An Intern's View of Romania

It was humbling to be hosted by the Umut Church in the small village of Mangalia, Romania. The word Umut, means “Hope” in Turkish which is an appropriate name for the small Christian church.

Found in the heart of a densely populated Turkish and Islamic neighbourhood in a place where most Muslim families would denounce a family member for attending their church and many openly express their disapproval of the Mustafa family (who planted the church) they continue their good work.

Originally the idea of one man, Fardin Mustafa began the church in the small upstairs room of his own house ……after his heart began questioning and searching for things which could not be answered by his religion alone.  On searching Fardin found Christianity and what he had been searching for in the love and grace of Jesus Christ.  And so, as a married man in a large extended family, against the pressure of his community and all he knew, he began to spread new hope.  Through patience and persistence, through his actions and work within the community, respect for the Mustafa family spread.

Since 1995 the church has very slowly grown and one by one, Fardin’s wife, father, brothers and sisters are now part the church as well as others in the community.  Those in Next Level International (NLI) have watched and supported the progress made over the years, but for me, as an NLI Intern visiting Romania and the Umut Church for the first time, I observed all with fresh eyes.

The first thing I noticed was the graciousness with which we were received by Fardin and his family. They live in a Country where there is so little to give, where poverty and homelessness rule in winters of -18° and where you can see and feel the fear and suspicion in the eyes of those passing you in the street.

I have never seen so many elderly people pacing the streets from early morning to night, they are people who live with the threat of being forced from their own homes when it is found they can no longer support themselves.  The elderly, who would be cared for in retirement homes, warm and well fed in New Zealand (where I come from), are here trudging through snow, eyes downcast determined to keep working, to live another day and not be a burden.  I saw one ancient woman who broke my heart, shuffling from one rubbish bin to the next down the snow-lined street, collecting anything which could be recovered in the several heavy bags she carried.

On being welcomed into the small downstairs room of his house, Fardins’ wife served us tea in crystal teacups and generous slices of cake, a meal which seemed somehow out-of-place in the modest living room.  We later found they had given us a special Turkish tea which is difficult to acquire in Romania and is saved only for special occasions.  As I sat there in the Mustafa house God kept prodding and I was reminded of the story in Luke which tells of the widow who gives two small coins in offering as those around her give many larger gifts of wealth, Jesus saying “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put in more than all the others.  All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”

And I remember thinking to myself that although I have come from the other side of the world, have given up a comfortable job and beautiful country, and am a person others admire for doing such, here I was the wealthy man being humbled by the widow.  I felt a little ashamed that I had in my bank account an amount these people could not dream of, and that I wore an expensive ski jacket that day, had only the day before had a Starbucks without a second thought.  Things of no importance which we somehow think are owed to us for our hard work, but really all we are and have is a gift from God.

A woman in church began telling us of a prayer answered since the last NLI visit.  The woman’s name was Nabijah and she told of how last time we had prayed for her daughter Layali.  As no-one could recall the specifics she began to tell the story from beginning.  Layali had married young and had two young children the ages of two and three.  Early in the marriage Nabijah discovered that her Layali’s husband was beating her and was very aggressive.  His family was also openly hostile to Layali and chose to ignore the abuse.  The situation was bad and in a Muslim community a woman has little control over her own life and that of her children.  Eventually the situation was so bad Nabijah took Layali away by force and found a lawyer to divorce them, however the family would not release the two young children.

Layali was desperate to get her children back and out of the violent environment they were living in.  For seven months she tried but the authorities would not help nor could the law take action as she was still living with her mother who had little of her own but was determined to give her a place to live.  Layali was living in one room along with six other people, this living situation meant the law would not give her children back no matter what circumstances they were living in.

So everyone in the Church began praying, and soon doors began opening.  Layali managed to get a house down the road from her mother and somehow her ex-husband and his family agreed to give the children back.  At the time of hearing the story Layali had her children back, was no longer in an abusive environment and both herself and her children had begun attending the church.

It goes to show both how God can answer prayers in even the most hopeless of situation.  It is a living example of the battle the Umut church is fighting on a daily basis.  Slowly but surely the church is transforming the neighbourhood they live in, through what Fardin describes as “showing our and God’s love through doing” they gain respect and status through simple acts like helping the poor, fixing a window or helping to clean a house.

There are many lessons we could learn from this family and church, if only we humbled ourselves to be taught by those of lesser means.  Of all the things I encountered, the overall sense I was given was one of opportunity, both in the incredible need of Romania and that despite the poverty and desperation, there was something here which could and can overcome all, something the church is all about- “Hope”.

* Note that names in this article have been changed for privacy.