by Doru Radu
WARREN, MI – We get lots of news about the Ukrainian war’s tragedies. However, when people you know get there, the situation becomes personal. Recently, sister Carmen Bordea, who is a member of the Golgotha Romanian Baptist Church, Warren, Michigan, went to Ukraine via Romania bringing help to a Christian distribution center in Ukraine. The area was not bombed by the Russians, but it was full of refugees, internally displaced, and the need there was enormous. To her surprise, people had requested salt (yes, salt) because the Russians took it from Ukraine! Besides other tragic stories, she learned about two Christians who gave Bibles on the streets and the Russians arrested them on the accusation of terrorism! Lord have mercy on them!
The main purpose of her visit was to transport some Ukrainian children who are suffering with cancer who needed a longer treatment in Romanian hospitals. The road back from Ukraine was so long and hard on these children. When Carmen’s team went into Ukraine they did not have to wait because they brought in relief supplies; however, coming out of Ukraine with the cancer patients, they had to wait for hours at the border crossing because they were only transporting people. It didn’t matter that they were sick.
In the shelter of Chernivtsi (SW Ukraine), Carmen approached three visibly discouraged ladies, sitting at the same table. Carmen and one of the ladies can be seen in one of the pictures.
“Do you realize that God brought you together to send you a message of encouragement,” Carmen asked them?
“Why would you say that” replied one of the ladies?
“Well, “coincidently”, your Christian names are Faith, Hope and… Love,” Carmen replied. (It is true; the Ukrainians have first names like that). The ladies came from different villages and were only nominal Christians; they prayed to Virgin Marry but didn’t know the Bible. Carmen used this name occurrence from I Corinthians 13 to share the Good News.
Our church, like many American Baptist churches, had sent funds for the Ukrainian refugees in Europe but this time the help was more personal since we have a missionary who crossed the border into the bombed stricken Ukraine. May the Lord have mercy on the Ukrainian people!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Doru Radu is one of the elders at Golgotha Romanian Baptist Church in Warren, Michigan. Radu immigrated from the communist Romania and likes to write stories about the good hand of our Lord who protected us during the 45 years of communist persecution.