About the Book
"The post-war times were hard for poor Romania, especially for the peasants. After Communism came to power, they were deprived of their most basic means of livelihood. A few years after the end of the war, the Iorga family, like many other well-to-do families, was left in poverty.
By the time Elena was a toddler, the food was more and more scarce. … One day, she looked at her mother's tear-stained face in bewilderment as their food supplies were being confiscated."
Life was difficult for everyone in Communist Romania but especially hard for Seventh-day Adventists. On Elena's first day of first grade, her teacher called the roll; when Elena stood and told her name, the teacher called her an "'idiot child' who believed in God, went to church on Saturday, and thought she would go to heaven. And, to make the children laugh at me, he said sarcastically, 'When the Lord comes to take you to heaven, I will cling to your foot, and I will get there, too.'" But thanks to a loving family and close-knit church family, Elena grew up secure in their love and God's love.
She attended college to become a dental lab technician. Her first marriage ended in divorce, but she was left with a son, Silviu, the light of her life. After emigrating to the United States, she worked as a housekeeper and eventually found love again with Emil Bujor, who became a true father to Silviu. Elena endeavors to see and listen to God's will for her and her little family through it all.
You'll laugh and cry at the ups and downs of Elena and Emil's lives as they struggle to understand and follow God's leading through the years.
Available in PAPERBACK and eBOOK formats.
About the Author
Elena Iorga-Bujor was born and raised in Communist Romania in a Seventh-day Adventist family. After emigrating to the United States, she worked as a housekeeper until she met and married Emil Bujor, also from Romania. Eventually, she qualified to be a dental assistant and, additionally, to operate her own lab as a dental lab technician, a skill she learned and practiced in Romania with great talent and passion. Emil and Elena have one grown son. They are both retired and living in Grants Pass, Oregon.
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Posted by ALR on 30th Nov 2022
TEACH Services received the following review:
In this heartwarming story of tenacious faith and fortitude, Elena recounts memories of God’s miraculous care during her years growing up in Communist Romania as well as God’s continued guidance throughout her life. This book is filled with promises that God has faithfully fulfilled in her life, promises which everyone may claim against all odds.
~ Stephanie Martin - High School teacher
Posted by ALR on 30th Nov 2022
TEACH Services received the following review:
From the opening lines in a sleepy little village in post-war Romania, through the trials of a severely ill son, to her life now in America, Elena’s story is truly captivating. I was encouraged to read about her incredibly rich life from a young girl to what she now describes as their twilight years. Seeing the many times God stepped up and came through for her and her family is just remarkable. The truth and the heart that Elena writes with are also tender and honest. Her love for her Creator God and her family is unmistakable. This is a book you will want to read more than once and pass on to your friends and family. This book is filled with hope and story after story of modern-day miracles. It should cause you to honestly believe in something bigger than yourself.
~Jeanette Stark, Editor, Director, and
Producer at Better Life Broadcasting Network
Posted by ALR on 30th Nov 2022
TEACH Services received the following review:
Under the Shadow of the Almighty by Elena Bujor is a most captivating and gripping autobiography. The author’s story begins on the southern plains of communist Romania, continues through several urban centers of her native land, and then relocates in the bustle and economic activity of the western United States. From beginning to end, the author’s commitment to prayer and love for the God she adores shines through its pages. This is all the more remarkable since much of the story unfolds during the dark days of Marxist rule in Romania. The struggle to make ends meet, the need for a caution under the watchful eye of a controlling regime, and the need to find satisfaction and fulfillment under very difficult circumstances, are skillfully interwoven throughout the overall story. The numerous details of everyday life, the challenges of changing workplaces on two different continents, and the struggle with ravaging disease and health problems, come alive in the grip of the author’s able pen. The climax of the journey occurs as the saga shifts from the Old World to the New. Obviously, the thrill of freedom and relative prosperity help to bring the story to a happy end. Above all, the author is thankful for God’s goodness and guidance, and the warmth of family and friends.
~ Robert G. Pierson, Retired Professor Andrews University Theological Seminary
Posted by ALR on 30th Nov 2022
TEACH Services received the following review:
"It's been quite some time since I've taken the time to read a book about someone's life story. God's providential working in the life of Elena and her husband, Emil, will move you, as it did me, to tears of joy and gratitude for God's amazing love and tender care for His children. Your faith and love for God will grow if you will invest the time to read this amazing story of Elena and Emil's sojourn on this planet that is embroiled in a great controversy that is soon to end."
~ Pastor John Witcombe
Posted by ALR on 30th Nov 2022
TEACH Services received the following review:
I take great pleasure in reading inspiring biographies of faith. As I read them, I often find myself jealous, wishing somehow, I could be personal friends with the protagonist, could somehow share in their journey, and find their secret in tapping the power of omnipotence. These giants of faith and experience cause me to “covet” (1 Corinthians 12:31) their experience with the divine.
In this case, however, there has been no jealousy, no wishing to know the author of this biography that you hold in your hand because for four years I’ve had the distinct pleasure of personally engaging with Elena and Emil as their pastor. I’ve watched in real time a person who has gone through the pain of Communism, infidelity & divorce, PTSD causing events, injustice, and devastating health issues, continue to hold fast to her faith, and that with a sense of joy that is contagious.
Elena is someone you want to be around. Though living in a world with real pain, loss, and tears her cheerful and sustained selfless service to others in concert with her faithful Emil, is at once a rebuke, a challenge, and an effervescent reminder that it is good in this world, brought to birth by simple faith in a loving heavenly Father.
As you read these stories, I trust you too will be challenged to pray to a living God, embrace a living faith, and experience His real transformative heart-changing repentance.
~ Pastor Charles Byrd, President of QuestLine Productions