Postcard from Moldova - Day 3 - Our Rock
Today has been a day of travel: it took nearly 2.5 hours to reach the Orphanage that we were visiting. It is far up on the west side of Moldova next to the Romanian border. The roads are poor in places and we have begun to admire and respect the very considerable skills of our MWB Driver.
We pulled outside a series of low level buildings. It is a school and home for “slow learners” and those with mild disabilities. In many cases though there seemed little wrong with children although they have to “pass” a series of medical tests before they are sent to the Home. Most come from very poor families in the local area. Today was a school holiday: the village was celebrating the 500th anniversary of its establishment and all the children had been granted a holiday.
We were welcomed by the Home Director and her Deputy and the young boy was brought forward to meet his sponsor. He looked very tense and nervous initially and took a deep breath before launching on the recital of a poem about his recently departed grandmother and several verses of a song that he had been rehearsing in honour of his sponsor’s visit. He received his present with huge smiles and refused to open it for quite some time but carried it everywhere with him! He was truly charming and grabbed hold of his sponsor’s hand and escorted us on our tour of the home. Some of the beds in the dormitories were in urgent need of replacement but others had been replaced over the past few years.
The main problem was poor sewerage and drains. There were pools of water around the site that definitely were not pure water - the smell was enough to delay any thoughts of lunch! There were limited facilities for the children and it must be a nightmare keeping them entertained during wet or cold weather. Yet everywhere we went we saw examples of love from the staff and the children. They just need more resources.
Over lunch we heard more from the Home Director and her Deputy. They spoke of the gratitude they felt to Mission Without Borders and its supporters for all that they had received and continue to receive. They spoke of their pride that we had chosen to travel so far to see them and how that had been a great encouragement to all of the staff and the children. And she spoke of “darker days” when there had been little state funding available and the director had had to ask all of the staff to bring in any spare food for the children. At the end of a very dark week someone from the Mission had arrived to ask if they needed help and that was the start of their collaboration with MWB.
The Director noted that the children hadn’t “done anything wrong” they simply were slower learners than others. They deserved every chance that other children got.
The Director and her Deputy joined us on the coach and we travelled a short distance to the “Cultural Palace” for the village. There we found displays from all of the different local schools including the Home that we had visited . It was a delight to see the obvious pride that these two ladies had in their school and their children.
They kissed and hugged us all as we prepared to leave and sent us on our way with God’s blessing.
They had prayed to God and found Him to be a Rock and a Refuge.
We broke the return journey to visit a family. The Mother and Father have seven children and live with the Mother’s Father. The Father came from an Orphanage and has no family. He has a job in the construction industry painting walls. We were welcomed by the Mother and the children (the father was still at work) as honoured guests. They tend a few chickens and some other small animals but would like to build on their tiny small-holding so that they can produce more food and earn more money. The children was wonderful to meet and the family stood and sang us a song- one of those infuriating moments when everyone knew the tune but couldn’t name it and the translation of the words didn’t help!
We left the family with their thanks and gratitude ringing in our ears. Their trust is in the Lord and they know that He has a plan for them. They know that He is their Rock.
Be my rock of refuge,to which I can always go;give the command to save me,for you are my rock and my fortress. (Psalm 71 Verse 4, NIV)
