Overseas Ministries

Romania Report (March 2002)

PHIL WILLIAMS REPORTS...

It’s minus sixteen degrees and I find myself standing outside a half built shack, singing worship songs to God. A little girl no more than 4 years old stands shivering in the cold, no coat, no hat and nothing on her feet, but wearing the most amazing smile I had ever seen. Just seeing her there made me feel completely humble.

Standing around me is a most amazing people, not educated, not rich by the world’s standards but filled with a priceless understanding that God loves them.

This is my fourth visit to Romania, and again I find myself with such a mixed bag of feelings, pity, anger, frustration, humility, love and affection for these people.

Why Pity?
Because the conditions these people have to live in day in day out are appalling, no sanitation, no proper housing, no heating, unless they manage to find some wood to make a fire normally in the shack they call their home.

Why Anger?
Nobody in the year 2002 should have to live like this. It’s as if Romania is in a time warp and gone backwards a couple of hundred years. Why aren’t the governments doing more? Perhaps their government haven’t got any money to do more, so it goes on.

Why Frustration?
Something I was told and found to be absolutely correct on one of my first trips to Romania, "Romanians think one thing, will tell you another thing, but do something entirely different". Does that mean they tell lies ? I don’t know, but it is a fact, is it part of their culture? I don’t know, this I do know, that they have a completely different approach to "straight away" than we do, there is no sense of urgency about anything they do, so you can see where frustration sets in. Because we live in a land of instant this and instant that we take our instant life over to Romania with us, and guess what, it doesn’t fit, things will get done, eventually!

Why humility?
These people are full of thanksgiving to God, they sing with enthusiasm and pray with passion, they know God intimately, and they know they are loved by him.

After spending time with them you feel the richer for it, they pass on to you a sense of wholeness and spirituality, just being present at one of their church meetings is such a blessing, to see them pray and worship.

Why love and affection?
It is so easy to love these people.

Why?
Because you see Jesus in them.

The village we have come into today is called Ripa, we have been taken along to this place by some of our gypsy friends from Dumbrava. As they put it "we want to show you some really poor gypsies". The folk in Dumbrava have changed so much over the last few years, only a couple of years ago they would not think twice about stealing from their neighbour, now they are happy to share not only with one another but with gypsies from other villages too.

Our friends from Dumbrava were keen to deliver some potatoes to the folk at Ripa, so we obliged by giving them a lift. As I mentioned it was minus sixteen when we arrived at the village, and a group of gypsies had gathered out side a half built house, and had started to sing choruses, when they sing they really go for it. We stood and worshipped with them for about thirty minutes, after that we all moved (about twenty of us) into a gypsy's house, (very cramped) and received a very warm welcome by the indwellers and we continued to worship God inside. I can remember thinking "these people haven’t really got a lot to be thankful for" but after spending some time with them I realized that these people are worshiping God for who he is, and not for what they have or have not got.

They consider our short visits gifts from God, not only because we usually have something to give them, but also because we bring hope and encouragement to them. Little do they know that the faith and humility that they express brings a new challenge to us each time we meet them.

My prayer "Lord continue to pour your grace and love into the lives of those you have called in Romania, strengthen, encourage and empower those who have chosen to follow you, Amen".