My teammates and I walk into the house unknowing of how the night would play out. I found Stella’s Voice online looking for Unsung Heroes in Moldova. As we walk in, we hear, “Welcome to America!” Out of the 10 months we have been away from home, this house, by far, is the closest to an American house we’ve entered. We sit on the oversized couch and talk.
Stella’s Voice was created to house girls once they age out of the orphanage system at age 16. In Moldova, human trafficking is a huge issue with these girls being the main target. They are given $30 and a bus ticket to the village they came from years ago where family may or may not be. In this transition, they run into people that offer them jobs that seem to be promising. Unfortunately, that is the main ploy to lure girls into trafficking. Stella’s Voice gives the girls a home, a bed, schooling, and so much more.
During our first meeting, a worker noticed a sniffle my teammate had. As we were about to leave she handed my teammate a bag of vitamin C and garlic pills. On top of that, she handed us some money saying she felt the Lord telling her to give to us. Another woman handed us some more money saying she felt the Lord telling her to do the same. We were in shock. And, they drove us home because it was late and they were going to the same area. Once we got home, we counted the money. It was about $40 USD!
They also invited us back to join them in their youth night/worship the youth put on. We gladly joined two nights later.
After the worship in Romanian, we were told they had dinner for us. A nice, safe, American-ish meal made by a Scottish woman. It was glorious to say the least! We soon moved to the living room where a few of the girls shared their heart-breaking, but uplifting stories.
My father beat us.
We were scared to tell our mother.
My mother rejected me because I looked like my father.
My story is unfinished. It will continue with God.
These girls truly live to glorify the Lord. Even through the hardship, they thank God for everything they went through. The girls we talked to were so thankful and wise. They were speaking truth without even trying. They live for the Lord.
As the night grew even later, we realized we should leave. First off, the girls thought it would be good to pray over us. That’s right, they prayed over us and our journey. Secondly, the buses no longer were running because it was so late. The women said they could drive us home.
And then came a huge blessing for us racers. One worker came from another room with a bag full of goodies. She knew we’ve been traveling and wouldn’t have an American Easter. She made bags of candy, drinks, a Romanian Bible, and more for each person on my team. On top of that, our first time there, somehow, we talked about cake. Well, she pulled out a box of Red Velvet cake mix, two tubs of icing, and two bags of sugar cookie mix. And, as if that wasn’t enough, they gave us our left overs from dinner and individually wrapped pieces of homemade pizza. At this point, the five of us there were all in tears. Such small things mean the world to us.
Doing Unsung Heroes for a month has its blessings, and Stella’s Voice is just one of them. We walked in hoping to find a new contact for the World Race. We hoped to uplift and encourage the people there. We hoped to be able to bless them.
Instead, the opposite happened. They uplifted and encouraged us. They blessed us beyond what we could imagine. They poured life into us.
Sometimes in life you have to be willing to receive rather than give. The race is all about giving and pouring out. The people at Stella’s Voice noticed that we needed to be poured into and they kept pouring until we were overflowing with blessings.
All good things come to those who love God.
To learn more about Stella’s Voice, check out their website!
