TO KNOW AND LOVE THE GYPSY: GOD’S COMMAND by Melodee Battenschlag
I
had been going on mission trips abroad for many years. It was usually clear where God wanted me to go in advance, so we could meet together as a team and become well prepared for the mission. Also, I am a planner and I much prefer for God to give me the mission assignments early on so I am able to plan other events for the rest of the year. This particular year, God made me wait. Doors kept shutting, but I knew God wanted me to go on a mission trip that year. Then in an unexpected discussion, the Missions Director suggested I go to France to work with the Gypsies. I had never considered this mission trip, not because I would be serving Gypsies, but because the location was France. I viewed France as more of a vacation destination, not a mission trip. Yet, I did know some of the team members who had been on this trip and they were mission-minded. I had recently spent time with this mission leader and found her to be genuine and inspiring.
He said he had two passports, one stating that he was a Gypsy.
Michel had come to salvation, was discipled and even learned to speak English by listening to my pastor’s sermons on his cell phone. He came to the U.S. to meet my pastor and thank him for his obedience in sharing the gospel message. This began the connection for mission teams to go to France to minister to Gypsies. As I began to share my plans to go to France to bring God’s love to the Gypsies, I was most surprised by the negative response of those who had supported me on past mission trips. They responded as though these “criminals” did not deserve our assistance. Many were Christians and advised me to secure my belongings if I was not going to reconsider my plans. This was my least funded of all mission trips. My family members also did not want me to go on this mission trip because France had recently and repeatedly been attacked by terrorists. I assured them that my research revealed that the terrorists wanted to oppress French citizens. Elimination of Gypsies would probably please many of the citizens and make them grateful. I would be safe in the company of Gypsies who were not the target of terrorism.
I checked out the dates for the France Gypsy Mission trip and they worked perfectly with my schedule. I completed the application online. When I hit send, I had such peace. I then knew it was this mission trip God had wanted all along. My peace escalated rapidly to excitement as I began attending team meetings, researching Gypsies and preparing for the tasks of the mission. “So what is a Gypsy?” I asked our host Gypsy family before I even considered going to stay with them in their community. Michel responded, “It is a people without a land.”
Hatred and oppression of the Roma Gypsies is not new. The Romani people, an ethnic group, were part of the lower caste of India during the 11th and 12th centuries. The Catholic Church denounced these dark skinned people with many gods and wouldn’t allow them to settle anywhere. They migrated to Europe in the 14th century where they were enslaved, persecuted, sterilized and systemically exterminated. Gypsy hunts were a common sport in Germany where huntsman would return displaying their trophies of severed heads. During the holocaust, the Romani people were considered racially inferior and were targeted by Nazis for total destruction. Over 220,000 were murdered or died of starvation or disease. After the war, Roma Gypsies were forced to continue moving in order to avoid violence and harassment. They are now scattered throughout the world, with most in Europe (8-10 million) and some in the U.S. Gypsies continue to be persecuted through employment, housing and education discrimination, police brutality, sex trafficking, and violence. In Europe, anti-Gypsy feelings are deep-seated, so government does very little to help. There are “No Gypsies” signs in storefront windows. Although hate crime laws exist in most European countries, they are rarely enforced if the victim is a Gypsy. Some people think criminality is in the blood of the Gypsy or that they are “descendants of Cain.” The public thinks it is good and right that there are still pubs and clubs that do not let Gypsies in. In some places, the laws applying to free movement within the European Union don’t quite apply to Gypsies in the same way
Campus Crusade for Christ (CRU) mission trip in South Africa
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