I watched her pick up a baby & gently rock it to sleep. How could it be that 10 years ago she had been the vulnerable one — hidden away & uncertain if she would even have a future?
The emotions that welled up within me just thinking about anybody wanting to hurt Florina compelled me to approach her. Even if she was carrying a baby, she could handle a side hug.
She gave me that very alive sort of smile she has & I grinned back in amazement. I know people who are still not stable because their parents got divorced, yet Florina had lost so much more & was smiling. Holding a baby. Helping at a camp for kids in hard situations & just spending time loving them…I was a little in awe.
It was about a week later that I got the full story. Florina’s dad had never been in the picture — it was just her & her mom. Unfortunately, her mom had breast cancer. When Florina was quite young, her mother & aunt took her with them to Italy to help find a treatment to try to fight for her mom’s health.
With time I am realizing how very ignorant I am about the world. I knew she had lived in Italy & it sounded great to me. How cool that she got to live in Italy short-term, I thought. I assumed it was a safe place & that this part of her story was going to be more about her mom than it was about her. So I listened with anticipation.
But there was no Roman holiday in her history.
While in Italy — awaiting treatment for her dying mother — Florina was kidnapped & taken to a home full of other young children.
World rocked? I did NOT see that coming. She was sitting right in front of me but I still held my breath.
She was only 7 when she was taken & she spent about 5 months in this house run by traffickers. There she waited, occasionally encountering physical abuse but primarily waiting to see when she would be taken away. It would soon be time & she had no idea what would happen to her next.
Our Florina? Someone could do something like that to our girl? My heart ached as she continued & though I just wanted to hug her, her posture showed that it wasn’t exactly the time for that.
While young Florina waited her fate, her mother had hired a man to find her. Unfortunately, that guy was just interested in money & didn’t really do much to find her. My heart raged as she continued on, but thankfully the next part of her story was the turning point — a detective that her mom was able to hire who actually wanted to do his job.
He found Florina & the others before the captors were able to make any move on where she would be placed. Florina was finally reunited with her mom & her aunt & they went back home to Romania.
Unfortunately, her mother was still very sick. Florina began doing a lot of care for her mom & had to go through the ache of almost losing her before she actually lost her one night. It all happened at such a young age — she was an orphan. But an orphan with an aunt who was able to step in.
With all the difficulties that had plagued Florina’s life, she turned to drugs when she was 9 years old. I’m not sure when exactly it happened, but at some point Florina met the Golas family. If you haven’t read my last blog, go check it out — it will help this blog make more sense.
As part of their regular ministry they would be in her neighborhood & they came to know her & her situation well. Her aunt actually attended their church & came to know Christ at some point in this story as well. But life was still lacking stability for Florina.
The drugs continued & at 10 years old she had a boyfriend…who was 17. He even tried to take advantage of her at some point, but I am so thankful to say that God stepped in & didn’t allow that to happen.
When she was 11, Florina’s aunt became extremely sick. Seeing Florina regularly, Cristi & Cami were concerned for her & what would come next & they began discussing if they could take her in. It was the next month that her aunt passed away as well, & that was the last of her immediate family — just gone.
That very day Cristi visited Florina & asked her if she wanted to be part of their family before taking her home to join his family…her family. & that year Florina had a new family — a family not of blood but of choice & heart.
Almost 5 years later, enter me! I got to come on the Race & do month 8 in Romania, partnering with the Golas family. Our team had a blast with the whole family & Cristi had the girls actually do some of the work for hosting us so we really enjoyed our time together with Florina, Bianca, & their best friend, Alexandra. We teased them & we goofed off with them. We’d hang out & we’d do ministry with the ghetto kids — kids from the very neighborhood Florina was from. It was great!
But in between all the fun, we did find a few moments to talk. I got to hear her heart. I got to know some of her greatest dreams. I got to see her love for Dennis & Marcus & her deep friendship with Bianca.
& then she told us her story & I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I’ve seen all kinds of rough things as a pediatric OR nurse — things that happen to kids that are inexplicable & break your heart — so I’m not often surprised.
But Florina’s story surprised me. The time I spent with her had revealed a great fire burning within her that is directed toward whatever is going on with her. When we worked at camp together I got to be a co-leader but she really ran everything, & she could do that because she is passionate & also extremely competitive. 🙂 I’m twice her age but at camp I was so impressed by the way she loved the kids so well & how determined she was to be a great leader. I loved it & I was proud.
It would be easy to think, “Wow — that’s a cool story!” & move on, but I want to pause & take note of how rare & precious this is. We live in a society that convinces us that we are just victims of circumstance & we thereby have the right to complain or be whatever brand of dysfunctional or broken that we are. & I’m sure that there are days when Florina feels the sadness & brokenness of her life circumstances more keenly than others.
But Florina is no destroyed teenager. She is a fighter & a firecracker. There isn’t room for excuses in her life, she just moves forward & often with a smile. She meets other kids who have been through similar pain & she spends time with them so that they don’t feel alone. She cares for their souls & exudes strength in the way she lives each day.
I Timothy 4:12 says not to let anyone look down on you because you are young but to set an example for other Christ-followers in speech, conduct, love, & faith, & that’s exactly what Florina is doing. She has drawn from her past pain & hardships & allowed it to propel her forward. I actually feel I have a lot to learn from this courageous teenager who hasn’t let life give her excuses.
I wanted to write this blog because I admire & respect Florina & I think she’s an outstanding example of someone who is going to change the world. People will see her life & will know that there is more for them because she’s chosen more for herself & I want to do the same. What is special about this is that a lot of people realize they want more but they don’t know how to pursue it or it becomes all about them. That isn’t the case for Florina. She looks to the needs of others & works hard to love them, & that’s who I want to be, too.
So keep it up, Florina — don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t because you’ve already done so much. My heart has been challenged & encouraged by your strength & courage to continue making hard choices every day to do what needs to be done. To love Jesus & show people they’re not alone. With love like that — you, my friend — will change the world.
