About Dumitru Duduman
Dumitru Duduman was born to George and Escaterina Duduman on July 14, 1932 in Hintesti, Romania. His native village is
situated in the northeastern part of Romania near the Russian border. Here Dumitru was brought up in the knowledge of God by
his parents, but most of all from his grandfather, Costache, whom he loved deeply. He grew accustomed to religious persecution
at a very young age seeing his father and older brother, Costache, put in prison for their beliefs. Although the rest of the family had not been
arrested, they were ordered to hard labor in the Communist farmland projects.
Even though Dumitru had been brought up in a Christian home, by the age of fourteen he had started wandering from God. At the age of seventeen he rebelled and joined the Romanian army. His rejection of God saddened his parents greatly and for many months they prayed for him continually. Dumitru spent the first eight months of his army career in the Chitila boot camp. Even today this boot camp is well known for it's harsh treatment of new recruits. After finishing boot camp, Dumitru was one of few soldiers chosen to go on to the Constanta Military School. He started in Constanta in 1951 and stayed there four and one half years. Upon his graduation, Dumitru received a diploma and was given the rank of Lieutenant in the Marines. Soon he had eighty men under his command.
It was also during this time that persecution against Christians began to escalate. Dumitru was given orders to search every ship coming into the Constanta harbor at the Black Sea. If he should find Bibles, he was to confiscate them and arrest whomever was responsible for bringing them into the country.
One morning as he and eight of his men were searching a ship, Dumitru came upon a large number of bibles. He was overjoyed at finding the Bibles knowing that this would bring yet another upgrade in his ranking.
While questioning the man who was responsible for bringing the Bibles, Dumitru had his first personal encounter with the power of God. He heard a voice telling him to help the man unload the Bibles and cause him no harm. When the voice persisted , Dumitru obeyed and helped the missionary to the fullest.
For two years Dumitru remained on the Black Sea helping missionaries that came through. After being sent to another school for six months, he was returned to his unit as a full Major. The future seemed very bright for Dumitru, until the Communist government of Romania passed a law that would change his life forever. They ordered that all soldiers in the Romanian army who are Christians or who came from Christian homes to be dismissed immediately.
At age twenty-four, angry and disappointed, Dumitru returned home seeking vengeance. He went to the church service that his father was attending with the purpose of venting his anger and frustrations. As he walked to the church service, he heard a song being sung that touched his heart so deeply that he began to weep. This was the seed that took root in his heart and made him commit himself to God not long after that experience. Shortly after this event he met Maria (Ecatarina) who would become his wife and bear his first child. A girl, whom they named Virginia, was born to them on April 18, 1957. One year later, Maria gave birth to another baby, this time a boy. They named him Costica, but he died when he was only five and a half months old.
In his time of trial Dumitru turned to God, and his love for the Lord continued to grow. He was soon baptized with the Holy Spirit, and not long after he began to preach.
As he continued to dedicate himself to God, the enemy came against him more and more. People were coming to Christ, and the devil was not pleased. After much prayer and a promise from God, Dumitru finally saw the hand of God move in a mighty way. Maria was healed and her sight was completely restored. God began to use Dumitru in the area of healing and prophecy, and many saw the power of God during his travels throughout Romania. As Dumitru continued to see God's goodness and power, he became involved in Bible smuggling. There was a great hunger for the Word of God in Romania, as well as in Russia, and Bibles were very scarce.
In 1973 Dumitru began smuggling large quantities of Bibles over the Russian border. He had established many connections with outside missionaries who would supply him with Bibles. Through many miraculous occurrencies, God continually protected Dumitru. In one instance, God even blinded the eyes of the police so they would not see the car filled with Bibles that he was riding in. In all of his years of smuggling Bibles he was never caught. In 1979 based on information received from informants within the Christian church, Dumitru was arrested and brutally tortured for over five months. Every means imaginable were used, from electric shock to breaking nine of his ribs trying to obtain the names of people that helped Dumitru smuggle Bibles. With God's help he never broke under the severe persecution, and he never revealed the names of his Christian borthers. While Dumitru was in prison, God spoke to him through an angel, encouraging him not to fear for he still had much work to do. He was told that he would be released and that he would smuggle Bibles into Romania and into Russia for another five years. Just as the angel had said, after the death of the Colonel who was heading up the investigation, Dumitru was released and for another four years he faithfully did the work of God. Over a fifteen-year period, with God's help, Dumitru smuggled more than 300,000 Bibles and New Testaments into Russia alone, not taking into account the number of Bibles that he distributed throughout Romania.
On July 24, 1984 Dumitru and his entire family were expelled from Romania by the Communist officials. He had been given two options; either leave the country or die. It was difficult decision for Dumitru because Romanian was all that he had ever known. He would be going to unknown places where he neither spoke the language nor knew anyone who could help him. Once again, God spoke to Dumitru encouraging him and telling him that all would be well. He has yet another task to accomplish and God would be with him wherever he went.
After leaving Romania, the Duduman family made a brief stop in Italy where there was a failed attempt on his life by the Romanian Secret Police. Soon after, they boarded another plane, and on August 3, 1984 they were on American soil. Once in America, God gave Dumitru a message for this nation as well as for the American church. Life was difficult for the Duduman family during the first years in America but with God's guidance and direction, they persevered. They started a small ministry called Hand of Help, whose primary purpose at that time was to send food packages and financial aid to the families of Christian brethren who had been arrested for their faith. After the revolution of 1989, Dumitru was able to go back to Romania and see his family. The desire to help his fellow Christians still burned in his heart, and since 1990, through the work of Hand of Help, he has been able to do so. His purpose has always been a simple one: to be obedient to God's Word and to all that God would ask. He was a tireless advocate for righteousness and purity and he carried on the message of God even while his body grew old and began to revolt against him. Against his doctor's orders, he continued to travel throughout the world preaching the Word of God until finally in May of 1997, God called his servant home.
Featured Content
