I should be dead.
Buried in an unmarked grave in Romania.
Obviously, I am not.
God had other plans.
—Virginia Prodan
That quote from Saving My Assassin really grabs your attention as we journey through
Virginia’s memoir during Nicolae Ceausescu’s savage communist regime. We first step into her childhood in Romania, which is heartbreaking and lonely, yet she doesn’t give up but becomes inspired through a a paper she wrote about her hero Mircea cel Batran.
“What would it be like to live in a society where people told and valued the truth? What would it be like to experience true freedom?”
Virginia determined to coming an attorney and pursue truth and freedom.
After she became an attorney, she became disillusioned that truth might not exist anymore. Later Virginia was meeting with a client, Nestor, who was trying to get his parents home and land back from the Communist Romanian government. It was a slow, expensive, frustrating process yet he was continually contented and joyful. She expressed a desire to have what he had and he invited her to his church.
“I want Nestor’s peace, his optimistic outlook on life, his sense of confidence even in the worst of circumstances. If all of that comes from his church, then I will go and visit.”
Virginia Prodan became a Christian, giving Jesus her life, and then requested started coming in to defend in court churches and Christians who were being persecuted. Ceausescu was a shrewd and untrustworthy leader—trying to gain America’s favor by promising to respect human and religious rights, yet building his own brutal and oppressive regime where people where fired, jailed or ended up missing because of their faith.
As Virginia began defending churches’ rights to repair their buildings and people’s rights to move Bibles from one church to another for their Vacation Bible Study and more, she became a target to hostility and intimidation. She knew God had called her to this time for this purpose, but fear began to overwhelm her.
“I understand the outer battle. I can face adversaries in the courtroom and even the Securitate [Communist government agents]. But I cannot win this inner battle between my own heart and mind. Lord, you have to win this victory for me. Take away my fear and replace it with a peace that surpasses all understanding. I need your peace, Lord. I need your victory.”
___Well, my summary to this memoir has taken over this review, but I can’t keep going! There is so much more I want to share but I need to stop so you can read the book!!
Virginia Prodan’s story, her trust in God, and commitment to fellow Christians is amazing and inspiring, and I would recommend it to everyone!!
To conclude, I want to share a bit more from Virginia…
“*Freedom is precious to those who don’t have it.
*If the truth lives within me, lies cannot overpower me.
*If my soul is free, no power on earth can enslave me.
*If God gives me the victory, defeat is impossible.
…My desire is that through reading my book and seeing how God used me to accomplish amazing things, you will realize God has a grand plan to use you as well, and I pray you will not put off doing what God is calling you to do.”
Disclosure: Tyndale House Publishers has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book for my honest review.
It's Just Me: SARAH 