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Lecturer helps students open up the Bible
MOLDOVA — “Are you really giving us these Bibles free of charge?” This was the stunned reaction from the Deputy Director of a vocational school in Chisinau when staff from the Interconfessional Bible Society of Moldova visited to share God’s Word with the staff and students. The visit had been arranged by one of the teachers at the school, where young people are trained as chefs. When Ion Cucieru was growing up, Moldova was officially an atheist country. Even after the collapse of Communism, he did not question atheism. Recently, though, he had begun to feel that God was speaking to him and had started to take an interest in the Bible. He visited the Bible Society offices to buy a Bible and explained that he would also like his students, many of whom come from poor families, to have access to the Bible. Touched by Mr Cucieru’s concern for his students, Bible Society staff decided to submit a proposal to UBS for the distribution of Bibles and biblical encyclopaedias to students and school libraries. This shared vision became a reality just before Easter, when 100 students gathered to meet Bible Society staff, receive the gifts they had brought and sing Easter songs. “Our task is to help people interact with God’s Word,” explained Executive Secretary the Rev Anton Placinta. He went on to remind the students that, although Easter is widely seen as simply a national holiday, its true meaning is about Christ’s suffering, death and resurrection. All the students were keen to ask questions about the Bible and about the work of the Bible Society. Having been taught an atheistic view of the world, one young man who received an encyclopaedia was amazed and intrigued to discover in it a chapter entitled Archaeology and the Bible. “Now I’ll read this book thoroughly,” he promised. Invitation Funds received under the Bibles and Aids for Secular Schools project also allowed the Bible Society to distribute Bibles at the State University of the Republic of Moldova. Their visit was made at the invitation of Ludmila Pascari, a lecturer in the Economics and Finance Faculty. Like Mr Cucieru, she grew up under atheism. “I was born in a poor village,” she told the visitors. “My parents told me that God exists, but I did not feel that he was close to me or that he could help me. We did not have a Bible. “I came to Chisinau to study at the Academy of Economic Sciences. Before my final exams, I started to worry about my future. I knew that it would be very hard to find a job in my particular field, and I had no influential contacts to help me. The only solution would be to return to my village and take any job I could find. “It was during that time that I met some Christians who explained to me that God will always help me and showed me how to find answers to my questions in the Bible. This was a real revelation for me and I really wanted to find out more. When I visited my parents, I asked my mother to buy me a Bible. She went to church and bought one. From that moment the Bible began changing my life. Guided me
“I had dreams of starting my own business. I thought that God would help me with this, but instead he guided me towards working as a lecturer. Teaching was the last thing I’d wanted to do! I was so enthusiastic about the Bible that I told all my students about it. Soon the head of my department, a Communist, called me into his office and warned me not to talk about religion. It was so hard for me to remain silent! “Not long after this, the parents of one of my students were shot dead. All the students attended their funeral. I took the first class the following day. The young man told me that he could never forgive his parents’ killers and that he would try to take revenge. Cautiously, I explained to him about the Lord’s Prayer. Then I asked all the students to pray. Later I was again warned by the head of my department. There was no official reason to dismiss me, but I felt like an outcast among the staff. “I left that job to undertake postgraduate studies. When I had finished my studies, I applied for work but was turned down without explanation. God was very close to me at this time and encouraged me. I took great comfort from the words in the first chapter of Joshua: ‘I’ve commanded you to be strong and brave. Don’t ever be afraid or discouraged! I am the Lord your God, and I will be there to help you wherever you go’ (Joshua 1:9 CEV). “With God’s guidance, I found a job here at the University. Last year I got permission to run an optional Bible study course. I was not surprised to find that my students did not own a Bible. I remember that, when I was a student, I looked for answers everywhere except in the Bible! At first I typed out Bible texts and made copies to distribute to the students. Then I discovered that the Bible Society could help me, so I asked for some Bibles. Direct them “Thanks to this visit from the Bible Society, my students are opening God’s Word for the first time in their lives. They need some help to orientate themselves in it, but all of them are reading it and discussing it with great interest. I am so happy that the Lord has given me such a wonderful opportunity to direct them to the Word and that it can answer all their questions.” This report refers to project 82108. (WR 405/17 - 09/10.06) [3 photos] |
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