LoganLetter #59 (October 2008)
LoganLetter #59 (October 2008)
"A DOOR WAS OPENED UNTO ME OF THE LORD"
II Corinthians 2:12
Sometimes the Lord puts you in a situation where there is no way of obtaining help outside of His own hand. This magnifies Him and teaches you. Such is the case here in Romania. Let me give you some facts before I show you what the Lord has done for us for His glory alone.
(1) We have desperately tried with no success to find property for two years so that our church could move back into the city of Brasov (population 400,000 souls).
(2) A small simple lot costs over $100,000. This is only land without a building.
(3) We have had $11,000 given from the USA, and the church here has saved about $4,000.
(4) I have refused to beg for money. Even if I did, it could not make up such a deficit.
(5) Rental property for a ONE room storefront in the city is over $1,200 per month. Even if I had the money to rent this it still would not give the church a permanent home. They still would be dependent upon me forever to pay the rent. Bad idea both ways.
(6) The church currently meets on the property in a small village where my family is living. My rental contract is up in 6 months. Even if the contract is renewed it is an unsure situation, and we must bus people here without future hope of a church home and also miss out on the opportunities of an assembly within the city where all the multitudes of people are.
(7) I am not rich. I do not know powerful people. I have no "connections".
All of this in the natural mind means that the Brasov Independent Baptist Church will never have property of its own and the safety of their existence is shaky at best after the American leaves...that is...unless you put GOD INTO THE EQUATION. Brethren, God does not have to have the US dollar,
nor an individual with "connections" to accomplish His work. He is not strained by the economy, the status of the real estate market, nor one’s inability to accomplish or find what is needed. He is SUFFICIENT IN HIMSELF and HE IS SUFFICIENT FOR YOU AND ME (II Cor.3:5). Saying Amen to that has always been easy but watching its fruition has been a whole different story. Follow this story...I went into the office of one of the richest men in this part of Romania (let’s call him Mr. C) to ask if he might sell me a very tiny piece of land to build a church building on. He owns hotels, restaurants, transportation companies, and multiple properties. When I explained my desire to buy land, the 15 or so advisors around his round table began to laugh out loud at me. He looked into my eyes. A few more sentences were spoken, and then he asked me to wait downstairs. I waited and waited. He finally arrived by himself and took me to an old building (pic above). He stated that all of his advisors were unbelievers and thieves. He said that he knew the Lord. Not knowing me, he offered to me not only the use of the building but stepped off a large block of property over one acre in size. The value of this in the city is about $1 million. He then says that we can sign a legal contract for 3 years for our church’s exclusive use FOR FREE and during that time he will do the paperwork in order to donate the property to us. All I have to do is renovate the building to my liking (about $18,000). While it is true that the man could drop dead or something else could possibly derail the hope of ownership of this property, it still does not negate the 3-year home we now have for the church in the city and the future promise of ownership of a$1 million property for the use and glory of Jesus Christ. I do not even know what to say. With God all things are possible. Blessed be His holy name.
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