Remember those movies and images with gypsies all dressed up in vibrant flowing clothes with bright makeup and a deep rich exciting culture. The nomads who traveled with circuses telling fortunes and performing tricks. Their deep eyes so scary to look into and yet alluring with intrigue and romance. Well, I looked into the eyes of the real gypsies, but I saw something much darker and much worse.
Yes, some gypsies somewhere may have some of the romance described in stories and movies, but not those hated and neglected people of Romania. Here in Romania, they are not even viewed as citizens. They are the discarded rejects who can never and will never be better than their heritage. Pushed out of society, they are forced to live amongst the trash in shacks made of trash themselves. Their eyes are not filled with romantic ideas, but sadness and contempt. They are truly a cursed people. Never to be accepted.
They survive by any means necessary, and this is where they get their bad rap. Most people view them as pick pockets and thieves, but from what I heard from our translator they’re just filling odd jobs or working at the garbage dump to scrap by. The real problem is that when they get money they don’t know how to plan for the future and make the money count. Instead they blow it all in one day, wasting any hopes of a better future. The thing is these people are people. They need and want love just like everyone else, and there is a lot of joy in them.
We met one family who had been living in the same house pictured below for ten years. The father loved to talk and laugh and his wife and children seemed to always have a smile on their faces. They said one of the daughters had grown up and married, but their oldest son had died already. We were actually able to pray with this family and ask for God’s blessings to be upon them. I hope that as you read this you could also pray for them and the others. A righteous man’s prayers are powerful and effective. Never forget that. Here are some pictures of their family.
Their home.
Their family. One of their daughters is hiding behind her mom.
How could you imagine growing up in an environment like that? It seems crazy and completely unfair. When I think back on my life, I know how blessed I have been. The Lord has given me so much and because I have been given so much it is now time for the Lord to reap his harvest through me. I am not my own, I was bought with a price. It’s time to wake up to that reality and walk in it or else I will have wasted my life. If you are a believer in Christ and you are not living for him every second of your life you have wasted it. I’m not there yet, but I want to be. Everyday needs to be a day to say “Ok Jesus, I’m dead to myself today, use me.” If only a fraction of believers actually did this the world would flip upside down and God’s Kingdom would be seem among men. The Kingdom of God is in us. It wasn’t meant to be waited upon until the next age, but to brought to light in this one. WAKE UP CHRISTIAN! I have made that my prayer and I hope you do to. I need to wake up!
Thank you so much for following me on this journey. Please comment. It means so much to me to hear your encouraging words, jokes, and spiritual direction. Thank you for your continued prayers. We’re leaving Romania tomorrow, Saturday April 2nd for Moldova. Please pray for our safe travels and that if the Father opens doors to us while on our travel that we would hear his voice and act. Faith without action is dead. I love you all, thank you!
Blog written by the one and only david nobles!! Don’t judge him for being a gator 🙂
