Where's Gheorghe?

This is Gheorghe from our church plant village of Chircani at last year's Christmas meeting in Gotesti.

The Sunday after the Christmas meeting he came to our meeting and did do for a few weeks.

However after a month or so we noticed he wasn't there and I asked "Where's Gheorghe?"

"Oh" said someone "he's fallen back into the drink"

We went to visit him the following week and managed to catch him sober and got to share some of the gospel with him but he chose not to come to the meeting the following Sunday nor since.

I remember thinking at the time He is a widower and lonely and if we were to visit him regularly and build a loving relationship with him there would be a good possibility that he might come through to salvation.

Sadly we only have enough workers in our church to spend the time with ones that show clear signs that they want to know more of God.

You'll remember that I sent out prayer cards of around 20 people that were at that Christmas meeting asking for your committed regular prayers for them to come through to salvation.

Gheorghe wasn't one of the 20. I had to be selective as to who to ask committed intercession for and he hadn't shown enough interest.

I remember at one stage I added 4 new people to the list and mentioned several others that you could remove from the list as they weren't showing signs of response and one of our praying friends wrote back to say that she wasn't going to stop praying for them.

I remember rejoicing at her committment and also feeling challenged by the Lord. However in truth it is quite impossible to visit everyone and take Gheorghe and ones like him into the centre of our prayers.

The main road from the South to the capital runs right through the cenre of our church plant village of Chircani the home village of Gheorghe.

On Tuesday, a sober Gheorghe stepped out onto the road and was knocked down and killed by a speeding car.

So to-day as I write I ask myself

"Where's Gheorghe now?"

Pastor Mark