“But I am just going to be your assistant today. This is my first time visiting a prison! I promise, next time I will have something to present. But this time just let me observe!” I knew I was off the hook one time only—at least I thought so!

At the Prison

We arrived at the prison meeting room, where about 50 inmates were waiting for us. As Brother Ionel presented God’s Word, I looked at the faces of all those inmates and I could see great joy and hope there. But as I looked farther, I noticed that one man was standing with a sad, frustrated, frowning, and unsatisfied look on his face. So I decided to say a few words in the end after all. I didn’t say much, only: “My beloved friends I can see that some of you are full of joy and hope in the Lord, but I also see that some of you are still discouraged. If there is someone who has a problem and you want to share it with us, please write your name on a sheet of paper, write down what problem you have, and we will pray for you together with the members of our church. I am sure that God can solve your problems.”

After we sang a closing hymn and prayed together, I was surprised to see “that man” coming toward me, holding a very small scrap of paper on which he had written: “My name is Nelu Lacatusi, and there is something that bothers my mind and my soul. I can’t find peace neither during the day when I am working, nor during the night when I am sleeping. I murdered an innocent person.”

Nelu’s Change

I promised him we would pray for him at the church when we had our next prayer meeting, and I advised him to study the Bible and pray, and to ask God to forgive him for what he had done.

Two weeks later when I went again to the prison, this same man came to me with a peaceful look on his face. He said, “Brother Titel, I thank God for the fact that He has assured me of His forgiveness. I also thank everybody who has prayed for me.”

From then on, that man didn’t miss any of our meetings. He decided to study the Bible, and to accept the Three Angels’ Messages. He really did put into practice what he was studying.

Nelu’s sentence was shortened and he was released early, after only five years and six months. Then God put him to work outside the prison! Nelu followed the advice of his brothers and sisters in Christ and came to church the first Sabbath after his release. He hasn’t missed a meeting since, and he still keeps studying the Bible every day and praying. He desires to live and practice everything he is reading and studying so he can be a model for everybody he meets—to be good and to do good for others.

Change Continues

Soon Nelu was baptized. He kept going to church, and was an active member. God provided him a job with one of our brothers who has a small business. He also became close friends with one of the sisters in another church.

My wife and I were more than happy when we received an envelope with a wedding invitation. The wedding was to take place in the village of Bonesti, which is quite a distance from where I live. I left my house in bad weather, and had to take about 10 different forms of transportation to get there. When I arrived, I asked the relatives to tell me how the bride and groom had met, and I also asked them to tell me how brother Nelu was doing as a Christian. Rarely does an ex-inmate have so many people tell so many wonderful stories as those I heard of Nelu. I had been praying to God to keep him faithful, and I was more than happy to hear that my prayers were abundantly answered.

As I traveled home after the wedding, I kept praying for this new family, and I continued to write letters of encouragement, because I knew that Satan did not like the fact that he had lost his prey and he would do everything to get Nelu back. But God answered our prayers!

Opening New Doors

A year later Nelu and his wife moved back to the city where he was originally from. I thought I would pay them a visit and decided to try to also visit a prison in Iasi where HPS was not currently working. I was allowed access to the prison, and I went and visited a group of inmates. I gave them some leaflets, some clothes, and some food.

I stayed at Nelu’s house during this visit, and I marveled that they had built it with very little money. Their faithfulness, hard work and skill had been blessed. I liked everything I saw.

I was also astonished when Nelu told me they were working for the people in the village, sharing with them about the Three Angels’ Messages. There were actually people in the village who were already preparing for baptism. God’s working in Nelu’s life through HPS had paid big dividends, in the fact that other soul were now being won for His kingdom! Praise God!

Old Prison, New Baptisms

Some time later, we decided that the members of HPS should begin a regular work in the prison in the city of Iasi again. We had had to stop our work there after many problems following a change in the government a few years previously. I went to Iasi and got permission to enter the prison on Saturday, and also on Sunday.

But before going to Iasi, I decided to pay a visit to my friends, Nelu and his wife, who were in the village of Albesti, not far from Iasi. I arrived at their home on Friday evening and I was surprised to find a small church in their house. They were just like Priscilla and Aquila. There were chairs set up, and a small platform. Soon after my arrival, 17 more people came. 12 of these were already baptized, and the other 5 were studying. They invited me to preach, so I decided to tell them Nelu’s story, and what God had done for him who had been a lost sheep, almost dead (because Satan tried many times to destroy him) and how God saved him, changed his life, and also gave him eternal life as he kept on following God’s word. “This same thing,” I said, “God could do for all of us if we put our lives in His hands.”

I must also tell you that Nelu and his wife also adopted a child who had been abandoned by his family. Such kind people, working for Jesus in so many ways. And, my beloved brothers and sisters, as if all this was not enough, on Sabbath morning before I left for Iasi, they showed me the church that was being built on a spot of land which had been donated by a woman who was baptized a short time before. My friend Nelu, and all the other people who had been baptized in Albesti, had worked all summer to build that church, which was very close to being finished. I encouraged them to keep up the good work and to keep trusting and obeying God’s word. I also promised them I would pray for them and I would let others know they needed help to finish the building so they could gather for worship there as soon as possible.

My beloved brothers, and sisters, before signing off I want to ask you to pray for Nelu’s family, as well as for my family— my wife, my four little children and I—so I may continue working for God. I want to thank Laymen Ministries for their support of HPS and workers such as me. Without their help we would find it difficult to survive. And I also ask you to pray for your brothers and sisters in Christ who are released from prison, as Satan always tries to discourage them. For me, the prisons are like mines of diamonds!

It makes me very sad that it is getting harder and harder to work in the prisons in Romania due to politics and the power of the Orthodox church. Let’s use the time we have left as wisely as possible. God be praised for everything. AMEN!