My name is Claudiu Stan, I am a nurse and a happy, former employee of the Herghelia Lifestyle Center. I first went to this institution in 2005, as a student of its Medical Missionary School. After graduating in 2006, I was called to stay on as a nurse and therapist in the hydrotherapy department of the lifestyle center.

It was here that I first met Flavia.  She was one of my colleagues.  It didn’t take me long to discover that we have a common history: she also graduated from Herghelia Medical Missionary School in a different year and was also invited to stay and work in the health center as a nurse and therapist. Before coming to Herghelia, she graduated from the University Faculty of Economics, but during her time in Herghelia, she decided to pursue nursing, to be more efficient as a medical missionary. She was entirely captivated by missionary work. As we became more and more acquainted with each other, we both realized that we shared many interests and beliefs. After a period of courtship in 2012 we decided to unite our destines for life by getting married. This turned out to be a most blessed decision that brought “delightful fruits” in the form of three precious children – two boys, Patrick and Daniel and a sweet girl, Naomi. in the years that followed.

Looking back at the time we both spent in Herghelia, I can confidently say that our work fitted our objectives like a proper-sized glove for somebody’s hand! It’s such a good feeling to be able to contribute to people’s well-being – physically, emotionally and spiritually. Although we two were just a small piece of “the big pie” of 50 workers, we certainly made an impact on the people, as we all spoke “the same language” in our attempts to teach a healthy lifestyle.

Everything at Herghelia is very practical. I like this very much, since as a small child, I was taught to be very practical. I think this is one of the reasons I so enjoyed working at Herghelia. I perceived my work there to be beautiful and fulfilling. That meant joyfully applying the treatments, listening attentively to what my patients had to share, encouraging and supporting them all during their journey of lifestyle change for better health. In this process, every so often we developed special relationships with our guests – friendships that endure till now, after so many years. As you may guess, besides our sincere desire to help patients acquire better health, deep in our hearts we cherish the thought and pray that our encounter with them will lead them closer to God. One of my greatest joys was to watch how, little by little, some of them opened up to God –a few days after coming to Herghelia, expressing the desire to pray with us before starting the treatment. And then, in the days following, how happy we were to offer to those interested, answers to their “big” – existential questions.

Herghelia is a vast mission field and there is no way anyone could get bored there. As I have mentioned before, we always prayed for our guests at the beginning of each treatment. In my nine-year work experience at Herghelia, there were only two patients who refused my offer to pray.  In the first case, the patient was a pilot, and he changed his mind by the end of the session. At that point, he was the one asking me to pray for him. The second case was also about a man – let’s call him Paul. He came to Herghelia in winter for the first session of that particular year. Interestingly enough, in that holiday season preceding the first session of the next year, I found a book with the following title: “God Does not Believe in Atheists”.  I read the book, unaware that I would need the information I found in its pages, much sooner than I could ever have imagined.

On the first day of the session, after showing up for his first treatment Mr. Paul firmly refused my offer to pray for him. He told me that he graduated from Stefan Gheorghiu University, a well-known political institution in the communist era in Romania, aimed at producing intellectual Atheists. Whenever we met, he always initiated a provoking dialogue on religious topics. Having the content of the book fresh in my mind, the right answers to his questions were there already waiting at the tip of my tongue.  By God’s grace, Mr. Paul soon realized that in these debates he ran out of arguments to support his views. To my astonishment, on the last evening of the session, he bought the most expensive bible from our book-stand. Then, at the farewell party, he spoke very appreciatively about Herghelia’s program, about the welcome that awaited him here, about the revolutionary changes that Herghelia challenged its guests to make and which he considered to be of high value. At the end of his speech, to my big surprise, he raised the bible in his hand, uttering with strong conviction, “I came to Herghelia as an atheist but I am leaving home as a Christian”.  I kept in touch with him afterward, and to my delight, he remained true to the same strong conviction that I think the Holy Spirit had brought to his mind. In my opinion, Herghelia is the special furnace where people are prepared by God for a better life here on earth, and for life eternal.

There are so many interesting stories that I could share with you, but I will share just one more, for now. Let’s call the man in the story, Stefan. He came with his wife to Herghelia for rest, as they worked very hard and had become exhausted. As usual, I started the first treatment with God, in prayer. He didn’t have anything against it. Then when he showed up for the treatment on the 4^th day of the session, he seemed very touched about something, very emotional. He shared with me that being married for some years now, from time to time his wife would remind him how much she would like them to pray together. She was an Adventist while he was not. He mentioned the fact that before coming to Herghelia, he simply could not understand why this matter was so important to her. But that morning, as he was getting ready for treatment, a soft voice inside him seemed to urge, “Tell your wife that you would like to kneel together with her and pray”.  To her delight, he obeyed the voice and they did just that! He had tears of joy in his eyes, as he shared this with me. I kept in touch with him after they left Herghelia. I was happy to hear that Stefan began to attend the SDA church in their area. He had a great voice and he was invited to join the choir. He also joined the bible study group for baptismal candidates. After just a few months he was baptized, and he became involved in the youth department. Later, I got a chance to visit them in their home and witnessed how happy they were as a Christian couple. Certainly, prayer is one of the keys to their happiness!

When I was a child, I had a good example of missionary-oriented Christians in my home. They were my dad and my grandmother. Dear people who are reading my words written here, YOU are an example for the children and the youth in your circle of influence. That is the starting point. And then, later on, as it happened in my case at Herghelia, the Lord will provide means for their further growth. Probably it is only in heaven that we will have the opportunity and the time to listen and acknowledge all the miracles that happened in the lives of our patients from their own lips or the lips of those who were saved in God’s kingdom.

Herghelia has a special place in my heart as it represents a blessed episode in my life that I cherish with nostalgia. It is the place where someone can fully learn how to become fishers of men! Both Flavia and I learned to be fishers there, and we continue to fish with joy and passion.

Right now, while I am writing this article, in the town close to our home, Flavia is leading a vacation bible school event. More than 100 children attend each evening, and most of them do not have an SDA background. A few years ago, we established a not-for-profit organization that offers support and help for children of poor families, in this area. As often as I can, I take along my children with me, when ministering to these kids. I want them to learn empathy and gratitude for what they have, in comparison with these unfortunate kids.

There is so much to be done for people! As Jesus once said (Mathew 9.37): “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few…” There is a place for everybody to work, according to his gifts. Are you willing also to answer the call of your Master?