Overflow Crowds for Franklin Graham Festival in Formerly Communist Moldova
More than 93,000 People Exercise their Freedom, Gathering for the Largest Evangelistic Event in the Country.
It was only 15 years ago when some citizens of Moldova, one of the poorest countries in Europe, were imprisoned for practicing or expressing their Christian faith.
This past weekend was a hallmark of change as tens of thousands worshippers, formerly subjugated to strict communist rule, packed the National Stadium.
The Festival of Hope with Franklin Graham, July 8-10, drew 93,907 people to the country’s largest stadium, and by festival's end, 6,920 people had responded to the invitation to put their faith in Jesus Christ. With overflow crowds each night, it was one of the largest religious events in the nation’s history.
“Years ago I drove to the border of this country, looked through the heavily guarded gate, and prayed that one day you would be free and I would have an opportunity to come back,” said Franklin Graham in a statement.
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“Now I am here with tens of thousands of you, and this is a free nation, but I want you to have a spiritual freedom found in the hope and love of Jesus Christ.”
Graham, 52, is president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. He was invited to Moldova by pastors, leaders, and churches. More than 700 churches and 3,700 volunteers from multiple denominations participated in the Festival.
Graham’s messages were translated into Romanian and Russian -- the two languages used interchangeably in Moldova. The Festival also featured music by local and international artists. Special guests included Americans John and Anne Barbour and award-winning guitarist Dennis Agajanian. In addition, a local choir of 2,000 people performed with musicians from Moldova, Belarus, Ukraine, Italy, and Romania.
In conjunction with the Festival, teams from Graham’s international Christian relief organization Samaritan’s Purse, handed out thousands of gift-filled shoe boxes to local underprivileged children. This year, the organization’s Operation Christmas Child will deliver more than seven million shoe box gifts to needy children in 95 countries.
Graham just led Festivals in Australia, Paraguay, and Angola, speaking to some 340,000 people. Later this year, he will hold U.S. Festivals in Corpus Christi, Texas (Aug. 19-21); and Shreveport, La. (Nov. 11-13).
During the week, some 40 church leaders from across Eastern Europe met with Graham and extended invitations for him to return to the region to hold Festivals in their countries. Graham’s next event in Eastern Europe is scheduled for Kiev, Ukraine, in 2007.
