Buna (Hello) from Romania! My team and I have been in Craiova, Romania for over a week now and we have been able to experience working with an incredible organization. As I am sure you have heard, the war in Ukraine is getting extremely bad. Families are being ripped apart as men are forced to stay and fight, while women and children flee for their lives into foreign countries where they do not know the language, or the culture of their surroundings.

Our host this month is Hope Church Romania, and they are doing extremely important work to help with the influx of Ukrainian people that are coming into Romania. Some of the main things that they are doing to help are organizing convoys of food, clothes, and resources into Ukraine to deliver supplies to the people that have had to stay back, also helping Ukrainian people get transportation to other parts of Europe so that they can meet up with their families in other countries, and lastly supporting, housing, and feeding long-term refugees by meeting all of their basic needs.

It has been incredible to see the power of a body of people fight together to help people in the hardest parts of their lives. My squad and I have been able to help the goals of Hope Church in many tangible ways. This includes picking up food from food banks, organizing clothing donations, packing convoy trucks heading to Ukraine, getting to know the Ukrainian people, cleaning and setting up new houses to host more people, helping with the logistics of transportation, and even preparing for an event to help the Ukrainians feel more at home in Craiova.

Getting to know these people has been lifechanging. Even though they are facing some of the hardest times of their lives, they are still some of the kindest and most genuine people I have ever met. When we first arrived to meet some of them, they wanted to share a meal with us, and we had amazing Ukrainian food for lunch! I have loved getting to talk with one of the fifteen-year-old girls that is living in one of the houses. She was able to share her story of the last two months with me and I was so honored that she would trust me enough to let me hear and understand her life. It has been a privilege working with these sweet people so far and getting to help this genuine-hearted church!

Please pray for Ukraine! Pray for all of the people whose lives have been completely turned around in a horrible way, and for their safety. Also, please pray for finances to continue to come into Hope Church Romania so that they are able to continue this work.

If you are interested in donating to Hope Church’s work with the Ukrainian people, then you can do so at this link!

https://togetherformission.com/hope-for-ukraine/?fbclid=IwAR3XQRLhU4LTO9PlIY7Gg9psbdvWThl0J86A9DbwhrPyZetJSK3OnqHR0Qk

With love always,

Claire