They live on the other side of the bridge….across the river. Cast out of society, oppressed, forgotten. Their houses are a mix of broken wood and plastic. No floors, makeshift doors, one room for the large family. Children run around barefoot, sometimes naked, and often with no shoes. The day for them starts early. They take their big carts and bicycles or horses, out on the town, to dig through trash. They collect plastic to sell, and whatever else they can use. Degrading, for sure, but accepted here as normal. Others hit the 
streets to beg or sell things (roasted chestnuts, jewelry, etc.). The Romani people (known to most as gypsies) have been mistreated for centuries and so don’t trust most people, especially outsiders.
Sunday is the day we decide to visit two of the communities, to deliver clothes and shoes.
We walk through normal neighborhoods toward the river, where we cross a bridge to reach the community. 
The houses are lined up along the riverbed; and are made from cardboard and plastic. One of the older ladies is returning, carrying a big bag of clothes. She leads us in. The children quickly surround us and we start to hand out the contents of our big black plastic bags. Some families lead their kids away, as they don’t trust us. We don’t stay long…..our translators tell us it’s time to leave.
Some of the kids and adults invite us to play soccer, so some of us join. Pots and cans mark the boundaries/goals. We play until one of the little girls, Carmina comes for us. She takes us to an area where they have set upturned buckets with pieces of cardboard as cushions to sit on…..and then serve us Turkish
coffee in plastic cups.
A few men join us, asking about our mission for this trip. Matt let them know that we were just spreading the world and love of Jesus around the world. Their interest was sparked and they started asking questions, discussing faith, and debating (with the help of our translators). Another guy saw Karen pull her bible out, so went to get his. He started leading us to verses that were answering the questions the other guy was asking Matt. We were impressed for sure. This guy knew more verses then I could ever imagine knowing myself. He kept saying “Super!” to us. The rest of the team had disappeared to play and sing with the kids.
The discussions soon died down and the man who was so interested gave me a bracelet as a gift. Carmina came again and led me to her house. In the center of the room was a big red rug. Placed on that was a simple pot of a bean and meat stew and bread on the side. She had me sit and motioned for me to eat, using the bread as a utensil. The others eventually joined us. Some of the kids offered perfumes and toys to the other girls as gifts. Needless to say, we were touched and speechless.
The whole month had been frustrating, as we hadn’t done much…..but all I could hear was God saying:
Do you realize your whole month was for this one day? That’s how mighty I am.
