by Gerald Whitely | Aug 28, 2015 | Friday Update
In 1991 I was challenged to do more to get Scriptures in to Romania. We had bought New Testaments printed in Oskosh, Wisconsin, but they were too expensive to buy in bulk. Keith Vanderlinden at Source of Light Ministries referred me to Gilbert Lindsey, a printer in Richardson, Texas. Brother Gilbert had a contact in Minsk in Belarus at a printing company. Just after the iron curtain had collapsed in 1989, the Russian Academy of Sciences printing operations had run out of funding, and had stopped printing. They had presses and workers, but no money and no work. I contracted with them to print 40,000 Romanian New Testaments and 10,000 Russian new Testaments. They sold them to me for 30¢ each, delivered to Romania! We couldn’t even get New Testaments shipped to Romania from America for that price if we had them for free! They were delivered to Chernovski, Ukraine and Alba Iulia, Romania and we distributed them the following summer. I was amazed at how God had worked! I grew up under the Cold War cloud of Soviet aggression. The USSR was a constant threat with its atheism and iron-fisted control over its people. But God is in control of the world. In 1991, New Testaments were printed in Russia, on government presses, and then exported to...
by Gerald Whitely | Aug 28, 2015 | Friday Update
Thursday I was having a bad day, so I decided to stop by McDonald’s for an ice cream cone. But by the time I got there, it was raining. That was bad. But when I hopped out of the truck, there was an awning over the door. That was good. Then I walked by the manager, who said they were closed due to an electrical fire. That was bad. But he said, “Wait a minute, we just got it fixed and they might have things up and running.” That was good. But when we walked inside, the kid behind the counter said “We don’t have the grill up yet, so we can’t open.” That was bad. But I said, “All I want is ice cream.” So he said “Let me check.” That was good. But the Ice cream machine had been off and when he tried to make a cone, the ice cream wasn’t firm enough to sell. That was bad. But the manager told him to give me the cone for free. That was good. So McDonald’s was having a bad day too – but my day had just gotten a little...
by Gerald Whitely | Aug 26, 2015 | Friday Update
Today, June 5, 2015, we loaded out a forty foot container for Romania. We had used ski jackets, Bibles, printed materials, books for pastors, kitchen supplies, folding tables, and chairs for the Bible Study Center in Surduc. What a blessing to think of the pastors and their wives who will receive the items! Pray as the container winds its way for five weeks through Europe crossing five borders before it makes it to Romania. We have sent one container a year since 1990 – some years two or three. I never get over the generosity of Americans and the thrill of the recipients overseas. I fully understand, the Lord Jesus said, “…It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Acts...
by Gerald Whitely | Aug 20, 2015 | Friday Update
I had an afternoon off while in Romania in March,2015, so Brother Florin Doboş took me to the dinosaur museum in Haţeg. During the late Cretaceous period Haţeg had been an island and home to some interesting creatures. The Dinosaur Museum of Transylvania in Haţeg is where school children are “indoctrinated” in evolution. The bones and a life-sized reproduction of the famous Balaur Bondoc are on display. But the details are telling: no neck vertebrae or skull bones have been found. How do they know what the head looked like? No tail vertebrae have been found. How do they know what the tail looked like? The Balaur Bondoc model on display has contour feathers, flight feathers, and wing-like forearms. But no feathers were found at all. Why are feathers displayed on the model? The janitor snickered and told me that the feathers on the model were actually from four turkeys! And this model of Balaur Bondoc – with its fake head and fake tail and fake feathers – is shown to school children as factual...
by Gerald Whitely | Aug 18, 2015 | Friday Update
In 2002, I went to Dalton to renew my Georgia driver’s license. But when I got the license back in the mail, (with that good-looking picture) my last name was misspelled. I had to go back to Dalton to get another “great” picture and fill out forms. My new license soon arrived with the correct last name. But no one had collected the misspelled license. So, for the next ten years, I had two licenses, which came in handy while driving in Romania. When the Romanian police stop you, they are looking for a bribe. For even minor infractions, the police can send your license to Buchareşt. You have to travel all the way to Buchareşt to pay the fine before your license is returned. But for ten years I was fearless! I had two licenses! I could afford to lose the misspelled one! I was stopped in Simeria and threatened by the police. “I can send your license to Buchareşt!” the officer said. “Go ahead,” I replied. He was taken aback with my confidence. He shrugged, returned the misspelled license, and waved me...
