What I Saw in Moldova--Cherries!

Sweet cherries. 

Sour cherries. 

Red cherries. 

White cherries. 

Fresh cherries. 

Pitted cherries.

Cherries turned to juice. (No, that is not cherry cola.)

Moldova is rich in cherries.

What I Saw in Moldova--Families!

Families sometimes include several generations . . . 

. . . as well as pets . . .

. . . or neighbors . . .

Families may live in their own home . . .

. . .  or be invited to share the home of a friend . . . 

And some families delight in one another!

Different Kind of Food

Remember this lady (Every Mother's Child, post in May)? I visited her last October. Pastor Petru Ciochina and I brought her a food packet. (Thanks to all of you who contribute to the Texas Baptist Hunger Offering.) Her roof leaked.
Last month I was in the Republic of Moldova again. Before we could bring around food packets again, we were asked to come and pray with this lady. Her family expected her to die. She hadn't eaten anything for a month, they told us. She lay curled up on a couch and periodically asked for a drink of water. In her own Romani language.
We talked with her about the home God had prepared for her, and that He invited everyone to go there. We don't have to do anything but put our trust in Jesus. We prayed for her.
Then, when we brought around food packets, we came by  again. Since we knew she couldn't eat anything, we brought her a small gift and prayed for her again. A number of you also prayed for her. Later, Roma Christians from the church came, too. The pastor and his wife brought her some geranium plants, to replace the ones that had frozen (in her kitchen windowsill!) during the cold snap in January.
A couple of days ago, when I called the pastor and his wife, I asked about this aged lady. Was she still alive?
Oh, yes. She was up, eating again, and moving around her house. Her family, who had all been pretty sure she was about to die, asked the pastor what happened. Well, it certainly wasn't any food packet that made the difference!

What I Saw in Moldova: Romany interested in Scripture Media

Pastor Petru & Olesea Ciochina had driven me an hour north to the town of Calarasi to visit a children's home. The team of German Romany who are going with me to Moldova in September want to connect with an orphanage. We had a nice tour, but concluded this was not the place for them to work.
Then we tried to visit a Romany girl from Vulcanesti who had married someone in Calarasi. She was in Vulcanesti! But another Romany woman turned up in front of her home. And become some of the Romany in Calarasi recognized Petru (white pants; right), they invited us to their house.

 After tea and general conversation, we started talking about faith. Most of the people in Calarasi had originally come from Vulcanesti. Some of their parents had become Christians there. Sometimes someone came by with a guitar to sing songs and read the Bible with them.
Ah, did they know that the New Testament was online in several Romani dialects? No, but they wanted to see and hear it.
The young man quickly got me online through his cell phone. We moved from the Scripture website (Bible.Is) to various Romani versions of the Jesus film on YouTube to the Facebook page of Scripture in a dialect very similar to their own.
This Facebook page also had video versions of each chapter in Galatians. This would not be the most fascinating material to me, but I have read and heard Scripture in my heart language all of my life. These folks had not. The lady on my right listened to one chapter after another.
Then she made sure that the young man copied all of these links for her. She wanted to be sure to find them all again!

The Cost of Corruption

You may be wondering why there are book bags hanging on the flagpoles of these Dutch homes. Like many European countries, the Netherlands has standardized exams that all students must pass to receive their (high school) diploma. Kids in each of these houses passed. And it is an achievement everyone on the street may know about! 

What has that got to do with corruption? A friend in a former East-block country asked us to pray for the young (Roma) Christian leader there who had gone back to take their country's version of these exams. The young man really wanted to pass so that he could go to Bible school. The legislator from his district approached him. The young man could be assured of receiving a diploma. Cost in cash:  a little over $200; cost in character . . . ?

Another friend in the same country, a talented school teacher, was willing to teach in predominantly Roma villages. She met with good success. But even though her placement test scores were higher than any other candidates', her contract was not renewed. Instead, it went to the niece of one of the local V.I.P.s.--who was far more interested in employment than actually in teaching. What did that cost, in terms of the students' future?

And why is there so little work in the Republic of Moldova. A third of the working population has gone abroad (Moldova.org). Often leaving children behind with grandparents, neighbors, or no one. 

Labor would be available in Moldova, and relatively cheap. And it is possible to do business there--if, as a Moldovan friend pointed out--you are willing to "share." 

On my recent visit there, I met a different Roma young man. He had legitimately earned his high school diploma and was studying further. He was also connected with the Centrul National Anticoruptie (National Anti-corruption Center).  Let us pray for those who fight corruption, those who suffer from it, and those who are tempted by it. And let us be willing to pay the cost of countering it.