My team spent an evening next to some cornstalks, worshipping under a beautiful night sky.
I knew the two weeks my teammates and I spent at a church-supported orphanage in Cornesti, Moldova would make a difference in the lives of the orphans there. What I didn’t think about was the impact they would have on us.
[Here’s some background info you should know: In Moldova, government-run orphanages provide minimal care and only house orphans younger than sixteen. When orphans turn sixteen, they find themselves homeless and jobless, left to fend for themselves. Unfortunately, this makes them easy targets for the human trafficking industry currently plaguing the country. Small Christian orphanages here take in older orphans with nowhere else to turn, offering them a safe place to finish growing up, continue their education, and hopefully connect them with some kind of job when they are ready to go out into the world on their own.]
At first the three girls I lived with seemed like typical girls in their late teens and early twenties, finishing up high school and trying to figure out what to do with their future. They laugh and live together, practicing household skills and sharing one bedroom and a small bathroom. Their clothes are a little worn and far from plentiful. But they work around this by mending and sharing what they have. After getting to know them a little better, though, it became clear how far these girls have come to get to their present situation.
We helped the girls with the Street Kids Program they run. Clearly we had no fun. : )
Two of these girls come from abusive homes. One girl and her siblings were removed from dangers at home and split up into different orphanages. The other girl’s father died when she was young, and she was given to an orphanage by her mother, who had no way of providing for her anymore. The third girl would not tell us very much about her past. We learned from our ministry contact that her parents didn’t want to keep her after they discovered the health issues she has, and gave her away without any contact since.
My teammates Logan and Rene and our Cornesti friends in Ungheni City
The other girls on my team and I spent our two weeks in Cornesti building relationships with these girls. We taught them things and affirmed their worth in Christ. My team pooled together some of our personal money and surprised the girls and the two sixteen-year-old boys who also live at the orphanage with a fun-filled day. Two of my teammates took them to a nearby city and bought them some new clothes, shoes, and toothbrushes. The rest of us stayed home and painted their favorite Bible verses and fun Pinterest-y pictures on the walls above their beds. They were so excited!
John 3:16 in Romanian
Thankfully, we were intentional with our time with these sweet girls in Cornesti. After two weeks, my team got word we would be switching to a new ministry (and a new town) mid-month. Although we were excited about the opportunities ahead of us, my team was upset at the prospect of leaving the orphans there behind.
We gathered up the girls to tell them the news. I was sitting next to one of the girls, trying to hold it together as my team leader gently explained that we would have to depart a little early. Quiet tears ran down more than one cheek in the room. I stayed strong until one of the girls whispered in a simple, sweet voice, “I love you all very much.” I began to cry, wanting so much to continue to pour into these girls. Then I felt a hand slip into mine. I looked up at the orphan girl sitting next to me. She gave me a small smile and squeezed my hand.
As I sat there sniffling, I thought about the irony of the moment. Here I was, a missionary who had come to a small Moldovan orphanage to bring love and comfort to the abandoned. And here was one of those orphans, reaching out and comforting me instead.
Before this moment, I had not realized how much my teammates and I had been blessed by spending time with these girls. While I believe Team Impression left an impression on the orphans we met in Cornesti, I am also certain they left an impression on our hearts as well. It’s funny how God blesses me most abundantly when I am focused on serving and blessing others. Perhaps I’ll keep that in mind for the next nine months of this Race.
(Almost) all the Team Impression girls with the girls we lived with at the orphanage and a few other girls who have stayed at the orphanage in the past
Special thanks to my teammates Rebecca and Rene for their lovely pictures!
