As our hot, cramped van approached the village of Cornesti I felt it in my heart to pray for hope for this place. Moldova is a very beautiful place, it is lush and fertile. Everywhere you look there are fruits and vegetables growing. I am always being offered fruit, particularly apricots (one day alone I ended up eating 15). I'm wondering if it's possibly to overdose on fruit?! On my morning runs through the forest I am constantly dodging livestock – horses, cows, ducks, goats, sheep, and chickens. I look at this place and see abundance. So hope should be easy to pray for, right?
In my time here, I've been able to meet and hear the stories of the people of Cornesti. Stories of abandonment, alcoholism, fatalism, hardship, addiction, and hopelessness.
I have visited a home where 5 children live alone, abandoned by their parents. When we approached their home I saw the two youngest children outside washing clothes. They are forced to fend for themselves. There are no government programs here to care for orphans like this. We were told that it's only a matter of time before they become victims of human trafficking.
I continue to hear stories like this and wonder how I can speak hope over these people. At times I feel afraid to pray for hope to shine in situations like these, lacking faith that it actually can. I know this is when I need to pray the hardest though. The people here in Cornesti need to experience the hope of Christ.
when I first met the orphaned children through the children's program we are helping with every afternoon, I never would have guessed that they had been abandoned by their parents and had such harsh living conditions. The children are so full of smiles and laughter. That's how I know that hope is worth seeking in this place. A hope that conquers the hardship they've experienced in the past and are experiencing in the present.
Here are some faces worth having hope for:
