Saving My Assassin by Virginia Prodan

Author:Virginia Prodan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: RELIGION / Christian Life / Social Issues, RELIGION / Religious Intolerance, Persecution & Conflict
ISBN: 9781496414489
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
Published: 2016-06-07T04:00:00+00:00

*

On the day of Ovidiu and Nina’s trial, I had another client to defend as well. Some years earlier, a Pentecostal pastor in Bucharest who was also an aerospace engineer had been thrown in jail and sentenced to five years in prison for having a Bible in his home, teaching his children about Christ, and sharing his Bible with others. Now, years after his release, his family was once again in trouble with the government. This time it was his wife, Adina Cosma, a medical doctor, who was facing charges. She had visited a pregnant woman at her home and prescribed medication. When she visited again the next day, the patient was upset because the government pharmacy had refused to provide the medication. Adina tried to calm the woman down and offered to pray with her. Before she left, she pulled a Bible from her bag and gave it to her patient. At first, the patient said she was happy to have her own Bible, but later, she reported the doctor to the Securitate, hoping the government officials would provide her with the necessary medication in exchange.

The formal government charges against my client were possessing a Bible, transporting a Bible, and sharing the gospel. No Romanian laws prohibited any of those actions. But I knew too well that the government would continue making these kinds of charges if no one dared to confront them.

According to my client, the patient was too frightened to retract her testimony. The trial was set for that afternoon, and I was not sure if her patient would be courageous enough to tell the truth. So I was ready to once again use Law 217. As before, I had copies ready for both the judge and the prosecutor.

Under the Communist regime, the prosecutor was allowed to change the charges at any time, even before closing arguments. This method of trial by ambush was typically reserved for Christians or dissidents. For example, because the Bible my client had offered was printed in America, the government could charge her with smuggling foreign products into Romania, or even consider her a spy for America. Anything was possible. And as soon as they had taken her down, they would go after her husband. Still, Law 217 was my best and only hope.

I packed my files into my briefcase and started out for the courthouse. As I walked past my assistant’s desk, I told her, “Please take all calls for me, and close the office if I am not back by five o’clock.”

As soon as I left the building, I felt as though I was being followed. The steps behind me sounded like a man’s. I walked slowly past stores with big windows, hoping to see the man’s face. No luck. Maybe it is just in my mind. But I knew it wasn’t. I could even hear his heavy breathing. I entered the next store and turned around, but no one was there. Am I going crazy?

I left the store praying for peace.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.