Heart Tugs

Although I have been home for just over a week many of my thoughts, daydreams and conversations bring me back to Romania. Six weeks living in a house where the electricity goes off and on, people throw jugs (Or basins- Victoria) of cold water at you over the shower wall, you don't flush your toilet paper, you occasionally have 'friends' in your bedroom and you wear everything you have in the one day to maintain heat in the villages tends to make for a memorable experience. Having travelled to various countries on mission trips I am always reminded of how much I a blessed with. This time in particular, when families living in mud houses on the hillsides become people with names and personalities, it hits home a lot more. And this leads me to write about the moments which touched my heart most whilst I was away.

There were the moments when I felt desperate for the overwhelming need in the villages. It is scary to think how many of these gypsy communities exist. Take even one community though, and there is such a colossal need. Your heart is saddened when you walk around the hillside and clamber up and down the muddy slopes with three or four dirty, half-dressed children clinging on to you. Humanly speaking the situation is hopeless as the mayor barely recognises their existence. However, when God moves in an area, no human will be able to stop Him.

Lets begin then, with the many aspects of life in a gypsy village that broke my heart.

The houses. Maybe not even worthy of being called houses in some cases. The wooden frame filled in with mud. Then a plastic, tin or slate roof. The size of my living room at home is bigger than some of the houses that sleep 6-10 people.

This man has chosen to live with his family in a water tower. The smoke billowing out the side is not a house fire, just the way it is. The houses are heated with stoves and often the chimney is poorly positioned leading to many families sleeping in smoke filled rooms.

This house below is one of the better ones. The sheep is the only animal they have- which is common. Families have one animal if they can afford it. A pig, a sheep, a chicken or a horse. It is a different world to back home people having hundreds of sheep on their farm.

The filth that the people live in is unimaginable. Mud is everywhere. The children wear clothes for days on end. When they are washed the water is not clean and so it makes little difference. The children themselves do not have a personal hygiene routine. The dirt on their faces builds for days. They have continually runny noses and coughs all year through. The majority have nits. This family below clearly depicts the dire situation many of the gypsy families live in. 

They do not have anything in their house other than a stove, two beds, one unit, one change of clothes each and a few pieces of crockery. They did not have a saucepan in which to heat water. They do not have a brush or soap. The little girls hair was matted in every direction. There wasn't anything that could assist with keeping the children clean and healthy. The four year old boy definitely had worms. The five year old boy didn't have any shoes. The newborn baby was wrapped tightly in many layers, many of which were far too big. And yet, despite all this, the children hug you and smile when you visit. There is hope.

Many of the children do not receive a full education. They may not attend at all, leave early or attend irregularly. They often face discrimination and racial abuse in the schools for not being clean or having appropriate and presentable clothes. Those that can and do attend have the opportunity to change their future and brighten the prospects of their family. However, education is not viewed as valuable or worthwhile when there is water to be brought up from the well, wood to be collected or not enough money to buy the books needed.

Collecting water from the bottom of the hill

Bringing home firewood

These two school age boys were found playing in the quarry with a tin opener and an empty bottle. It is devastating to think they spend their childhood this way. Every child deserves an education and to learn a skill that will enable them to provide for themselves in later life. This rarely happens in the gypsy community and then they are forced to rely on social from the mayor and work 9 days of the month to receive a pittance from him. Or they end up working on the town dump which is dangerous and also a long, strenuous day for next to nothing.

Very few parents in the UK would let their children light and play with fire, or an axe! This is normal on the gypsy hills. These three kids were gathered round a fire, burning rubbish. One of them was cutting wood with an axe. No adults were around. The most common accidents are burns with fire. Toys do not exist the way they do at home. Footballs are old bottles. Sand is mud. And all others toys come from the rubbish that others have thrown out. And then when you compare this to what other children around the world have in their homes -it just seems so unfair. 

From a young age the children are responsible for each other. This four year old boy has taken off his coat and placed it on his younger sister. It seems a harsh reality that they grow up so quickly and there is little time for playing, learning to look after yourself and having fun. There are so many children that as soon as the next one comes along they begin taking care of them. A typical four year old at home is learning how to write, colour in, do jigsaws and brush their teeth. These children won't do any of these, instead they are looking after the little ones, finding wood and trying to survive on one meal a day.

A crowd of hungry children waiting for food to be served at the feeding program. Many of them rely on the food provided here to break up days of starvation. Some of the children will receive one meal a day and less if their father drinks the money. They mainly eat pasta and bread. The better off families will eat two meals a day. The average British household will spend £134 on food for Christmas Day alone. A loaf of bread costs 60 pence in Romania- this is what a family eats to survive. We rarely eat to survive. We eat for enjoyment, to socialise or we get sucked in by advertising thinking we need certain items. These children fight a daily battle to eat and live.

The children come in families and often older siblings carry down the younger ones so that they don't miss out on the meal. It breaks your heart watching them look after them and they are barely able to take care of themselves.  

These two brothers arrived and he managed to hold everything and get the little one sat down. He had two bites of his own and then fed the younger one his before returning to his pasta, that's hard to watch and not shed a tear!

During the six weeks I was in Romania there were three babies born in Seleus. Unfortunately, statistics of previous years suggest that one of these precious wee lives won't make it through the harsh Winter. Standing in the room, holding a wee bundle, knowing that they are perhaps not strong enough to pull through is very difficult. Pray that they will. That the mothers would have enough to eat to be able to nurse them, that they would stay warm, that they would avoid illness and be kept relatively clean.

As if life is not tough enough for these people they get TV companies in selling them satellite dishes. If they cannot afford to pay, the company offers to take the children's allocations books for a couple of weeks until it is paid off. The books allow the mother to collect a very minimal amount of money to provide for the children. However these companies scam the people by taking the books and never returning. And then they are left with a dish they can't afford to supply electricity to and no child allocation money. It is frustrating that the people accept the offers but with no education you cannot blame them. They look for ways to escape their reality and watching TV is one of them. It just seems a huge price to pay as they cannot afford to feed their children afterwards. Pray that as the long term workers teach the people and work with them they will see and understand the motives of these companies.

And then this photo. Makes my heart heavy every time. Portrays the bleak picture of the current situation in Seleus.

There were many moments in Romania that I just felt that the situation was too big, too dark, too much to even know where to begin. And it made my heart heavy. Sad to see and experience something of the poverty these dear people live in. And yet it wasn't all doom and gloom. God is working. Project Romania have many opportunities to interact with the people and have gained respect and trust amongst the people. There is hope and at times my heart was filled with warmth. The moments when a child puts their arms around you, when true joy causes your heart to skip a beat, when you're reminded of how much people care, when you see afresh the hope of what could be and God simply says, 'Trust Me, I am Moving.'

So lets spend a few minutes looking through some of the photos that remind me all is not lost...

The moments when the children are laughing and smiling. When they are playing games and have the chance to be children again and to escape for a while. When they run to me when I arrive in the village. When they jump into my arms and hold me tight. When they ask my name and repeat it over and over. When they put their small hand in mine and don't let go my entire visit. When they chatter away even though I have no idea what they are saying. When they accepted me as a stranger and just showed me love.

When every single time I was in the village they were there waiting to play and have fun together. This little face was one of them. How could that not touch your heart?

One of the biggest blessings being away was having the opportunity to serve with people who have a heart to serve. Those who were willing to sacrifice and give up time at work to come out and work with those rejected by society. Working together as brothers and sisters in Christ from different countries.

And also being out serving with family. That was a unique opportunity.

Parents and younger brother who were there my first week

Grace my younger cousin who was out my final week with Uncle Alistair

And it also meant a lot that the guys put up with Victoria and I working outside as builders...that took a lot of patience on their behalf! Although we often were working harder - that's maybe debatable.

The generosity of those who gave is overwhelming. The hours of knitting put into jumpers, hats, scarves, gloves and blankets is phenomenal. The amount of time spent bagging flour to be sent out. The days put into gathering items for the containers which are packed full to the brim. The time given to drive the lorries out. The 'lorry load of blessings' as Stephen phrased it when he was out describes perfectly the concept.

And then the shoeboxes. The amount given was incredible. And the heartfelt letters and cards attached to some of them brought a few tears. The kindness displayed in the way the boxes were filled. The financial input is colossal when you consider that each shoebox is worth roughly £10 and Project Romania received just over 3000. Thank you to everyone who contributed in any way! 

I cannot accurately describe what it felt like to give a child a shoebox and to see their reaction. I can try but nothing compares to seeing their faces and feeling the excitement in the room. The anticipation rises as each child comes forward and then they run to their classrooms! They take the rubber bands off and peek inside the corners waiting for someone to fully open their box. They watch one another and the teacher and then when the okay is given; waow. The explosion of exhilaration, giggling, laughter and joy fills the room. The displaying of toys, trying on of hats, flicking through colouring books, pretending to brush their teeth all happens within about 20 seconds! Priceless memories have been made.

I also loved going door to door to deliver the food parcels. And often we were invited in to their homes. It was touching to see their genuine sincerity when they realised the gifts came at no cost.

The children and older people were particularly grateful.

Some were a little overwhelmed...

One of the final heart tugging memories was being reunited with Hordu's children who stayed with us in summer. They ran across the school playground and massive hugs followed. Natalie and I then got to go with them into their classrooms to see them open their shoeboxes. We also got to spend time with them at the after school group later in the week. It was a special time reminiscing over the summer memories of braiding their hair, jumping on the tramopline and playing guitar together. I loved seeing them again and just listening to their chatter. Their mum was also excited to spend time together and Natalie and I were offered somewhere to go for Christmas! We politely declined.

And those were the moments that stood out the most, touched my heart the most and continue to have an impact on me now.