Sabina Wurmbrand

I am studying today about Sabina Wurmbrand, wife of Richard Wurmbrand and founders of Voice of the Martyrs. I knew of them before today, but am sad to say I was ignorant of their story (who ever said ignorance is bliss was wrong!). I am teaching a Missions class at our VBS this week. I picked up a book from VOM I've been wanting to read Hearts of Fire which tells Sabina's story. I also am reading a transcript of a talk she gave entitled In God's Beauty Parlor.

Sabina tells a story from her imprisonment. She said they read from the Bible, because they agreed to let the guards beat them if they could do this.

So we were Christians, but we had among us a lady, one of the riches ladies of Romania. She was not a Christian. She was in prison because her husband had been the political leader of the country. So she listened with us about all these things; about Stephen (ACTS 6:6-15). Then she said, “I wonder about you the Christians, you seem to be intelligent women, but how could you believe that Stephen, standing before his enemies knowing that he would be put to death. How could you believe it that his face could be so beautiful? In what beauty parlor could have he had been in order to have a face like the face of an angel in such a crisis, in such critical moments when he was before death?” A Christian lady answered, “I am sorry for you. You do not know Jesus, the Son of God. But whenever Jesus comes in a heart, he never comes alone, He always comes with all His richness. He comes with His angels. He comes with the glory of heaven and so when you open you heart and Jesus comes in your heart to be your Lord and Savior, He brings His beauty. And so Stephen could be so beautiful like an angel. And while we spoke at once the door opened, the Communist guard came directly to the place where we were gathered under the bed took us out all, gave a hard beating to everyone; bleeding with many hearts he threw us back in the prison cell. But we the Christians we knew what price we had to pay to read the Bible and to pray. But we were afraid for this lady who was not a Christian, how will she react and what would she say. And while were thinking about these things, the first one who came to speak with me was this rich, rich lady who now was poor and hungry bleeding all over the face which was smeared with blood and tears. She said, “Now I know the very fact that the Communists are persecuting the Christians, the very fact that they have beaten us only because we would speak about Jesus, this very fact for me is the best proof, that your God is God indeed. And your Jesus will be also my Jesus the Savor. And she did not know that now her face smeared with blood and with tears, shone and was beautiful like the face of an angel.