I was born into a very poor family. When I was about 10, my friends and I began pickpocketing and robbing people’s houses. The police caught us and I was sent to a boarding home for young people who were in trouble with the law.
About a year later, I was taking and selling drugs, and the teachers were about to expel me. But then, Nicholae from Mission Without Borders told the director of the boarding home that he wanted to take some boys on a trip. They let me go.
We spent three days in the forest, sang, learned Bible stories, prayed, but God didn’t seem to touch my heart. Then, on our way back to the school, I felt such a pain, an emptiness which I knew could only be filled with a Father’s love. When the bus stopped in front of our school, I immediately ran behind the building and started to cry with pain. Words are not enough to describe what I felt. A few days later, I repented and gave my life to Jesus. Everyone was shocked because of what God had done and how he changed my behaviour.
When I was 16, I got involved in the Mission’s children’s work, and a year later, I met my future wife when both of us were volunteering at summer camp. There are many wonders God has done in my life, and if I shared them all, I could probably write a book. I am so thankful for his unbounded love.
Vlad, a volunteer and former sponsored child in Moldova
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