This is the story of a small but special family that I’ve grown close with during my time here in Romania. <Most of this story was shared with me by my Romanian friend Dutsy, who works here at Living Hope Church in Pitesti, Romania. Thanks Dutsy!>
Remember the story of Job? Think for a moment about all you have. Now, imagine it all falls apart. Think of the person most precious to you, and imagine that person is taken from you. And then it happens again – another loved one taken. And then again, another. Your standard of living drops suddenly until you can’t afford even a slice of bread, but still, you’re responsible for a precious child. You lose your job. Your health deteriorates. You can’t work. No one is helping you. So much pain; all seems lost. What would you say to God? Would you even believe a good God could exist? This is Clara’s story.
Before any of the church family here at Living Hope met Clara, they met Florina. Florina is a beautiful, skinny, dark-skinned 10 year-old. She’s full of energy: when we play games, she cheers for her team jumping up and down with arms flailing overhead and shouting. She’s smart – she quickly learned how to behave at youth group and she does well in our English lessons. And she’s so sweet, every time I see her she runs up, throws her arms around my waist, and squeezes me tight! J But she’s from Razboieni: a rough, ghetto neighborhood of Pitesti where we are currently helping out with kid’s ministry. Like all the other kids, she’s dirt poor and she sometimes gets into fights and breaks the rules. Florina loves hugs and climbing trees and winning.
Florina came to Living Hope’s youth program in Razboieni last Fall and loved it. She told Clara, her aunt and caretaker, that it was wonderful and that she wanted to go again. But Clara wasn’t so sure. She couldn’t let Florina into the hands of people who want to harm her, not again.
So Clara herself came to check out the youth program in Razboieni. She spoke with our Pastor: Cristi. Cristi told her who he was and what the program was about. Clara told him she hated God. She told him God had taken all her loved ones and allowed her to experience more pain than one person ever should. And her story began to come out…
Years ago, Clara got a job in Italy. She cared for the house of an elderly man, he was kind to her, and she lived well. She had no family of her own, but was very close to her sister, Mihaela, and niece, Florina. She called them on the phone every day at 12:10 p.m.
One day, after Clara had been in Italy 3 years, Mihaela called during Clara’s lunch break, as usual. But this time they didn’t just chat and reminisce. Mihaela told Clara she needed to come home to Romania immediately. “You need to come home…because I am dying,” she said.
Mihaela had had breast cancer for 5 years, and had never gotten treatment. Her husband had died long ago, before Florina was born. She and Florina lived off a small amount of money from the government and the majority of Clara’s wages -which she sent them each month. She had lived with the cancer for years. Now, it seemed it would take her life.
But determined Clara found a better solution than returning home to say goodbye to her sister. Instead, she brought Mihaela and Florina to Italy. Through a series of connections and relations, Clara got Mihaela a consultation with the best cancer doctor in the region. She was put in the hospital under Clara’s name, and because of Italy’s medical system, it didn’t cost a penny. After two months, Mihaela was in surgery. It lasted six hours, and the doctors found 27 tumors. After the surgery, the doctor told Clara she could live another year.
The cancer was advanced and had spread to other parts of Mihaela’s body. She was placed in a recovery center for 3 months. During all this time, Clara was unable to work, but her boss kept paying her. He said she and Mihaela and Florina “brought him back to life.” He continued to care for them, he bought clothes for Florina, and brought her to the park with his grandkids. Even with Mihaela’s deteriorating health, the family knew some level of peace.
One sunny Saturday, Clara and Florina were in the kitchen washing dishes. Suddenly, armed men broke in and began pointing their guns and shouting. Florina was kidnapped at gunpoint. Clara, unable to do anything else, sunk to the floor, feeling the weight of dread heavier than she’d ever felt.
She was desperate. She had some money saved, so she hired a private detective. She gave him almost everything she had, and soon feared it was a terrible mistake -she didn’t hear anything for a full month. Had he run off with all her money? She contacted the embassy and it turns out the detective was legit. He found out where Florina was, brought the information to the embassy, and they investigated immediately.
Florina had been brought to what was supposedly an “orphanage”. There were seven or eight other children there and prostitutes disguised as nuns ran the place. The children were forced to beg on the streets. They were treated harshly and abused in many ways. As Clara recounts the story, she says she doesn’t even want to think about all that Florina must have endured.
In their investigation, the embassy discovered that Florina was about to be sold into human trafficking for $70,000 Euros. After the sale she could have been sent anywhere in the world; she could have been lost forever. Immediately the embassy sent police to the “orphanage.” The police arrested the “nuns” and rescued the children. When Florina was finally brought home, the embassy told Clara they couldn’t stay in Italy. They weren’t safe. After all, they had helped dismantle the “orphanage.” The kidnappers would likely seek revenge.
After a tense week, Clara found tickets for Florina, Mihaela, and herself back to Romania. Upon return to Romania, Clara didn’t have a single cent. They couldn’t afford even a slice of bread. After a week, Mihaela’s morphine ran out. Because she couldn’t afford a bribe (which is common practice in the Romanian medical system), it took three painful weeks and a lot of paperwork for any Romanian hospital to recognize her need. And, exactly one year after the doctor in Italy had said, Mihaela died.
Clara and Florina were traumatized, grief-stricken, and desperately poor. Before long, Clara went into a diabetic coma and had two heart attacks.
Clara hated God. She laid in bed and thought about nothing. Her chest hurt. She couldn’t breathe. She lost 50 kilos. She thought, “I’m a good person. I’ve never done anything really bad. I’ve loved and sought the best for my family. Why should this be happening to me?” She cursed God.
And life went on. Florina grew. Clara made sure she never went hungry, even if that meant that Clara didn’t eat. Some days she just took her insulin and no food. Clara was unable to work. She receives a meager 170 lei ($45.00 USD)/month pension from the government. She had to fight for a year to gain custody of Florina. She took a stack of pills every day.
She was depressed in mind and soul. And she was so angry. And in the middle of this grinding darkness, Florina came bounding home from a church program in the ghetto, full of joy.
She had found something –something precious. A treasure. She didn’t know what exactly, or why it was so precious. Something in her was drawn to it. Clara was worried, but she could see that Florina had found something important. So she came to investigate.
She stood in the back and watched suspiciously as they sang and danced with the kids. There were American visitors playing with the kids and taking pictures. What was going on? Florina pointed out Pastor Cristi. He was singing in the front, smiling, and bouncing all over the place. And Clara looked around at the kids – laughing, playing. But they were mostly Gypsy kids from the ghetto; she wasn’t sure if she wanted Florina mixing with this crowd. It was all so strange.
Clara didn’t know what to think. She saw how much fun the kids were having. She saw how the leaders interacted with the kids; she was afraid to believe it, but it looked like they really cared. And she heard the words Cristi spoke and couldn’t help being moved.
So she kept coming. She’d found the treasure, too. But what was it, exactly? It was something light, bright. Deep in depression, Clara had stumbled across this undefined but solid hope. There was just something different about what happened at that program. People living more beautifully than anything she’d seen before. She wondered if their joy could be hers.
After a few weeks, Clara wanted to try out church. At the time, there was a man that was interested in her and when he heard she was interested in church, he started making plans for her to join his church. He came to bring her on a Sunday morning, but she didn’t have a nice enough dress. He told her it would be better for her and Florina to stay home this time. A few days later, he offered to buy her a dress so she could come to his church the following Sunday. He also took the initiative of scheduling her baptism. He told her about how she would need to act.
She was not encouraged. This was not the hope she had glimpsed. She declined his offer.
Instead, she spoke with Cristi. She told him her story and how she wanted to “change her religion”. He told her it’s not about “religion”; what’s important is being close to God- being in a relationship with Him. The following Sunday morning, she and Florina came here to Living Hope. And here she again tasted that rich joy and love – the same joy and love that she’d seen at the youth program in Razboieni. She was moved by the Word of God that was spoken here and by the way people treated each other. And no one pressured her to act or dress in any particular way.
Clara and Florina kept coming. She also joined the women’s Bible study. And things began to change. Not her circumstances: she still has no money and she is still in poor health. She’s still depressed. But she’s finding hope in God.
Clara can see herself changing. Before she was always so angry. Now, she’s amazed by the peace she’s found. In the past, she was always so anxious. Some days she could afford food and other days she couldn’t. This is still what life looks like for Clara, but now she has peace in God. She trusts His provision.
Clara tells us she knows she isn’t completely changed, but that she’s amazed by how far she’s come. And she credits it all to God.
Her situation is still precarious – now more than ever. Please stay tuned for my next blog to hear about Clara and Florina’s current situation and how you can join me in boldly praying for a miracle for them TODAY. Please keep them in your prayers!
