The Lord God Planted A Garden!
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A long time has passed since my first meeting with Sonnie and Rosemary. A lot of water has passed under the bridge. If it hadn't have been for their patience, understanding and love I would be poorer by far - spiritually speaking.
I met them just after my release from prison in 1984 - before they became a husband and wife team. At this time they were working, in a small way, among the Gypsies and visiting prisons. What struck me most and still does today is their dedication to the gospel. Their love is expressed in travelling many hundreds of miles to visit prisoners sitting alone in their cells forsaken by family and friends; and in their committment to taking the Good News to another part of society's forgotten ones - the Gypsies - and meeting their basic human needs with food, clothing and medicines.
I can testify to the fact there are many prisoners and Gypsies in the U.K and in Eastern Europe who have been blessed by the love and dedication Sonnie and Rosemary have shown. The seeds sown continue to grow and will provide a rich harvest in due course.
My first contact with a Gypsy takes me back to 1980 when I was sixteen years of age. I was in HMP Latchmere House, Surrey awaiting sentence. One day an officer on the wing asked me if I'd help a lad write to his mother. I was a little taken aback by this request. Someone asking for my help? It made me feel needed and I readily agreed to give up my valuable association time to help. A little later when we were sitting down in my cell penning the letter home, the lad told me he was a Gypsy and had never learnt to read or write.
Several years later I came into contact with Gypsies again when I was part of the GFC team at the Derby Weekend in Epsom. This time I saw at first hand how Gypsies live and spend their leisure time.
I especially enjoyed the spiritual side of the weekend, telling Gypsies of the love of Jesus and leading them to Christ in prayer. It was the blessing to lead two Gypsy lads, Leroy and Lucas to the Lord. When I told them Jesus loved them Lucas responded by saying "No one ever told me that". He and Leroy both shouted "Come in, Jesus!" This brought memories flooding back to my mind. At their age I had never been told that Jesus loved me.
Recently I had the opportunity to travel to Romania with Sonnie and Rosemary and see some of the appalling conditions Gypsies have to live in and how they manage to get by every day. I learned a great deal and saw a great deal too! Romania is a country in need, not only of the things we take for granted, but also of Christian workers to reach out with the gospel to a people needing God's help and love.
I will always remember what I refer to as 'The Two Faces Of Romania'. First I recall a young Gypsy boy no more than seven years old sleeping rough on the street. His face looks as though it hasn't ever seen soap and water. His clothes are only rags. He holds out his hand and I see a thumb and a finger, the other three fingers only stumps. Next I picture a Gypsy boy in his Sunday best with neatly combed hair and a face like an angel walking towards me. I offer him a tract in Romanese. "For you", I say. He reaches up with a complete hand - thumb and all four fingers. "It's about Jesus. It's free. Take it!" I see the beginning of a smile on his face as he takes the tract from me. He looks at it and I say, "You want it?" He looks at me and nods his head saying "Yes,yes,yes." A good seed has been sown and it will bear fruit at harvest time.
Finally, I would like to dedicate this page first to the work of GFC and secondly to those around the world who work for the Lord in reaching out to the people that we know as Gypsies.
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Why I Must Go Back
(Below is an article I wrote after my first Gypsy Gospel Mission back in 1989.)
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I had never set forth in a Gypsy encapement. In the past I had preferred to remain at a safe distance, but this year I was privileged to be at Epsom with the Gypsies For Christ team on their first Derby Weekend mission with their brand new marquee. From the start it was an education to see how Gypsies live and spend their time when they pull-in.
On mission you always meet with opposition and Epsom was no exception, but there were encouragements too. A couple of lads came knocking on the car window asking to be told more about God. "Read us something from the Bible", they asked. We did so with pleasure. Then a mother came down to the tent with her baby to ask if we could hold a dedication service. Again we gladly agreed and this encouraged another family to bring their son to be dedicated too. It was a joyful time. Two ladies came to ask for prayer for healing. We gathered around them and prayed. They fell to the ground under the power of God. Later they told us how much they were feeling better. After the final service one of these younf women brought us refreshments. She used her best china so we knew we had been accepted and would be welcomed when we returned.
It was good to have contact with the children in spite of their many pranks! Two of them stand out - Leroy and Lucas. They responded to the message of God's love and committed their lives to him. "No one ever told me that", Lucas said, and gave a big shout: "Come in,Jesus !"
And that is why I must go back - they must be told the life changing Good News!
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Pete's Page
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