take the gospel 01:28 to evangelize the entire world. 01:32 So thank you so much. 01:34 Our guest today has a fascinating story 01:36 and when you listen to his, the early part of his life, 01:40 the scripture that came to mind was Matthew 6:33. 01:44 Jesus is speaking to those who are worrying and He's like, 01:49 why are you worrying. 01:52 He says "Don't worry about what you're going to eat, 01:54 what you're going to drink, what you're going to wear." 01:57 But then He says in Matthew 6:33, 02:01 "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness 02:05 and all of these things shall be added unto you." 02:10 Someone today needs to hear that. 02:13 Christ tells us, "Don't worry about tomorrow, 02:16 Sufficient for each day 02:18 is the problems that you are facing." 02:20 But when you look to God as Jehovah-Jireh, 02:24 your Provider, 02:25 all of your worries can be cast out. 02:28 Well, let me introduce you to our very special guest 02:31 and his name is Pastor Octavian Poenaru. 02:35 And Pastor Octavian is what I will call you. 02:37 Yes. 02:39 You are the pastor 02:40 for the Colville District in Washington. 02:43 Yes. 02:44 Well, tell us where Colville is. 02:47 Well, if you'll be able to find Spokane. 02:48 Okay. 02:50 Probably about an hour and a half away going north, 02:52 close to Canadian border. 02:54 In the beautiful area then. 02:56 Yes. It's very pretty. 02:57 And how many churches do you pastor? 02:59 Two, one is Colville, the other one is Ione.. 03:02 Okay. 03:03 We are very glad that you are here. 03:05 Thank you. 03:06 We can't wait to hear your testimony. 03:08 Thank you. 03:09 But first, we know you like music 03:11 and we know everyone at home always enjoys our music. 03:14 And today, we have someone that I actually don't know 03:18 a whole lot about this particular singer. 03:21 I've not met him personally but I always enjoy him so much. 03:26 His name is Paul Kreisle and he is going to be singing 03:30 "Be Still and Know." 03:52 Be still and know that He is God 04:00 Be still and know that He is holy 04:08 Be still Oh, restless soul of mine 04:13 Bow before the Prince of Peace 04:17 Let the noise and clamor cease 04:24 Be still and know that He is God 04:32 Be still and know that He is faithful 04:40 Consider all that He has done 04:45 Stand in awe and be amazed 04:49 And know that He will never change 04:55 Be still 05:03 Be still 05:07 and know that He is God 05:11 Be still and know that He is God 05:19 Be still and know that He is God 05:27 Be still Be speechless 05:38 Be still and know that He is God 05:46 Be still and know He is our Father 05:54 Come and rest your head upon His breast 05:59 Listen to the rhythm 06:01 of His unfailing heart of love 06:07 Beating for his little ones 06:11 Calling each of us to come 06:20 Be still 06:28 Be still 06:51 And that was Paul Kreisle 06:52 and I hope those words minister to your heart. 06:56 You know, actually, the Lord tells us 06:59 or He is speaking in Psalm 46:10, 07:03 He says, "Be still and know that I am God." 07:07 You can put your worries to rest. 07:09 Just come, lay your head upon my breast and that is precious. 07:14 Well, if you are just joining us a little late today, 07:17 our special guest is Pastor Octavian Poenaru. 07:20 He is the pastor 07:21 at the Colville District in Washington. 07:24 Yes. 07:25 And we're once again, we just want to thank you 07:28 for making the trip here to 3ABN. 07:31 Thank you for inviting me. 07:32 To share this testimony. 07:34 Usually I'll start off and ask somebody 07:36 when did God become real for you 07:38 but this is all about your testimony. 07:41 But that's what the purpose is. 07:42 Let me ask you, why do you think 07:46 it's important to share our personal testimonies? 07:50 Well. Let me start with a story. 07:52 I remember I was in the fourth year 07:55 at the seminary and along with two of my colleagues 07:57 we were going home. 07:59 And this was probably in 1987 or 1987, 08:08 and traveling home by train. 08:10 With us in the same compartment was a lady, 08:12 she was a middle-aged lady. 08:14 And it happened that she was a philosophy teacher. 08:17 And we, the three of us begin to talk to her about God. 08:23 Yes. 08:24 And you get into this very philosophical 08:27 and controversial topics and discussions 08:28 and we wrestled with her. 08:31 She was on one side proving that there is no God. 08:34 Obviously she was an atheist. 08:36 And on the other side we're three of us trying 08:39 to bring every possible argument from logic, 08:43 philosophy, history, archaeology, 08:46 everything to prove that actually there is a God. 08:48 Finally, the lady said, "Well, by the way, 08:52 what did this God do for you?" 08:56 "What did He for you?" 08:59 The bottom line, and in the end 09:01 I believe that the strongest 09:03 theological argument doesn't come 09:06 from years of studying or from books. 09:09 It comes from personal experience. 09:10 Amen. 09:12 Not that the personal experience-- 09:13 not that the study of the Bible is not important. 09:17 I'm not saying that 09:18 but what I'm saying is that our personal experience of God, 09:22 it's very important for us, 09:25 for ourselves and it's also the ultimate argument 09:29 we can bring to someone else. 09:30 Well said, Brother. 09:31 And that's something that they can-- 09:33 they can argue and try to refute anything you say 09:36 but they can't refute your personal testimony. 09:38 Yeah. 09:39 Now, you grew up in Communist Romania. 09:44 Right. 09:46 Tell us a little about the family 09:49 into which you were born 09:51 and what their situation was? 09:54 There are some pictures with myself when I was little. 10:00 I was probably five years old 10:02 and as you can see in the background, 10:06 we grew up in, someone may call it poverty. 10:09 I remember sharing this experience in one church 10:13 and someone said "Well, those were primitive conditions." 10:16 I may agree with that. 10:18 We had well, and outhouse and very, very small, 10:22 tiny house in the middle of a field. 10:25 And my parents were very busy. 10:27 My mother was a nurse, my father was a lab technician. 10:30 Both of them coming from the country side 10:32 and trying to build a life 10:37 around the city, working, 10:41 I remember my mother working sometimes two shifts and again, 10:45 very busy way of life. 10:47 Trying to survive. 10:49 Trying to survive and that didn't leave too much time 10:52 for family religion as you may call it. 10:57 And during my childhood, 10:59 I do not remember having worship, family worship. 11:02 But your parents were Christians? 11:03 My parents were Christians. 11:05 Yes, my parents, at least, 11:08 we went to the Seventh-day Adventist church. 11:10 Okay. 11:11 And I think they have faith, 11:15 they had faith in God and they had some experiences of God. 11:19 But one thing I believe it was missing 11:22 and that was the time, the personal time with God, 11:26 the personal devotion for themselves 11:28 and for us as a family. 11:30 And that impacted all of us I believe. 11:33 Many, many years after that I was talking to my father 11:38 and he acknowledged the fact saying, 11:41 "Son, I have to tell you that the first part of our lives, 11:45 we were not very close to God. 11:49 We would go to church 11:50 and we would do the best we could." 11:54 But that's very important piece, 11:56 which is the devotional life was actually missing 11:59 and he acknowledged that. 12:00 The effect was that as a child I do not remember 12:07 God is being present in my life, almost at all. 12:11 And you don't see that, I mean, 12:13 outside I was like most of the other kids 12:15 but deep inside of me, I don't think I had God. 12:19 Okay, you know, I just want to kind of underscore 12:21 what you're saying here because what I'm hearing 12:23 at least is you had parents who were believers. 12:27 Yes. They took you to church. 12:28 Yes. The church wasn't enough. 12:30 You needed that to be modeled in your home, 12:34 you needed to learn to have a personal relationship 12:37 with the Lord and that was missing. 12:40 So you're growing up kind of in a cultural way 12:45 or there is some of God in your life. 12:50 You know He's there, but there's no closeness. 12:54 Is that what you're saying? 12:56 Yes. 12:57 Again, I think the life of some people, 13:01 if not of many people gravitates around 13:06 our earthly existence, 13:09 work, coming home, doing this and doing that 13:12 and busy with life and the 24 hours 13:16 are actually very short for a lot of people. 13:19 They have to wake up early in the morning, 13:20 go to work, come back late evenings and obviously, 13:24 you postpone the things 13:26 which are not the most important. 13:28 At least apparently and probably 13:31 in the lot of homes what happens, 13:34 we leave for the last Easter communion we've got. 13:39 I remember sometime in the evening 13:41 my parents wanted to do the study, 13:43 to read some of the Bible 13:45 and basically falling asleep while you keep the Bible open. 13:48 And there's a lot of people today 13:50 who'd come home and they'll say they come from work 13:52 and they are so tired. 13:53 They don't have the mental energy. 13:55 They'll sit in front of the television 13:56 and it's okay to watch 3ABN, but I mean, 13:58 if you're just watching regular secular programming, 14:02 many times people are influenced by that because, 14:07 and children are influenced by that 14:09 because parents are too tired to do anything else with them. 14:10 Absolutely. 14:12 We, my parents actually bought a TV. 14:15 I was probably six or seven years old 14:17 and I remember, 14:21 we didn't like the Russian movies 14:23 'cause they're very boring 14:24 but we loved the American movies. 14:25 They are cowboys and Indians and I, 14:31 the kids are mimicking what they see 14:33 and they tried to reproduce in their own life 14:36 at their level what they actually see. 14:40 There is a well-known statement by "beholding... 14:43 "We become." "We are changed." 14:45 And probably it was in one of those days 14:48 in when I watched the evening a movie 14:50 with cowboys and Indians and I remember the next day, 14:53 my mother was a nurse and she had at home 14:55 a syringe and the needles. 14:56 And I got a few needles and a few sticks 14:58 and I put the needles in, 15:00 at the top of the sticks and I made my arrows 15:03 and I got outside and I was the Indian 15:06 and I saw some of the pigs of my neighbor 15:08 and I start chasing them and hunting them 15:10 and actually I shot at one of them 15:15 and pig with arrow start running back home 15:19 and I realized that I was in trouble. 15:22 Fortunately, the arrow fell down 15:27 but the point is that media 15:34 actually controlled my life at that time and I think 15:38 those were the days when, 40, 50 years ago, 15:43 when the movies were not as what they are today. 15:47 They were a lot milder back then. 15:49 Oh, yeah and black and white. Yeah. 15:52 Then, and the communist, 15:54 they basically had a pretty strong screening 15:59 what they allowed to be on the media. 16:02 But I remember, I knew everything, 16:03 I knew every movie that was supposed 16:05 to be during the week. 16:06 And basically the worship family 16:09 was when we watched a movie. 16:12 That was when the family came together. 16:14 That became your family altar. Exactly. 16:16 That was the time 16:18 when we as a family came together. 16:19 Okay. 16:21 And that had a very strong impact 16:22 on my life because very shortly or in a very short time, 16:28 God was out of the picture, at least for me. 16:31 Now let me ask you a question because you grew up 16:33 in an Adventist home in a communist country. 16:37 Did you, I know that most of the communist countries, 16:40 they do go to school on Saturdays. 16:44 Did you attend school on Saturday 16:46 or did you observe the Sabbath? 16:50 If you can believe in this 50 percent obedience, 16:53 half of the time I was in church, 16:55 half of the time I was in school. 16:57 The morning I was in school, 16:58 in the afternoon we went to church 17:00 because there were programs at the church in the afternoon. 17:03 The truth is that as I say sometime, 17:10 for me at that time, 17:12 the best moments of the Sabbath were when the Sabbath was over. 17:17 Because the Sabbath or the Saturday was very, 17:22 in my mind was very restrictive 17:25 and I didn't have any pleasure in, 17:27 I was not interested in spiritual things at all. 17:30 And I was looking forward for the Sabbath to be over 17:33 and watch the Saturday night movie. 17:36 Were you an excellent student? 17:39 What kind of student were you as a young boy? 17:41 No, no. 17:44 Actually, the first grades, one to four, 17:47 I was the bottom line student in my class 17:49 and I'm not exaggerating at all. 17:51 I was the last student in my class. 17:55 And things were not going well at all. 17:57 So you just weren't interested in studies or... 18:00 You know, I don't remember exactly why, 18:04 but I know that I had big problems in school, 18:06 not only learning wise, in terms of the academics 18:10 but behavior wise. 18:14 I was lying, I mean, lying, stealing, it was okay for me, 18:20 well, if there is no God in your life, why not? 18:26 And I remember on a Sabbath day in the morning, 18:29 I went once to school and I've stolen a toy 18:34 which was a pistol from one of my colleagues. 18:38 I don't know, I was so brilliant 18:40 in devising the plans 18:42 to steal things from this colleague of mine, 18:45 with all the colleagues present and not being caught 18:48 but I was failing on every other subject. 18:52 And anyway I was caught in the afternoon by grammy. 18:57 It's interesting how God works. 18:59 Yes. Grandmothers know, don't they? 19:01 Yes, she, I mean, I tricked everybody, 19:04 I lied to everybody and in the afternoon 19:06 I was called by an old wonderful grandmother. 19:10 That was, that's what I remember 19:14 and I failed and my father wanted me to play violin 19:17 and he sent me to the music school 19:21 and I began to play violin but I was failing again, 19:25 I was not interested in music theory 19:27 or playing the instrument and in the sixth grade 19:31 I had to basically abandon the music school 19:33 because I failed the exams at the end of the year, 19:36 both of them. 19:38 So how did God finally get your attention? 19:42 I think some of us and I'm gonna say 19:46 probably it's very strong the way I'm gonna say, 19:48 but some of us get tired of our own stupidity. 19:50 Okay. 19:52 And you see yourself failing or I believe that God helps us 19:57 see, I don't know how that happens, 20:03 but I think that God is very, very patient with us 20:07 and He's trying in many, many ways to talk to us. 20:12 I think, I was beginning to see 20:16 my own failing at all levels. 20:22 And at what age were you then? 20:24 I was 14. 20:25 It had to be God who was helping you, 20:27 if you're saying that. 20:28 Yes, I was 14 and at that age your friends 20:32 are very powerful influence and they change, I mean, 20:36 you listen to your friends much more than you listen 20:38 to your parents or teachers or anybody else. 20:41 And I had a very good friend of mine 20:44 who was leading me into all kinds of bad stuff. 20:47 And I was joining this gang of guys 20:52 and doing all kinds of things. 20:53 And... 20:54 So your friends were more from the school 20:57 and not from the church, is that what... 20:59 School, school was, school is life. 21:01 I mean, church was once a week 21:02 and going to church was just because I had to 21:06 and I didn't have much interest in the church. 21:08 But this friend of mine, the best friend of mine 21:11 at one point that belong of other guys, 21:12 they mocked me to a point 21:14 and I'm not gonna be too graphic 21:16 but I remember being in the classroom 21:19 one day after they of mine at one 21:20 because it was customary. 21:22 Today, they mock me, tomorrow we mock you 21:25 and make fun of the other ones 21:27 as part of life in the gang, 21:33 not the gang in the real terms 21:35 of doing all kinds of violent actions but... 21:38 Yeah. Okay. 21:40 And this friend of mine, he and the other guys, 21:42 they really, really mocked me 21:44 and I remember I was left in the classroom 21:47 and some tears came to my eyes. 21:49 I said, well, why am I here? 21:51 Why did I end up like this? 21:52 I said, this is what I deserve. 21:55 I chose to go with them 21:57 and now this is what I, what I get. 22:01 Also, at that time it was a New Year 22:05 and in the church I grew up every time at the New Year, 22:11 they will just give us small piece of paper 22:13 with a promise from the Bible to all the church members 22:16 and everybody does just choose one, 22:19 chose one, picked one. 22:20 And I was curious, it was like lottery. 22:23 And I said, well, let's see what I get this year. 22:25 And to my surprise, 22:27 I got the passage from Joshua 24:15, 22:32 which says "And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, 22:38 choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve." 22:42 Amen. 22:43 When I remember, again, I was not the godly person 22:46 or interested in religion or God 22:48 but when I read that passage, 22:51 I realized that God was talking to me. 22:54 I don't know how can you make that but to me God was saying, 22:59 "Octavian, you are playing this game for a long time. 23:04 It's time for you to choose." 23:07 And I think at that point, I was seriously 23:12 considering to change my life. 23:15 And you were 14 years old. I was 14 years old. 23:16 But the word of God is alive and active. 23:20 And God was speaking to you through that 23:22 precious scripture. 23:25 "Choose this day whom you are going to serve." 23:27 So, now God's got your attention 23:32 and for 14 year old, usually, 23:33 you know, I think typically you think of 14 is the time 23:37 that children actually are, especially boys, 23:40 it seems as testosterone kicks in and everything 23:43 that they are going a little more off the path at that age. 23:46 They are usually trying to rein them 23:48 in but I know that the Holy Spirit 23:50 was working with you. 23:51 So, now God's got your attention. 23:54 What happened? 23:56 Well, you mentioned at the beginning 23:59 another Bible passage. 24:00 It was Matthew 6:33. 24:03 "Seek first the kingdom of God." 24:05 I remember beginning to read, 24:10 I truly believe it's fundamentally important 24:15 for the spiritual life to spend time with God 24:18 in studying the Bible, in reading the Bible 24:19 and other spiritual books. 24:23 Probably it's difficult at the beginning 24:28 to understand the Bible and even now for me, 24:30 I'm a, you may call it a professional, 24:32 but there are portions of the Bible 24:34 which are not easy to understand. 24:37 I would say don't hurry, read it anyway 24:40 because I don't have to understand everything 24:44 from all the Bible. 24:45 God will speak to you or to me in the place where I am. 24:52 Amen, amen. 24:53 And reading that passage 24:56 and I was beginning at that time to read the book, 25:00 The Great Controversy. 25:03 Did someone encourage you to read? 25:04 Yes. Okay. 25:06 Actually, I have to say none of us 25:08 is where we are without the help of God 25:11 and other people. 25:13 Okay. 25:14 A few things happened in my life right at that moment. 25:16 I remember a man came in our church 25:20 at that point and I owe him a lot of my in a sense, 25:24 a lot of change. 25:26 He is just a human being like everybody else but, 25:30 his name is, I'm gonna say his name, 25:32 some of the listeners may recognize his name 25:35 if they are from that country, Vasiley was his name. 25:39 Well, he impressed me by his modesty. 25:42 And by his amazing intelligence, 25:44 he knew the whole Book of Revelation by heart, 25:47 the whole Book of Isaiah by heart, 25:48 a lot of Psalms, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 25:53 a lot of portions of the Bible by heart. 25:55 He has a vast knowledge of history, 26:00 music and I was impressed. 26:04 And... 26:06 I'm impressed too. 26:08 At that time he organized the youth in my church. 26:12 We had the small orchestra. 26:15 Finally, he actually brought us together 26:18 and we had a small orchestra, a classic type of orchestra, 26:23 first violin, second violin, viola and cello. 26:26 And we begin to play classical music and hymns 26:31 and it was a great time in church. 26:34 In the same time we begin to study as a church. 26:37 Both parents and children will study for a week 26:41 The Great Controversy at home and Sabbath afternoon 26:44 we'll meet, Saturday afternoon 26:45 we'll meet and discuss the chapter. 26:47 Very interactive, very interesting for me 26:49 and I was hungry. 26:50 I wanted to, I was hungry to know more 26:55 about God and I was very much impressed 26:58 by what I was finding in this book, 27:01 The Great Controversy, 27:02 how some people love God like the first Christians. 27:06 They loved God to the, to the extent 27:11 that they were willing to give up their lives. 27:12 Yes. 27:14 And I said to myself, well, am I supposed 27:17 to be in the same heaven 27:20 with those who gave their lives for Christ 27:23 while my life is like this, and I began to change, 27:29 actually, I was baptized very soon. 27:35 Usually people got through a baptism class but I remember 27:39 they had the wisdom and the graciousness 27:43 to accept me for the baptism 27:44 without even going through a baptism class. 27:46 Okay. 27:47 And I was baptized. 27:48 This is you on the inn with, in a robe, with... 27:51 Tall and skinny as today. Yeah. 27:53 And I even forgot, I remember 27:55 I forgot all my baptism clothing. 27:58 But I was baptized and it was visible, 28:02 visible change in my life in all aspects. 28:06 My parents saw that I was becoming very different. 28:13 Did this impact their relationship 28:16 with the Lord as they saw you changing? 28:20 I'm not sure that that happened right then and there. 28:24 And I, you know, I was so much preoccupied by my own life, 28:30 I didn't know exactly what was happening with them. 28:34 We went to church and there are some good times 28:37 when I remember my parents trying to, by that time, 28:43 I have a sister and they were trying to pull 28:46 the family together and study more. 28:48 We got out of from the level, they built the second house. 28:54 It was more comfortable, in a sense they had more time 28:59 and I think they begin to change, 29:04 but I do not remember significant changes. 29:07 Now, Octavian, when you really became serious about God, 29:12 I know that I've talked with others 29:14 who grew up in communist Romania, 29:16 other Adventist Christians who chose to honor 29:20 God's Sabbath and did not attend school on Saturday 29:25 even though it was mandatory and they were punished 29:27 and persecuted for it. 29:29 What was your, did you finally get to that point 29:32 that you said okay, 29:33 I'm not going to school on Saturday 29:35 or did you continue to go? 29:36 It's very interesting 29:37 because we didn't talk about this. 29:39 But you bring this up and that's exactly 29:41 what happened and I for most of, for most of my life, 29:44 I went to school on Saturday 29:47 and at the point where I begin to change, 29:51 I was skipping classes in school as much as I could. 29:55 But at one point when I was in the junior year in the high 29:57 I decided to not to go to school 30:00 by my own. 30:02 And I remember we had some family discussions. 30:04 My parents told me, they said, "Octavian, you go to school, 30:05 you finish your school." 30:07 And I was in, I was studying electronics. 30:09 I wanted to become an engineer in electronics. 30:11 But this was a high school that prepared you for that. 30:14 It was the profile 30:16 where you study mathematics and physics 30:17 and other disciplines related to the field. 30:22 And they were afraid, they were afraid 30:23 that I'm not gonna finish the school 30:25 which could have happened very, very easily 30:28 because we had some classes Saturdays only. 30:31 And if you miss those classes, then you, you basically fail. 30:36 It's interesting how God, there are many, many stories 30:39 I believe when God worked in a very interesting way. 30:44 For example, one of them, I had a teacher. 30:47 He was a very busy man. 30:49 He was the director of huge 30:54 electrical plant 30:57 and very busy man. 30:59 But he was teaching one class 31:01 in the electronic domain. 31:04 Well, this man missed the whole quarter. 31:08 And there was the last week, 31:10 I mean, in communism, it is possible. 31:13 He missed, I mean, he was an extremely busy man. 31:15 He missed the whole quarter and finally 31:17 there was one week left. 31:18 And he said, everybody be ready, 31:20 I remember, I think it was on Wednesday, 31:22 we had classes with him Wednesday and Saturday. 31:24 He said, "Everybody, be ready. 31:25 I'm coming Wednesday, give you a test 31:28 and Saturday give you another test. 31:29 You have two grades, 31:31 cumulate both of them and give you an average grade 31:34 and you finish the quarter. 31:36 I was praying that he would come on Wednesday. 31:38 He didn't come. 31:40 The only day left was Saturday. 31:44 It was very difficult, very, very, very difficult 31:47 for me to make a decision, should I go, should I not, 31:51 should I go, should I not. 31:52 Finally, I decided not to go. 31:56 I was fasting probably that Sabbath 31:57 and praying for a miracle. 32:00 Are you 18 or you were 17? 32:02 I was 17. Seventeen at this point. 32:04 And the, finally, in the evening after sundown 32:09 I went in town, 32:10 I knew that I will find in town some of my colleagues 32:13 and I met one them said, "Octavian, 32:14 the teacher told him, told to give him a call." 32:17 He said, give him a call tonight. 32:19 Because he wants to give you a test on Tuesday." 32:22 And I was so happy. 32:24 Tuesday, the school was over, 32:25 the last day of school and I was so happy. 32:27 I said praise God, 32:29 he will give me a chance to take an exam by myself. 32:33 I called the teacher, 32:35 that, I remember called the teacher 32:36 that Saturday night, 32:39 told him who I was and I remember telling him, 32:41 I said, "I missed the school 32:42 not because I'm negligent or ignoring you, 32:47 it is because my moral conventions." 32:50 And he said, "Don't worry. 32:52 I gave you a grade anyway." 32:56 And he gave me a grade anyway. 32:58 Now you judge this kind of events or things 33:02 but that's what happened. 33:04 So God was blessing your commitment 33:06 and then as you graduated from high school, 33:10 you didn't go to college right away. 33:13 Tell us what happened? 33:14 Well, for most, 99 percent of the young people, 33:17 the next step in life was the military. 33:21 We were drafted in the military. 33:22 Okay, so that's kind of like an automatic service. 33:24 Yeah. 33:26 And for the Seventh-day Adventists 33:28 that was a big, big question. 33:34 As far as I know, United States, it's very, 33:39 in United States you have, basically you are not drafted. 33:41 You don't have to go to the military. 33:44 But if you end up in the military, 33:45 it is still a tough place to be. 33:47 Yes. 33:48 And it was very difficult. 33:53 I had to make the decision. 33:56 You don't make the decisions at the time 33:57 when you face the challenge. 33:59 Usually, you make your mind before that. 34:04 And what you're referring 34:07 to here is the difficulty of working on Sabbath 34:12 and breaking God's, 34:14 your promise to the Lord to keep the Sabbath 34:17 when you are in military, right? 34:18 I mean, my question is 34:21 are the Ten Commandments 34:23 always valid anywhere and at anytime. 34:26 Yes. 34:27 If we truly, if we say no, 34:29 that means there are exceptions. 34:31 Now who judges 34:33 when to make the exceptions? 34:35 Right. 34:36 If there are the word of God and if they are absolutes, 34:41 then probably they are valid anytime and anywhere. 34:46 And yeah, I ended up in the service, in the military 34:49 and because of my background in electronics, 34:51 they, I was radar operator 34:56 in an entire aircraft unit. 35:01 And it was very difficult for me. 35:05 But God prepared me ahead of time 35:07 because, 35:08 with the challenges in the school 35:10 and then I had to work for a few months. 35:13 The challenge is at the workplace. 35:15 All of this, they were preparing me for... 35:17 And those challenges being that they were asking you to... 35:20 The Sabbath issue. 35:22 The Sabbath was the challenge there, 35:23 people want to... 35:24 And the environment, 35:26 working with different people of, 35:28 many of them of a very ungodly 35:31 behavior and language 35:33 and making jokes on you as a Christians 35:37 and of your beliefs and... 35:39 So what did happen in the service 35:41 when they are demanding that or commanding 35:44 that you work on Sabbath? 35:47 How did you handle that? 35:49 It was not only working on Sabbath 35:51 but it was actually the military training, 35:53 because every Saturday you have to go for trainings. 35:57 At the beginning, 35:59 I didn't know what to do. 36:00 I didn't work. 36:02 I refused to work 36:03 which is difficult enough and hard enough. 36:07 And then interesting thing happened. 36:08 There was, 36:10 our captain was an older gentleman who, 36:16 he was a staunch communist. 36:19 And the fact that he was old 36:21 and just with a grade of captain, 36:23 at least in that environment, 36:25 he was not promoted. 36:26 He was a very stubborn guy. 36:28 And soon enough after 36:30 I was enrolled in that particular unit, 36:34 he was moved to another unit. 36:37 And I remember meeting him 36:40 almost close to the end of the service or summer there 36:43 and he told me, "Octavian, 36:44 if they didn't moved me, I would have moved you." 36:48 Meaning that he would have probably 36:50 send me to the court-martial, 36:52 but God moved him. 36:54 Amen. 36:55 It was, the point is 36:56 in the beginning I went through for some military training 37:00 and at one point I decided not to go. 37:04 And from that time on, 37:06 I did not go to work or to the military training 37:10 and with a lot of confrontations 37:14 and meeting people and talking to people. 37:19 I remember one Sabbath morning, 37:21 one Saturday morning 37:23 I was basically taken to a place 37:27 where I didn't know where 37:29 but a political officer came 37:31 and he said, you need to come with me. 37:34 And my immediate superior told me, "Octavian, 37:39 " I had with him many, many debates on religions 37:42 and discussing a lot with him, 37:45 and he came to me and said, "Octavian, you go there. 37:47 You go to this big guys, say what they say, 37:51 say whatever they say. 37:52 Don't get yourself in trouble and don't get us in trouble." 37:56 And I said, "Yes, Sir. I'll see about that." 37:58 And I left. 38:01 And I remember waiting for two hours 38:05 in this big building where the top colonels 38:09 and the top officers were. 38:11 And finally, we were invited in this big room, 38:15 big table with maybe ten or eleven of the high officers 38:19 and the General or the man who replaced him 38:24 were sitting at the table and he asked me, 38:29 "Why is it, what's up with you?" 38:31 He had the file and he opened the file and he began to read. 38:36 And he said, "Why did they disfellowshipped you 38:40 from the Youth Communist Organization?" 38:42 Basically, every youth was automatically 38:47 a member of the Youth Communist Organization." 38:49 I was one, meaning nothing but everybody was one. 38:53 But at one point because of the Sabbath, 38:55 they threw me out, 38:57 which I didn't mind. 38:59 It didn't mean anything anyway 39:00 and he said, "Why did that happen?" 39:02 Probably he had a report that I was disfellowshipped. 39:06 And I said, "Because of my beliefs." 39:10 And the General looked at me and said, 39:11 "What do you believe?" 39:13 And I think this is a very crucial question, 39:15 "What do you believe?" 39:17 Amen. 39:19 And being an, I mean, I was 19, 39:23 being in front of all these top people, 39:28 your freedom was in their hands. 39:31 And when he said "What do you believe?" 39:33 I remember, I remember what I've said. 39:36 You don't have time to prepare your sermons or answer. 39:38 You don't study for that ahead of time. 39:39 Right. 39:41 I said, "I believe that there is one God, 39:44 the Creator of heaven and earth 39:46 and He will come to judge everyone of us. 39:51 That's what I believe." 39:52 And once I've said it, I kind of, 39:55 especially the second part that He will come to judge... 39:58 Where did this come from, huh? 39:59 Yes. Because... 40:01 The Holy Spirit was directing. 40:02 You don't schedule that kind of answer. 40:06 And I remember the General stood up. 40:09 It was a beautiful day in May, 40:13 sunny outside and he had big windows. 40:16 And he stood up and he came to me and he said, 40:18 "Young man, you should know there is no God." 40:23 And I said, dismissed. 40:25 And I left. 40:29 After such a meeting, 40:31 the only logical following step was to be court-martialed 40:37 because public statements like that and in front of 40:41 high officials could not have another end. 40:47 And I was expecting that. 40:48 Well, that didn't happen. 40:49 Why? How? 40:51 I don't know. 40:53 God's hand was over you. 40:54 Yeah. 40:56 And I remember that 40:58 when I was close to finish the service, 41:00 I had left a few days, 41:02 there were left a few days 41:04 and I ran and I came into the big dormitory 41:09 where we had for soldiers and looking for something 41:12 and when I was supposed to get out, the captain, 41:14 my captain came in which, with which whom 41:20 I had many discussions also about God, religion 41:23 and this and that. 41:25 And he said, "Octavian, come here." 41:27 "Yes, Sir." 41:28 And he said, "Listen, I have a question for you." 41:31 He said, "In all this time, 41:35 did you have anybody in a very, very high position 41:39 that protected you?" 41:42 It was just me and him. 41:45 And I looked at him and I said, "Yes, Sir. 41:48 I have someone in a very, very, very, very high position 41:51 and He protected me all this time." 41:52 Lord. 41:54 And he understood that I was speaking about God. 41:56 Yes. 41:59 But the funny part is that I finished the service, 42:03 went back home, got to work, 42:06 and another wonderful thing, 42:09 I was accepted at a seminary to study to be a pastor. 42:13 So electronics, as far as you were concerned, 42:15 being an engineer, God had to be on that part. 42:18 Yeah. I didn't want to be a pastor. 42:20 I didn't plan to be a pastor. 42:21 I was not interested in becoming a pastor actually. 42:24 The most interesting thing for me 42:26 was actually to talk to people about God. 42:29 That's because I think 42:32 or to lead them to believe in God. 42:36 That's the most wonderful thing. 42:40 And anyway, I ended up at the seminary, 42:45 finished the seminary and moved in my third, 42:48 actually my third district 42:51 away from my home, 42:54 about four, three, four hours away from my home. 42:58 And one day I was talking to one of my head deacons 43:01 and I said, "I need to buy some gas containers. 43:06 Do you know anybody that sells any of this?" 43:08 He says, "Oh, my neighbor is cleaning his garage." 43:11 Oh, I said, "Can I buy them?" 43:12 He says, "Sure, come to me Tuesday morning." 43:15 And I went to him, 43:18 while I was waiting for the neighbor to come, 43:22 the wife of the head deacon said, "Pastor Octavian, 43:25 my neighbor is from your area." 43:28 From where I was 43:29 and I did my military service in my hometown. 43:32 So I said, "Oh, he's from my area, 43:34 interesting." 43:35 And he said, "Oh, and by the way, 43:37 he was a high military official." 43:39 I said, Oh, high." "Do you know his name?" 43:41 I said, "Sure." 43:43 The man was the General. 43:45 So how many years was this beyond? 43:47 About 15 years after. 43:48 Fifteen years later. 43:50 The General who said to you, "There is no God." 43:53 Yes. 43:55 And here the door is open and the man comes 43:57 and here is the General coming. 43:59 And I looked at him and he looked at me and he came 44:01 and he had a very interesting reaction. 44:04 He came and he embraced me, hugged 44:05 and he said, "Hey, how are doing, soldier?" 44:08 So you're still living in Romania at this point? 44:09 Yes. Okay, okay. 44:11 And he hugged me and said, "Hey, how are you doing?" 44:13 I said, "Well, I'm doing fine. I'm here in this area now." 44:17 We began to talk and I bought the container for him 44:20 but then I asked him 44:21 and I said, "How are you doing, General?" 44:24 He says, "Well, I'm not doing that well. 44:29 My wife is getting blind 44:30 and I've been retired for some years." 44:33 Now this is after Revolution, 44:34 about maybe, ten, yeah, let's see '95, 44:41 ten years after Revolution or anyway, 44:45 "I'm here by myself. I'm very lonely. 44:48 I have two sons. 44:49 None of them are talking to me anymore. 44:52 And I have nobody." 44:54 And he said, "I, once upon a time I was somebody. 45:01 With a phone call I could have everything I want. 45:04 Now I'm nobody. 45:06 I get out on the street, nobody even says hello to me. 45:09 I'm so lonely." 45:11 And I said, "General, by the way, 45:13 do you believe in God?" 45:15 And he said, "Sure, I do. 45:17 Of course I do, of course I do believe in God." 45:20 I said, "Interesting." 45:24 Do you have a Bible?" 45:25 "Oh, sure I have a Bible and I read it everyday." 45:28 I said, "Oh, that's, that's wonderful." 45:31 I said. 45:32 And I was debating in my mind to, 45:36 if I, I was thinking to remind him of what happened. 45:41 But I was impressed not to do it. 45:45 And I didn't say anything. 45:47 I remember later on, I visited him. 45:49 We have, my wife, we took some cookies 45:53 and I took, I think The Great Controversy for him. 45:57 And basically that was it. 45:59 So you say you don't know if 15 years 46:02 before if he actually was just putting on saying 46:06 he didn't believe in God 46:08 or if he didn't had come to know the Lord afterwards. 46:13 You know, 46:14 I believe that the picture of life changes. 46:18 Yes. 46:19 And people change and I don't know, 46:24 only God knows the hearts of people 46:27 and He's the one to judge everybody. 46:29 Yes, yes. 46:31 Now you moved from Romania 46:36 to Norway. 46:38 Right. 46:39 Worked in Norway as a pastor? 46:42 Uh, not as a pastor. Okay, what did you do? 46:44 I worked as a pastor in Romania for 12 years. 46:47 Then we moved to Norway, 46:49 because I was always interested 46:50 in new ways of reaching out to people. 46:52 Right. 46:53 And there was this health institution 46:55 and I wanted to know 46:57 how do they reach out to people 46:59 using health methods. 47:00 And we worked in a health, in a lifestyle institution 47:03 and then we moved to United States 47:07 when I came to study at Loma Linda. 47:09 I came to study health. 47:11 Okay, so you got your master's in public health there 47:13 and now you're back pastoring again. 47:15 Yes, I'm back pastoring. 47:17 Just tell us, we've just got a few minutes left, 47:20 tell us a little bit about your family now. 47:24 God, He's brought you full circle. 47:27 You're married 47:28 and how many children do you have? 47:29 We have one son. His name is Nathan. 47:31 He finished at Walla Walla with the health science major. 47:37 He was accepted at Loma Linda School of dentistry 47:39 but now he took a year off to go to do mission work 47:42 and he's in Argentina at La Plata University 47:45 working with them to develop a health outreach program. 47:50 He'll be back in the summer to go back, 47:54 to go back to school. 47:56 Okay. 47:57 And Alina, my wife, she's RN 48:01 and works as a nurse 48:04 and helps me with ministry as much as we can. 48:07 She loves cooking. 48:11 She wrote a cookbook, vegan cookbook. 48:14 Okay, good. 48:16 So, and I'm assuming that what your parents did not do, 48:23 you made certain that with your family 48:26 that you had the daily devotionals, 48:28 the worship time so that obviously, 48:30 your son is giving his heart to the Lord if he has graduated 48:35 and he's doing missionary work 48:37 so was that something that was terribly important to you 48:40 is to make sure that you get for your family 48:42 what was not done in yours? 48:44 I think in the end, and fundamentally, 48:48 being genuine, it's very important. 48:50 Yes, amen. 48:52 You can't make someone religious 48:55 and we sometime we fake religion. 48:58 Yes. 49:00 It's not gonna work and as parents 49:03 if we talk in these terms, 49:04 we have to be truly, truly genuine. 49:06 Amen. 49:07 And our kids will see that, they know that. 49:10 Yes. Amen. 49:11 So it's very important to be authentic. 49:15 One quick question that I'm gonna reserve. 49:17 First, I want to let you know, 49:18 if you would like to get in touch 49:21 with Pastor Octavian, 49:23 you can, we got an address roll for you 49:25 that will let you contact him. 49:28 Maybe you like to have him come speak even at your church. 49:31 Here's how you may get in touch with him. 49:36 If you would like to invite Octavian 49:37 to your church to speak, or if you like to contact him, 49:40 you can write to Octavian Poenaru, 49:42 1022 North Elm Street, 49:45 Colville, Washington, 99114. 49:48 That's Octavian Poenaru, 49:49 1022 North Elm Street, 49:52 Colville, Washington, 99114. 49:55 You can call (509) 675-5728. 49:59 That's (509) 675-5728. 50:03 email him at octavianpoenaru@gmail.com 50:07 octavianpoenaru@gmail.com 50:14 Call or write to him today. 50:22 That's how you may get in touch with Pastor Octavian Poenaru. 50:26 We only have a couple of minutes left 50:28 but I have to hear about your parents. 50:31 Did, when your parents saw what God did in your life 50:35 and how seeking first the kingdom of God 50:38 and His righteousness changed your life, 50:40 what kind of affect did it have on their's 50:43 or how did God work in their life? 50:45 I think we all grow in our relationship with God. 50:48 And I have to say that 50:50 we have to be kind to each other 50:53 and tolerant to each other 50:54 because we have our own, 50:56 God actually is the one who knows 50:59 what happens in someone's life 51:01 and where do they come from. 51:03 To answer your questions, 51:05 I think my parents have changed. 51:09 I actually have a very good relationship with my parents. 51:12 They are still alive 51:13 and my father in a special way, 51:16 he has become a very godly man. 51:18 He takes more time, the fact that he studies more, 51:23 has more time to commune with God 51:26 in his own personal life, 51:28 that changed him. 51:29 And he confessed that to me. 51:30 He actually said, "Octavian, 51:33 my life has changed by the fact 51:35 that I spend more time with God in my devotional time." 51:39 Praise the Lord. 51:40 You know, God has, 51:42 I know He must have had His hand on you 51:44 from the very beginning because you have a, 51:49 you're compassionate 51:50 but God has given you uncommon wisdom 51:53 in recognizing human frailties and dealing with them 51:56 in the way that He does. 51:57 So we're gonna come back in just a second 52:00 to have a closing thought from Pastor Octavian. 52:03 But right now, 52:04 we want to go to the news break and let you know 52:06 what's going on at 3ABN. |
Revised 2016-03-17