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By the grace of God and under His protection, a group of 23 people, led by Anatoli Jeske, Marcel Tiran, and Patrick Jeske, embarked on a long journey to Romania from December 8th to December 17th, 2023. The purpose of the trip was to provide humanitarian aid in northeastern Romania and to visit the children's home in Arad.
Group of the Romania trip 2023
We began our journey in Wurmberg after a prayer together. God's protective hand watched over us, so there were neither accidents nor other difficulties. The weather was also ideal, which is not a given at this time of year. We completed our long drive through the wintry Carpathians unscathed.
After a stopover in Arad, we drove another 600 kilometers to Negresti. Our siblings were already expecting us there and gave us a warm welcome.
The next morning, we attended the church service in Barlad and the service in Negresti in the evening. God gave us the opportunity to contribute to a donation for a family who had lost their home in a fire. We were also able to serve with the Word of God and songs.
Starting on December 11, 2023, we conducted several family visits. In Barlad, the brothers and sisters had already purchased groceries such as flour, sugar, oil, and rice. We packed the groceries into bags and brought shoeboxes filled with sweets and toys, which we had already prepared in Germany. In total, we packed 150 food parcels. Our destination was the villages in the Vaslui district. First, we visited the village of Hreasca. We split into two groups and visited different families in the community. Everywhere we went, we sang a song, a brother offered a few words of comfort, and then we prayed together.
Community visit Barlad
Touching stories
The poverty we witnessed in Romania gave us pause for thought. In our abundance in Germany, we are often so ungrateful. None of us are ostracized or ridiculed for our faith, and yet we often find it difficult to openly profess our faith in Christ.
The story of a Romanian brother particularly touched us. He had lost an arm to illness and was ostracized by his family because he had accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Savior. As a result, he now had to live in a small shed not far from his family. Despite his circumstances, the brother radiated such love and warmth and tearfully thanked us for our visit.
The story of one of our sisters also deeply affected us. She lost three loved ones within three months and is now caring for her young grandson. We sang a Romanian song for her, a song about how we are a wonderful family in Jesus Christ. The sister began to cry, and many of us couldn't hold back our tears either. In the evening, we attended church services in Hreasca.
The next day, we distributed packages in the village of Baltateni. Here too, we saw nothing but poverty, yet we learned a great deal from our Romanian brothers and sisters. An older brother told us that he trusted in God rather than doctors. He had asked God for His heavenly anointing and hasn't needed medication since. Gratitude and God's love radiated from him. We concluded the day with a very blessed church service. We continued distributing food packages in the area surrounding Negresti and attended a service for the Sinti and Roma before embarking on the long journey back to Arad.
Food purchased for family visits
The children's home in Arad
After arriving at the mission house in Vladimirescu, we first recovered from the long journey and then visited the children's home in Arad. The language barrier wasn't a problem for the children or us for long. If a child didn't speak English, we communicated with facial expressions and gestures, which worked perfectly. The children were delighted by our visit and didn't know who to play with first. Currently, there were 12 children aged 8 to 18 living at the children's home. We experienced a very family-like atmosphere there; there was a lot of playing and laughter. The children interacted very much like siblings and felt very comfortable there.
In the evening, we attended the church service in Arad. There was a Christmas program featuring various children's and youth choirs from the surrounding area. We were also invited to participate with words and songs.
Christmas celebration together with the children and staff from the children's home in Arad
On December 15, 2023, the children's home held its Christmas celebration at the community center in Arad. The children had prepared a short program, which they performed with great joy. Sister Nuti, the director of the children's home, was also bid farewell as she entered retirement. She had served the children for 28 years. With tears in her eyes, she expressed her gratitude, always emphasizing God and His blessing. She recounted how sometimes she didn't have enough food for the children, but how God always miraculously provided a solution. Brother Vasile Tiran also spoke about the beginnings of the children's home and how God had laid it on his heart many years ago to establish a children's home in Arad.
The highlight of the Christmas celebration was the gifts for the children. A personal gift had been prepared in advance for each child in Germany, which we were now able to present. The children's shining eyes and the joy on their faces were contagious. In the evening, we attended a church service in Chesinti and experienced God's blessing once again.
Visit to the children's home
The love of God unites
Hardly any of us knew the Romanian brothers and sisters we were visiting. Nevertheless, we immediately felt welcome and at home in every service because God's love united us and made us brothers and sisters. Even though we didn't understand each other's language, we felt the connection that arose when we prayed together. On the last day, we spent time with the children at the orphanage and then visited the city of Arad.
Our journey of approximately 4,500 kilometers was richly blessed and guided by God. Even when we were forced to stop in Austria because our Sprinter van couldn't go any further and the ADAC (German Automobile Club) was of no help, God provided us with a way out. One quick phone call was all it took, and a brother from Austria offered to bring us to Wurmberg. Thank God we have brothers and sisters in the Lord. And praise be to the Lord, for He does not abandon His children and always provides a way out at the right time.
We are so grateful to God that we were able to participate in this journey, for we received more blessings than we could ever have given. The words from Psalm 73:25 kept coming to mind as we visited our brothers and sisters in their poverty: “Whom have I in heaven [besides you]? On earth I desire nothing besides you!”
This is exactly the attitude that the siblings in Romania live by, and we would like to follow their example.
Jessica Stranz
Municipality of Pforzheim
Further information about the project and the opportunity to donate can be found here: https://cdh-stephanus.org/rumaenien/