Final Concert in Bucuresti; Departing from Friends

By Louise Craig

The statistics of the final concert in Bucuresti: packed 800-something seat house, Speranta TV video recording equipment everywhere, over 90 (by my math-challenged count!) singers on the platform, preachers, dignitaries and politicians vying for face time with the audience. By all PR measures, it was a successful evening.

The intangibles tell a story that cannot be measured by numbers. Nor can the full sum of the numbers be totaled at any time in earthly history. For how can anyone measure the value of friendships strengthened, relationships born, hearts moved tears, minds opened to accepting a message of hope?

A couple of days before the advance team left Portland, Donna Schmidt called me with tears in her voice. "Tell me," she said, "Remind me how we came to the belief that God was calling us to this mission?" Under the stress of the final details, the challenges of still-unanswered questions, things had reached pressure-cooker status.

We prayed together on the phone, then we thought back over the months to the events and answers to prayer that led to this moment. And, we thought about the answer to prayer that we did NOT get. As much as we prayed for God to reveal his will, some of us did our best to sway God in the direction that this was not a good time for such a project. I imagine He chuckled as he said, "Wait and see what I can do."

In looking back over the last three weeks, it is clear that, as hard as the team had worked to pull this off, we were just playing at doing things. God was in charge, at all times, and over all details. Some days would have been funny if we had not stressed ourselves out looking for solutions, only to find solutions where we least expected them.

What an amazing God!

We don't have everyone's reaction, but here are a few.

Marius, from Madrid, was beaming from ear to ear as his two brothers joined him on the platform. His mother's joy watching her three sons singing praises together was a thing of beauty.

Lev leaving the platform after directing Prayer for Ukraine the first night, with his eyes suspiciously bright. His friend and colleague, Viktor, listened to the song sung by Americans, Romanians, Africans, Romanian-Spaniards, with tears streaming down his face.

Many hearts were heavy with sadness as we listened to Lev tell of bombings, shootings, widespread destruction in eastern Ukraine. Viktor talked of the beating he had endured, how he had lost teeth, was badly bleeding and sure he would not survive. Guns were pressed into his abdomen. We were never clear on whether he had gunshot wounds but it appeared that may have been the case. Lev described the disappearance of a pastor in his conference, a good friend of his and Viktor's, who has not yet been returned, despite assurances from those who kidnapped him.

Lev reported that the conferences in Donetsk and other eastern Ukraine regions were using their funds to help evacuate church members and assist people in their communities. Many buildings are completely demolished. People are without housing, food, power, natural gas, and most definitely without security.

People are taking sides in the conflict, resulting in families being torn apart by their beliefs. Lev asked that while we pray for peace, we pray that people are able to find the unity Lev and Viktor experienced during their days with us. Despite language and cultural differences, the common ground found in Jesus is what they want for their people.

Despite the sadness and anguish, there was peace and unity as the entire group surrounded Lev and Viktor during our Sabbath morning worship, bathing them in prayer.

Speaking of being bathed in prayer, our prayer team created a plan that ensured that every aspect of this project was continually bathed in prayer, from weeks before departure to every rehearsal, bus ride and concert.

Corleen Johnson had decided that she could not participate in this mission because of a number of health-related issues, primarily nutritional challenges. As the deadline for getting tickets neared, she and Paul decided to leave the decision in God's hands. She prayed for a clear sign that she should go on the mission and that she have a defined role in the project.

From the time of that prayer, Corleen was symptom free for two weeks. Then she got a call asking her if she would create and lead a prayer ministry that would take the entire project to a deeper spiritual level.

Prior to one of the concerts, a concert hall usher was standing nearby when the prayer team gathered in a circle to pray. They saw her watching and asked if she was a Christian. When she answered affirmatively, she was invited to join them. They asked if she had any prayer requests. Her sister was suffering with cancer. They placed her in the middle of the circle and prayed for her and for her sister. You'll have to ask Corleen, Brooke Stafford or Joan Fuller about her reaction. You have to see their faces as they describe it.

Because of the daily devotionals on the buses, one driver was convinced to toss away his cigarettes. On Sabbath morning, we celebrated with him one week of being free from cigarettes. Near the end of the trip, he learned that his wife had received word of a possible cancer diagnosis. While we were on the road, we prayed for him, for his wife, and for healing. He told one of our singers that he believed prayer was influential in us being just a few minutes behind major accidents, rather than being in the accident. In one case, a driver asleep at the wheel was headed straight for our bus. He suddenly veered off, hitting a truck instead, causing the truck to capsize into a ditch.

Michael Andrews was approached by two women after one concert. They said that while they didn't understand the words to "His Eye is On The Sparrow," they were nevertheless moved to weeping.

Another singer reported on Greek Orthodox sisters who thanked him for the music. They said, "The world is in need of an awakening. Thank you for bringing this message to us."

Prayer request cards were distributed and collected daily. The team received some heart-wrenching requests along with some heart-warming praises. The presence of God was palpable.

Several of our young singers recorded their stories on cell phones. We'll have to wait for them to send their stories to us, but we can tell you they not only had a good time singing and making new friends, they definitely experienced spiritual growth.

Over time, videographer Ron Pestes will work on editing video-taped interviews and on-the-spot experiences. This will take him some time to accomplish. (Singers, if you haven't shared your story in one of the Memory books, please email them to members@oamc.org. Your stories inspire us to keep OAMC alive and well to praise God with even more fervor.)

After the final concert on Saturday night, we stood by the buses, wanting to get to the hotel to pack and catch a precious few hours of sleep before early morning departures for the airport, but not wanting to board the bus, knowing that for some, these were final farewells. It was especially difficult to send Lev and Viktor on their way back to eastern Ukraine, knowing the danger they face.

Please keep praying for OAMC, for God's continued leading and direction, and, while you're praying, be lifting up our pastors and church members in Ukraine.