We were told we would be spending 4 days camping in the small village of Naslavcea on the border of Moldova and Ukraine. And when I say camping, I mean camping-tents, sleeping bags, food cooked over the fire, dirt, meat log, potatoes, potatoes, and potatoes. I think every meal, we ate potatoes soaked in oil (I’m embarrassed to say that in 4 days we went through 2.5 liters of oil!). Believe me, by the end of the week, I was so excited to see Andrei and Larisa (our contacts)! But those 4 days of camping changed my life.
Neusa lived next door to us. We were told to bring her food and water because she is old, going blind, and has no one to care for her. So the first night we brought her potatoes and bread. We had accidentally seasoned the potatoes with citric acid instead of salt. They did not taste good! We hoped that she just thought they were some sort of American food. She did not speak any English.
The next morning she came over and brought us grapes and a jar of warm, delicious soup! She probably thought that we had no idea how to cook and needed some food that actually tasted good. The next night we brought her dinner again. This time it consisted of unseasoned potatoes, meat log, and some bread. This time, she invited us to come into her home. We went into the small two-roomed home and she turned the dusty TV on to some Russian channel. We sat down, not really knowing what to do. We tried to communicate, but it was difficult. We were able to tell her our ages, names, and that we are from America. She then proceeded to give herself a shot and conveyed to us that she has terrible back pain. She was so concerned that we were sleeping in tents and wanted us to sleep in her house with her. We graciously declined. It was dark so we decided it best that we leave. When we were leaving we asked if we could pray for Neusa. She couldn’t really understand what we were asking so we just decided to go ahead and just pray. We laid hands on her and prayed for her. When we finished she looked up at us with tears in her eyes. She took each of our hands kissed them and placed them on her heart. We were taken aback that our small prayer had meant so much to her.
The next day I saw her working out in her corn field cutting down the corn stalks. I decided I would go see if she needed help. At first she was a little confused, but eventually gave me the knife and I started cutting down the stalks. After about 15 minutes of it, my back hurt from bending over so much and I was sweating. I couldn’t believe that she does this on her own. She is 67, has terrible back pain, and can hardly see, yet she is out everyday, all day, cutting down cornstalks, feeding her chickens, and turkeys, and making herself food. She has a son, but he is an alcoholic and does nothing to help her. It was then that it hit me that she is completely on her own. It was in working with her in the field that my relationship with her grew. Although we could not communicate through words, we were able to laugh together, work together, and speak to each other through our love and actions.
After working in her field for a few hours, I needed to go shower, and eat. She kept motioning like she wanted to eat so I tried to tell her that we would bring her more food tonight. I left and went to the river to shower. When I got back I heard her calling my name, “Milia! Milia!” I ran over to her. She had gone and bought me cookies from the store. I instantly felt pain that she had gone and spent money on me. She has so very little and just tries to make ends meet day to day, yet she wanted to show her appreciation to me and she sacrificed the little money she had. I had wanted to bless her by helping her, but suddenly her cookies made me feel like more of a burden. But she was so happy to give them to me. I then realized that it was a blessing for her to be able to bless me. That night we brought her food again.
A couple nights, we heard her walking with her cane in the complete dark on the rugged rock road. A couple of us walked with her to give her light and make sure she didn’t fall. One night she went and peeked in the window of her son’s home to make sure he was home safe. Another night we walked with her as she went and brought her son food. He took the food, did not thank her, and just walked away. He seems to show her no love, yet, she continually loves him and does everything she can to make sure he is safe and comfortable and she does it all expecting nothing out of return.
On the last night we were there, we had the idea that we should eat with her so that she doesn’t have to eat alone. We went over to her home with all of our bowls and food. She looked at us quizzically. We tried to tell her that we wanted to eat with her. She didn’t understand so we just sat down in the grass and started eating. She then understood and found a chair, sat down, and instantly had a smile on her face. It was such a fun time of laughter and fellowship with her. At the end of the night, we prayed with her again.
The next day Andrei and Larisa came and picked us up. When they came Neusa was sitting with us. It was so nice because Andrei could translate for us! We learned that at first Neusa thought we were mute orphans because we were living on Andrei’s property and they help a lot of orphans. She thought we were mute because she thought we couldn’t talk! All she heard was blah blah blah! She then told him how thankful she was that we prayed for her and how it meant to her. When it was time for us to leave she asked if one of us could stay with her. Andrei asked who she would pick and she picked me. I so wish I could have stayed and helped her. When we said our goodbyes she gave me a hug and I could feel her begin to sob. I looked at her with tears in my eyes, knowing that I would probably never see her again, but knowing that she is not alone, that the Lord is with her, and always will be. As we drove away, I watched her walk down her driveway, tears still rolling down not only her cheeks, but also mine.
I will never forget Neusa. She showed me what it means to love selflessly. How to love even when the person you are loving does not love you back. She showed me how to love even when you have nothing to give and how what you do have you give away, fully trusting that God will continue to provide. She showed me that we don’t need words to love. We can show how much we love and care for each other through our actions. God created no barriers to love. Neusa has made such an impact on my life and I hope that I was a blessing to her as much as she was a blessing to me.
