A week ago I had the privilege to go to a small town called Tina, Romania. My teammate Lauren’s heart is for the people of Tinca. She has been there three times prior. Here is a little info:
“The Roma (gypsy) have no homeland, they drift from place to place. Young girls from the ages of 9 to 15 are either sold into trafficking or are placed in marriages. Children are taught how to steal around the same time they are taught how to walk. The majority of women are in marriages that are abusive. Physical and sexual abuse is far too common within a home. The Romanians want nothing to do with the Roma because of the stereotype that comes with them: thieves, dirty, bad people. “
“Forget-Me-Not Ministries started so that the Roma people could have a chance. They have a daycare-like program where 11 children can come and be children. They get to eat a meal, get a shower, learn about Jesus, have a tutor help them with homework, and get loved on. It’s been amazing to see how much this ministry has grown in the past few years. They now have outreach programs for the men in the village with a football ministry and for the women they have JoyBeadz, where they can learn the trade of making jewelry, earn a living for their family and have a Bible study after. They’ve also recently started Seeds of Hope, which is directed towards the teen moms of the village. Their big dream is to construct a building big enough to be able to include 200 children in their program. If you want to learn more about this amazing organization I encourage you to check out their website – www.fmnministries.org.”
-Lauren Smith www.laurensmith.theworldrace.org
I was so blessed to see how the organization Forget-Me-Not has made an impact in this small town. I was only there for two days, and I loved every minute of it.
Here is a video of the time we sent in Tinca!
