Be Warmed . . . Or At Least Filled . . . .

We visited Silvia (not her real name) on a chilly day just before the onset of winter. Her small, one-story home was wedged in between large mansions-in-progress. Romany who work abroad save their money for their children by building as much house as their money can buy. Silvia could not afford to go abroad in search of work. She and her family could not afford to move somewhere warmer for the winter. And they could not afford to buy wood to heat their home for the nine months that Moldovans need to heat their homes. 


So while we were visiting with a food packet*, another family member came back from picking up fallen limbs in the woods. The forest ranger allows poor people to pick up whatever has fallen. Perhaps the food and our prayers will also help keep this family warm in the months ahead.


Writing those words, though, immediately brings James 2:16 to mind. Do you know someone who can take those prayers one step further? 

*(Food packets funded by Texas Hunger Offering.)
** (Y)ou shouldn’t just say, “I hope all goes well for you. I hope you will be warm and have plenty to eat.” What good is it to say this, unless you do something to help? James 2:16 CEV

In With A Bang!

I tend to think of Dutch people as relatively calm. Perhaps that's why they let off so much steam on New Year's Eve. Retailers are only allowed to sell 25 kilos per customer. That's over 50 pounds! What would you do with 50 pounds of fireworks? In a neighborhood of row houses like this one? A Dutch news source estimated that people had spent even more this year than last year on fireworks when retailers reported firework sales of €68 million ($84 million US). That's a hefty chunk of change! 

Sign says: "Temporarily out of service"

It is legal to set off fireworks from 6 PM on December 30 til 2 AM on January 1. But at least a day before that time all of the neighborhood mail drop-off boxes  have been temporarily "boarded up." No letters can go in the slot; no fireworks can, either. The mayor of our town was very pleased with the results. This year there was only €492 worth of firework damage ($611). The mailbox and the bus stops in our neighborhood came through unscathed. And on New Year's Eve our household enjoyed an excellent fireworks display that lasted for nearly an hour. Only cost to us:  an over-the-counter medicine to calm down the cats.

Where the Workers are not Few

The man on the far right, like many others in the Republic of Moldova, is looking for work. He wants to support his new wife and help his extended family. The last paying job he had was at a KFC in Krakow, Poland. But you can't always trust the people who arrange jobs over the border for you. Sometimes the jobs don't last. Sometimes you don't get paid in a timely way. Sometimes you don't get paid at all.





There used to be work at home. These two women worked in a sewing factory. They would be glad to get work like that again. But after the fall of communism, jobs like that somehow disappeared.

This woman's son,* like many others in the Republic of Moldova, has often gone abroad to work: Spain, Russia, east Africa, southeast Asia. Unlike the first man, he was able to get a good education and can earn a good salary. (Growing up in the capital city with well-educated parents--rather than in a Romany village with village-educated parents--does tend to increase one's life chances.) He thinks almost any manufacturing concern has a chance at profit in Moldova since almost everything is currently imported. He is giving the business of increasing employment at home a good think. Let us know if you're interested and able to think with him. Maybe, just maybe, there will be work at home . . . sometime soon . . . .


*The lady in the suit jacket. 

Translation For The Translator

Missions Bite 65: Translation for the translator  "One Sunday in Moldova I saw a beautiful example of cultivating Beloved Community. Usually, when I am there, someone translates the worship services from Romanian for me--the pastor's wife Olesea or a young person like Dana. This helps me participate in the faith community. But what happens when a Romany pastor preaches in his own language? A Romany woman from the pew behind Olesea and Dana leaned forward and translated for the translators." - Mary van Rheenen, CBF field personnel in the Netherlands

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