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Inside This Issue

Greetings ......................... p. 2

Theology:A Reformed Gospel ......... p. 4The Nature of TrueRepentance ......................... p. 8

The Godly Woman:Becoming Esther ............... p.10

Missions:Send the Light .....................p.13Meet Your Missionaries ...p.14For the Love of Gypsies ....p.17Pray for Missionaries ........p.18

About HeartCry ...........p.19

Pray for HeartCry .......p.20

HeartCry is a publication ofHeartCry Missionary Societyunder the authority ofWaldo Baptist Church (SBC)6970 Waldo Church Road,Metropolis, IL 62960.(618) 564-2180heartcry@midwest.net

January - February 1998 Volume 3

HeartCry

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GreetingsWe hope and pray that this month�s newsletter finds you rejoicing in the grace of God.

We also pray and even urge you as God�s fellow workers that you do not receive the grace of Godin vain, but that you abound in good works of faith and love, so as to prove God�s election of youand to demonstrate your salvation, not by words or tongue but with actions and in truth. It isour greatest desire that you might stand before God blameless, without spot or wrinkle on thatgreat day in which He will judge both the living and the dead by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. TheGospel that has once and for all been given to the Church that it might be spread abroad to everynation, tribe and tongue on the face of the Earth. May God bless you in the reading of His Wordand may what is written in these pages both challenge and encourage you.

A Reformed Gospel by Paul Washer.

The Gospel that prevails in America today is a watered down version that is usefulfor building membership roles, but not much good for building the Kingdom of God. Whatit declares about man is so careful that it offends no one. What it says about God is so limitedthat it teaches no one. What it demands is so bland that it results in little conviction, causes noturning away from sin and makes no call to costly discipleship.

If the Christianity in America is to ever recover from the maladies that has it layingon its death bed, then it must first recover the Gospel which Jesus preached. It must recover aGospel that is always free, but never cheap. It must learn a Gospel that is more than a humandecision, but the very power of God. It must preach a Gospel that not only has the power tosave all who embrace it, but has the power to transform all who are embraced by it.

The Nature of True Repentance by Thomas Watson.

Edited and Abridged by Randy LoweI shall show what gospel repentance is. Repentance is a grace of God's Spirit whereby

a sinner is inwardly humbled and visibly reformed. For a further amplification, know that re-pentance is a spiritual medicine made up of six special ingredients. If any one is left out it losesits virtue. These ingredients are a recognition of sin, a sorrow for sin, a confession of sin, ashame for sin, a hatred against sin and a turning away from sin.

Becoming Esther by Charo & Paul Washer

I have always been amazed at the kind of preparation that the future queen Estherhad to go through before she was able to come before King Xerxes. Would any of us want togo through twelve months of beauty treatments before meeting the man of our dreams? Prob-ably not, but then again, imagine the possibilities. One year set aside for one sole purpose -becoming all you can be for the one you love the most. Precious time to cultivate beauty, tomake an investment in education and etiquette, to strengthen virtue and build character.

Meet your MissionariesThis month we will present to you six more national missionaries that you are sup-

porting in the country of Romania. Five of these missionaries represent the first serious at-tempt in the history of Romanian Christianity to reach one of the most despised peoplegroups in Eastern Europe - the Gypsies. In the words of Romanian missionary Marin Moise:�The state of the Gypsies in Romania is very discouraging. They are pushed to the edge of soci-ety and the Romanian people and government are not willing to do anything to help them.Even the Christian Church has turned its back on the Gypsies.�

Your brother,Paul David Washer

Salutation

Paul and CharoWasher

Founders of HeartCryMissionaries to Peru

The HeartCry Newsletter isedited by Paul Washer.

Artwork & Illustrations areedited by Rita Douglas

& Paul Washer.

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�T�T�T�T�Therherherherhere is re is re is re is re is rejoicing in the prejoicing in the prejoicing in the prejoicing in the prejoicing in the presenceesenceesenceesenceesenceofofofofof the angthe angthe angthe angthe angels ofels ofels ofels ofels of God oGod oGod oGod oGod over one sinnerver one sinnerver one sinnerver one sinnerver one sinner

who rwho rwho rwho rwho reeeeepentspentspentspentspents.� Luk.� Luk.� Luk.� Luk.� Luke 15:10e 15:10e 15:10e 15:10e 15:10

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A ReformedGospel by Paul David Washer

The Gospel that prevails inAmerica today is rarely a Gospel at all.It is a cheap, watered down version thatis useful for building membership roles,but not much good for building theKingdom of God. What it declaresabout man is so careful that it offendsno one. What it says about God is solimited that it disturbs no one. What itdemands is so bland that it results inlittle conviction, causes no turning awayfrom sin and makes no call to costly dis-cipleship.

If the Christianity in Americais to ever recover from the maladies thathas it laying on its death bed, then it mustfirst recover the Gospel first preached byJesus and the apostles. It must recover aGospel that is always free, but nevercheap. It must learn a Gospel that ismore than a human decision, but thevery power of God. It must preach aGospel that not only has the power tosave all who embrace it, but has thepower to transform all who are em-braced by it.

In our last edition of Heart-Cry, we studied the basic elements of theGospel: Man�s wickedness, God�s holi-ness, the Law�s condemnation of oursin, and Christ�s death on the Cross

that purchased God�s people from eter-nal destruction. In this edition we willconsider the call of the Gospel and theevidences of its work. In other words,we will consider what men must knowand do to be saved.

Today�s GospelToday�s Gospel can easily be

reduced down to a few �spiritual laws.�They are as follows: (1) God loves usand has a wonderful plan for our life.(2) We have sinned and our sin sepa-rates us from God. (3) Christ died forour sins. (4) We must pray the prayerof faith and ask Jesus to come into ourhearts and save us. (5) If we ask byfaith, then we can be assured that weare saved. If we should ever doubt oursalvation, then we must simply lookback to the time we prayed that prayerof faith and see salvation as a certainty.

Before we go any further, itmust be said that this method of �shar-ing� the Gospel has been used to makeChrist known to millions and has re-sulted in the salvation of some. Wemust also say that the Christian whoshares this presentation is a thousandtimes more useful to God, than the onewho knows well the Gospel, but has nopassion to share it. Nevertheless it mustalso be understood that it is not becauseof this Gospel presentation that peoplehave been saved, but in spite of it.There are great flaws in our modernday presentation of the Gospel andthese must be corrected if the Gospel isto regain its glory and its power.

A Man-Centered GospelToday�s Gospel begins with

man, clearly placing him at the very cen-ter of the universe as an invaluable be-ing for whom God would empty all ofheaven to obtain. This is simply nottrue. It is God who stands at the verycenter of the universe and He alone hasinherent and infinite value. Man onthe other hand is an outlaw in the uni-verse, a rebellious God-hater who hasdeclared war on his Sovereign, a traitor

who desires the throne of his King, acreature who longs for the glory of hisCreator, an instrument created forpraise who seeks to be worshiped in theplace of God.

The true Gospel does not be-gin with man�s worth or God�s wonder-ful plan for him. The true Gospel be-gins with a declaration of God�s worthand His great concern for His ownGlory. Someone has said correctly thatthe Gospel does not begin with thewords �For God so loved the world,�but with the declaration, �In the begin-ning God.�

In what has been written sofar, we are in no way attempting to di-minish or slight the love of God. Infact, we argue that the love of God is soinfinite that it goes beyond any humanattempt to define or measure it. Whatwe are attempting to do is simply putfirst things first. We argue that Goddoes not exist for man, but man forGod. And it is not man who is the trea-sure of the universe, it is God. AndGod does not do everything He doesprimarily for man, but for Himself andfor His own glory and for the love Hehas for His own name.

It is often argued today that itwould be selfish and even egotistical forGod to do everything He does primarilyfor Himself and for His own glory. Butit is absurd to think this way. As Biblebelieving Christians, what do we call itwhen a man holds something to havegreater worth than God or when a mandelegates God to second place in his life?We call it idolatry. Why? Because thereis a rule in Scripture and in the very fab-ric of Creation itself that declares Godto be above all things and declares allthings to exist for Him. The Scripturerightly declares:

�For from him and through him andto him are all things. To him be theglory forever! Amen. (Romans 11:36)

God rightfully does all thingsfor Himself, for His own glory and for

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the love He has for His own Name. If itwere any other way, God Himself wouldbe guilty of idolatry and the universewould be chaos. In light of what hasbeen said we would like to change the�first spiritual law� of today�s Gospelfrom �God loves us and has a wonderfulplan for our life� to �God is the Creatorand Lord of the universe and is infinitelyconcerned for His own Glory.�

A Gospel for the SickThe second tenant of the �spiri-

tual laws� of today�s Gospel is that wehave sinned and our sin separates usfrom God.� The problem with this lawis not that it is incorrect, but that it doesnot go far enough. We have not onlysinned, but we are sinners. We not onlydo things that are wrong, we are wrong.The Gospel is not good news for the sickor for the dying. The Gospel is goodnews for the dead.

�As for you, you were dead in yourtransgressions and sins.�

Ephesians 2:1

It is often preached that thesinner is like a man sick unto death thatcan do little to save himself, God is thedoctor and the Gospel is the medicine.God stands over the dying man with aspoonful of medicine and longs to savehim, but the man must make that firststep. He must respond to God�s willing-ness to save him by opening his mouthand receiving the medicine. This is ab-surd. The Scripture does not say thatman is sin-sick, but sin-dead. A deadman cannot respond to any promptingno matter how tender or sincere, andthe sinful man cannot and will not evermake the first step so that God mighttake him the rest of the way. Salvation isnot man�s decision to accept God�s help,but the power of God whereby the sin-ner is made alive and given the grace torepent of his sins and believe unto salva-tion.

In the Gospel which we preachwe must not only share that man hassinned, but that he is a sinner, dead of

spiritual life, depraved of the good willnecessary to obey God and totally desti-tute of hope apart from the mercy ofGod. We must teach that unless Godmoves on man�s behalf, he will die in hissins and pass through eternity underdivine retribution. We must tell ofman�s great need of God and urge himto call out to the God of mercy to dofor him what he cannot do for himself.

In light of what has been saidwe would like to change the second spiri-tual law� from �We have sinned and oursin separates us from God.� to �We are

sinners, corrupt in nature and deed,spiritually dead, under the righteouscondemnation of God and totally de-pendant upon His mercy.

An Unexplained GospelThe third tenant of the �spiri-

tual laws� of today�s Gospel is thatChrist died for our sins. Like the lasttenant, this one is definitely not wrong,but it is too often left truncated and un-explained. When we share or preach the

Gospel we must also teach. The deathof Christ will mean very little to the sin-ner apart from an adequate explanationof why and how Christ died. The lostman needs more than a few Christianclichés, he needs to know somethingabout God. We hear so much todayfrom secular educators and sociologistsabout the �dumbing down� of America,but it seems that the same malady hasstruck the Church. We are convincedthat theology and doctrine have noplace in the Christian life and that toactually teach doctrines or refer to theol-ogy in our witnessing will only hinder themessage. We have traded the great truthsof the Gospel message for little stories,amusing illustrations and our own per-sonal testimonies. Please do not misun-derstand, I am not against anything thatwill help to communicate the Gospel tomen, but when the means becomes themessage and the message goes unspokenthere is something terribly wrong. WhatGod has done in my life is not impor-tant. What is of utmost importance iswhat God has done in Christ throughHis life and death. We must pass on toothers as of �first importance� thatChrist not only died for us, but that Helived a perfect life for us; that He boreour sin on the Cross and became sin inour place; that He suffered the condem-nation of God for every Law of God wehave ever broken; that He died in ourplace, separated from fellowship withGod and crushed under the weight ofGod�s wrath; that His death paid oursin debt before God and provided forthe salvation of His people; that His per-fect life provided for us a gift of righ-teousness by which we can stand beforeGod as truly the righteousness of God inChrist.

Another problem associatedwith our shallow teaching of the Cross isthat there is not enough emphasis on theResurrection. We must understand thata Gospel that does not give proper dueto the resurrection is not a Gospel at all.If Christ be not raised we are still dead

Theology

�Christ will suffer and rise from thedead on the third day, and repentance

and forgiveness of sins will bepreached in His name.� Luke 24:46-47

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in our trespasses and sins. Any man candie on a tree, but only God can rise again.It is the resurrection that makes the storyof the Cross into a Gospel (Good News)and keeps it from ever being a tragedy ofjust another well meaning hero who diedfor nothing. It is belief in the resurrectionthat separates the faithful from the infidel.When we preach the Gospel, we must pro-claim with great joy and conviction thatthe One who obtained our pardonthrough His death has risen from the graveand lives forevermore. Because His storydid not end on a cross, ours will not end ina grave. We live because He lives, we candie in hope because He died for us, we willrise again because He has risen! This is theGospel!

An Unbiblical CallThe fourth tenant of the �spiri-

tual laws� of today�s Gospel is that on hear-ing the Gospel the sinner must pray theprayer of faith and ask Jesus to come intohis heart and save him. If he asks by faith,then he can be assured that he is saved.The problem with this spiritual law is thatit is just not biblical. I do not want to beflippant and I most certainly do not wantto show my limited knowledge of Scrip-ture, but can it be found in Scripturewhere anyone leads anyone else in a prayerto accept Jesus? Many times Romans 10: 9-10 is used to defend this road to salvation:�That if you confess with your mouth,�Jesus is Lord,� and believe in your heartthat God has raised him from the dead,you will be saved.� But this is not a refer-ence to leading someone in the sinner�sprayer, but to simply placing faith in Jesus.Other times, Revelations 3:20 is used todefend this way of inviting Christ into theheart: �Here I am! I stand at the door andknock. If anyone hears my voice andopens the door, I will come in and eat withhim, and he with me.� But this is noteven remotely referring to Christ standingat the door of the sinner�s heart waiting tobe invited in. It is a reference to Christstanding at the door of the Church fromwhich He has been exiled, because of itspride, self-sufficiency and independence.

Having shared the Gospel withthe lost man, what should we tell him todo? We should simply do as Jesus did andas the prophets did before Him and as theapostles did who followed. We should

lovingly tell him, even plead with him torepent of his sins and believe the Gospel.The Scriptures are full of such invitations:

�The time has come,� he said, �The king-dom of God is near, Repent and believethe good news!� Mark 1:15

�In the past God overlooked such ignorance, butnow he commands all people everywhereto repent. For he has set a day when he willjudge the world with justice by the man he hasappointed. He has given proof of this to all menby raising him from the dead.� Acts 17:30-31

�I have declared to both Jews and Greeks thatthey must turn to God in repentance and havefaith in our Lord Jesus.� Acts 20:21

�First to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea,and to the Gentiles also, I preached that theyshould repent and turn to God and provetheir repentance by their deeds.� Acts 26:20

As one can clearly see, there are two com-mon themes that run through the Gospelinvitations of the Scriptures - repentanceand faith. We are not to call men to praya prayer by which they simply ask Jesus tocome into their hearts, we are to call mento repent of their sins and believe the Gos-pel.

In most Evangelical Churches inAmerica today, lost men and women, boysand girls are told to pray the prayer if theywant to go to heaven, when they shouldbe told to repent of their sins and trust inChrist as Lord and Savior. It is not theprayer that saves, but heartfelt repentanceand sincere faith. How many today are ledin the sinner�s prayer and pronouncedsaved the moment they say �amen,� butthey have not repented, nor believed andtheir lives never change? Not only are theygranted a false security, but that same falsesecurity many times makes them harden tothe true demands of the Gospel. Theyhold on to their prayer as though it wasmade of magic words that grant them en-trance into the Kingdom, and they closetheir ears to true Gospel preaching.

The Scripture states quite clearlythat the two requirements of salvation arerepentance and faith, but what are they?In the Scripture, repentance involves boththe emotions and the will. Repentanceinvolves the emotions in that it is sorrowfor our sin that leads us to turn away fromit. This can be seen in Paul�s words to theChurch in Corinth:

�Yet now I am happy, not because youwere made sorry, but because your sorrowled you to repentance..... Godly sorrowbrings repentance that leads to salvationand leaves no regret...� IICorinthians 7:9-10

True repentance leading to salvation in-volves the emotions in that there is sorrowin the sinner�s heart upon realizing that hehas broken divine Law, offended God andis in danger of eternal wrath. This sorrowis so genuine, so deep that it touches thesinner�s will and compels him to changefrom unbelief to faith, from apathy to in-terest, from hatred of God to love for God,from idolatry to praise, from rebellion towilling submission, from disobedience toobedience.

Repentance is a powerful thingthat goes beyond man�s capabilities. Infact, repentance causes such a powerfulchange in the sinner that it can only beattributed to the gracious work of God inconversion. In Ezekiel 36:26-27, God de-scribed repentance in the following way:

�I will give you a new heart and [I will] put anew spirit in you; I will remove from you yourheart of stone and [I will] give you a heart offlesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and [Iwill] move you to follow my decrees and becareful to keep my laws.�

After reading this text, can there be anydoubt that the repentance that leads tosalvation involves a radical change that isfrom beginning to end a work of God, andthat without such repentance there is nosalvation?

True repentance is a work ofGod and it is always accompanied by faithin the promises of God. Therefore, in sal-vation a man not only repents, but alsobelieves. Now true faith is never as compli-cated as we sometimes make it out to be. Itis simply believing that something is so,because God has declared it to be so. Thisis the meaning of Hebrew 11:1:

�Now faith is being sure of what we hope forand certain of what we do not see.�

The man who has believed unto salvationis he who hopes for salvation and consid-ers it a certainty, even though he cannotsee it. Or using the example of Abrahamin Romans 4, faith is being fully persuadedthat God has the power to bring about thesalvation He has promised through His

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only begotten Son (v.21).My dear Christian friend, many

have been saved while praying the sinner�sprayer, but not because of the words or theasking, but because of a God-given repen-tance and a God-given faith that were cre-ated in their hearts as a result of conver-sion. At the same time, many have been

lead into a false security of salvation be-cause they said all the right words, but con-version as well as the repentance and faiththat spring from it were absent. In light ofwhat has been said, we would like tochange the fourth �spiritual law� frominviting the sinner to pray the sinner�sprayer to calling upon the sinner to repentof his sins and turn to God through faithin Christ.

A False SecurityThe fifth and last tenant of the �spirituallaws� of today�s Gospel touches on what iscommonly called eternal security. The lawgoes something like this: If the one whohas prayed the sinner�s prayer should everdoubt his salvation, then he must simplylook back to the time he prayed thesinner�s prayer and claim his salvation tobe true. Sometimes the new convert is toldthat he should write the day of his conver-sion in the back of his Bible so that ifdoubts ever assail him he can assure his

heart by opening up the Bible and lookingupon the date when his salvation wassettled. Again this is absurd andunbiblical. As a matter of fact, it is a dan-gerous heresy that has led many down theroad to destruction. Assurance of salvationdoes not come from looking back on theday on which one has prayed a prayer, butfrom a proper examination of one�s life inlight of Scripture to see if there exists bibli-cal evidence of salvation. When dealingwith the possibility of unbelievers amongthe Corinthians, Paul did not tell them tolook back to the day when they prayed aprayer or to look at a date in the back oftheir Bibles, he told them to look at theirlives in the present tense:

�Examine yourselves to see whether you are inthe faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize thatChrist Jesus is in you - unless, of course, you failthe test?� (IICorinthians 13:5)

To find assurance, we are not tolook at a date in the past, but we are tolook at our own lives in the present. Wemust question ourselves and our profes-sion. In the words of John the Baptist, arewe bringing forth fruit in keeping with ourconfession of repentance (Matthew 3:8)?In the words of Paul, are we proving ourrepentance by our deeds (Acts 26:20)? Orin the words of James, is our faith deadbecause it is not accompanied by action(James 2:17)? In the words of Peter is ourknowledge of God ineffective and unpro-ductive (IIPeter 1:8)? In the words of Paul,do we claim to know God, but by our ac-tions deny Him (Titus 1:16)?

In the light of what has beensaid we would like to change the fifth�spiritual law� from telling those whodoubt their salvation to look back to theday when they prayed a prayer, to tellingthem to look at their present life in lightof the Scripture. If there has been nochange, no conformity of their life toScripture, no genuine zeal or love for God,then there can be no security of salvation.

The Five Spiritual LawsReformed

To end this brief article on theGospel and sharing it with the lost, we willpresent the five spiritual laws as they arecommon shared and as we have reformedthem:

(1) God loves us and has a wonder-ful plan for our life.

�God is the Creator and Lord of the universeand is infinitely concerned for His own Glory.�

(2) We have sinned and our sin sepa-rates us from God.

All men are sinners, corrupt in nature anddeed, spiritually dead, under the righteous con-demnation of God and totally dependant uponHis mercy.

(3) Christ died for our sins.

Christ lived a perfect life for us. He bore oursins on the Cross and suffered the condemnationof God for every Law of God we have ever bro-ken. He then died in our place, separated fromfellowship with God and crushed under theweight of God�s wrath. His terrible death paidour sin debt before God and provides for oursalvation. His resurrection and perfect life pro-vides for us a gift of righteousness by which wecan stand before God as truly the righteousnessof God in Christ.

(4) Man must pray the prayer offaith and ask Jesus to come into his heartand save him. If he asks by faith, then hecan be assured that he is saved.

Man must repent and believe the Gospel. Repen-tance is a genuine sorrow for sin and a fear ofjudgement that results in a turning away fromsin and a turning to God. Faith is the simpleconfidence that God has the power and goodpleasure to bring about the salvation he haspromised through His only begotten Son.

(5) If a man should ever doubt hissalvation, he must simply look back to thetime he prayed the sinner�s prayer andclaim his salvation.

If a man doubts his salvation he should examinehis life in light of the Scripture. If there has beenno change, no conformity of his life to Scripture,no genuine zeal or love for God, then the mancan have no security that he has been saved.

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The Nature of TrueRepentance

by Thomas Watson.Edited and Abridged by Randy

Lowe

I shall show what gospel repen-tance is. Repentance is a grace of God'sSpirit whereby a sinner is inwardlyhumbled and visibly reformed. For a fur-ther amplification, know that repentanceis a spiritual medicine made up of six spe-cial ingredients. If any one is left out itloses its virtue.

Ingredient 1: Recognition of SinThe first part of Christ's healing

work is to apply eye>salve. It is the greatthing noted in the prodigal's repentance:"he came to himself" (Luke 15:17). He sawhimself a sinner and nothing but a sinner.Before a man can come to Christ he mustfirst come to himself. He must first recog-nize and consider what his sin is, andknow the plague of his heart before he canbe duly humbled for it. The first thingGod made was light. The first thing Godgives the sinner is illumination. The eye ismade both for seeing and weeping. Sinmust be seen before it can be wept for.Hence I infer that where there is no sightof sin, there can be no repentance. Manywho can spy faults in others see none inthemselves. They say that they have goodhearts. Is it not strange that two shouldlive together, yet not know each other?Such is the case of a sinner. His body andsoul live together, yet he is unacquaintedwith himself. He knows not his ownheart. Under a veil, a deformed face is hid.Persons are veiled over with ignorance andself>love; therefore they see not what de-formed souls they have.

Ingredient 2: Sorrow for SinAmbrose calls sorrow the embit-

tering of the soul. The Hebrew word "tobe sorrowful" signifies "to have the soul, asit were, crucified". This must be in truerepentance: "They shall look upon mewhom they have pierced, and they shallmourn" (Zech. 12:10), as if they did feelthe nails of the cross sticking in their ownsides. A woman may as well expect to havea child without pain as one can have re-

pentance without sorrow. He that canbelieve without doubting, should be suspi-cious of his faith; and he that can repentwithout sorrowing, should be suspicious ofhis repentance. True sorrow for sin is notsuperficial: it is a holy agony. It is called inScripture a breaking of the heart (Psalm51:17); and a rending of the heart (Joel2:13).

Ingredient 3: Confession of SinSorrow is such a vehement pas-

sion that it will have vent. It vents itselfat the eyes by weeping and at the tongueby confession: "The children of Israelstood and confessed their sins (Neh. 9:2)."I will go and return to my place, till theyacknowledge their offence" (Hosea 5:15).

Confession is self>accusing: "Lo,I have sinned" (2 Sam. 24:17). This is notcommon among men. Men never want toaccuse themselves, but when we come be-fore God, we must accuse ourselves. Infact, the humble sinner does more thanaccuse himself; he sits in judgment andpasses sentence upon himself. He con-fesses that he has deserved to be boundover to the wrath of God.

Ingredient 4: Shame for SinThe fourth ingredient in repen-

tance is shame: "that they may be ashamedof their iniquities" (Ezek. 43:10). Blushingis the color of virtue. When the heart hasbeen made black with sin, grace makes theface red with blushing: "I am ashamed andblush to lift up my face" (Ezra 9:6). Therepenting prodigal was so ashamed of hisexcess that he thought himself not worthyto be called a son any more (Luke 15:21).Repentance caused a holy bashfulness.

Ingredient 5: Hatred of SinThe fifth ingredient in repen-

tance is hatred of sin. There is a hatred orloathing of abominations: "Ye shall loatheyourselves for your iniquities" (Ezek.36:31). A true penitent is a sin>loather. Ifa man loathes that which makes his stom-ach sick, much more will he loathe thatwhich makes his conscience sick. It ismore to loathe sin than to leave it. Onemay leave sin for fear, but the nauseatingand loathing of sin is a detestation of it.Christ is never loved till sin is loathed.Heaven is never longed for till sin isloathed. Sound repentance begins in thelove of God and ends in the hatred of sin.

Ingredient 6: Turning from SinThe sixth ingredient in repen-

tance is a turning from sin. True repen-tance, like nitric acid, eats asunder theiron chain of sin. "Repent, and turn your-selves from your idols; and turn away yourfaces from all your abominations" (Ezek.14:6). This turning from sin is called aforsaking of sin (Isa. 55:7). It is called "aputting of sin far away" (Job 11:14). Dyingto sin is the life of repentance. The veryday a Christian turns from sin he mustbegin a perpetual fast. The eye must fastfrom impure glances. The ear must fastfrom hearing slanders. The tongue mustfast from oaths. The hands must fast frombribes. The feet must fast from the pathof the harlot. And the soul must fast fromthe love of wickedness. This turning fromsin implies a notable change.

There is a change wrought inthe heart. In repentance Christ turns aheart of stone into a heart of flesh. Thereis a change wrought in the life. Turningfrom sin is so visible that others may dis-cern it. It is called a change from dark-ness to light (Eph. 5:8). A ship is goingeastward; there comes a wind which turnsit westward. Likewise, a man was goinghell>ward before the contrary wind of theSpirit blew, turned his course, and causedhim to sail heaven>ward. Repentancemakes such a visible change in a person, itappears as if another soul has taken uplodging in the same body.

The full text of "The Nature of True Repen-tance" can be found in The Doctrine of Repen-tance (pages 18>58) by Thomas Watson. It ispublished by Banner of Truth in the "PuritanPaperbacks" series. Watson lived from1620>1686 and first published this work in1668. Watson was a spiritual giant of his dayand is perhaps the most popular of all the En-glish Puritans. During the years of his ministryin London he earned a reputation as a manwho was mighty in prayer. He masterfully ap-plied the Scriptures to the human heart. Hisdirectness is much needed in the modern pulpit.

Randy Lowe is pastor of the First BaptistChurch of Williams Lake in Williams Lake,British Columbia. He can be contacted by mailat the following address: FBC of Williams Lake,295 Western Ave., Williams Lake British Co-lumbia, V2G 3H6. Randy�s telephone numberand email address are: 250-392-4997 and

fbcwl@stardate.bc.ca

Theology

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The Godly Woman

A wife of noble characterwho can find? She isworth far more than ru-bies. Her husband has fullconfidence in her and lacksnothing of value. Shebrings him good, not harm,all the days of her life.Charm is deceptive, andbeauty is fleeting; but awoman who fears the Lordis to be praised.

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Becoming Estherby Charo & Paul Washer

�Before a girl's turn came to go in to KingXerxes, she had to complete twelve monthsof beauty treatments prescribed for thewomen, six months in oil of myrrh and sixwith perfumes and cosmetics. And this ishow she would go to the king..."

Esther 2:12-13

I have always been amazed atthe kind of preparation that the futurequeen Esther had to go through beforeshe was able to come before KingXerxes. Would any of us want to gothrough twelve months of beauty treat-ments before meeting the man of ourdreams? Probably not, but then again,imagine the possibilities. One year setaside for one sole purpose - becomingall you can be for the one you love themost. Precious time to cultivate beauty,to make an investment in education andetiquette, to strengthen virtue and buildcharacter.

The preparation of Esther re-minds me of that precious time betweenthe awakening of desire in a youngwoman�s heart to share her life with amate and the moment she walks downthe aisle. For many, this time of prepa-ration is seen as nothing more than atime of waiting. Single women often seethemselves as sitting on the shelf while lifepasses them by, or as sitting on thebench while others play the game. Theydo not realize that they are wasting themost important time of their lives, theyare robbing themselves of great joy andreward, they are robbing their futurehusbands of a more virtuous woman,and they are robbing God of a servantthrough whom He desires to do greatthings.

As Esther had to be preparedbefore she could be queen of an entirerealm, so the woman must be preparedbefore she can embark on one of themost important and difficult callings inlife - marriage and motherhood. Estherhad to learn the ways of the kingdom towhich she belonged, she had to learn themanners of court life, the intellectual,emotional and spiritual challenges ofhigh position. To put it simply, Estherhad to be transformed from a younglady into a queen before she could wearthe title and fulfill the role. In the sameway, the single Christian woman mustlearn the ways of the Kingdom ofHeaven before she ever unites with theone that God is preparing for her. Shemust be prepared intellectually, emo-tionally and spiritually, not by court at-tendants in some pagan temple, but byGod Himself, His Word and by othergodly women who have been preparedbefore her.

Singleness is not a waste of timeor a sitting on the sidelines, but a timethat God has set aside especially for thewoman, to make her into what He wantsher to be, and to use her in ways thatjust might be impossible after marriage.Singleness is a time in which a woman isto cultivate the virtues that pertain to

being a woman of God, so that she canoffer to her future husband and theworld something more than just a prettyface.

Remember in your singlenessthat you are not the only one single, butyour future husband is passing throughthe same stage as you. Would it not be aterrible thing to finally meet the manwho is to become your husband only tofind out that he has used his singlenessto serve God and to prepare himself tobe a better husband for you. And yetyou did not use the freedom of yoursingleness to serve the Lord, nor did youtake advantage of the training that Godoffered you? Would it not also be a ter-rible thing to realize that your husbandspent his days as a single man prayingdaily for your needs and the work ofGod in your life, while you neitherprayed for him, nor responded to thegrace of God that was given you as a re-sult of his prayers.

It is a wonderful thing whenGod blesses a woman with a husband.That special someone who is �just per-fect" for her in that he has been carefullyand thoughtfully designed by God to beunited as one with her. It is such a joyfor the woman to look back and remem-ber how God enabled her to wait onHim and that He was faithful to bless. Itis still an even greater joy for her toknow that her time as a single womanwas also a time of seeking God and beingfaithful to Him and His purpose. Thatshe did not for one moment wish to fleethat state, but desired only to trust inGod and wait upon His gracious sover-eignty.

By no means is it a tragedy tobe a single Christian woman, but theway of the world has once again infil-trated Christianity with the false ideathat it is. One of the greatest lies is thatif you do not "have someone" or are not�actively looking", there is somethingwrong with you. Another lie is that thesingle woman should be dating aroundas though looking for a husband were

The Godly Woman

�Man looks at the outward ap-�Man looks at the outward ap-�Man looks at the outward ap-�Man looks at the outward ap-�Man looks at the outward ap-pearance, but the Lord looks atpearance, but the Lord looks atpearance, but the Lord looks atpearance, but the Lord looks atpearance, but the Lord looks atthe heart.� I Samuel 16:7the heart.� I Samuel 16:7the heart.� I Samuel 16:7the heart.� I Samuel 16:7the heart.� I Samuel 16:7

HeartCryPage 11

the same as shopping in a mall. Still an-other even stronger lie is that the singlewoman should be giving her affectionsaway indiscriminately so that she may bemore "experienced" and know what todo when she finally finds the man of herchoice. My dear Christian, it is a lie andan affront to God to say that experienceis the best teacher, when in fact it is Godwho is the best teacher, and though theworld�s motto is �live and learn,� theBible�s advice is �learn and live.� You donot need to be experienced, you onlyneed to be knowledgeable of what Godhas said and obedient to it. You shouldnot be looking for the man of yourchoice, but should be waiting on theman of God�s choice. And when hecomes, it will not be past experiencesthat will make your marriage work, butpast chastity, purity, and godliness. Weshould hide our faces from the ways andexperiences of this wicked world andlook upon only those things that Godhas placed in the path He has preparedfor us.

God knows exactly what youneed and He even knows the desires ofyour heart better than you do. Godloves surprises. He does not want you tobe looking for your husband, He wantsto bring him to you, and probably at atime you least expect it. If you disobeythis advice, as so many other women be-fore you, and take it upon yourself tolook for a mate, you may find someone,but chances are that that someone youfind will not be the right one.

As women, our nature desiresthe company and companionship of aman. This is from God and thereforegood. But at the same time, we arewrong to think that death will be theresult if this need goes unmet. Needinganother as a companion is not like need-ing to take your next breath of air. Thatis, you can survive without companion-ship at least until God has done His per-fect work in you. Remember the Scrip-ture, �God is faithful; he will not let yoube tempted beyond what you can bear.�

(I Corinthians 10:13)I have found that there are two

primary reason why someone �desper-ately� needs someone else. First of all, itis because they do not know God as theyshould. Is God not the God of all com-fort? Is not Christ the exalted Lord whofills all things everywhere? Then why dowe complain about how empty andalone we feel. Could it be that God ex-tends our time of singleness so that wemight find our life in Him and learn tobe complete in Him? If we seek to bemarried because we feel that a husbandwill fill our lives or will in some way makeus complete, we will be sorely disap-pointed in our marriage. No man, nomatter how Christ-like could ever takethe place of God in our lives, to thinksuch a thing is pure idolatry. If we arenot filled by God now and complete inChrist in the present, then not even amarriage made in heaven will be able tochange our emptiness.

The second reason for desper-ately needing someone in our lives isplain selfishness. When we need someonein order to feel loved, or when we needsomeone so that our feelings of loneli-ness might dissipate, then we are wantingmarriage for all the wrong reasons. Mar-riage is to be looked upon as more thanan opportunity to have our needs met,but as an opportunity to meet the needsof another. If we have not learned totake our own needs to God, then we willprobably overwhelm our husbands withour own needs and be unaware of his. Ihave known Christian women who spenttheir days consumed with their ownneeds and constantly lamenting aboutwhy God had not brought someone intotheir life. But why should God entrust agodly man to a woman that is absorbedin herself and her own needs, and doesnot use the freedom of her singleness toserve God and prepare herself for Hispurposes? Such a woman would havelittle to offer a godly husband!

My dear friend, being single,like being married should be considered

a very special and enjoyable time in theprovidence of God. It should not beconsidered a mere circumstance or acurse from which one should try desper-ately to flee. Being single is a time tolearn of God and of ourselves. A timeto discover who we are in Christ and togrow in Christlikeness. It is a time to bezealous for good works and involved inministry to others. Being single has amagic of its own that should be enjoyedin its time because once passed it maynot return. There is nothing quite sosad as a woman now married who re-grets what she could have been and donewith her life while single. All was lost forthe sake of hurrying to be married with-out consideration for the plan or workof God.

Every season in life has abeauty and wonder of its own. Myprayer for all single Christian women isthat they might enjoy their time in spiteof the lies of the world. That they mightbe demanding and not settle for any-thing less than the perfect will of God.That they might wait patiently on Godwho is the giver of every good and per-fect gift. That they might be like Esther,using whatever time God deems neces-sary to make them beautiful on the in-side and out.

The Godly Woman

HeartCryPage 12

Missions

HeartCryPage 13

Send the LightSo many Christians are interested in World Missions, but few ever

get involved on a personal level. Why? We believe it is because WorldMissions seems so far away from the reality of most Christians. Many havenever even seen a �real� missionary, much less traveled to the mission field.The closest most ever come to the Great Commission is putting money in anoffering plate without the faintest idea of where it is going or what kind offruit it is bearing.

Our goal at HeartCry is to be a catalyst to help you become involvedin world missions in a personal way. The following are just some of thepossibilities:

1. You can support your very own missionary on the foreign field. Heart-Cry is currently supporting national missionaries in Peru (6), Brazil (1), Roma-nia (11), Moldova (2) and Nigeria (2). The cost of supporting a nationalmissionary full time ranges between $100-$300 a month depending on thecountry. You will receive a picture of the missionary you support and will beable to correspond with him and his family.2. You can provide Bibles to the Christians in the foreign field. We havealready mentioned that many pastors in the countries where we work arewithout Bibles. We have known instances in which the pastor had toborrow the Bible from the Church in order to study or preach in anothervillage. We buy Bibles and then make them available to the Christians at aprice they can afford. We have sold Bibles at their full price to those who canafford them and we have sold Bibles for a bag of beans to those Christianswho have no money. The important thing is that each Christians is able topurchase (and not receive as charity) his very own Bible.3. You can provide a pastoral library to a worker in the foreign field. Wehave already mentioned that many pastors in the countries where we workdo not even have an adequate Bible, so it is easy to see why there is also a greatneed for pastor�s libraries. For one hundred dollars, a small library consistingof the following resources can be purchased: Bible Dictionary, Moody�sCommentary, Concordance, and a Manual on Preaching. This does notseem like much to Christians in America, but to the pastors where we work,it is almost an unattainable dream!4. You can help build a Church. Church buildings in America cost hun-dreds of thousands and even millions of dollars to build. On the foreignfield, we can build a Church building for as little as $5,000-$15,000. Thereare many Christians in the foreign fields who have no adequate place ofworship and some that have no place at all. In some places (especially Roma-nia and Moldova) this is a great hindrance to the Gospel, since the localpeople believe that any religious group that has no place of worship is a cult.5. You can travel to the mission field for a short term mission project.Have you ever imagined yourself winding through the Andes mountains ona mule train, canoeing down a remote tributary of the Amazon River Basin orBackpacking through a tropical rain forest? We invite you to come visit us inthe country of Peru. It will not be a vacation, but an opportunity to �domissions� first hand and up close. To borrow the phrase, �It will be thetoughest job you�ll ever love�.

How to contact us: Heartcry c/o Waldo Baptist Church. . . . . . Email: heartcry@midwest.net. . . . . . 6970 Waldo Church Rd.. . . . . . Metropolis, Il. 62960. . . . . . (618) 564-2180

HeartCryPage 14

Meet your Missionariesin Romania

In our last edition of Heart-Cry, we began presenting the testimoniesof our national missionaries that arenow serving in Romania, Moldova, Nige-ria, Brazil and Peru. In our last editionyou met two missionaries in Moldovaand four others in Romania. In thisedition, you will meet seven more of ourmissionaries currently serving in Roma-nia.

Alexandru Merlan

Alex's Testimony: �My name isAlexandru Merlan. I grew up in a familyof mixed religious and national affilia-tion. My Romanian father was ortho-dox and my Hungarian mother wasCatholic (now she is Christian - Baptist).As a child I was baptized in the CatholicChurch and my brother (7 yearsyounger) was baptized in the Orthodox

Church. I do not know why, but until Iwas seven years old I lived with my grand-mother and attended mass every Sundayin the Catholic Church in Tirnaveni. Asa child, I was amazed of everything I sawin the Church > saints with halos, stainedglass windows, paintings, priests in won-derful robes, etc. My grandmother wasa very religious woman, but she couldnot answer the many questions I askedas a child. I wanted to know everythingabout the things I saw in the Church.Once I asked her why the people in thepaintings had halos and I didn't. Shetold me that they were not like otherpeople, but were saints and very close toGod. Once I asked my grandmother ifGod took sunbathes. She became veryangry with me and told me to keep myquestions to myself or God would bevery angry with me. I no longer askedmy Grandmother any questions aboutGod, but I thought to myself, "One day Imust find out!"

When I was 7 years old, myparents took me to live with them inSibiu. By the time I was 15 years old, Ihad forgotten about God, the Churchand all my questions. This lack of inter-est in religious things was probably theresult of the Communist ideas that pre-vailed in our culture and influenced allof us.

My life began to change oneday when I invited one of my friends to afilm, and he declined. When my otherfriends and I asked him why, we foundout that he was a �repenter�. This is thename we give to Protestants (especiallyBaptist) in Romania. We all laughedand made fun of him. In Romania it isbelieved that the "repenters" are strangepeople who own their own Bibles andtry to live by everything it says. For thecommunists and every one else in Roma-nia it was a shame and disgrace to own aBible.

That day I asked my friendmany questions about God and religion.When he could not answer my questionsI felt very proud. The next day my

friend returned to school with answersto my questions and also he gave me asmall Bible. When the principal of theschool found out that my friend gave mea Bible, he reprimanded him. I did notread the Bible, but put it in my library.Two years later, I began to enjoy readingvery much, but in time I read all thebooks in my library. Again I saw thesmall Bible my friend had given me. Iknew that no one could see me there, soI began to read it.

I started reading the Bible inthe Old Testament. I learned that I hadto make a sacrifice for my sins. But Ithought, "I am so poor, I don't evenhave the money to buy a pair of doves."

After high school I began mymilitary service. When I came home af-ter two years of service, I discovered thatmy mother had become a Christian. Iwas very angry with her. I refused to goto her baptismal service, but later mybest friend convinced me to go. I en-joyed the service very much. The pastorasked me to come again. I said yes, butin my heart I was saying, "Take a goodlook at me because this is the last timeyou will see me."

Time passed and one day I wassitting in a bar with some of my friends.For a few seconds it seemed that every-thing around me just stopped and aquestion came into my mind, "What areyou doing here? Don�t you see that youdon�t belong in this place?" My wholemind was searching for something, butthen I did not know what.

Once when my mother was notat home, I decided to go to Church bymy self. I thought that if someone both-ered me there I would hit him in the faceand run before the rest of the Churchcould catch me. Nothing happened thatnight and I enjoyed the service, exceptfor the prayers which were too long.

After that I went to Churchmany times, but was still unconverted. Itseemed that no one could convince meto be a Christian. I wanted to knowthat God was real, but I just could not

Missions

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believe. One year later I was reading aChristian periodical for young peopleand found a short story which con-vinced me to �try� God.

In this story, there was a mis-sionary who was visiting a prison. Hetried to talk to the prisoners, but no onelistened to him. They said, �We don'tneed your cheap stories.� Before themissionary left the prison he cried out,"If you don�t know if you can believethere is a God, then just try it." Becauseof these words, one of the four menprayed, "God if you really exist pleasewake me up at 3:15 am.� After this hefell asleep. When he woke up, he askedthe guard what time it was. The guard'sanswered was 3:15 am. The prisonerbecame very frightened because he knewGod had done something. After I readthe story I decided to do the same andGod was there too. He woke me up at3:15 am.

After this, I had a dream. Inmy dream I met one of my best class-mates that had died during the revolu-tion of 1989. When I saw him I askedhim how the place was where he was.His answer was very short. He said, "verybad." After that I could not sleep, in-stead, I knelt down and I ask Jesus tobecome my Lord and Savior.� Alex re-ceives $200 a month support fromHeartCry.

Valentin Voicila

Lord Jesus. The very next day, I felt thatI was a new man, a different man than Ihad been before. I even stopped drink-ing.

Since my conversion, I havehad a great joy and a wonderful peace inmy heart. The most striking differencein my life after my conversion was that Icould not stop reading the Bible. Iloved the Bible and still love it today. In1995, my wife received Jesus as her Lordand Savior and now we go together toChurch and serve the Lord together forHis glory.

The first great struggle in my lifeafter my conversion was the command-ment to be baptized as a believer. Icould not accept being baptized onceagain because being Orthodox, I wasbaptized as a child. It was a very difficultstruggle, but I wanted to obey the Bible�scommands more than I wanted to pleasemyself or conform to my religious tradi-tions. The Holy Spirit told me to countthe cost and I was baptized three weekslater. I was 33 years old at the time ofmy baptism.

One year after my baptism, I quitacting and have given myself to serveGod as a full-time evangelist. I also workas editor for Christian Radio. I readCharles Stanley�s messages which arebroadcast every day in six major Roma-nian cities. Doing this brings me greatjoy.

My life has changed so much.In the Revolution of 1989, I was willingto die for freedom, but now I am willingto die for my Heavenly Father, because Iknow that I will see Him in heaven. Yes,now I have peace and a special relation-ship with God. He is always with meand is always guiding me. I thank Godfor what He has done for me and for myfamily, I praise Him for who He is.

Valentin receives $200 a monthsupport from those of you who faithfully giveto HeartCry.

Valentin�s testimony: My name isValentin Voicila. I am 39 years old. Mywife�s name is Corina. We have a 9 yearold daughter named Margareta.

For most of my adult life I havebeen an actor. I graduated from theCinema and Theatre University ofBucharest, and for 10 years I acted onstage and in 7 movies. In that time Iwon many National Awards for theaterand film.

I was one of the leaders of mypeople during the Romanian Revolutionof 1989. After the success of the revo-lution, the people elected me to repre-sent the territory of Arad. The positionwas equivalent to being Governor of astate in USA . During the revolutionand my political career, I saw many hor-rible things - many people werewounded and and others were killed. Itseemed that everyone was living betweenlife and death. I did not realize it then,but God was using all these things to talkto my heart.

Six months after taking theposition of �governor,� I stepped downand turned to alcohol. I started todrink motivated by the need to forget allthe corruption, death and pain that Ihad seen. The political situation wasvery violent and dangerous. My familyand I began to receive many threatsfrom people we did not know. Mychauffeur was killed and I became veryafraid. I went many times to occult andspiritualist meetings to find out my fu-ture. I was not a good person. Duringthe revolution, I was willing to die forfreedom, but now there was so muchpressure that it was difficult to continueliving. I did not understand it then, butit in my lostness and rebellion, God wasspeaking to my heart, preparing me forthe Gospel.

As one of the leaders of Arad, Iwent to see many evangelistic services toplease the Christians in the territory. Itwas in these services that I heard God�sWord and the Gospel. In 1990 I re-pented of my sins and believed in the

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Samuel Stoica

Samuel Stoica is a Romaniangypsy. He was born in August 12, 1977in Slobozia Bradului. He comes from afamily of ten children and both of hisparents are Christians. In 1992 he be-came a Christian and was baptized.

Like most gypsies, Samuel hasonly an eighth grade education, but hedoes not allow his lack of formal educa-tion get in the way of his Bible study orministry. Samuel is very gifted at playingthe accordion and uses his gift in theevangelistic meetings where he ministers.His accordion has become a vital part ofhis street ministry, because it is the musicthat attracts and captivates the Gypsies.Marin Moise who heads up the Gypsyministry for the Romanian BaptistUnion says, �Stoica�s music is our pass-port to minister among the gypsies. Iprayed for a year for someone to helpus with the music in our evangelisticwork on the streets and the Lord hassent Stoica to us. We have worked to-gether for four months and our ministryhas been a great success. Because Stoicais a gypsy and without much education,he had been spending most of his dayworking temporary jobs on constructionsites. The long hours made it almostimpossible for him to carry out his min-istry of evangelism, but now thanks to

the support of the people from theUnited States who give to HeartCry,Stoica is in full time Christian ministrywhere he belongs.�

At this time, Stoica lives and min-isters in the Gypsy ghettos. He receives$150 a month support from HeartCry.

Marin Virgil

Marin Vigil is a RomanianGypsy. He was born in 1959 and he cur-rently lives in Slovozia Bradului ofVrancea. In 1974, he became a Chris-tian and was baptized. His wifeGeorgeta was baptized as a believer in1980. Martin and Georgeta have sixchildren (two other children passedaway in their infancy). Marin has onlyan eighth grade education.

Before receiving support fromHeartCry, Martin worked part time inthe local grape vineyards and ministeredamong the Gypsies as the leader of theBaptist Church �Sfinta Treime� inSlobozia Bradului. In the very near fu-ture, Martin is to be ordained by theChurches of the Romanian BaptistUnion and called as full time pastor ofthe Church in Slobozia Bradului.

Marin receives $150 a monthsupport from HeartCry.

Missions

Marin Ion

Marin Ion is a Romaniangypsy. He was born on March 4, 1962and was baptized as a believer in 1980.He and his wife Suplimenta have a largefamily of eight children. Marin is cur-rently a member of the Holy TrinityBaptist Church of Cornetu and will beworking as an evangelist and Churchplanter among the Gypsy people of theRamnicu Sarat area. Marin receives$150 a month support from HeartCry.

Filip Iulian

Filip Iulian is a RomanianGypsy. He was born in 1955 in the judi-cial district of Vrancea. He and his wife

HeartCryPage 17

port from HeartCry.

For the Love of theGypsies by Paul David Washer

As you have probably noticed,the last five missionaries presented in thisedition of HeartCry are all Gypsies andthey all work in Gypsy communitiesthroughout the southeastern area ofRomania. We believe the reason for thisis simply the providence of God.

On my last trip to Romania, Imet with brother Vasile Talos the presi-dent of the the Romanian BaptistUnion. As we discussed the great needsand challenges that face the work ofGod in Romania the discussion turnedto the Gypsies. Of all the people groupsin the world, there are probably fewmore despised than the Gypsies, andwith good reason. The Gypsies are forthe most part dirty, uneducated, uncul-tured and untrustworthy. Most Gypsymen make their living by stealing, cheat-ing and selling their own women intoprostitution. The young women serve asprostitutes and many have children outof wedlock. The older women live in theslums and shanty towns caring for morechildren than they have food enough tofeed. In the following, missionary MarinMoise of the Romanian Baptist Union

Aurora have three children. Both Filipand Aurora professed Christ and werebaptized in 1982. Filip and Aurora aremembers of the �Sfinta Treime� BaptistChurch in Cornetu. Filip has a tenthgrade education and like other Gypsies,he made a living through manual laborin the grape vineyards.

At the beginning of the 1997year, Filip started a ministry in the villageof Pietroasa where there are about 2000Gypsies in the village itself and another4000 Gypsies in the neighboring villages.It has been Filip�s long time dream toexpand evangelistic and Church plantingministries among the Gypsies. Thanks toyour support, his dream has now beenmade a reality. Filip receives $150 amonth support from HeartCry.

Crivisin Ionel

Crivisin Ionel is a Romaniangypsy. He was born on November 22,1954 in the village of Focsani. He andhis wife Pauna became Christians andwere baptized on February 24, 1978.They have nine children and are mem-bers of the Holy Trinity Baptist Churchin Bucharest. Crivisin has a 10th gradeeducation and works as a professionallocksmith. He and his wife are currentlyworking in evangelism and Churchplanting among Gypsies in the Bucharestarea. Crivisin receives $150 a month sup-

describes his people.�The state of the Gypsies is very de-graded. The aged have no retirement orincome, they are sick and harassed, evenbeaten by their own children. Theyouth have no future and no skill exceptthat of stealing. The young girls practiceprostitution and many children comeout of wedlock. The children areabused and they learn only negativethings because there is no positive thingto learn in such an environment. Thereis a lot of violence and terror. Thewomen are severely beaten especially ifthey become Christians. Most live indilapidated apartment blocks withoutelectricity, water or heating. The state ofthe Gypsies is very discouraging. Theyare pushed to the edge of society, andthe Romanian people and governmentare not willing to do anything to helpthem. Even the Christian Church hasturned its back on the Gypsies.�

As President Talos and I werediscussing the plight of the Gypsies, wewere interrupted by a knock at the door- it was brother Marin Moise, the onlyfull time missionary to the Gypsies inRomania. He had come to Bucharest todiscuss the needs of the Gypsies. Whenwe told him about our discussion, hebegan to share with us with a mixture oftears and rejoicing. Before we left Presi-dent Talos�s office that day, HeartCryhad pledged to support five Gypsies mis-sionaries to the Gypsies.

We sent the first month�s sup-port in December and are looking for-ward to news of the results. Humanlyspeaking, it is somewhat of a risk for usto take on such a large enterprise soquickly, but then again a man has notcalled us. It is God who has called usand He will do the work. We must al-ways remember that in the Kingdom ofGod taking a risk is not an obligation tobe dreaded, but a privileged invitation towatch God reveal His glory.

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PERU

Paul and Charo Washer - Paul and Charo work as directors of Heartcry. They have been missionaries in Peru for 9 years. At the present theycontinue to work in Peru and to coordinate HeartCry�s work in the other countries.Franciso Laos - Franciso is over the region called �Departamento Amazonas� in Northern Peru. He is coordinating Church planting anddiscipleship among the people of the high jungle and the Aguaruna Tribes of the Basin.Ernesto Zacarías - Ernesto is working in Church planting in the slum areas of Villa el Salvador located outside the city of Lima.Angel Colmenares - Angel directs the Church planting work in the northern province of Peru where in the last 15 years more than 250 Churcheshave been planted through his ministry.Daniel Colmenares - HeartCry supported Daniel through his seminary studies and will continue his support as a missionary working alongside hisfather Angel.Miguel Churata - HeartCry supported Miguel through his seminary studies and will continue his support as a missionary working in partnershipwith Angel Colmenares.

NIGERIA

Andrew Martey - Andrew is a Church planter in the rural areas of Niger State in Nigeria West Africa. He works in partnership with well knownnational missionary Solomon A. Owolabi.Samuel Ahmed - Samuel is an evangelist and Church planter in the rural areas of Niger State in Nigeria West Africa. Samuel is an ex-teacher ofthe Koran who now works to reach the Muslims of West Africa. Like Andrew, Samuel works in partnership with well known national missionarySolomon A. Owolabi.

BRAZIL

Charles Silveira - Charles is a pastor/Church planter in the city of Florianopolis in Santa Catarina, Brazil. He is working in partnership with wellknown national missionary Moises Damazio.

ROMANIA

Alex Merlan - Alex lives in Sibiu and is the coordinator for all our missionary work in Romania and Moldova.Bebe Tomeci - Bebe works in student evangelism in the University of Brashov.Alex Palade - Alex works in student evangelism in the University of Brashov.Matei Muresan - Matei is pastor of mission Churches in Garbova de Sus, Hoparta and Teius. He is also pastor of the prison Church in Ayud.Petrica Mihai - Petrica is working at Church planting in the rural village of Calimanesti.Valentin - Valentin is working as a full time evangelist among the Baptist Churches in Romania and presents the sermons of Charles Stanley onradio stations reaching six major cities daily.Samuel Stoic - Samuel works in music and out-door evangelistic meetings among the Gypsies.Marin Virgil - Marin is serving among the Gypsies as pastor of the Baptist Church �Sfinta Treime� in Slobozia Bradului.Marin Ion - Marin is serving as a Church planter among the Gypsy people of Ramnicu Sarat.Filip Iulian - Filip is serving as a Church planter among the Gypsy peoples of Pietroasa.

Crivisin Ionel - Crivisin is serving as a Church planter among the Gypsy people of Bucuresti.

MOLDOVA

Spataru Slavic - Spataru is a Church planter currently pastoring a Church in Pelenia and two missions in Moara de Piatra and Asnasenii Noi.Vasile Vintu - Vasile is a Church planter currently pastoring a Church in Nisporeni and four missions in Vulcanesti, Vanatori, Ciuciuleni andChietroseni.

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Pray for Your Missionaries

HeartCryPage 19

HeartCry Missionary Society

Statement of Purpose:HeartCry is a missionary society under theauthority of a local New Testament Church.We are dedicated to the task of fulfilling theGreat Commission through working in part-nership with national pastors, workers andmission boards in foreign fields. There arenearly 3 billion individuals in the world whohave still not heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ.The traditional mission methods of onlytraining and financing North American mis-sionaries is a slow and costly process that hasnot and will not enable us to reach theworld. A national pastor or missionary canbe prepared for ministry through hands ontraining in the same way that Jesus trainedthe disciples and can be ready for the workwithout years of language training or culturaladjustment and with only a fraction of thefinancial support required for a missionarysent from a developed country. ThereforeHeartCry seeks to work with godly men andwomen of integrity and vision in theunreached world to help them evangelize andplant Churches among their own peoples.Our main areas of ministry are:

Supporting national workers to plantand edify Churches in the foreign field.Assisting with the purchase of land andbuilding materials for Churches in theforeign field.Providing Bibles to Christians in theforeign field.Providing pastor's libraries and trainingmaterials to Christians in the foreignfield.Sponsoring pastor and discipleship train-ing conferences in the foreign field.Working for reform in the UnitedStates through prayer, preaching andthe HeartCry newsletter.

Financial AccountabilityHeartCry is under the authority and supervi-sion of Waldo Baptist Church. The minis-try provides a biannual financial report to allits supporters. Further information may beobtained on request from Waldo BaptistChurch, 6970 Waldo Church Rd., Metropo-lis, IL. 62960, Tel. (618) 564>2180. Of allthe individuals who work to make HeartCrypossible, only Paul and Charo Washer are

salaried. Nearly all administrative costs arecovered by Waldo Baptist Church.

Principles of MinistryThe chief end of all mission work is theGlory of God. Our greatest concern is thathis Name be great among the nations, fromthe rising to the setting of the sun (Malachi1:11). We find our constant motivation,not in man or his needs, but in God, Hiscommitment to His own glory and our God-given desire to see Him glorified in everynation, tribe, people, and language.

Every need of this ministry will be ob-tained through prayer. We may shareour missionary vision with others andeven make known to them the specifictasks which the Lord has laid on ourheart to do, but we may not raise sup-port through prodding or manipulatingour brothers and sisters in Christ. Ifthis ministry is of the Lord , then Hewill be our patron. If He is with us, Hewill direct His people to give and wewill prosper. If He is not with us, wewill not and should not succeed.We intend to never enlarge our field oflabor by contracting debts. This is con-trary to both the letter and the spirit ofthe New Testament. In secret prayer,God helping us, we will carry the needsof this ministry to the Lord and act ac-cording to the direction that He gives.We will not compete with other bibli-cal mission agencies, but use the re-sources that God has given to us to workin partnership with them. If the Lorddirects, we will sacrifice our own goalsand resources that other mission worksmay be helped and the Kingdom of Godincreased.In meeting any need, those of us whoare supported financially by this minis-try will be the first to sacrifice all thingsnecessary for the will of God and theadvancement of His Kingdom.We will not measure the success of thisministry by the amount of money given,Bibles distributed or national mission-aries supported, but by the Lord's bless-ing on the work.

HeartCry Board:HeartCry is assisted by the following pastorsand laymen. If you wish to know more aboutHeartCry feel free to call or write:

Paul & Charo WasherIn the United States:7004 Unionville Rd.Brookport, Illinois 62910(618) 564-2712

Pastor Jack RussellWaldo Baptist (SBC)6970 Waldo Church Rd.Metropolis, Illinois 62960(618) 564-2180

Pastor Mike MorrowEast Baptist (SBC)2985 Old Husbands Rd.Paducah, Ky. 42003(502) 442-0616

Pastor Randy LoweFirst Baptist (SBC)295 Western Ave.Williams Lake, B.C.V2G 3H6(250) 392-4937

Pastor Carlton AllenCalvary Baptist ChurchP.O. Box 531Lake Park, Georgia 31636(912) 559-8958

Adrian Jones1430 Iuka Rd.Grand Rivers, Ky.42045(502) 928-2306

Rita Douglas6895 Waldo Church Rd.Metropolis, Illinois 62960(618) 564-3339

Kenny Schroeder830 Christa Dr.Paducah, Ky. 42003(502) 898-2248

Dr. Mike Martin M.D.9737 South Knoxville Av.Tulsa, Ok. 74137(918) 298-1973

Steve Heine1112 E. 5thMetropolis, Ill. 62960(618) 524-4444

About HeartCry

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HeartCryPage 20

HeartCry Missionary Society

c/o Waldo Baptist Church6970 Waldo Church Rd.Metropolis, IL 62960

Non-Profit Org.U.S. PostagePAIDBrookport, IL.Permit No. 10

Requests for HeartCry:

Holiness. Without holiness, no one will see the Lord(Hebrews 12:14).Humility. Because God opposes the proud, but givesgrace to the humble, we must humble ourselves underHis mighty hand that He may lift us up (IPeter 5:5>6).A Servants Heart. For whoever wants to become greatamong us must be the servant and whoever wants to befirst must be the slave (Matthew 20:26>27).Poverty of spirit before God. Because the kingdom ofheaven belongs only to the poor in spirit, and the manwho trusts in the strength of man is cursed (Matthew5:3; Jeremiah 17:5).Faith to ask and expect great things from God. Forwithout faith it is impossible to please God, and accord-ing to our faith it will be done to us (Hebrews 11:6;Matthew 9:29).Wisdom to use that which God gives us. As the heavensare higher than the earth, God's ways are higher thanours (Isaiah 55:9).

Requests for the World:

Submission to the will of God. That God's Name behallowed, that his Kingdom come and that His will bedone throughout the kingdoms and peoples of the worldas it is in heaven (Matthew 6:9>10).Laborers for the abundant harvest. The harvest is plen-tiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvestto send out workers into his harvest (Matthew 9:37).Biblical proclamation of the Gospel. That God mayopen a door for the message and that it be proclaimedclearly and sincerely as it should (Colossians 4:2>4;Philippians 1:17>18).Missionary support. That the Church may renew itsconcern for missionaries, their families and the great needsof the nations (IIIJohn 5>7).

I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanks-giving be made for everyone >for kings and all those in authority. This isgood, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and tocome to a knowledge of the truth.

ITimothy 2:1>4

I want men everywhere to liftup holy hands in prayer.

ITimothy 2:8

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