While in Romania we visited a community of Gypsies, who are
a people group that are known as the “Roma.” The community consisted of
3 families that lived on the outskirts of one of the nicest neighborhoods I had
seen in Timisoara, Romania. These
three families lived in shelters that were constructed of miscellaneous plywood
sheets, old blankets for insulation, scrap plastic, and metal sheets. We had
arrived 3 days after their houses had been bulldozed by the government. After
several years of “squatting� on the land, people will eventually own the land
by default, therefore- without warning…the government bulldozes the
shelters and destroys them and
everything they own so that they can never legally own the government
land.
Then the families reconstruct their shelters which usually take
approximately 2 days. This was another moment where God very
quickly humbled me. The most
curious part of this visit was the fact that these families were merely 50-100
ft. from huge homes…..I kept scratching my head and thinking to myself… “Isn’t
the second of his greatest commands?…..to love your neighbor as yourself!?â€� Why were people walking by as if they
couldn’t see what was going on?
What was I not understanding about this situation?! There were 3 families….that’s it! And 50 huge houses…..how did no one
take these people in? The father
of one of the families was so sick that he couldn’t work and didn’t have the
finances to buy the necessary medications. We brought food to the families along with toys for the
children and clothes to make it through the winter. A little piece of my heart
was left with them that day. God spoke that day…..Don’t forget to notice and seek out your
neighbor….We must love them as ourselves…… Don’t let them be ignored- You ignore them, you ignore me! Please join me in prayer for these 3 families.
