Merchant to Romania (Life Stories) [eBook]

Business as Missions in post-Communist Eastern Europe

The year 1989 saw the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe. In Romania, a bloody revolution toppled dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, ending with his execution. Following these dramatic events, Jeri Little, a young entrepreneur from the white-collar business world of Orange County, California, felt the Lord was calling him to move to Romania to use his business skills in missions. He and his family arrived in Iasi in 1993 to begin the adventure of a lifetime.

This is Jeri’s amazing account of how the Lord has used Church Resource Ministries to birth a variety of business enterprises in Romania. This revealing narrative is laced with cultural and historical insights as Jeri describes each small step of faith in his journey towards establishing “businesses as missions” in the former Communist bloc: earning money locally to fund ministries and plant churches in Romania and in neighboring Moldova. This is a gripping tale of how God has used business in Eastern Europe as a vehicle for reaching people with the good news of Jesus.
Jeri Little comes from Orange, California. After graduating in 1976 from California State University in Fullerton, he had a successful career in financial planning for twelve years. In 1989, he became a volunteer fundraiser for Church Resource Ministries, launching the first of several “business as missions” ventures in Romania in 1992. He is married to Gloria and they have two sons, Marcus and Trevor, and one grandchild, Calvin. Jeri and Gloria continue to live and minister in Iasi, Romania.
“My life has been touched, encouraged and heavily impacted by watching what God can do with a businessman truly sold out to Him …”
—Tracy Schmidt, CFO, CNL Financial Group, Orlando, Florida, and former CFO, FedEx

“This book is … the story of the global, missional God wooing his people into sacrifice that becomes joy …”
—William D. Taylor, Ph.D., Global Ambassador, World Evangelical Alliance and the Mission Commission

“I challenge fellow businessmen to read this book with hearts open to what God can achieve through them for his Kingdom.”
—Piers van der Merwe, Director, Global Mission, Cedar Springs, Knoxville, Tennessee