The Rest of the Story . . .

 So last week Pastor Petru Ciochina in Moldova helped "Olga", her teenaged brother, and her five small children get a train ticket towards Munich, where she hoped to join other family members who had fled Ukraine (Petru pictured here with the family).

They got as far as Budapest, Hungary, and ran into
difficulties. Olga called Petru. Petru called Zoltan, an ethnic Hungarian who works with Romany in Romania. They know each other because Zoltan has often gone with me to help with volunteer teams in the church Petru pastors. I know Zoltan because he is part of a Wycliffe/SIL group working in Romani languages.

Petru, far left; Zoltan center,
visiting Romany in Moldova

Zoltan, a missionary with Wycliffe Romania, contacted Wycliffe Hungary. They gave him the phone number of a doctor in Budapest. She gave Zoltan the number of a free hotline for Ukrainian refugees. The hotline is in Ukrainian, Hungarian, and English. Anyone calling it can receive assistance. 

Petru told Olga. He also passed the number on to any other refugees who might be traveling through Hungary. Olga and her family were helped.

This is how the body of Christ works. Because people like you support missions like CBF, I am here. I connected Zoltan and Petru. Petru is in Moldova. I am not. You are not. He could help Olga, partly with funds that Christians like you gave in America and I, in the Netherlands, sent on to Petru. Someone none of us know in Budapest could help Zoltan. Zoltan could help Petru help Olga. Thank you for being part of the body of Christ. Together we do great good, sometimes in small ways that make a huge difference!

UKRAINIAN RELIEF At Work

Pastor Petru Ciochina wrote:  

Because I like to be with people and communicate with them, I focused my activity on refugees from the center in Nisporeni, Moldova, who are without money and with many children. I buy them medicine and some baby food. Among them I met a woman named Olga* who moved me to tears. With a good and patient heart, who ran away from the war with 5 children, all of her own. She told me about the hardships she went through before arriving in Moldova. 

Olga is 25 years old, her husband left her before the war started. When the war began, they fled to the shelters. Every time the sirens sounded, she couldn't dress all five of her children quickly, and she was the last to reach the bomb shelter. And because of this her father forced her to go to Moldova with her brother David. Later she asked me to help her go to Romania so that she could reach a relative of hers who took refuge from war in Germany.  Olga had no money. I bought them train tickets. I gave them some pocket money. She said that when she came back, she would give me back everything I had spent for her and her children. That moved me, and I said no. I told her I was doing this because I had Jesus in my heart. And He brought me to you, and He loves children. And He teaches me „And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.” 

We hugged her and we said goodbye as if she were a child of mine. Now I don't know anything about her, I prayed with the whole church to be on God's guard. She was to arrive in Munich.

*Name changed to protect privacy.

Update from Partners in Moldova Ministering to Refugees from Ukraine

 From Pastor Petru Ciochina in Moldova:

 Forty-four Roma were accommodated in the church building in Nisporeni, but they went to another
destination (Germany). Yesterday I visited the center in Nisporeni organized by the local authorities. There are 80 refugees, but they didn't have cups for them, plates. I took something for them. There are 40 children. I talked to a refugee teacher. She said she wanted to do activities with the children. I brought notebooks and crayons. I found out that there are two Roma women with children. Now I want to visit them to see their needs. Tomorrow I plan to go to the south of Moldova on the border with Ukraine, there are many refugees. We'll give them hot food and tea. There are many waiting for accommodation, it is cold and humid. I think I'm going to take cold medicine.

Thank you for your support. There is no one in the church building now. We are waiting for other refugees tonight or tomorrow. We are on the list of churches that receive refugees. We are waiting. Today I went to the Roma family. I didn't know there were so many children. 6 small children. I made a to-do list. I'll go shopping tomorrow. They have nothing.

If you wish to donate for this, please do so through CBF’s Ukrainian Relief Fund. We anticipate sending $4,000 from that fund to this work in Moldova.From Pastor Petru Ciochina: