Divine Encounters
God had a plan for There Is Hope from the very foundation of time. We've chronicled the formation of this ministry as well as given an in-depth history of the Baptist Church in Bistrita.
God continues to work in the ministry today. We've recalled some times where God uniquely visited the ministry. These encounters generally involve God arranging for the paths of the ministry and those with a unique and timely message, insight or provision.
We trust you will enjoy reading about these special encounters that reinforce God's continued provision and faithfulness to this ministry.
A "Chance" Meeting at a School Fair
March, 2010 - A teacher in Columbus, Georgia, who's made numerous trips to Romania, was a judge in a local Social Science Fair in the Fall of 2009. While reviewing the student projects, one in particular caught his eye. The project was on Romanian orphans. The teacher knew he had to meet the student and when he was able to track him down, it turns out the 7th grade student was himself adopted from an orphanage in Romania.
The teacher told the student about his travels to Romania with There Is Hope and the student said he wanted to help. The teacher told the boy to speak with his parents and several weeks later the boy's mother contacted the teacher to find out what they could do. The boy decided he wanted to help collect school supplies for the Romanian teachers and students.
The boy was working on his (Catholic) confirmation and took this on as a project toward that goal. He solicited money from relatives and went out and purchased $350 of school supplies. He also collected English novels to send to the schools as well.
So God appointed a Romanian orphan and a school teacher from Columbus to meet at a Social Science Fair in order to give the Romanian orphan a chance to give back to his native country and the chance for a teacher to see God's hand at work.