It was May 5, and it had
been six years since my grandfather had gone to be with the Lord. I spent
the day with my little brother Daniel, the only other member of the family
currently in the US, and we kept the memory of our grandfather alive by
remembering. We remembered him not as Reverend Duduman, or the Romanian
man who had dreams, but as what he was to us, simply grandpa. The man who
bounced us on his knee while we were still toddlers, the man who became
our instant hero when he stood in the middle of a river on a hot summer's
day, and proceeded to catch fish with his bare hands. It was a good time
of bonding for us as brothers, and we both came away with the conclusion
that even after all this time, we still missed him a great deal.
That night, after
prayer, I went to bed and I had a dream. I dreamt I was on a very high
ridge, with a great valley spanning out beneath me. The night was calm,
the moon and stars shining brightly in the sky. As I looked around trying
to get my bearings, I was stunned to see my grandfather standing next to
me. He looked young and vibrant, his hands in his pockets, and a smile on
his face
"Interesting times ahead
my boy, interesting times ahead," he said. For a minute I was so shocked
I couldn't say anything. Finally I blurted out the only thing that came
to mind, "They've been interesting ever since you left. Trial after trial,
hardship after hardship."
"Now you know how Jesus
felt when He walked the earth," he answered, "always doing good, always in
the Father's will, yet always mocked and rejected, always misunderstood
and despised. Besides, it was all a test anyway."
"A test of what?" I
asked.
"For you personally, God
wanted to see if you would stay true to your calling even when all seemed
lost. He was preparing you and purging you, refining you, for the time
when He will use you, and speak to you as He spoke to me."
Before I could say
anything he lifted his hand to stop me. His fingers were no longer crooked
from his arthritis they were straight, and normal.
"I know what you're
going to say my boy, it's not what you want, it's not what you asked
for. But you should know by now it is the task you were chosen for. In
this you have no choice, besides where can you hide from the face of
God. Men have tried before, look how it turned out in the end. To reject
what God has planned for you is to deny God. You know what the
consequences are."
Unable to find the words
to answer, I simply nodded my understanding, and allowed him to continue
speaking.
"As for why the ministry
had to go through what it went through, God has already spoken that to
your heart. You already know the answer. God wants all that know of this
work, to be certain of one thing. It is He who sustains it; it is He who
blesses it, and not the hands of men or their gimmicks. Do you think any
of it would still be here after all that has happened if not for
God? Never doubt God's promises concerning this work, or His ability to
fulfill them. Hope in God never disappoints, hope in man always leads to
disillusionment."
"Now for the reason I am
here. I was sent to show you something. Look and see," he said, pointing
down to the valley below. As I looked, I saw the outline of a map of
America then the outlines of states began taking shape. As I continued to
watch this map solidify, small lights began to flicker on and off in some
of the states. I recognized California, Illinois, Michigan, Arizona,
Washington State, Florida, and New York, among the states that lit
up. The light was rhythmic, almost like a homing beacon, constant in its
progression. I continued watching the lights go on and off, waiting for
something else to happen, but nothing did. Finally I said, "I don’t
understand. What does this mean?"
"These are the places
where those who were sent here long ago, to bring fear and cause chaos,
have situated themselves. They lie in waiting, planning and plotting
destruction. They are as coiled serpents, looking forward to the hour
when they will be loosed upon this nation. If God's children pray, once
more he will delay the season of sorrow that is yet to come."
We stood on the ridge in
silence for a long time. After awhile the lights stopped flickering in
the valley below, and the map began to fade away. Suddenly my grandfather
turned his head toward the east, and began to sniff the air as he used to
do. "Storm's coming my boy, and it's a bad one," he said. "Now give an
old man a hug, and let me be on my way. Be vigilant and work while you
still can, it's all God asks of any of His servants. If the Father wills
it, we will speak again."
As I hugged my
grandfather, I began to hear the rumbling of a great storm. The sky
darkened overhead, and the booming of thunder was now audible. In my dream
I closed my eyes, and when I opened them again, I was in my bed, awake. I
wiped at my cheeks with the back of my hand, and realized I had been
crying. As my eyes began to adjust to the dark, I saw that my wife was
sitting up in bed, staring at me. When I asked her why she wasn't
sleeping, she said I'd been talking in my sleep for over thirty
minutes. I tried going back to sleep but sleep would not come. Finally I
gave up trying, went into the kitchen and prayed until morning.
Over the past few days,
I have spent much time in prayer as to whether I should share this dream
or not. I believe that I am supposed to, and this is why I have included
it in this issue of the newsletter. My prayer is that no one would
perceive it as a reason for fear, but rather a reason to hope. God hears
the prayers of His children, and as long as He encourages us to pray, we
must do so without reservation. The day will come, a day I anticipate
with great dread, when God will speak to His children as he spoke to
Jeremiah, and say do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry for them
any longer. For now, while we still can, may we ceaselessly bring our
petitions before the Lord.
May the grace of the
living Savior abound in you, and may the peace of our risen Lord be ever
present in your heart. As always, your prayers are coveted, and our
prayers are with you.
Jeremiah
18:7-10, "The instant I speak
concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down,
and to destroy it, if that nation against whom I have spoken turns from
its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon
it. And the instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom,
to build and to plant it, if it does evil in My sight so that it does not
obey My voice, then I will relent concerning the good with which I said I
would benefit it."
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
http://www.handofhelp.com/