- In July of 2008 I was blessed with the opportunity to be apart of a mission trip to
Braila, Romania. The purpose of that mission trip being, of course, to spread the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. - During our trip we spent our time working in the gypsy villages of Braila, mostly with children. For hundreds of years the gypsy race has been shunned, ridiculed without end, persecuted and simply hated. Why? Because...they're gypsy. And that's that. This is why, even now, gypsies stick with their own kind, living in villages out in the country, most of them fighting to even survive because of poverty. The poverty is a result of gypsies not being given in the time of day by non-gypsies and basically being told that they're worthless, which then leads to drinking, and everyone knows a drunk can't properly support a family, let alone themself. Every family I visited had problems with alcoholism, and in one case it was causing a very abusive atmosphere. Sadly, because of the hundreds of years of being treated so badly and being told that they are no more than a bug to be crushed, each and every gyspy has it branded in their mind that their eternal destination is, and could only be, hell. Salvation is impossible...so, they drink, they abuse, they wallow in depression.
- An indescribable joy it was to have the chance to play with and teach the children in the gypsy villages, showering them with love and friendship, and most importantly teaching them of God's love for them. No matter how much man may pound into you that you're nothing or worthless, rest assure that that is nothing but Satan feeding you his lies. Every person in this world, gypsy or not, God has created for a reason. Every human being has a purpose, it's called 'God's Will.' God's will for every person is perfect, it's different and unique for each person. So this saddens me to think there are a race of in Romania, and all over for that matter, who are convinced that they're without purpose and hope of salvation. I hope and pray that one day I may be given the chance to once again visit Romania and witness to these people...and also to those who do the persecuting themselves.
** For the gypsy men and woman who have come to know the Lord and are faithful in Braila to witness to the lost, and to those who may find the Lord in the future, I dedicate this scripture:
II Corinthiants 4:8-10"We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body."
