Faith and deeds in Romania
Sonya Hackett, New Life’s Families Leader, reflects on a powerful and moving trip to bless the people of Hunedoara.
I have always wanted to go on a mission trip, and Romania has been on my heart since I was in my 20s. My church does a lot of work sending aid, raising money and awareness of how children were treated in the orphanages, and how, once they reached the age when they had to leave, many were drawn into the sex trade.
As part of my sabbatical this year I jumped at the chance to join the team going from New Life’s School of Missional Life (SML), and headed to Hunedoara, Romania. I was slightly concerned as I knew most of the SML mission trips involved going out on the streets and just talking to people, which isn’t really my cup of tea, but God had other ideas!
Ours was a small team, just four of us, plus our host, Summer, who does amazing work there. Our first job was to prepare some food boxes, then once they were loaded up in the cars, we picked up some newly delivered children’s Bibles and a bunch of bubble wands, and we set off for a place often referred to as ‘The Shanty Town’. This is a small community of people who’ve set up home on a piece of private land owned by a steel factory, which before it closed down had provided jobs for over 25,000 people in the area. The closing of the factory has reduced many ex-employees and their families to a state of extreme poverty. The homes in the shanty town are literally made from whatever can be salvaged from the rubbish tip. They have no electricity and no running water, so are greatly in need.
We delivered the food boxes, played with the children and gave out a few Bibles. We also took opportunities to pray for people. One 15-year-old boy, Daniel, was living with the consequences of falling off a bridge onto live electric cables three years earlier. This had left him paralysed from the waist down. We prayed for healing and spoke words of life into him, about how God has an amazing plan for him. We also met a young mum of three who had already survived a brain tumour, only to find out she had another one, as well as cirrhosis of the liver. We were able to pray for her and give her six-year-old a Bible. She had started to learn to read and was looking forward to reading it to her mum.
We also wanted to bless some of the single mums who live in the flats in another poor area of town. We had some nice toiletries, and along with them, we gave each mum an encouraging Bible verse and an invitation to church on Sunday. Everyone we visited was touched and blessed as we prayed for them and spoke life to them. Many of the women had similar horrendous stories of being sold into the sex trade and abused for years, then abandoned when they got too sick. Still very young they would marry husbands who would mistreat them, often locking them up so they couldn’t leave the house. Many were contending with having to fight to get back custody of their children, lost due to past drug habits. Whatever they had suffered in their lives, I was really struck by how grateful these women were for the little they did have: a small bedsit, often shared with multiple children, who in turn had very few toys. It was clear that the food supplies we brought meant so much to them. They had something to eat for the next few days, and they carefully held the shiny new Bibles we provided as if they were prized possessions. Meanwhile, their children’s eyes lit up at the sight of the treats and bubble wands we gave them.
When I arrived in Romania, I happened to be reading James chapter 2. It’s all about loving your neighbour (verse 8), not treating people who are rich or poor differently (verse 3), and about our faith being proven by our deeds (verse 14). In my job I love helping the kids at church and their families in their faith journeys, and I will continue to do so. But there is something precious about showing love to people who don’t feel loveable. It is an honour to provide supplies to those most in need of food to feed their families, and a privilege to share Jesus with them, who can meet their every need. This, I can do, too.