Europe Diary

Howard Williams 

On July 15, 2008 David and I left for the airport in Kingston, from there we would begin our journey to Frankfurt in Germany, where we would start our European trip. We were scheduled to leave at 3:25 p.m. for Miami in Florida, from where we would fly to Heathrow in London and then on to Frankfurt, however, as often happens on these trips, things did not go as planned. When we arrived and went to check in, we were informed that the flight had been delayed and the end result was that by the time we got to Miami we had missed our connecting flight.

We spoke to a lady from the American Airlines desk who told us that the reason for our missing the flight was due to bad weather, so it was not their fault and we would have to find a place to stay that night because the next flight would not be until the same time the following day. They told us that we would have to pay the cost of our own hotel bill, although they offered us some slightly discounted options.

There is a promise in the word of God which has come to my mind often as I have considered what has happened in my life since I first set out to preach the gospel. It is found in Mark 10:29-30 and it says:

There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's, (30) But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children… (Mark 10:29-30)

God provided one such home for us just a few minutes from the Miami airport. Arthan and Zemrie Wright were delighted to have us come to stay with them for the night. The only problem was that when we contacted them, Arthan was himself broken down and stranded on the road! Eventually Kerry, Sister Zemrie's nephew, came to pick us up and then we went to rescue Arthan. By the time we all got home it was after 2 a.m!

After a few hours of restful sleep we were treated to a wonderful Jamaican breakfast from Sister Zemrie's Kitchen. The rest of the day quickly passed and we got prepared for the airport again but not before another hefty meal prepared and combined by Sisters Zemrie and Sharon. It was good preparation for the eight hour flight to London's Heathrow airport.

The flight to London departed at 8:05 p.m. and lasted a little over eight hours. I did not feel the length of the flight as I slept most of the journey through. We got into London on time and made the connection to Frankfurt, Germany without any problems. Thanks be to God we made it to Germany without any further mishap.

ARRIVAL IN GERMANY

Immigrations in Germany went very smoothly. There was not much delay and I was through in a flash. Erwin was waiting for us on the outside with Brother Ken Corklin who had arrived a couple of hours earlier from the USA. All three of us had luggage to last for three weeks and we were concerned that we might not be able to fit it all into Erwin's car, but with a little squeezing we got everything to fit, then off we went for another 3 hours drive to Erwin's home. We arrived to a warm welcome from his wife Claudia, who had prepared us a wonderful meal. We stayed up and talked for a while before we went off to bed and got some much needed sleep. We were scheduled to leave the following day for the camp meeting which was two hours away.

THE GERMAN CAMP MEETING

When we arrived at the camp grounds we were greeted and shown around by sister Kerstin Gurtner. After a light supper we had an evening meeting where we welcomed the Sabbath and the speakers were introduced. We then went off to bed and prepared ourselves for the Sabbath which would be the first day of the campmeeting.

Our European schedule this year was so organized that the first day of meetings in each place was a Sabbath. We found out that this was not an ideal situation, but this is the way it was organized and we made the best of it. The Sabbath meetings were always the best attended and were in most cases, the highlight of the meetings. After that, the rest of the meetings seemed like a winding-down process and we made a note to avoid a similar situation in the future.

The program was planned so that Ken, David and I would deliver eight sermons each. This would make a total of twenty-four sermons. It would be hardest of all for Erwin who was the only available translator. There were four sessions for the day with the evening session being used for praise and testimonies or Questions and answers.

On Sunday we had a baptism where six (6) candidates were baptized. The baptisms were done by Ken and Erwin. The water was really cold as the weather for most of our time in Germany was chilly. After the baptism we had a welcoming service for the candidates back at the camp site.

One of the really touching stories of this camp meeting was that of a couple who lived 500 kilometers away, but could not afford to come to the campmeeting. Their only option was to come by bicycle, so they decided to ride that distance just to be there. The husband is 69 years old and the wife is in her mid-fifties. The journey was very difficult as it took them over two days without a proper place to rest. We waited for them on Friday night as it was icy cold and raining, hoping that they had been able to find some shelter. They finally got in on Saturday night having left home from 5:00 a.m. on Thursday morning. They told how they had spent the night huddled together under a tree in the rain. When they came in they were weak and hungry, but a little rest in warm beds and some warm food soon had them back to normal. We blessed and thanked God for his mercies in bringing them safely.

There were two high points of the camp meeting: One of them was a wedding ceremony conducted by Brother Ken Corklin, the other was a communion ceremony. The wedding was really a dedication service since this couple was already married in a civil ceremony, but had never had a religious service. Brother Ken exhorted them to trust Christ with their lives, in the assurance that this was the only way to make their future secure.

The communion service, as it was conducted, was new to me. David had participated in this service here before so was familiar with the procedure and Ken had been an alter boy in the Anglican church, where some aspects of it were similar. But I have never participated in a communion with one cup of wine passed around and everybody drinking from it, yet, as I thought about it, it must have been the way it happened in that first communion service at which our Lord Jesus officiated.

The brethren planned a little thanksgiving service for us the evening before camp broke. It was a touching time for us as they expressed appreciation for the time we spent together sharing in the word of God. We also shared our experiences of how we had gotten involved in what we were doing. We all were blessed by the testimonies of how God had worked in various lives.

I was pleasantly surprised by the spirit that existed at the camp meeting because I had heard that Germans were very unexpressive and that they did not demonstrate their emotions. But I can truly say this group was very different from what we expected. They were so warm and expressive that our only problem was the language barrier.

One very special event which took place here was that David, Ken and I all had our portraits done by two artists, Michael and Margarita, who were present at the camp meeting. I was especially privileged to have mine done by Michael since it was his first portrait done, outside of his studio. Sister Margarita is much more experienced in this kind of work as she often sketches portraits of people on the streets, completing each one in less than an hour. She did the sketches of David and Ken.

On the final morning, Friday, after one session and breakfast, we broke camp in Germany. This was a difficult moment for us and it was hard to say goodbye. It was with reluctance that we finally pulled ourselves away and started off on the journey to Hungary. I have been to many camp meetings, but this one will not be soon forgotten.

HUNGARY

We left the German camp-site at about 10.00 a.m. for the trip to Hungary with an expected arrival time of about 9.00 p.m. We drove for hours and for me it seemed there was no end to driving. We are not accustomed to such long trips in Jamaica! We stopped a few times to eat and to rest a bit. Finally we got to our destination a little after 1.00 a.m. The journey that should have taken 10 hours ended up taking us 15 hours.

When we arrived, Brother Janos Santos was waiting for us along with brother Elo Zsolt. They showed us to our sleeping quarters, and we went off to bed in no time. We had to be up the next morning by eight to get ready to be at a meeting at 9:30 a.m.

The schedule for the Sabbath and Sunday meetings were similar. There were three sessions for these two days, These were mainly for Adventists and would consist of presentations with questions and answers afterwards. However, the meetings on the days that followed were more aimed at the general public and these would consist of evening meetings from Monday to Thursday. The mornings were devoted to private meetings with the brethren in Hungary, where we discussed issues of importance to them.

On Wednesday morning the brethren took us on a hike up in the mountains to an old monastery. The area was called by the strange name of, “Holy Spirit.” A short distance from there we climbed up a rock where we obtained a breathtaking view of the surrounding countryside.

During the evening meetings we had visitors every night right up to the final night. These meetings were intended to be an outreach to the community around and they were held in a hotel in the city of Miskolc. Those who attended expressed their appreciation that we had come and shared Jesus with them in a way they had never heard before. One man in particular stands out in my mind. He was a Baptist and he not only attended the evening meetings but also the first meetings on Sabbath and Sunday which were aimed at Adventists. From the first meetings he expressed his excitement at what he was hearing. He repeated several times, “it is what I read in my Bible!” Even when we touched on the state of the dead and the truth about God, he did not flinch but continued to say, “it is what I read in my Bible.” He first invited his two sons to attend with him and then persuaded his wife also to attend. He never missed a meeting. He was typical of several who came to these meetings.

At the end of the last evening of meetings we were moved by the outpouring of love as the brethren and even visitors expressed their appreciation by sharing gifts and tokens with us. We headed back home for our final good-byes with Janos, Balasz and Zsolt and his family. During the few days that we had spent in Hungary, they had been with us most of the time, as we had all stayed at Janos' grandfather's house. Balasz is a friend of Janos' who came specially for these meetings as did Zsolt and His wife Monica, along with his three girls, Dora, Anna and Esther.

POLAND

This year there would be no meetings in Poland. Originally we had planned to spend three weeks in Europe and then move on from there to Zimbabwe. We got our visas and planned our trip to Europe accordingly. David had made a promise to Erwin last year that he would come to Germany so Germany was on the agenda. When the brethren in Hungary learned that we would be in Germany they asked us to try to fit Hungary into the itinerary as well. This we did and made our plans accordingly. However, at the last moment, the trip to Zimbabwe had to be called off. For one thing, the cost of the trip escalated beyond expectations and secondly, brother Ephraim, our expected host, thought that in light of the unrest in Zimbabwe, it would be a good thing for us to postpone our trip so we eventually thought it best to call off the trip.

However, by this time we had already obtained the Schengen visa to visit Europe and our times for entering and leaving Europe were already settled. Now Vlad heard that we would no longer be visiting Zimbabwe and asked if we could fit Romania into the schedule. It made things a bit hectic, for the Romanian visa involved our passports going all the way to Washington DC in the USA. Of course as usual, there were difficulties which put our faith to the test, but as always, God worked things out perfectly and we got our passports back in time.

Brother Jacek Poreda in Poland also sent David an email to ask, “will you be coming to Poland this year?” Unfortunately, by that time, it was too late for us to do anything about the itinerary and we had to tell him no. However, it was one of the disappointments of this trip that we never got to visit Poland.

ROMANIA

The last stop was Romania. The journey was estimated at 15 hours so we left at 5.30 a.m. the next morning, Friday August 1. It was another long dreary long day of driving which lasted for close to 17 hours. Traffic on the roads were the worst I had ever seen. There were frequent lengthy stops and traffic jams for no apparent reason and this made the trip significantly longer than we had anticipated. However, I found the landscape of Romania interesting, and the mountain ranges, the people and culture reminded me so much of Jamaica that my heart immediately started to warm to the country.

We arrived at Criva near midnight, and there, Vlad was waiting for us. After greeting and welcoming us he outlined how the Sabbath's program would run. Then we left for Slatina where we would stay at the home of Florin and Mihaela, for the duration of our stay in Romania. We were met by the host of the home, who greeted and welcomed us, then showed us to our room. After a refreshing shower we went off to bed and got some much needed rest.

The next morning we left for the meeting place where there were over 100 brethren waiting to meet and greet us. In Romania many already knew me even before I got there. Three years ago I had met with Vlad in the USA and during the time that we had spent together I had done a lot of singing. Vlad had recorded these singing sessions and brought them back to Romania. Now I found that here, as elsewhere in Europe, many people knew me and the songs before I arrived. In addition, most of the people have become familiar with Jamaican singing from David's previous visits, from tapes and the new year's concert DVD, which Restoration Ministries sent out a few months ago. In fact I was surprised to find that the people had the words of the songs written out, and papers were passed out to help us sing. I found out that I have become famous in these parts for a few songs. The main ones are, “Sweet deliverance,” “Building a better society” and “Chances are.”

I felt very much at home in Romania because of the friendly spirit of these brethren. It was also much easier to communicate here because a higher percentage of these Romanians spoke English. The language was not as great a barrier as it had been in other places. The people were so warm and friendly, their smiles and faces made me feel like I was among family. Many were so delighted to finally have me in Romania; they just wanted to talk to me or shake my hand or just be near.

The treatment of the people was something I was not accustomed to. They treated us like Kings. David said in his parting testimony that even if the apostle Paul had been in Romania he could not have received better treatment. Just to give an example, David went out looking for some water. Some ladies saw him looking around and asked what he wanted, he could hardly say “water,” before about five women went in different directions to find water. Another day Ken sat at the lunch table at the end where the sun was shining and before long some women came with a sheet to protect him from the sun. If any of us ever needed anything it would have been provided many times over.

Meals were served at a long table where there would be about 60-70 people seated at a time. This long table was set outside, under a grape arbor, with grapes growing all around. The setting was a fascinating one and was something which I had never experienced anywhere else in the world.

The program of meetings here, allowed for four sessions per day. There were two in the morning, beginning at 8.00 a.m. and two in the afternoon with the last one beginning at 7.30 p.m. Ken, David and I followed basically the same pattern and presented pretty much the same messages as we had presented in Germany.

On the second day, Sunday we had a baptism. Four precious souls dedicated their lives to the Lord at this ceremony which was performed by Brother David. It was a solemn event with over a hundred people present. By the grace of God it was a warm, sunny day so Brother David had no problems with cold this year.

During the breaks we had opportunity to have discussions with people, sometimes one on one but often in groups. As soon as one person came to ask a question, inevitably there would be a little crowd gathered in no time. Everybody was anxious to learn as much as possible, and to understand the truths which we had come to share. We were able to discuss points on which there were disagreements or points which needed clarification.

On the last day of the campmeeting David, Ken and I gave our personal testimonies. Each of told a little of how the truth was progressing in our area and in the world in general. We mentioned the truth about God as well as the message of Righteousness in Christ, but we also told a little of our personal circumstances and how God had been working in our lives. It was a moving time and at the end some of the Romanian brethren also stood to their feet and gave their own testimonies. At the end, we had to leave for the journey back to Germany, but it was very hard to leave and there was a delay of nearly an hour as we gave final hugs, received gifts and took pictures. When we finally left it was with the feeling that we were leaving a part of our hearts behind.

REFLECTING ON EUROPE

David who had visited Europe a few times before confessed that the meetings and people in all the places was the best he has ever seen or experienced, so this showed that God truly blessed and we are thankful to have been a part of it.