Tiraspol, Transnistria
Moldova is a small “country” in eastern Europe southwest of Ukraine. She is a country who is hungry for hope. The economy is weak and many young people want out. They feel there is no hope for a positive future. So, as I am getting excited to hear about our ministry assignment for the month, our contact announces that our team will be leaving Moldova and heading into Transnistria. Transnistriwhat? I’d barely been able to locate Moldova on a map prior to this year, much less be able to point out the country of Transnistria.
Basically, Transnistria is a region in southeast Moldova that has gated off its borders in attempts to become its own nation. They have their own currency, their own phone system, their own military, their own communist goverment and their own identity. As we drove through the border post, hammer & sickle symbols adorned the signs and structures. We were entering into unrecognized territrory. And I don’t mean that the sights and sounds were unfamiliar to me, I mean many governments don’t even acknowledge that this place exists.
But God gave me such peace about going into the unknown. And because I had that peace from God, I was able to experience some of the most awesome ministry of the year. We led an English Club that was sponsored by New Life, the Moldavian/Transnistrian counterpart of Campus Crusade for Christ. Every evening, we met with about 40 students ranging from age 15 – 40 and taught English lessons for a couple of hours. Some of the students were believers, but for the most part they weren’t…they just came for the free English lessons.
One night, we hosted an “American Party.” I’d never had to host an American party before, and not really knowing what that was supposed to look like, we made puppy chow and brought Coke and played charades. It was pretty funny. I got to see Brittani dance like Lady Gaga 🙂 A couple of us got to tell our life stories and share with them what God has done in our lives. It was an incredible opportunity that opened up the door to conversations with the students about Christ. One of our students, Paul, who is 17 and loves listening to death metal and skipping school, spent some time outside of class talking with Jake, one of our squad leaders, and we found out later that after sitting down with one of the leaders of New Life, Paul came to accept Christ in his life this week. It is such an encouragement to see hearts being changed all over the world!
Though we only spent one week in Transnistria, it still broke my heart to have to say goodbye. I have great respect for the leaders of the New Life ministry here. God wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:4), so I know that God will not forget their work and the love that they have shown him as they have helped and will continue to help his people (Hebrews 6:10) and their nation.
