BondServant
News
September 2002
A Newsletter by the Anton
Osoinach Family...
Hopes
for Others
Arad, România
osoinach@xnet.ro
“Leave
thy fatherless children, I will preserve them alive; and let thy
widows trust in me.”
Jeremiah
49:11
I
spent two weeks in the Republic of Moldova this summer. I was with
a group of about 60 people, most of whom had connections with
Romania.
Those
who did not live in Romania had either immigrated to the United
States or had been born there of Romanian parents. We were split
into three groups and sent to three different orphanages. I ended
up in a large orphanage with about 200 children.
Moldova
is a lot like Romania in some ways. The countryside looks the same
as Romania. The languages are very similar (like the difference in
the speech between the northern and the southern U.S.A.). And many
of the people consider themselves Romanian. But in other ways it
is very different. It is a much poorer country and the
unemployment rate is even higher than in Romania. For many years
the government has modeled itself after Moscow so most people
there also speak Russian.
The
purpose of the trip was to evangelize the children. We did a
ten-day camp for the children there at the orphanage. In Romania,
the children typically go to camp for a week or several weeks in a
summer. It is a kind of tradition here. The children in Moldova
can’t go; they don’t have the money or people to sponsor them.
So we took camp to them. We did all that we did under the name of
‘camp’, making it seem that they were not missing out. During
the ten days we spent with them, we did Bible lessons, memory
verses, games, sports activities, crafts and chapel each day.
I
was surprised to learn that many of the children I spoke to were
not actually orphans, but their parents could not afford to keep
them at home. At the state run facilities they are fed and attend
school. The parents who come back occasionally to visit often give
them up for their own good. I have never before seen such poverty.
Eating
with the children everyday brought to life just how little there
was. We were served plenty of food, but its identity was often a
mystery. Many times
the food looked like something one should not eat though it often
did not taste as bad as it looked.
The
situation for the children looked very hard because the teachers
at the orphanage were very strict and hard on them.
There was very little concern (from what I could see) on
the teachers’ parts for the children.
But
the children were so happy to have us there. There were 15 of us
at the orphanage and there was no end to the attention we got from
the children. Everyday as soon as we walked out among them until
we left them for bed, they were all over us. Literally. I don’t
think I have been kissed so much in my entire life as in those two
weeks. When we left, we gave the children gifts and candy, but
compared to what we have it felt like so little.
I
know we also left something more important with the children...the
most precious thing any of us has. We left them the Truth. We left
them with the way to find real Life.
I
can’t wait to go back.
Heidi
Prayer
Requests
Please be
praying for...
...continued
success with the two Bible clubs.
...our
increased understanding of vocabulary in the Romanian language.
...greater
knowledge to be able to help the many people in the old folks
homes
with their varied physical and spiritual problems.
...Anne's
Mom, Jean, and her Uncle Herbie, in New Orleans.
Both have been diagnosed with lung cancer.
Contact
Information
Please
go to Contact Info Page... Thank
You!
