My team and I crowded into a small car as the driver piled boxes upon boxes of toys on us. As the driver shoved the door to hopefully get it closed without boxes toppling out, I laughed to myself. There are some moments in my life where I wonder what series of events got me to that point; this was one of them.
We began driving without any clue where we were going, bopping up and down and left and right with ever jerk of the car. After a few close calls of almost getting stuck in the mud, our car came to a halt. We opened the door and boxes fell out onto the muddy road. I slid out of the car and began taking in my surroundings. We were a few hundred feet away from the Roma village. As I looked around, all I could see was trash and junk covering the muddy landscape and small, disheveled homes. It broke my heart to see an area so dirty and impoverished. The driver told us to start walking to the village to gather the kids because we couldn’t bring the car due to poor road conditions. As we walked into the village, the driver began yelling “copii” (which is children in Romanian). At first, one child ran out, and after a few calls to his friends, many children began pouring out of the homes. They looked overjoyed to see the visitors.
Two girls eagerly grabbed my hand and smiled so wide for the walk back to the car. It melted my heart to be surrounded with so much innocence and pure excitement. Upon arrival to the car, we gathered around and I began to tell the story of Jesus, focusing on why we celebrate Christmas. I had to make the story very short yet sweet, because the children progressively became much more interested in the presents than us. At the end of the story, all the little kids smiled and started clapping. The look of happiness in their eyes made me feel so thankful. Thank you Jesus for this beautiful opportunity of bringing toys and a small glimpse of your love to these children.
Though, after this precious moment, everything went downhill. As we began grabbing gifts, the children that had just been holding hands were now yelling, pushing, and shoving. Rather than embracing the love of one another, they embraced the love of gifts, intending to satisfy themselves. We then went into a period of about thirty minutes of chaos, stress, and greed. Not only were the children yelling, pushing and shoving, but the adults were also! At one point, an adult threatened that if we did not give another box to him, he would crack the window of the car with a rock. After we finished handing out the boxes and trying to drive away, the same girl who had been so happy to see me, talk to me, and hold my hand, sprinted to the car, opened the trunk, and stole a box. We drove away, dumbstruck by the series of events that just happened.
It is so sad to see the cycle of marginalization from society that leads to stealing and fighting and ultimately to poverty that the Roma people live in. These children grow up seeing their parents stealing as a means of survival. If this is the only influence they see, that is all they know. The reality is, though, this cycle can likely not be broken. The Romanian people are generally very racist towards the Roma, mostly due to the fact that they steal often. Therefore, the Roma are not able to get a job or implement themselves into society. In the end, they will continue in this cycle of taking and fighting with their brothers and sisters over the what they are taking; how sad.
This specific situation makes me think of how in John 12 the crowd takes palm branches to prepare the way for Jesus while exclaiming “Blessed is the king of Israel.” At this point, they are excited about the king. The man who heals. The man who has something to give. Though, in John 18, the crowd wants to crucify Jesus and instead free a murderer named Barabas! Their pride got in the way. Once they got all they thought they needed and their interest dwindled in him, the flame of their pride grew. They went from singing praise to wanting to fulfill selfish desire and evil intent.
The beautiful thing is that this is not the ending, even with their pride and switch of character. The amazing part of the story, though, is that when Jesus was on the cross he said “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”(Luke 23:34). Even though these people beat Jesus, he still pleaded for their salvations and forgiveness. This character trait of Jesus with his never ending forgiveness allows me to walk with so much grace. Rather than responding with irritation, I want to continue returning to these communities with an eager anticipation to love them as Christ did. As many times as we betray and hurt Jesus, Jesus’ hand will ALWAYS be open if we choose we want to hold it again.
Not only the Roma people, but how often are we like this? How often are we kind when it’s beneficial to us and rude when it’s beneficial to us. What would it look like if we all truly took steps to love each other selflessly as Christ did?
Thanks for reading! 🙂
Peyton
I love you sharing your experience! I most appreciate that you told the whole story, not just the heart-warming beginning and that how you are able to relate it to Jesus and then challenge us with the question reflecting on our own selfish ways! Thanks for being a light in this world, Peyton!
Man oh man!! I’m a big fan of you! Thanks for seeing people and loving them! And thanks for challenging us to live a life more like Jesus’!
So thankful that Jesus’s hands and feet, a.k.a. YOU, reached the children that so clearly needed the love of Christ maybe the most! Even though they did not display gratitude or humility, quite the opposite, they did display their need for Jesus’s love. I have a lot of compassion for people that have to steal and fight because they don’t know the power of God yet and His ability to provide. You demonstrated His love and provision! Thank you!