BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

“Adrian, you’ve translated for me for several years now,” he told his friend. “From the first time I met you, I felt you had a call from God on your life. I started saving money for you then. Here is $1,000 for your ticket to America.” Adrian stared at the money in awe. “But I don’t have a visa. They’re almost impossible to get.” “You’ll get one,” the missionary said. “God told me.” Adrian traveled to Bucharest, arriving at the American Embassy at 1 a.m. There were already 500 people in line ahead of him. Standing in line all night, Adrian visited with other people. “You’ve got nothing!” one man told him. “To get a visa to America you must have real estate or family!” “I’m going to trust God,” Adrian replied. When he finally reached a window in the embassy, the American said, “Hello, what do you want to do in America?” “I would like to attend Bible college.” “OK, give me your passport and $20.” Five minutes later, the man handed Adrian a 10-year multiple-entry visa. Flight to America “I was so shocked that I just kept thanking him,” Adrian recalls. “I had the money for my airline ticket, but we’d had so much rain that the country was at flood stage. Flights were being cancelled every day. “I went to a travel agent who told me every flight was already booked for a month. She said that every so often they had a cancellation, and offered to let me know in the slim chance that happened. Two days later, she called. There had just been a cancellation. I rushed to her office and paid for the ticket. In less than two weeks, I left my family and Romania, and headed for New York City.” Adrian was 19 years old when he arrived in New York. He had been accepted into a Youth With A Mission Bible college in Elm Springs, Ark. Arriving at the school, he stood alone as parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles arrived to drop off the students. A woman from San Francisco introduced herself to Adrian, explaining that she had come in support of her niece. They chatted for a few minutes before she left to join her family. Adrian reunited with many of the missionaries he had met in Romania, basking in the joy of their friendship. He had $150 left from the money he was given, which he used as a deposit on his tuition. The school had allowed him to start classes on a conditional basis. Tuition for the semester was $3,000. He had to trust God for the rest of the money. One day, Adrian was summoned to the school’s financial office. Knees shaking, he pled, Lord, please don’t let them kick me out. They didn’t kick him out. The lady from San Francisco had paid his bill. Preparation for Purpose “I’d listened to Kenneth Copeland for so long that people teased me that I spoke English with a Texas twang,” Adrian says. “One of the first things I did was become a Partner with KCM and attend some of his meetings. “The school required that we take mission trips, which I loved. I became the coordinator for our ministry to Romania. We visited hospitals and homes for the elderly, ministered to street children and gave every person we could a Romanian Bible. Kenneth Copeland Ministries gave me boxes of materials that I shared with English-speaking people around the world. “In South America, we gave away Spanish Bibles, and in China we gave away Bibles that had been translated into Chinese. In addition to my ministry trips back to Romania, I traveled to 14 different countries. I studied for 10 years, earning a bachelor’s and master’s degree.” Adrian’s life had undergone such a transformation that he seemed to go from victory to victory. That changed when the church he attended split. The experience was so painful he didn’t know how to process it. It staggered him to watch church members rip one another apart. If this was how Christians acted, Adrian wasn’t sure he wanted any part of it. Disillusioned, he struggled with deep depression and stopped going to church. That’s when the Lord began speaking to him through dreams. In one dream, Adrian heard Kenneth Copeland say, “You’ve got to rise up in faith!” In another, Brother Copeland yelled: “Kick the devil out of your life! Confess it! Say it!” The next morning, Adrian woke confessing that he was more than a conqueror through Christ. Although he didn’t feel like a victor, he continued to speak God’s Word. Feelings of disillusionment and defeat were replaced by thoughts of victory. Following the leading of the Lord, Adrian visited Keith Moore’s church in Branson, Mo. “A veil was lifted from my eyes during that service, and I made a dramatic shift,” Adrian recalls. “I stopped looking at people and focused my attention on Jesus.” 20 : BVOV

• Cover