Extreme Physician

Romania: Dr. Margareta Pescaru

In Communist Romania, every prison had a doctor who would often be present during the interrogation sessions and direct the torturer in the best methods of inducing pain without causing death. But some doctors took their oath seriously and despised what the Communists were doing. 

One such doctor was a beautiful Christian woman named Margareta Pescaru. All medical personnel were frisked when entering the prison, but Dr. Pescaru, at great risk to herself, was able to smuggle medicine in repeatedly. Her selfless efforts saved many lives.

Once she was assigned to a prison hospital that was especially designed for tuberculosis patients. During this time, the Communists assigned men as “reeducators” to use whatever means necessary to convince a person to denounce everything they believed and pledge complete allegiance to Communism.

These reeducators were ruthless, and many Christians died under their tortures. When Dr. Pescaru heard the news that they had arrived at the prison hospital to begin their destructive work on the tuberculosis patients, she did the unthinkable. She went to the top officials of all the prisons and pled the case of the helpless prisoners. No one knows how, but Dr. Pescaru gained favour with the officials.

For a time in Romanian Communism, the torture of innocents by the “reeducators” was stopped, thanks to her bold efforts.

Try. It’s the difference between advancing forward and remaining still. Trying. It’s what Christians are committed to doing when they are focused on the gospel of Christ. Tried. Saying at least one tried is the only way believers agree to meet failure. It’s true – we just never know what will happen unless we try it. Perhaps we too quickly dismiss the creative ideas that come to us concerning advancing the gospel message at work, at home, or in our community. We think they’ll never work. We convince ourselves that the opposition would be too strong. But we won’t know for sure unless we try it. Are you willing to try obeying Christ at any cost, starting today?

Excerpted from Extreme Devotion, a book of 365 true accounts of men and women who totally sold out for Jesus. You can order a copy of this book from our online catalogue or by contacting our office.