HeartCry
Missionary Society
Opening the Door: A School for the Gypsy Children of Romania
July - August 2002
Volume 29
Our Purpose & Passion “‘For from the rising of the sun even to its setting, My Name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense is going to be offered to My Name, and a grain offering that is pure; for My Name will be great among the nations,’ says the Lord of hosts.” - Malachi 1:11 The chief end of all mission work is the Glory of God. Our greatest concern is that His Name be great among the nations, from the rising to the setting of the sun (Malachi 1:11). We find our great purpose and constant motivation, not in man or his needs, but in God, His commitment to His own glory and our Godgiven desire to see Him glorified in every nation, tribe, people and language. Although HeartCry recognizes the great importance of sending missionaries from the West to the unevangelized peoples throughout the world, we believe that we are led of the Lord to support native or national missionaries so that they may evangelize their own peoples. Therefore, we seek to work with godly men and women of integrity and vision in the unreached world to help them evangelize and plant Churches among their own peoples.
Our Principles * While we recognize that the needs of mankind are many and his sufferings are diverse, we believe that they all spring from a common origin - the fall of man and the corruption of his own heart. Therefore, we believe that the greatest benefit to mankind can be accomplished through the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the establishment of churches
that preach the Word of God and minister according to its commands, precepts, and wisdom. * Every need of this ministry will be obtained through prayer. We may share our missionary vision with others and even make known to them the specific tasks which the Lord has laid on our heart to do, but we may not raise support through prodding or manipulating our brothers and sisters in Christ. If this ministry is of the Lord, then He will be our Patron. If He is with us, He will direct His people to give and we will prosper. If He is not with us, we will not and should not succeed. * We intend to never enlarge our field of labor by contracting debts. This is contrary to both the letter and the spirit of the New Testament. In secret prayer, God helping us, we will carry the needs of this ministry to the Lord and act according to the direction that He gives. * We will not compete with other biblical mission agencies, but use the resources that God has given to us to work in partnership with them. If the Lord directs, we will sacrifice our own goals and resources that other mission works may be helped and the Kingdom of God increased. * In meeting any need, those of us who are supported financially by this ministry will be the first to sacrifice all things necessary for the advancement of His Kingdom. * We will not measure the success of this ministry by the amount of money given, Bibles distributed or national missionaries supported, but by the Lord’s blessing on the work. * Our Goal is not to enlarge ourselves, or to become a key figure in the Great Commission, but to be faithful and obedient stewards by the grace that is given to us. That men may see our weakness and glorify God for His strength; that they may see our inability and glorify God for His faithfulness.
Teach the Children 6
Opening the Door: The beginning of the Peniel School for Gypsy Children as told by Moises Marin.
7
A Burden for the Children: Ana Maria Marin shares her burden for the Gypsy children that attend the Peniel School for Gypsy Children, where she works alongside her husband Moises.
.
8
Testimonies from the Children: Read the testimonies of Gypsy children who have been blessed through the Peniel School for the Gypsies.
11
Testimonies from the Teachers: Here are a few of the testimonies from the teachers at the Peniel School for Gypsy Children.
13
Moises Marin’s Testimony: Brother Moises Marin is supported as a HeartCry Missionary. He works as supervisor over our Gypsy missionaries in Romania and is Director of the Peniel School for Gypsy Children.
15
The Gypsies: A historical account of the origins, customs, and terrible sufferings of the Gypsy people.
24
Reports from our Gypsy Missionaries: At the present, the HeartCry Missionary Society is supporting several Gypsy Missionaries in the Eastern European countries of Romania and Moldova.
Hallowed be Your Name! Your Kingdom Come! Your Will be Done!
Where In The World is HeartCry? HeartCry is currently supporting seventy-two indigenous missionaries in thirteen countries on four continents.
Asia
Burma (Myanmar)
India
Nepal
Nigeria
Zambia
Moldova
Romania
Africa
Ghana
Eastern Europe
Ukraine
South America
Serbia
Middle East
Peru
Israel
Paraguay
And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.� Matthew 28:18-20
From the Director
Paul Washer ministering in a Gypsy church outside of Bucharest.
Unknown on Earth I hope this newsletter finds you growing in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. In these last two months at HeartCry, we have witnessed so many new demonstrations of the faithfulness and graciousness of God. He is faithful in that He never fails to fulfill a promise He has made. He is gracious in that His promises are given to those to whom He owes nothing. This month’s edition of the HeartCry magazine is dedicated to one of the most despised people groups in the world - the Gypsies of Eastern Europe. For the most part, they are an unwanted and wandering people with an infamous reputation for every vice known to man. For most in Europe and beyond, the name “Gypsy” is synonymous with fraud, robbery, prostitutions, and drugs. Although their reputation is not always deserved, they are a terribly needy people in every aspect of their lives. The greatest and only hope for the Gypsy people is Jesus Christ. In the last several years, Gypsies have been coming to Christ in numbers beyond any other people group in Europe, and yet there is still much to be done. The priority must be the establishment of Bible believing churches and schools that believe that the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord. For the last four years, HeartCry has been supporting Gypsy missionaries (church planters) that are working among their own people. It has been a difficult road, but the battles have borne fruit and Christ is being preached among the people. We are excited about the possibilities of the upcom-
ing years, as young men and women are won to Christ and discipled. It would be impossible to imagine the great army of missionaries that God may one day raise up from among these new Christians! In addition to the churches being planted, we have played a small part in the formation of the Christian school for the Gypsy children in the capital of Bucharest. Such schools are extremely necessary since most Gypsy children spend their formative years without any formal education. Most have never had the opportunity to read and write, and are therefore shut out from any opportunity to be integrated into society. They roam the street in bands, or they are exploited by others. The little boys and girls are forced to beg on the streets for money. If they do not make enough income they are often beaten or left without anything to eat. The young men are taught to prosper in all sorts of criminal activity. The young girls are often raped and forced into a life of prostitution. It is an ugly illustration of the depravity that resides in all men. Their only hope is Jesus Christ. Our greatest task is to make Him known among them. I hope that the following pages will inspire you to missions, and that your life will be consumed with the “magnificent obsession” of carrying the Gospel to the world. Your brother,
Paul David Washer
Opening the Door: A School for the Gypsy Children of Romania My name is Moise Marin, I am 36 years old and I am a missionary among the gypsies. In 1999, while I was doing personal evangelism in Traian Square, in the city of Bucharest, a group of children, eight to fourteen years old, drew my attention. They were unruly and loud, smoking and cursing, rambling through the streets, without any parental supervision. They never attended school and could not read or write. Apart from the supernatural intervention of God, they had no future! As I walked away from them, I felt as though the Lord was leading me to do something. I spent time in prayer, and was led to speak with the pastor of the Holy Trinity Baptist Church in Bucharest. I asked permission to use one of their buildings for a school for Gypsy children. The pastor brought the petition before the Church and it was agreed upon. In February 2000, we began the Peniel School for the literacy training and recuperation of gypsy children living in Bucharest. We started the school with twenty children and have quickly grown to over seventy. We are forced to limit the
number of children simply because we do not have enough room. All of our children come from terribly dysfunctional families without Jesus Christ. The purpose of our little school is to lead the children to Christ and to help them recover from the poverty, ignorance, and immorality that surround them. At the moment, our means are very small, but our vision is not. We want to set up workshops so that we can teach the children to be mechanics, tailors, carpenters, etc. We want them to be able to do more than make a living. We want them to represent Christ and the power of His salvation. The main purpose of our school is evangelistic. We teach the children about God and Christ. We seek to guide them towards the Cross and a life of obedient service in the Church. Our teachers are all Christians from the Baptist Faculty at the University of Bucharest. They are a great help to us because they have the same heart that we do. As I have said, almost all of our children live in extreme poverty. They have no clothes, food or a decent shelter to live in. Because of this, we try to provide at least one small meal during our school hours. None of them are able to buy their own books or any of the materials needed to study. I am thankful to the Lord that our school is also having an impact on the children’s families. One mother said that our school was a great blessing, because she had never even dreamed that her children would be able to study in a school and learn to read. If you have ever worked in missions or studied missions, you know that, on the mission field, most adults are won to Christ through their children. At the moment, our greatest need is to have a larger building where we can have our church services and the school. We want this building to be a spiritual, cultural, and educational center for the Gypsy people. A place where they can come whenever they desire. Please keep us in your prayers. Your brother,
Moises Marin
A Burden for the Children
Moises and his wife Ana Maria are HeartCry missionaries working among the Gypsies of Romania. The great passion of their hearts is to see the salvation of their people, and their deliverance from immorality, ignorance, superstition and poverty. The following is from Ana Maria. My name is Ana Maria. While I was a student, I became involved in the Peniel School for Gypsy Children. I am convinced that God has touched my heart and guided me towards this work among one of the most despised people groups in the world. My work is not merely social, but spiritual. I not only aspire to improve the intellectual, social and economic condition of my people, but I desire their salvation and incorporation into the church. The Peniel School is primarily a literacy training school for Gypsy children over the age of nine. Most of our children have never been to school or have dropped out of their previous school for any one of a multitude of reasons - dysfunctional families, poverty, discrimination against the gypsies,
etc. The primary purpose of our school is to win the souls of the young gypsies through the teaching of the Scriptures - something they would never be exposed to in their own homes. We now have 73 children, ages seven to twentytwo, who are enrolled in our school. We meet in three little rooms that the Holy Trinity Baptist Church of Bucharest has graciously allowed us to use for a limited time. The Romanian society sees our school with “good eyes� (as a great blessing) because we are seeking to deter the Gypsy children from becoming thieves and prostitutes, and turn them towards productive lives as children of God. To provide a Christian education to such impoverished children is a very difficult task. Besides the Scriptures and the classic educational courses, we must provide the children with clothing, food, and the required study materials. In the future, we also hope to provide technical training to the children so that they might learn to make a living. The gypsy people are one of the most despised people groups on the face of the earth. Hardly anyone would ever consider giving any noble employment to a gypsy. For the children to make a living by any means other than robbery and prostitution, they must learn a trade and begin their own business. For this reason, we are praying for a building and the proper tools. We not only desire to win our children to Christ, but to teach them to be productive citizens for the glory of God. I can truly say that my heart has been knit to the children ever since I began working with them in the school as a volunteer teacher. At the present, my life is consumed with ministering to children, meeting their needs, and keeping the school on its feet. I have a profile on each child and carefully study them in order to understand how to best help each student. I visit their families and motivate the parents to allow their children to continue attending our school. We are terribly short handed and everyone of our teachers do the work of several people. Please pray for us.
Ana Maria Marin
school. I enjoy my studies, especially my class on religion because we are allowed to make drawings of the people and the stories we read about in the Bible. I also enjoy the school because we get to eat once a day and during the winter the building has heat. One day, I want to become a doctor, but right now I am studying many other things that are important. There are many other things that brother Moises wants to teach us, but right now we do not have the room or the things we need. Also, we need more teachers who know different things.
Madalina Costache
Testimonies from the Children The following are testimonies from the children at the Peniel School for Gypsy Children in Bucharest. It is our hope and prayer at HeartCry that this tiny light among the Gypsies will one day grow into a mighty beacon for the Gospel.
Mariana Mihalache Twelve years old, Fifth Grade My mother and I, and my three brothers live in one small room that we are able to rent. My mother works very hard every day and makes a salary of about 700,000 lei each month ($22 a month). Like my brothers, I was never able to go to school. Every day I went out into the street to make money washing cars. One day, I met brother Moises and he invited me to come to his school. I told him that I could not study because I did not have any money. Moises and Ana Maria told me that the Lord would provide and so I came to the
Fourteen years old, Fifth Grade
My name is Madalina, and I am 14 years old. I live with my mother and six brothers and sisters. My mother divorced my father because he would not admit that he is my real father. My mother is sick with her lungs and I have one brother sick with leukemia. We live in two small rooms and do not have any income. I heard about brother Moises’ school from my cousin, and so I came here to study. On Sundays, I go together with my mother to the Holy Trinity Church. I like this school because we are taught well and brother Moises is very kind and does not shout at us. Sister Ana Maria is very kind and she gives us food. She teaches religion very well. We get a snack every day, but a good meal would be better. I like this school because it has heat and we do not fight. I want to become a secretary or a hairdresser. I like the English language very much. I also like to study about God and to read the Bible with my mother.
Mihaela Petre Thirteen years old, Fifth Grade My name is Mihaela, and I am 13 years old. I live with my mother and three sisters in one room of an old building. We do not have electricity or running water. It is difficult to do
my homework. My parents divorced when I was six months old. Our only income is my oldest sister’s salary. She is sixteen years old and makes about 1,500,000 lei each month ($50). We live in an old building that will soon be condemned. I heard about Moises’ school from my cousin. I had never attended school before and I did not know how to read, write, or do math. According to Romanian law, if a child does not go to school before the age of nine, they are never allowed to go to school. I thank God for the opportunity I have in Peniel. I am very happy because sometimes we are given clothes and shoes to wear. This is a wonderful blessing, especially during winter. Sometimes we are also given a pencil and a few pieces of paper to take home for our own use. One day, I want to become a pediatrician, but to be able to do that I will need to study many years and to work very hard. We like Brother Moises because he is kind and doesn’t beat us. He welcomes us in his school and he is always doing his best for us. I enjoy the way he explains to us the Bible and I want to know God the way brother Moises described Him to us. Please pray for us. Brother Moises wants to set up a Gypsy children’s choir and do so many other things for us.
Adriana Podeanu Fifteen years old, Fifth Grade My name is Adriana and I am fifteen years old. My mother and I and my younger brother live together in a small room. I do not have a father. Our income is $65 a month. I heard about the Peniel School for Gypsies from my friend. I like the school because we get very good lessons. I am also glad that we get a snack every day. It is sometimes the only meal we eat since there is often nothing in our homes. I like Mr. Moise because he is kind to us, and he disciplines the bad boys and does not let them hurt us. He is always trying to do things for us. He wants to have a camp for us during the summer and to take us places so that we can learn about culture and history. I enjoy the atmosphere in the school and want to know more about Christ and other Christians. I want to become a lawyer, and therefore, I need to study many years.
There is more than simply reading, writing, and arithmetic. The Children are taught the Word of God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Sorin Mihalache Fifteen years old, Fifth Grade I live with my mother, three brothers, and one sister in a small room in a condemned building in Bucharest. We are always afraid that the authorities will make us leave since it is illegal to live in such a place. My mother works very hard, but only makes 1,700,000 lei a month ($55). My father does not support us. I heard about Moises’ school from a friend. I had been attending a regular school, but we were evacuated from our old building and had to live on the street for six months. I like brother Moises’ school because it helps the poor and makes it possible for poor children to come to school. I like brother Moises because he helped my family and me. He respects us and helps everybody. I like church very much.
A young Gypsy boy at the key board of one of the computers donated to the school. Unfortunately, the computers are so antiquated that they are no longer even functional.
Marian Dragne
Florian Costache Laurentiu
Sixteen Years Old, Fifth Grade
Fifth Grade
I have five brothers and sisters, and we live together with my mother and father. My father works very hard and earns about 1,500,000 lei a month ($50). I work after school every day and earn about 500,000 lei a month ($16). I heard about the Peniel School from brother Moises. I was kicked out of my former school for fighting. I like this school because they teach us good things. I want to become a soccer player and to learn English and Spanish. I am a friend of brother Moises, and I want to become a good Christian.
I live with my mother and two brothers in a small apartment in Bucharest. My father died when I was very little. Our only income is the social aid that we receive because we do not have a father. It is 410,000 lei a month ($13). I try to work in our neighborhood for extra money, but I do not make very much. I was kicked out from the first school that I attended, but I like this school because it is clean and brother Moises teaches us religion. We get a snack every day. This is very good, because sometimes we do not eat at home. I want to become a soccer player.
Testimonies from the Teachers Students, teachers, and staff workers at Peniel.
Carmen Elena Andresoi My name is Andresoi Carmen Elena. I am 22 years old and I am a student in my fourth year at the Baptist College of Theology at the University of Bucharest. My major area of study is social work. Since my early high school years, I have volunteered to work in orphanages and other Christian projects. I love children no matter what ethnic group they are from. The first time I ever taught anyone about Jesus was to a group of gypsy children! For some reason, I have always thought that the Gypsies were very special people in God’s eyes. Almost all of our children come from extremely poor families and they do not have the opportunity to go to a state school. I believe that God has given me a great opportunity to teach these precious children about His love. I began working with children eight years ago. I first taught Sunday School classes in my home church in Craiova and then I worked for four years in an orphanage and served as a leader in the children’s summer camps. When I moved to Bucharest to study, I taught the Bible to Gypsy children in the nearby village of Jilava. For me, it was a great honor to be accepted as a teacher in the Peniel School for Gypsy Children. I do not only teach them to read, write and do mathematics, but I also teach them
about God. I know at this moment that I am in the center of God’s will. Peniel is a good school and it has tremendous significance in the lives of the children. I will remain here until God calls me to do something else.
Alina Olteanu My name is Alina Olteanu and I am a teacher at the Peniel School for Gypsy Children. I am also a student in my third year at the Baptist College of Theology at the University of Bucharest. My major area of study is English. I came to this school having the strong desire to work with children in a Christian school. When I first met our children and saw the vicious environment in which they live, I recognized their great need of encouragement, guidance, and the knowledge of God. Many of our children are forced to work after classes in order to obtain enough food or clothes to survive. Many of the children wash windshields at stop signs or in front of large stores where people park their cars. Others help their neighbors, or even beg on the streets. I know that this school is a great blessing for our children and that it is the only opportunity they will ever have to be educated. I believe that God will
continue to work in the lives of these poor children, and it is my great hope that they will be converted into real believers in Jesus Christ and trustworthy disciples. I hope to stay in this ministry as long as I am needed and God will allow me.
Daniela Spataru My name is Daniela Spataru. I am 23 years old and I am a teacher at the Peniel School for Gypsy Children. Before I met the Lord Jesus Christ, I was very selfish and rebellious. I believed that I was always right and everyone else was wrong. I also considered myself to be a good person. In spite of all my pride, I felt that something was missing. I did not have inner peace and I was terrified about the fires of hell. One day, a Christian visited me and made me understand the most elementary truths about Jesus Christ and His sacrifice. With my limited understanding, I asked the Lord to take my life in His hands. Immediately, I became an active member in the church and began working with the children on the worship team and in the personal evangelism team. When I began to get to know the children from the school, I immediately recognized their great needs. They have many
great problems and suffer from many terrible traumas. They are surrounded by the worst of all environments, their families are totally dysfunctional and they have no place of security. Everywhere they look there is violence, addiction, immorality, and extreme poverty. From early childhood they must learn to fend for themselves. There is no one to protect them or love them. God has given me a love in my heart so that I want to be there for them in each and every situation. Even though they are not very teachable (at first), I pray that God will give me the patience and wisdom to teach them the basics of education and the truth of His Word. Being a teacher to such needy children, requires that we not only build a relationship with the children, but also with their parents. I believe that the greatest task is not to help them integrate socially, but to lead them to salvation and help them to be servants of Christ. I desire to share the Gospel with everyone of them and to tell them about the God who changed my heart and my way of thinking. I hope that by God’s grace these children will be the church of tomorrow in the middle of the Gypsy community in Bucharest. I believe that your prayers are very important in accomplishing this vision.
A young Gypsy girl studying at Peniel. The children are hardly ever given homework since many live in condemned buildings without lights, heat, or running water.
Moises’ Testimony
Brother Moises Marin is supported as a HeartCry Missionary. He works as supervisor over our Gypsy missionaries in Romania and is Director of the Peniel School for Gypsy Children. The following is the testimony of his conversion, call, and present ministry. I was born in 1965 in a small village about 50 miles from Bucharest. My father was an alcoholic, and we lived in the slums next to the town cemetery. My father was very abusive. There was hardly a day that passed in which he did not beat my mother or us children. We never had food because my father spent all the money we had on liquor. If I ever asked my father for money to eat or to go to school, he would beat me and send me to the fields to work. By the time I was 16 years old, I was very bad. I decided that the best thing for me was to join the army and so I left my family and traveled to the capital city of Bucharest. I knew that to become an officer in the army I had to do well in school and be a good fighter, so I worked in the day, studied at night and began to train as a boxer. I was very dedicated to my goals, but I had one terrible problem - I drank a lot. One night after graduating from my studies, I got drunk and found myself in the middle of a terrible fight. The police came and chased us. I was hit by a car and developed amnesia. After I recovered my memory, I presented myself for military service, but the officials told me that all gypsies were liars and thieves and that I would never be an officer. Very discouraged, I decided to enter the military knowing that I would never have the opportunity to be an officer. However, the night before
my enlistment, I got drunk and lost all my identification and my communist party card. After months of struggle, I was finally able to reestablish my identity and enlist, but on the day of my enlistment, I heard two men, where I worked, talking about God. They were excited about a church service where God had done great things. I asked them if I could go with them. They told me to be there at 6pm, but I arrived at 5pm to be sure that I would meet them. When the man began to preach, I felt as though he was talking to me. I began to cry. I left the meeting and all that I could think about was God and the message. I returned to hear the preaching every evening. On the last night there was a baptism. I wanted to be baptized, but they did not let me because they were not sure of my conversion. Three months later, I went to a little village outside of Bucharest and attended the little church that was there. Since I was from Bucharest, they thought I was an important person and so they asked me to preach. I was so ashamed because I knew nothing about the Bible. I tried to preach the sermons I had heard in Bucharest, but it did not turn out very well. Afterwards, I made a promise to God that I would be baptized and that I would learn the Bible so that I might be a good preacher for God’s people. Now I am a follower of Jesus Christ and a missionary of the Gospel to my people, the Gypsies. The state of the Gypsies is very degraded. Sin, corruption and crime are everywhere. Whether it is in the ghettos or in the country, the sin of my people stands out like a flag. No one wants the Gypsy. No one wants to hire him, or associate with him. The Gypsies have no income, no respect, no medicine. Only 20% of the gypsies have a full time job, another 30% works part time when they can find work, and the rest cheat and steal. The aged have no retirement or income, they are sick and harassed, even beaten by their own children. The youth have no future and no skill except that of stealing. The young girls practice prostitution and many children are out of wedlock. The children are abused and they learn only negative things because there is no positive thing to learn in such an environment. There is much violence and terror. The women are severely beaten especially if they become Christians. Most live in dilapidated apartment blocks without electricity, water or heating. My people, the Gypsies, are pushed to the edge of society and the Romanian people and government are not willing to do anything to help them. Even the Christian Church has turned its back on the Gypsies. This is why I am driven to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the Gypsy. There are 5 million gypsies in Romania and more than 800,000 in the capital of Bucharest. I believe that God has called me to reach
Moises baptizing a new Gypsy convert in the village of Stehaia, Romania them with the Gospel. My vision is to reach every place in the world where there are Gypsies. I want to buy old homes in each Gypsy community and use them as Churches. That way the gypsy missionary who goes to that village can live in part of the home and use the rest of it for a Church. I also want to start Christian schools for the Gypsies, because my people have almost no knowledge of the Bible, Christian education or Christian culture. The Gypsy missionaries you support, including myself, are now teaching and preaching in an orphanage just for Gypsy children. The first time we went there, the director (who is not Gypsy) said that the orphanage was a curse on the Romanian country, because it was growing more Gypsies. That tells you how despised the Gypsy people are. We are also preaching in a place here in Bucharest called Ferentini. This place is called the “District of Terror�, because it is the most dangerous place in all of Romania. If you are not a Gypsy and you go there at night you will not return alive. There are many Gypsies there. I want to see them come to Christ. We must reach my people now so that the future generation will be changed. It is hard for us to work among the Gypsies because the villages are so far apart and there are so few workers. Often there is no transportation, like a bus or train, and we must walk. It is even more difficult to reach the villages in the winter when there are deep snows and subzero temperatures. The Gypsies live in small closed communities and they
are all friends. If you go to preach to them by yourself they will not trust you, they will not listen, but if you go in a group they become interested and listen. Your missionaries and I go as a group and preach, sing and invite the people to learn who God is. We have to return many times to the same village and preach the Gospel over and over before the people begin to believe. The Gypsies are very tough people, but if you go and touch their heart, and you show them that you love them, they will open their hearts. The missionaries you support are Gypsies, therefore, when we tell the people how we were before Christ saved us and how He has changed us, they listen. They know how Gypsies are - we cheat, steal and are very bad until we meet Christ. Since the Gypsies are so bad, everyone can see the change when a Gypsy is converted by the power of Christ and His Gospel. Because the Gypsies act and understand differently, we needed Gypsy missionaries and Gypsy Churches that understand the Gypsy culture. I want to thank you for the support you are giving to our Gypsy missionaries. Without them we could not do what we are doing now. We can already see a movement among our people. Our ministry, work and fruit has grown tremendously since you have begun helping us. I thank you in the name of my people the Gypsies. I thank the people from HeartCry for your concern. It is a very great blessing for us. Thank you for everything you have done for our people. You are in our prayers. You are our brothers and sister, and you are very precious to us. Before you came to help us there was no real mission among the Gypsies, but now there is because of you.
The Gypsies By Paul Washer Excerpts from the Patrin Web Page
I have been in many places in the last 10 years and have seen many different nationalities and people groups, but of all of these I must admit that the Gypsies are truly unique. They are vagabonds without a country and yet they are knit together closer than any nation; they are the most despised people group in all of Europe and yet they are proud of being Gypsies; they are famous for their deceit, thievery, lying and immorality and yet they are one of the most open people to the Gospel in the eastern hemisphere. They are a loud, colorful, contradiction that will capture the imagination and the heart of anyone who will care enough to give them a second look. Since so many people’s concept of the Gypsy people is more myth than truth, we have decided to share a few important facts about the history, culture and life of the Gypsy. We hope that a better understanding of these people will awaken your heart to love them and help you see their great need of the Savior.
The Gypsy Name The Gypsies have been known by many names such as Tsigani, Tzigane, Cigano, Zigeuner, and others. Most Gypsies refer to themselves by their tribal names, or as Rom or Roma, meaning “Man” or “People.” The Gypsy names Rom, Roma, Romania, and Romaniya should not be confused with the country of Romania, or the city of Rome, but are names with separate, distinct etymological origins and are not related. The Gypsy people prefer to use the names Rom, Roma, Romani in all official communications and legal documents. It is the hope of all Gypsy peoples to eliminate the use of derogatory, pejorative and offensive names, such as Gypsies, and to be identified by their true names of Roma, or Rroma. From now on in this article, we will refer to the Gypsy people as Roma.
A Brief History There are more than twelve million Roma outside of India located in many countries around the world. There is no way to obtain an exact number since they are not recorded on most official census counts. The Roma are a distinct ethnic minority, distinguished at least by Rom blood and Romanes language, whose origins began on the Indian subcontinent over one thousand years ago. No one knows for certain why the original Roma began their great wandering from India to Europe and beyond, but they have dispersed worldwide, despite persecution and oppression through the centuries. There are four Rom tribes, or nations (natsiya), of Roma: the Kalderash, the Machavaya, the Lovari, and the Churari. Other groups include the Romanichal, the Gitanoes (Calé),
Musicians at a local Gypsy Church outside of Bucharest.
the Sinti, the Rudari, the Manush, the Boyash, the Ungaritza, the Luri, the Romungro, and the Xoraxai. The first European descriptions of the Roma upon their entering Europe emphasized their dark skin and black hair. Through integration with Europeans over the centuries, Roma today can also be found with light skin and hair.
Culture Romani culture is diverse and there is no universal culture per se, but there are attributes common to all Roma: * * * *
Loyalty to family (extended and clan); Belief in Del (God) and beng (the Devil); Belief in predestination or fate; Romaniya, standards and norms, varying in degree from tribe to tribe; * Adaptability to changing conditions. Integration of many Roma into gajikané (non-Roma, or foreign) culture due to settlement has diluted many Romani cultural values and beliefs. Therefore not all tribes have the same definition of who and what is “Roma.” What may be accepted as “true-Roma” by one group may be gadjé to another. Romani culture is diverse, with many traditions and customs, and all tribes around the world have their own individual beliefs and tenets. It would be invalid to generalize and oversimplify by giving concrete rules to all Roma. Despite what some groups may believe, there is no one tribe that can call themselves the one, “true” Roma.
Religion and Superstitions The Roma cannot be said to have a religion of their own. They have usually adopted the faiths of the countries in which they live. Among the Roma can be found Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Protestants, and Muslims. Many prefer to carry out religious rituals in their own homes or in the context of folk observances. The best known Romani religious festivals are the annual pilgrimages to Saintes Maries de la Mer on the Mediterranean coast of France and Sainte Anne de Beaupre in Quebec, Canada. In Saintes Maries de la Mer, Saint Sarah, the Black Virgin, is paid homage to by the Roma on the 24-26 of May. In Quebec, the Roma pay homage to Saint Anne on July 26. These annual religious festivals are used as social gatherings for the Roma. Though they have, for practical purposes, adopted the religions of those with whom they have come into contact, formal religion is often supplemented by faith in the supernatural, in omens and curses. These superstitions vary among different Roma groups, but it is to some extent a factor in the lives of all of them. Roma believe in supernatural powers, as exemplified by their use of curses, called amria, and healing rituals. They practice fortune telling only for the benefit of gadje, and as a source of livelihood, but not among themselves. The fortune teller is always a woman called a drabardi. The concept of fortune telling contains several independent elements that
are misleadingly grouped together. One element is foretelling the future, called drabaripé or drabarimos. Another element relates to healing powers, which the Roma do practice among themselves. The healing elements of fortune telling are called “advising.” Both elements are based on a belief in the supernatural. Good luck charms, amulets, and talismans are common among Roma. They are carried to prevent misfortune or heal sickness. The female healer who prescribes these traditional cures or preventatives is called a drabarni or drabengi. Some Roma carry bread in their pockets as protection against bad luck, or bibaxt, and supernatural spirits or ghosts, called muló. Horseshoes are considered good luck by some Roma just as they are by non-Roma. Since Roma feel that illness is an unnatural condition, called prikaza, there are many supernatural ways in which they believe disease can be prevented or cured. One method of lowering a fever has been to shake a young tree. In this way the fever is transferred from the sick person’s body to the tree. Another method to bring down fever has been to drink powdered portions of certain animals dissolved in spirits, to the accompaniment of a chant. Some beliefs include carrying a mole’s foot as a cure for rheumatism, and carrying a hedgehog’s foot to prevent a toothache. Any number of herbs, called drab, are used for the prevention or cure of various diseases. Herbalism may be practiced by both sexes. Some of these herbs, called sastarimaskodrabaró, actually have medicinal value in addition to their supposed supernatural qualities.
Taboos Most of Roma society relies heavily on distinctions between behavior that is pure, vujo or wuzho, and polluted, or marimé. Marimé has a dual meaning to the Roma. It refers both to a state of pollution or defilement as well as to the sentence of expulsion imposed for violation of purity rules or any behavior disruptive to the Roma community. Pollution and rejection are thus closely associated with one another. Pollution taboos, and their names, vary from group to group and often among smaller Romani units. Nevertheless, Roma define themselves in part by their adherence to these cleanliness rituals. There may be class distinctions among some Roma, based on how strictly individuals or families maintain distinctions between purity and impurity. The marimé concept applied to personal hygiene means “dirty” or “polluted.” Much of it stems from the division of a woman’s body into two parts, above the waist and below the waist. A woman is clean from the waist up and “polluted” from the waist down. There is no shame, lashav, connected with the upper part of the body. The lower part of the body is, however, an object of shame, baro lashav, because it is associated with menstruation. The fact that blood flows without injury seems to be the proof of a bodily impurity. This concept of marimé as applied to women is one explanation why in many tribes the Roma women wear long skirts and why the bottom of those skirts must not touch a man other than the Roma woman’s husband.
A woman in a house must not pass in front of a man, or even between two men. She must go around them in order to avoid “infecting” them. At meals, the men must be served from the rear for the same reason. If a Roma woman is not wearing the traditional long skirt, she must cover her legs with a blanket or coat when sitting. Many of the traditional laws of hygiene deal with water. For example, Roma must wash only in running water. A shower would be acceptable, but a bath would not be, for the person would be sitting or lying in dirty, stagnant water. Dishes cannot be rinsed in the same sink or basin that is used for washing personal clothing. The kitchen sink is used only for washing dishes, and therefore it cannot ever be used for washing one’s hands. In addition, women’s clothes and men’s clothes cannot be washed together, because of the impurities of the women’s bodies. Some traditional rules might make sense to the non-Roma. The surfaces of tables used for eating are kept spotless. Handkerchiefs for blowing the nose are frowned upon. They merely preserve the dirt of the nose. For this reason Roma prefer to blow their noses in disposable material. In any case, after blowing the nose or sneezing, one must wash before eating. To some, the marimé code of pollution may seen unfair to women. However, marimé also gives women great power.
Prepubescent girls and older women are placed in a different category from other women, because they do not menstruate. This allows them more freedom and they are allowed to socially interact with men with fewer restrictions. There are remedies or punishments for a person who has become infected, or marimé. Minor offenses, clearly unintentional ones, can be forgiven by those present at the time the offense is committed. More serious ones must be dealt with by the community.
Clothing The stereotype of the Roma woman with the long, colorful skirt, the heavy earrings, and often a flower in her hair has some basis in fact. Traditionally, a woman’s legs must not show. Exposure of the legs is a grave offense, so long full skirts must be worn. It is probable that long skirts were once thought of as protection against sexual advances, but they also cover the lower part of the body, which is considered marimé, or “impure.” These skirts are generally of bright colors, often consisting of many layers. Except for color, a woman does not have a varied wardrobe. Among many tribes, if a woman is married she must display that fact by keeping her head covered by a diklo, or head scarf. Women usually allow their hair to grow long. Their hair may then be braided or rolled into a bun on the back of the head. Roma women usually wear jewelry, not only for its beauty, but for its intrinsic value. Most do not have bank accounts or safe deposit boxes, so they feel most se-
cure carrying their valuables on their own persons. Traditionally, acquired wealth has been converted into jewelry or gold coins called galbi, the latter sometimes worn on clothing as adornments, or woven into the hair, as with the women of the Kalderash nation. As for men, there is really no characteristic clothing. Since the head is regarded as the body’s focal point, many Roma men draw attention to it by wearing large hats and wide mustaches. For festive occasions, they will wear a good suit and show a preference for bright colors. Most of them own one suit at a time and wear it until it is frayed. A brightly colored neck scarf may be worn, but generally, their clothing is indistinguishable from that of the gadje among whom they live or travel.
Food Traditionally the eating habits of Roma have been conditioned by their nomadic way of life. Their diet has consisted largely of what was readily available. This included wild fruits, berries, leafy plants, mollusks, and small mammals. As the Roma have gradually come into greater contact with people of the cities, their eating habits have conformed more and more to those of the non-Roma. A day will generally begin with very strong black coffee, heavily sweetened with sugar. Coffee is a staple of Roma existence for many tribes, and many cups may be taken in the course of a day. There is usually no lunch, and dinner is served at sunset, or, since the food is generally on the stove
all afternoon, whenever anyone is hungry. The basic element of this dinner is a thick, fatty vegetable soup, or stew, with any available vegetables or greens put into it. It is usually made even more hearty by the addition of potatoes, rice, or pasta. Sometimes meat is served, generally broiled or cooked on a spit. Game, such as rabbit and game fowl, are enjoyed when possible. Garlic is a very commonly used seasoning. Some tribes serve maize cakes instead of bread. Water is the most often served beverage during the course of a meal. Ceremonial events such as christenings, marriages, and religious festivals are occasions for community activity and sharing. Enormous quantities of food and drink are consumed during these celebrations, and the preparation is long and enthusiastic. A favorite European Roma dish has traditionally been roasted hedgehog, although this delicacy is gradually falling from favor among many Roma. It has a rich and succulent meat with a pork-like flavor, which is also enjoyed by some non-Roma Europeans. Ideally, this animal is flavored with garlic and placed skin and all above burning hot coals or stones. In this way, it cooks in its own juices. When the roasting is completed, the animal’s prickles are shaved or picked off and the skin is peeled back. The meat is served, sometimes wrapped in aromatic leaves. Chicken and other fowl can also be cooked this way. On these special occasions beer, wine and other spirits are substituted for water at the meal. Marimé taboos extend to animals as well, from the edibility of certain types of meat to pet ownership. Romaniya prohibits cruelty to animals and they may only be killed for food. The German Sinti consider eating horse flesh a serious offense, as do other tribes. The exclusion of horse meat has more to do with respect than to marimé, the horse has been so important to the Roma’s mobility and survival in the past. Dogs and cats are also considered polluted because of their unclean living habits, as well as owls that are considered portents of death.
Popular Myths about the Gypsies The term “Gypsy” as used in scholarly writings supports misconceptions that all Roma are migratory, roam the countryside, and are engaged in questionable or illegal activities, as exemplified by slang terms like “to gyp,” meaning to swindle. For many people, just the word “Gypsy” conjures up the picture of dirty women in long skirts, apparently sickly babies in their arms, begging for money or asking to read palms. For others, they are petty swindlers who rent storefronts and deceive a gullible public. It is only natural that
many Roma, therefore, view the word “Gypsy” as offensive. For centuries Roma were called Egyptians, because of their having been mistakenly identified as Islamic invaders when they first arrived in Europe. The prevalent term “Gypsy” is a contraction of `the name Egyptian. Roma are also called Zigeuner in German, Tsigani in Russian, Zingari in Italian, and Tigani in Romanian. These names are variants of the Greek word Athinganoi, meaning “don’t touch.” It was also the name of a religious sect formerly inhabiting Phrygia and Thrace in Asia Minor who shunned contact with outsiders. The Roma themselves perpetuated many myths about themselves for many reasons. It better suited their purposes to encourage fanciful, imaginative explanations of their origins. In the past, if they said their origins were biblical and therefore Christian, they could more easily gain the sympathy of the people and the officials of the towns and cities they visited. If, instead, these roots were tinged with mystery, this would enhance their qualifications for fortune telling and give them a mystical aura and presence. Many of the myths of biblical origin were very popular. According to some, the Roma were descended from Noah. According to others, they were the true descendants of
A camp of Gypsies traveling through the countryside of Romania. Notice their covered wagons in the background. Abraham and Sarah. Their endless wandering, some people believed, was their punishment for being among those who refused help to Joseph and Mary on their flight into Egypt. Another popular story told that during the crossing of the Red Sea, when Pharaoh’s troops were trapped in the waters, a young couple miraculously escaped, becoming the Adam and Eve of the Roma. One of the most widespread legends concerning the nomadic Roma was based on the story of the Crucifixion. According to this legend, many people were asked to forge the nails of the Cross, but all refused when they heard the purpose for which the nails were to be used. Finally, some Roma blacksmiths agreed to make them, and because of this, the Roma were condemned to wander the earth forever. Many speculations on their origins were not based on biblical sources. They themselves often said they had fled from Egypt and supported this by the use of fanciful titles, such as “Duke of Egypt.” There is no such thing as Roma royalty. No king or duke makes proclamations of law. Roma did use imaginative titles of nobility when they first came to Europe, but these were meant to impress their hosts. Since that time, many journalists have found it colorful to write of “Gypsy” kings or queens, and some Roma, seeking a romantic image, have encouraged this. However, the fact is that each community is ruled by a man who is chosen not because he is part of any royal family, but for his age, experience, and wisdom. The leader of a Romani community is a man who inspires respect by his strength and intelligence, a man who by his own life sets an example for the other Roma.
The Roma, too, were thought to be of Babylonian, Nubian or Abyssinian descent, or even descendants of the Celtic Druids. No explanation of their origins seemed impossible. A particularly romantic version stated that they were the survivors of the mysterious people who inhabited the legendary island of Atlantis. Sometimes, the Romani choice of occupations was supposed to provide clues to their origins. For example, because of their skills at fortune telling, they were reputed to be the descendants of the Euxians, neighbors of the Persians, who in ancient times were known for their success in predicting the future. The deeply ingrained notion that all Roma are nomadic overlooks the fact that in Europe today, it is estimated that about five percent of the Roma are nomadic or migratory. The commonly held notion that Roma steal or buy children has no basis in fact. Gajikane (non-Roma) parents often warn their children that they will be given, or sold, to the “Gypsies” if they do not behave themselves. There have been allegations and accusations through the centuries in Europe, some resulting in circumstantial guilt and punishment by gadjikano courts, all with no basis in fact or reality. European folklore contains a number of references to the Romani complexion. A Greek proverb says, “go to the Gypsy children and choose the whitest,” and in Yiddish, “the same sun that whitens the linen darkens the Gypsy,” and “no washing ever whitens the black Gypsy.” One word in Romani which Roma in some countries use as a name for themselves is Calé, meaning “black.” The Spanish Roma call themselves
An impoverished Gypsy camp outside of Bucharest during the dead of winter.
Calé, and the Roma in Finland call themselves Kalo. Caucasian non-Roma are called parni or parnofi meaning “white” in some Romani dialects, even by fair-skinned Roma. There is another equally one-sided picture of the Roma, and this is a romantic one. According to this point of view, they are a beautiful, colorfully dressed people, proud and independent, life-loving and passionate. They are carefree and enjoy the simple pleasures of life. These people have created a music and dance that throb with passion and joy. The women in their colorful long skirts are irresistibly seductive and exciting. The dark-faced, high cheek-boned men, so proud and strong, are symbols of wild, uninhibited virility. These notions have, for centuries, been encouraged by romantic writers and painters all over the world. These myths are perpetuated by groups today, such as “medieval” societies and other “Renaissance” organizations. They are as untrue as other notions that show the Roma to be a totally immoral and disreputable people.
Persecution Excerpt taken from The Roma Persecution by Harold Tanner
There have been many large-scale, state-sponsored persecutions, or pogroms, against the Roma throughout European history. The Nazi terror of World War II is the most infamous and is responsible for the deaths of up to 1.5 million Roma in the Porraimos (Holocaust). The Roma presented a problem for Hitler. The racist policies he directed against the Jews were based on the fact that they were non-Aryans. The Roma were one of the oldest
Aryan groups in Europe and did not fit into this category. At first, the Hitler regime tried to force German scholars to deny the truth, and to state that Roma were not Aryans. However, many scholars refused to follow Hitler’s demands, often resulting in their own imprisonment. The Nazis soon abandoned the non-Aryan argument, and they created other reasons for doing away with the Roma. According to Nazi policy the Roma were not Nordic. They were “asocial,” “subhuman beings” and members of a “lower race.” On 15 September 1935, Jews were restricted by the Nuremberg Law for the Protection of Blood and Honor, and Roma were added later in 1937. This law forbade intermarriage or sexual intercourse between Aryan and non-Aryan peoples. Criteria for classification as a Rom were twice as strict as those applied to Jews. If two of a person’s eight great-grandparents were even part-Rom, that person “had too much Gypsy blood to be allowed to live.” According to the Nazi hierarchical system, Roma belonged with Jews at the bottom of the racial scale. In 1937, the Roma were forced into concentration camps, officially called “resident camps” at Dachau, Dieselstrasse, Mahrzan and Vennhausen. The Roma interned included those found in Germany and in the Nazi occupied countries. The Nazi Party was given the cooperation of other European governments in its campaign to locate and identify Roma throughout Europe. Prisoners at Buchenwald were worked to death as slave laborers in the camp quarry or at outlying arms factories. There were no gas chambers but thousands were shot, hanged, or tortured to death by the camp’s guards.
To the Nazis, being a Rom meant being diseased, so these prisoners were sterilized to prevent them from spreading this disease by reproduction. Some Roma were sterilized as early as 1933, though no Jews had yet been. In July 1938, the Endloesung, or Final Solution, plans were being finalized. Among the many categories of Nazi victims, only the Roma and the Jews were singled out for annihilation on racial grounds. Only Jews and Roma were considered genetically “tainted,� threatening German racial purity. During the following months, Roma were transported to the camps in Poland. These Roma movements were later stopped because of the expense involved. Roma in the Baltic States, Poland, Austria, Czechoslovakia, France, Italy, Hungary and the rest of Nazi-occupied Europe were forced into camps for later extermination. In February 1943, large-scale roundups were established in Germany, and over ten thousand Roma had arrived in Sachsenhausen by April. Hitler’s infamous deputy, Heinrich Himmler, decided that the Roma camps were to be eliminated, and began a program of liquidation. Roma were beaten and clubbed to death, herded into the gas chambers, and forced to dig their own graves.
The fate of the Roma paralleled the tragic fate of the Jews, who were also imprisoned and exterminated. They were tortured, used for inhuman scientific experiments, and put to death in the infamous gas chambers. One of the worst of the camps, Auschwitz, held sixteen thousand Roma at one point. By August 1944, only four thousand Roma remained. After a visit by Himmler, the last imprisoned Roma were led to the gas chambers. The recent collapse of the communist governments of Eastern Europe have rekindled anti-Roma sentiment in Eastern and Western Europe. Violent attacks against Romani immigrants and refugees have been permitted to occur with little or no restraint from government authorities. The Romani people remain the least integrated and the most persecuted people of Europe. Almost everywhere, their fundamental civil rights are threatened. Racist violence targeting Roma is on the rise after the fall of Communism. Discrimination against Roma in employment, education, health care, administrative and other services is observed in most societies, and hate speech against them deepens the negative anti-Roma stereotypes which are typical of European public opinion.
Gypsy children in front of their makeshift home near Bucharest.
The first American account to discuss Gypsies appeared in the Christian Enquirer for September 29th, 1855: The Gypsies ... are an idle, miserable race, a curse to the countries they inhabit, and a terror to the farmer through whose lands they stroll. They seem utterly destitute of conscience, and boast of dishonesty as if it were a heavenly virtue ... Laws have been passed in several countries to banish them, and great cruelties sometimes practiced to enforce these laws ... So deeply rooted are sin and vagrancy in the hearts of this miserable race, that neither penal laws nor bitter persecution can drive it out. They are not beyond the power of the Gospel, however, nor yet beyond the mercy of the Redeemer.
When was the last time you thought about the rest of the world? “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.� John 3:16
Reports from
Our Gypsy Missionaries At the present, the HeartCry Missionary Society is supporting several Gypsy Missionaries in the Eastern European countries of Romania and Moldova. In the following are a few of their reports.
Toni Angel Toni (on the right) leads his church in worship. I praise the Lord for the four weekly meetings that we have to pray and to praise God. I am always visiting the members of our church. We talk about family problems, trials, and the necessity of the Word of God and a real prayer life. Together with some teens from my church, we have begun a work with the children that play in the streets. In each meeting, we have songs, poems, games and Bible stories. I am also spending as much time as possible on the streets to make friends with the Gypsies who do not have a job and to try share the Gospel with them. They have many problems - a lack of education, social integration, and most of all, they have no living relationship with God. This month, I was in a very difficult situation. A man became very disturbed that I stopped by and told him about Jesus. He threatened to beat me up and to cut the tires of my car. I am aware that the devil fights against me, so please pray for my protection. Wherever God is doing a work, the devil seeks in vain to destroy it.
Marian Nae I would like to share with you the wonderful work that God has done in a man’s life from our neighborhood. At forty-seven years of age, this man was retired from his work because of a severe brain infection. Because of this, he started to drink even though the doctors told him that it would affect his brain. He would not listen to them, but became very violent. Everyone in his neighborhood was very frightened of him. His family lived in continual terror and were finally forced to institutionalize him. After a short while, the medical staff released him from the hospital because of his violence. One evening, while we were having our worship service, the Holy Spirit led this man to our congregation. That very evening, God touched his heart, and he knelt down and cried out for the Lord Jesus to save him. He told the Lord that he was sick of his life and wanted to change. Since that night, God has really changed this man’s life. Everyone who knew him is amazed about the transformation. He is an example to his family and his neighborhood. Please pray for him. His name is brother Virgil. There was another man in the neighborhood of our church that was destroying his family through gambling and alcohol. His mother, who comes to our church, told me that she tried her best to help him but he would not change. Because of the broken heart of our sister, we decided to pray harder for this man, and God began to work in his life. This man was renting out rooms in his house to anyone who needed boarding, and God sent brother Mihai from our church to rent one of the rooms. When the man discovered that brother Mihai was once a drinker and gambler, he asked him how he changed. Mihai shared the Gospel with him and invited him to church. The night they came to church together, the Lord changed my message and I preached from Proverbs 23 about the dangers of drinking. After my message, the man fell on his knees, and cried out to the Lord with many tears. Please pray that he becomes another example of the power of God’s salvation. I will now tell you one more testimony of the power of God before I finish. God has begun to work in a family that I have been visiting lately. Every time I visited them, they told me that they did not want to change their religion, because
they were very sinful and could not quit their vices. Finally, after many visits, step by step, God put it in the heart of the wife to listen to the Word of God. She began to come to our church, but her husband opposed her and cursed her every time she spoke of God. Finally, she made a decision to be baptized even though it would cause her much suffering. Although we could not believe our eyes, her husband came to the baptism. When his wife was baptized, the love of God came over him, and he began to cry. He continued to cry through the rest of the service. The devil fought, but the lovingkindness of God overcame the man’s hardened heart. Since that moment, he has not missed one service in our church and has even opened his home to us for Bible studies.
Marian George Toma Sharma
In 1994, a family from the Ukraine moved to Tunari. Everyone called them “the Russians.” They sought to integrate with the other Gypsies, but were for the most part rejected. In the end, they fell in with the wrong people. Soon they became involved with gunrunners, drug dealers, and prostitutes. Finally, the husband was thrown in jail and his wife was left alone with four little children. The children go to the same school with our children and God gave us the opportunity to befriend them and their mother. She was without any friends and she missed her husband terribly. God gave me the privilege of witnessing to her and she realized that she needed the Lord’s forgiveness. Please pray for her, her husband, and for her children.
Ion Marin One day, while I was in the bus on my way to witness in the village of Voetin, I preached from the Word of God and a man named Gheorghe and his wife Olimpia invited me to their home. At their home, they shared with me that they enjoyed learning about Jesus, but that they did not know what to do or where to begin to follow Him. I taught them from the Scriptures and the next Sunday they came to our church. They told me that they did not want to come to church, but that they both had a dream in which they were thrown into hell and were suffering in agony. This story, tells me that God is serious about having a Gypsy church in the area and that He is going to save people. Another day, when I was in the bus going to Slobozia Bradului, I began to speak with the man next to me. I shared the Gospel with him all the way to Rimnic where he got off the bus. The following Sunday, this same man came to our church in Voietin. He drew near to me and told me that ever since we talked, he could not rest. He had come to church that day to find peace and to be free of condemnation and the fear of the punishment for his sin. I was so happy when I saw that he was interested in the Word. It is a proof for me that we can never know the extent to which God is working in our circumstances. Last month, when we were having a program for the children, a five year old boy began to pray for his parents who abandoned him and left him with his grandparents. He also thanked God for the love that our church had shown him. A lost man who was visiting our church, heard the child praying, and immediately began to cry. Later, the lost man came to me and said that if our church could love a little destitute boy, then every terrible thing that the Orthodox priest had told him about us was not true! I will tell you one more thing about the Lord’s work among us. There was a man coming to our church who said many times that he wanted to repent of his sins, but that he could not. Every time he came to the church, the sermon I preached from the Bible would make him uneasy, but he would never repent of his sins. One day, I told him that God was working in his life and that he needed to submit. I also told him that
God would continue working in his life in many ways and that he would suffer and find no rest until he repented. To my surprise, a few days later, his wife became very sick and was taken to the hospital in Bucharest. When I visited the hospital the following day, the man began to cry and repented of his sins.
Rustam Scripcenco There are two important events that took place this month. The first was that over thirty new people (some of them were Gypsies) came to our special meetings. It was a blessed time. I spoke from the Word of God, and I shared my personal testimony. I was glad because the people listened with an opened heart. The second important event happened when we were cleaning the building we bought in the village of Cuba. I took half of the teens from the church, and the villagers where all wondering why so many young people were walking through their village with buckets, scoops, boots, rakes and a guitar! While we were working, a group of Gypsies came to help us and we had time to share the Gospel with them. We finished the day by walking through the village playing our guitar and singing about the Lord. Of course, the people came out of their houses to watch us. At the present, no one has been converted for Christ, but I believe that God will continue what He started in His time. I am doing my part by praying and trying to follow His will. I will do what He says and I know that He will complete His work. I visit the village twice a week and spend time with the people in their homes. They are very poor, but I am trying to encourage them and to show them what it means to have a life with God. They do listen to me, but they have not yet been converted. I do not worry, because God knows how to draw them to Him.
Toma Marius
Recently on the train, I spoke with a seventy year old woman. I was surprised to discover such an old woman who had no idea why Jesus was born. Seeing that she was open to listening to me, I shared with her the Gospel of Jesus Christ. At the end of my sharing, she cried out to the Lord in prayer and asked for salvation. I rejoiced not only for her, but for the many other people on the train who overheard our conversion. Please pray for this old woman, that I might one day meet her in heaven at the feet of Jesus. As I wrote to you in a previous letter, there was a man named Vali who came faithfully to our church, but was still unconverted. I visited him often and shared with him his great need of repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. Finally, one day when he was working on a bus with two other mechanics a terrible thing happened. He moved away a few yards from the bus and his fellow employees who were working on it, when another bus flew out of control and smashed into the bus they were working on. The two other employees were crushed and placed in intensive care. Because of this terrible thing, Vali saw that the hand of God had saved him from a terrible accident. This has led Vali to seek the Lord as never before. Please pray for him. Another testimony that I have for you is about a man named Gelu. He is 28 years old and very friendly. He was very wealthy and lived a very immoral life of smoking, drinking, and prostitutes. He was very proud of his wealth and what he had accomplished until the day we met and I shared with him the Scriptures. He had no idea what the Scriptures said, but when I talked to him he listened very carefully. He came under the conviction of the Holy Spirit about his sins and cried out to the Lord for salvation. He was very happy when he discovered that God forgives our sins. Now Gelu tells me that he hates the way he lived his life before, but that he still struggles with the sin. He says it is like there is someone inside him pushing him to sin and do what he does not want to do. I read the Scriptures with him and give him good tracts to read. (He always reads them as
soon as I give them to him). He now understands God’s will for him and he wants to live according to God’s Word. His wife is very happy with the new life they have now. Please pray for this young man that the Lord will teach him His will and that he will obey it with all his heart. Lina is a forty-nine year old woman who is married and has five children. Her father taught her the Word of God since she was little. In spite of her upbringing, she rebelled against her family and married an unbeliever. About three years ago, Lina’s sister sold a piece of land that belonged to their family and kept the money for herself. In anger, Lina went to the Orthodox church and asked for the priest to put a curse upon her sister. A week later, Lina’s sister died. Since then, Lina has felt terribly guilty and felt forsaken of God.
Through her contact with our church, Lina was introduced to the true Gospel. God searched her heart and she was converted. Now she is happy that God has forgiven all her sins My final testimony is about a lady named Liliana. One day when we were witnessing in the neighborhood, Liliana called to us. She has four daughters and three of them are drug addicts. She begs them not to take drugs, but they do not listen to her. They had even begun to steal from their mother and sell the things from the house. She went to the Orthodox priest, and prayed to God for help, but nothing happened. I asked her why she thinks God does not answer her prayers, and then I explained to her the way of salvation. I do not know if she is yet saved, but I am happy that she has had the opportunity to hear of Christ.
A Special Word of Thanks from Moise Marin I would like to take this time to thank each and everyone of you on behalf of the children for the monthly support we receive through the HeartCry Missionary Society. At the moment we have seventy-three students and four teachers. Three of our children were recently baptized in our church and eight more are faithfully attending our church services. In the summer months, our students do not attend school, but work on the streets. In spite of this, there is still great evidence that the school is impacting their lives. Each of our youngest students received a New Testament and the older ones received Bibles. We are thankful to the Lord for all He is doing through us and you. Together, we are making a difference in the lives of these children and will continue to make a difference with the Lord’s blessing.
“He who shuts his ear to the cry of the poor will also cry himself and not be answered.” Proverbs 21:13
Gypsy Baptism in Strehaia, Romania
What part of “GO” do you not understand? Matthew 28:18-20
Visit Our New Web Site www.heartcrymissionary.com Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Brookport, IL. Permit No. 10
HeartCry Missionary Society c/o Waldo Baptist Church 6970 Waldo Church Road Metropolis, IL. 62960
Email: heartcry@hcis.net