Document

HeartCryMissionary Society

Volume 29July - August 2002

Opening the Door:A School for the GypsyChildren of Romania

Our Purpose &Passion

“‘For from the rising of the sun evento its setting, My Name will be greatamong the nations, and in everyplace incense is going to be offeredto My Name, and a grain offeringthat is pure; for My Name will begreat among the nations,’ says theLord of hosts.” - Malachi 1:11

The chief end of all mission work is the Glory ofGod. Our greatest concern is that His Name be greatamong the nations, from the rising to the setting of thesun (Malachi 1:11). We find our great purpose andconstant motivation, not in man or his needs, but inGod, His commitment to His own glory and our God-given desire to see Him glorified in every nation, tribe,people and language.

Although HeartCry recognizes the great impor-tance of sending missionaries from the West to theunevangelized peoples throughout the world, we be-lieve that we are led of the Lord to support native ornational missionaries so that they may evangelize theirown peoples. Therefore, we seek to work with godlymen and women of integrity and vision in theunreached world to help them evangelize and plantChurches among their own peoples.

Our Principles* While we recognize that the needs of mankind are

many and his sufferings are diverse, we believe thatthey all spring from a common origin - the fall of manand the corruption of his own heart. Therefore, webelieve that the greatest benefit to mankind can beaccomplished through the preaching of the Gospelof Jesus Christ and the establishment of churches

that preach the Word of God and minister accordingto its commands, precepts, and wisdom.

* Every need of this ministry will be obtained throughprayer. We may share our missionary vision withothers and even make known to them the specifictasks which the Lord has laid on our heart to do, butwe may not raise support through prodding or ma-nipulating our brothers and sisters in Christ. If thisministry is of the Lord, then He will be our Patron. IfHe is with us, He will direct His people to give and wewill prosper. If He is not with us, we will not andshould not succeed.

* We intend to never enlarge our field of labor by con-tracting debts. This is contrary to both the letter andthe spirit of the New Testament. In secret prayer, Godhelping us, we will carry the needs of this ministry tothe Lord and act according to the direction that Hegives.

* We will not compete with other biblical mission agen-cies, but use the resources that God has given to usto work in partnership with them. If the Lord directs,we will sacrifice our own goals and resources thatother mission works may be helped and the Kingdomof God increased.

* In meeting any need, those of us who are supportedfinancially by this ministry will be the first to sacrificeall things necessary for the advancement of His King-dom.

* We will not measure the success of this ministry bythe amount of money given, Bibles distributed or na-tional missionaries supported, but by the Lord’s bless-ing on the work.

* Our Goal is not to enlarge ourselves, or to become akey figure in the Great Commission, but to be faithfuland obedient stewards by the grace that is given tous. That men may see our weakness and glorify Godfor His strength; that they may see our inability andglorify God for His faithfulness.

6 Opening the Door: The beginning of thePeniel School for Gypsy Children as told byMoises Marin.

7 A Burden for the Children: Ana MariaMarin shares her burden for the Gypsychildren that attend the Peniel School forGypsy Children, where she works alongsideher husband Moises.

.

8 Testimonies from the Children: Read thetestimonies of Gypsy children who havebeen blessed through the Peniel School forthe Gypsies.

11 Testimonies from the Teachers: Here are afew of the testimonies from the teachers atthe Peniel School for Gypsy Children.

13 Moises Marin’s Testimony: Brother MoisesMarin is supported as a HeartCry Mission-ary. He works as supervisor over our Gypsymissionaries in Romania and is Director ofthe Peniel School for Gypsy Children.

15 The Gypsies: A historical account of theorigins, customs, and terrible sufferings ofthe Gypsy people.

24 Reports from our Gypsy Missionaries: Atthe present, the HeartCry MissionarySociety is supporting several Gypsy Mis-sionaries in the Eastern European countriesof Romania and Moldova.

Hallowed be Your Name!Your Kingdom Come!

Your Will be Done!

Teach the Children

Where In The World is HeartCry?HeartCry is currently supporting seventy-two indigenousmissionaries in thirteen countries on four continents.

Asia

Africa

Eastern Europe

Ghana ZambiaNigeria

Burma (Myanmar) India Nepal

Serbia

RomaniaMoldovaUkraine

Middle East Peru Paraguay

Israel

South America

And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority hasbeen given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and makedisciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Fatherand the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that Icommanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of theage.”

Matthew 28:18-20

Unknown on EarthI hope this newsletter finds you growing in the grace

and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. In these last twomonths at HeartCry, we have witnessed so many new dem-onstrations of the faithfulness and graciousness of God. Heis faithful in that He never fails to fulfill a promise He hasmade. He is gracious in that His promises are given to thoseto whom He owes nothing.

This month’s edition of the HeartCry magazine is dedi-cated to one of the most despised people groups in the world- the Gypsies of Eastern Europe. For the most part, they arean unwanted and wandering people with an infamous repu-tation for every vice known to man. For most in Europe andbeyond, the name “Gypsy” is synonymous with fraud, rob-bery, prostitutions, and drugs. Although their reputation isnot always deserved, they are a terribly needy people in ev-ery aspect of their lives.

The greatest and only hope for the Gypsy people isJesus Christ. In the last several years, Gypsies have beencoming to Christ in numbers beyond any other people groupin Europe, and yet there is still much to be done. The prioritymust be the establishment of Bible believing churches andschools that believe that the beginning of wisdom is the fearof the Lord.

For the last four years, HeartCry has been supportingGypsy missionaries (church planters) that are working amongtheir own people. It has been a difficult road, but the battleshave borne fruit and Christ is being preached among thepeople. We are excited about the possibilities of the upcom-

From the Director

Paul Washerministering ina Gypsychurch outsideof Bucharest.

ing years, as young men and women are won to Christ anddiscipled. It would be impossible to imagine the great army ofmissionaries that God may one day raise up from among thesenew Christians!

In addition to the churches being planted, we have playeda small part in the formation of the Christian school for theGypsy children in the capital of Bucharest. Such schools areextremely necessary since most Gypsy children spend theirformative years without any formal education. Most havenever had the opportunity to read and write, and are there-fore shut out from any opportunity to be integrated into so-ciety. They roam the street in bands, or they are exploited byothers. The little boys and girls are forced to beg on thestreets for money. If they do not make enough income theyare often beaten or left without anything to eat. The youngmen are taught to prosper in all sorts of criminal activity. Theyoung girls are often raped and forced into a life of prostitu-tion. It is an ugly illustration of the depravity that resides inall men. Their only hope is Jesus Christ. Our greatest task isto make Him known among them.

I hope that the following pages will inspire you to mis-sions, and that your life will be consumed with the “magnifi-cent obsession” of carrying the Gospel to the world.

Your brother,

Paul David Washer

My name is Moise Marin, I am 36 years old and I am amissionary among the gypsies.

In 1999, while I was doing personal evangelism in TraianSquare, in the city of Bucharest, a group of children, eight tofourteen years old, drew my attention. They were unruly andloud, smoking and cursing, rambling through the streets, with-out any parental supervision. They never attended schooland could not read or write. Apart from the supernatural in-tervention of God, they had no future! As I walked away fromthem, I felt as though the Lord was leading me to do some-thing. I spent time in prayer, and was led to speak with thepastor of the Holy Trinity Baptist Church in Bucharest. Iasked permission to use one of their buildings for a schoolfor Gypsy children. The pastor brought the petition beforethe Church and it was agreed upon. In February 2000, webegan the Peniel School for the literacy training and recu-peration of gypsy children living in Bucharest.

We started the school with twenty children and havequickly grown to over seventy. We are forced to limit the

number of children simply be-cause we do not have enoughroom. All of our children comefrom terribly dysfunctional fami-lies without Jesus Christ. The pur-pose of our little school is to leadthe children to Christ and to helpthem recover from the poverty, ig-norance, and immorality that sur-round them.

At the moment, our meansare very small, but our vision isnot. We want to set up workshopsso that we can teach the childrento be mechanics, tailors, carpen-ters, etc. We want them to be ableto do more than make a living. Wewant them to represent Christ andthe power of His salvation.

The main purpose of ourschool is evangelistic. We teachthe children about God andChrist. We seek to guide them to-wards the Cross and a life of obe-dient service in the Church. Ourteachers are all Christians fromthe Baptist Faculty at the Univer-sity of Bucharest. They are a greathelp to us because they have thesame heart that we do.

As I have said, almost all ofour children live in extreme pov-erty. They have no clothes, foodor a decent shelter to live in. Be-cause of this, we try to provide atleast one small meal during ourschool hours. None of them areable to buy their own books or

any of the materials needed to study. I am thankful to the Lord that our school is also having

an impact on the children’s families. One mother said that ourschool was a great blessing, because she had never evendreamed that her children would be able to study in a schooland learn to read. If you have ever worked in missions orstudied missions, you know that, on the mission field, mostadults are won to Christ through their children.

At the moment, our greatest need is to have a largerbuilding where we can have our church services and theschool. We want this building to be a spiritual, cultural, andeducational center for the Gypsy people. A place where theycan come whenever they desire. Please keep us in yourprayers.

Your brother,

Moises Marin

Opening theDoor:A School for the GypsyChildren of Romania

Moises and his wife Ana Maria are HeartCry missionariesworking among the Gypsies of Romania. The great passionof their hearts is to see the salvation of their people, andtheir deliverance from immorality, ignorance, superstitionand poverty. The following is from Ana Maria.

My name is Ana Maria. While I was a student, I becameinvolved in the Peniel School for Gypsy Children. I am con-vinced that God has touched my heart and guided me to-wards this work among one of the most despised peoplegroups in the world. My work is not merely social, but spiri-tual. I not only aspire to improve the intellectual, social andeconomic condition of my people, but I desire their salvationand incorporation into the church.

The Peniel School is primarily a literacy training schoolfor Gypsy children over the age of nine. Most of our childrenhave never been to school or have dropped out of their pre-vious school for any one of a multitude of reasons - dysfunc-tional families, poverty, discrimination against the gypsies,

etc. The primary purpose of ourschool is to win the souls of theyoung gypsies through the teach-ing of the Scriptures - somethingthey would never be exposed toin their own homes. We now have73 children, ages seven to twenty-two, who are enrolled in ourschool. We meet in three littlerooms that the Holy Trinity Bap-tist Church of Bucharest has gra-ciously allowed us to use for alimited time.

The Romanian society seesour school with “good eyes” (asa great blessing) because we areseeking to deter the Gypsy chil-dren from becoming thieves andprostitutes, and turn them to-wards productive lives as chil-dren of God.

To provide a Christian edu-cation to such impoverished chil-dren is a very difficult task. Be-sides the Scriptures and the clas-sic educational courses, we mustprovide the children with cloth-ing, food, and the required studymaterials. In the future, we alsohope to provide technical train-ing to the children so that theymight learn to make a living. Thegypsy people are one of the mostdespised people groups on theface of the earth. Hardly anyonewould ever consider giving anynoble employment to a gypsy.For the children to make a living

by any means other than robbery and prostitution, they mustlearn a trade and begin their own business. For this reason,we are praying for a building and the proper tools. We notonly desire to win our children to Christ, but to teach them tobe productive citizens for the glory of God.

I can truly say that my heart has been knit to the childrenever since I began working with them in the school as avolunteer teacher. At the present, my life is consumed withministering to children, meeting their needs, and keeping theschool on its feet. I have a profile on each child and carefullystudy them in order to understand how to best help eachstudent. I visit their families and motivate the parents to al-low their children to continue attending our school. We areterribly short handed and everyone of our teachers do thework of several people. Please pray for us.

Ana Maria Marin

A Burden for theChildren

school. I enjoy my studies, espe-cially my class on religion be-cause we are allowed to makedrawings of the people and thestories we read about in the Bible.I also enjoy the school becausewe get to eat once a day and dur-ing the winter the building hasheat.

One day, I want to become adoctor, but right now I am study-ing many other things that are im-portant. There are many otherthings that brother Moises wantsto teach us, but right now we donot have the room or the thingswe need. Also, we need moreteachers who know differentthings.

MadalinaCostacheFourteen years old,Fifth Grade

My name is Madalina, and Iam 14 years old. I live with mymother and six brothers and sis-ters. My mother divorced my fa-ther because he would not admitthat he is my real father. Mymother is sick with her lungs andI have one brother sick with leu-kemia. We live in two small roomsand do not have any income.

I heard about brotherMoises’ school from my cousin,

and so I came here to study. On Sundays, I go together withmy mother to the Holy Trinity Church. I like this school be-cause we are taught well and brother Moises is very kind anddoes not shout at us. Sister Ana Maria is very kind and shegives us food. She teaches religion very well. We get a snackevery day, but a good meal would be better. I like this schoolbecause it has heat and we do not fight. I want to become asecretary or a hairdresser. I like the English language verymuch. I also like to study about God and to read the Biblewith my mother.

Mihaela PetreThirteen years old, Fifth Grade

My name is Mihaela, and I am 13 years old. I live with mymother and three sisters in one room of an old building. Wedo not have electricity or running water. It is difficult to do

Testimoniesfrom theChildren

The following are testimonies from the children at the PenielSchool for Gypsy Children in Bucharest. It is our hope andprayer at HeartCry that this tiny light among the Gypsieswill one day grow into a mighty beacon for the Gospel.

Mariana MihalacheTwelve years old, Fifth Grade

My mother and I, and my three brothers live in one smallroom that we are able to rent. My mother works very hardevery day and makes a salary of about 700,000 lei each month($22 a month). Like my brothers, I was never able to go toschool. Every day I went out into the street to make moneywashing cars. One day, I met brother Moises and he invitedme to come to his school. I told him that I could not studybecause I did not have any money. Moises and Ana Mariatold me that the Lord would provide and so I came to the

my homework. My parents divorcedwhen I was six months old. Our onlyincome is my oldest sister’s salary.She is sixteen years old and makesabout 1,500,000 lei each month ($50).We live in an old building that willsoon be condemned. I heard aboutMoises’ school from my cousin. Ihad never attended school beforeand I did not know how to read,write, or do math. According to Ro-manian law, if a child does not go toschool before the age of nine, theyare never allowed to go to school. Ithank God for the opportunity Ihave in Peniel.

I am very happy because some-times we are given clothes andshoes to wear. This is a wonderfulblessing, especially during winter.Sometimes we are also given a pen-cil and a few pieces of paper to takehome for our own use. One day, Iwant to become a pediatrician, butto be able to do that I will need tostudy many years and to work veryhard. We like Brother Moises be-cause he is kind and doesn’t beatus. He welcomes us in his schooland he is always doing his best forus. I enjoy the way he explains tous the Bible and I want to know Godthe way brother Moises describedHim to us. Please pray for us. BrotherMoises wants to set up a Gypsychildren’s choir and do so manyother things for us.

Adriana PodeanuFifteen years old, Fifth Grade

My name is Adriana and I am fifteen years old. My motherand I and my younger brother live together in a small room. Ido not have a father. Our income is $65 a month. I heard aboutthe Peniel School for Gypsies from my friend. I like the schoolbecause we get very good lessons. I am also glad that we geta snack every day. It is sometimes the only meal we eat sincethere is often nothing in our homes.

I like Mr. Moise because he is kind to us, and he disci-plines the bad boys and does not let them hurt us. He isalways trying to do things for us. He wants to have a campfor us during the summer and to take us places so that we canlearn about culture and history. I enjoy the atmosphere in theschool and want to know more about Christ and other Chris-tians. I want to become a lawyer, and therefore, I need tostudy many years.

Sorin MihalacheFifteen years old, Fifth Grade

I live with my mother, three brothers, and one sister in asmall room in a condemned building in Bucharest. We arealways afraid that the authorities will make us leave since it isillegal to live in such a place. My mother works very hard, butonly makes 1,700,000 lei a month ($55). My father does notsupport us. I heard about Moises’ school from a friend. I hadbeen attending a regular school, but we were evacuated fromour old building and had to live on the street for six months.I like brother Moises’ school because it helps the poor andmakes it possible for poor children to come to school. I likebrother Moises because he helped my family and me. Herespects us and helps everybody. I like church very much.

There is more than simply reading, writ-ing, and arithmetic. The Children aretaught the Word of God and the Gospelof Jesus Christ.

Marian DragneSixteen Years Old, Fifth Grade

I have five brothers and sisters, and we live togetherwith my mother and father. My father works very hard andearns about 1,500,000 lei a month ($50). I work after schoolevery day and earn about 500,000 lei a month ($16). I heardabout the Peniel School from brother Moises. I was kickedout of my former school for fighting. I like this school be-cause they teach us good things. I want to become a soccerplayer and to learn English and Spanish. I am a friend ofbrother Moises, and I want to become a good Christian.

Florian Costache LaurentiuFifth Grade

I live with my mother and two brothers in a small apart-ment in Bucharest. My father died when I was very little. Ouronly income is the social aid that we receive because we donot have a father. It is 410,000 lei a month ($13). I try to workin our neighborhood for extra money, but I do not make verymuch. I was kicked out from the first school that I attended,but I like this school because it is clean and brother Moisesteaches us religion. We get a snack every day. This is verygood, because sometimes we do not eat at home. I want tobecome a soccer player.

A young Gypsy boy at the key board of one of the computers donated to the school. Unfortunately, the computers are soantiquated that they are no longer even functional.

Carmen Elena AndresoiMy name is Andresoi Carmen Elena. I am 22 years old

and I am a student in my fourth year at the Baptist College ofTheology at the University of Bucharest. My major area ofstudy is social work. Since my early high school years, I havevolunteered to work in orphanages and other Christianprojects. I love children no matter what ethnic group they arefrom. The first time I ever taught anyone about Jesus was toa group of gypsy children! For some reason, I have alwaysthought that the Gypsies were very special people in God’seyes. Almost all of our children come from extremely poorfamilies and they do not have the opportunity to go to a stateschool. I believe that God has given me a great opportunityto teach these precious children about His love.

I began working with children eight years ago. I firsttaught Sunday School classes in my home church in Craiovaand then I worked for four years in an orphanage and servedas a leader in the children’s summer camps. When I moved toBucharest to study, I taught the Bible to Gypsy children inthe nearby village of Jilava.

For me, it was a great honor to be accepted as a teacherin the Peniel School for Gypsy Children. I do not only teachthem to read, write and do mathematics, but I also teach them

about God.I know at this moment that I am in the center of God’s

will. Peniel is a good school and it has tremendous signifi-cance in the lives of the children. I will remain here until Godcalls me to do something else.

Alina OlteanuMy name is Alina Olteanu and I am a teacher at the

Peniel School for Gypsy Children. I am also a student in mythird year at the Baptist College of Theology at the Univer-sity of Bucharest. My major area of study is English. I cameto this school having the strong desire to work with childrenin a Christian school.

When I first met our children and saw the vicious envi-ronment in which they live, I recognized their great need ofencouragement, guidance, and the knowledge of God. Manyof our children are forced to work after classes in order toobtain enough food or clothes to survive. Many of the chil-dren wash windshields at stop signs or in front of large storeswhere people park their cars. Others help their neighbors, oreven beg on the streets. I know that this school is a greatblessing for our children and that it is the only opportunitythey will ever have to be educated. I believe that God will

Testimonies fromthe Teachers

Students, teachers,and staff workers atPeniel.

continue to work in the lives of these poor children, and it ismy great hope that they will be converted into real believersin Jesus Christ and trustworthy disciples. I hope to stay inthis ministry as long as I am needed and God will allow me.

Daniela SpataruMy name is Daniela Spataru. I am 23 years old and I am a

teacher at the Peniel School for Gypsy Children. Before I metthe Lord Jesus Christ, I was very selfish and rebellious. Ibelieved that I was always right and everyone else was wrong.I also considered myself to be a good person. In spite of allmy pride, I felt that something was missing. I did not haveinner peace and I was terrified about the fires of hell. One day,a Christian visited me and made me understand the mostelementary truths about Jesus Christ and His sacrifice. Withmy limited understanding, I asked the Lord to take my life inHis hands. Immediately, I became an active member in thechurch and began working with the children on the worshipteam and in the personal evangelism team.

When I began to get to know the children from the school,I immediately recognized their great needs. They have many

great problems and suffer from many terrible traumas. Theyare surrounded by the worst of all environments, their fami-lies are totally dysfunctional and they have no place of secu-rity. Everywhere they look there is violence, addiction, immo-rality, and extreme poverty. From early childhood they mustlearn to fend for themselves. There is no one to protect themor love them.

God has given me a love in my heart so that I want to bethere for them in each and every situation. Even though theyare not very teachable (at first), I pray that God will give methe patience and wisdom to teach them the basics of educa-tion and the truth of His Word. Being a teacher to such needychildren, requires that we not only build a relationship withthe children, but also with their parents.

I believe that the greatest task is not to help them inte-grate socially, but to lead them to salvation and help them tobe servants of Christ. I desire to share the Gospel with every-one of them and to tell them about the God who changed myheart and my way of thinking. I hope that by God’s gracethese children will be the church of tomorrow in the middle ofthe Gypsy community in Bucharest. I believe that yourprayers are very important in accomplishing this vision.

A young Gypsy girlstudying at Peniel. Thechildren are hardly evergiven homework sincemany live in condemnedbuildings without lights,heat, or running water.

Brother Moises Marin is supported as a HeartCry Mission-ary. He works as supervisor over our Gypsy missionaries inRomania and is Director of the Peniel School for GypsyChildren. The following is the testimony of his conversion,call, and present ministry.

I was born in 1965 in a small village about 50 miles fromBucharest. My father was an alcoholic, and we lived in theslums next to the town cemetery. My father was very abu-sive. There was hardly a day that passed in which he did notbeat my mother or us children. We never had food becausemy father spent all the money we had on liquor. If I ever askedmy father for money to eat or to go to school, he would beatme and send me to the fields to work.

By the time I was 16 years old, I was very bad. I decidedthat the best thing for me was to join the army and so I left myfamily and traveled to the capital city of Bucharest. I knewthat to become an officer in the army I had to do well inschool and be a good fighter, so I worked in the day, studiedat night and began to train as a boxer. I was very dedicated tomy goals, but I had one terrible problem - I drank a lot. Onenight after graduating from my studies, I got drunk and foundmyself in the middle of a terrible fight. The police came andchased us. I was hit by a car and developed amnesia. After Irecovered my memory, I presented myself for military service,but the officials told me that all gypsies were liars and thievesand that I would never be an officer. Very discouraged, Idecided to enter the military knowing that I would never havethe opportunity to be an officer. However, the night before

my enlistment, I got drunk and lost all myidentification and my communist partycard.

After months of struggle, I was finallyable to reestablish my identity and enlist,but on the day of my enlistment, I heardtwo men, where I worked, talking aboutGod. They were excited about a churchservice where God had done great things.I asked them if I could go with them. Theytold me to be there at 6pm, but I arrived at5pm to be sure that I would meet them.When the man began to preach, I felt asthough he was talking to me. I began tocry. I left the meeting and all that I couldthink about was God and the message. Ireturned to hear the preaching everyevening. On the last night there was a bap-tism. I wanted to be baptized, but they didnot let me because they were not sure ofmy conversion.

Three months later, I went to a littlevillage outside of Bucharest and attendedthe little church that was there. Since Iwas from Bucharest, they thought I wasan important person and so they asked meto preach. I was so ashamed because Iknew nothing about the Bible. I tried to

preach the sermons I had heard in Bucharest, but it did notturn out very well. Afterwards, I made a promise to God thatI would be baptized and that I would learn the Bible so that Imight be a good preacher for God’s people.

Now I am a follower of Jesus Christ and a missionary ofthe Gospel to my people, the Gypsies. The state of the Gyp-sies is very degraded. Sin, corruption and crime are every-where. Whether it is in the ghettos or in the country, the sinof my people stands out like a flag. No one wants the Gypsy.No one wants to hire him, or associate with him. The Gypsieshave no income, no respect, no medicine. Only 20% of thegypsies have a full time job, another 30% works part timewhen they can find work, and the rest cheat and steal. Theaged have no retirement or income, they are sick and ha-rassed, even beaten by their own children. The youth haveno future and no skill except that of stealing. The young girlspractice prostitution and many children are out of wedlock.The children are abused and they learn only negative thingsbecause there is no positive thing to learn in such an envi-ronment. There is much violence and terror. The women areseverely beaten especially if they become Christians. Mostlive in dilapidated apartment blocks without electricity, wateror heating. My people, the Gypsies, are pushed to the edgeof society and the Romanian people and government are notwilling to do anything to help them. Even the Christian Churchhas turned its back on the Gypsies. This is why I am driven topreach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the Gypsy. There are 5million gypsies in Romania and more than 800,000 in the capi-tal of Bucharest. I believe that God has called me to reach

Moises’Testimony

them with the Gospel.My vision is to reach every place in the world where

there are Gypsies. I want to buy old homes in each Gypsycommunity and use them as Churches. That way the gypsymissionary who goes to that village can live in part of thehome and use the rest of it for a Church. I also want to startChristian schools for the Gypsies, because my people havealmost no knowledge of the Bible, Christian education orChristian culture.

The Gypsy missionaries you support, including myself,are now teaching and preaching in an orphanage just forGypsy children. The first time we went there, the director(who is not Gypsy) said that the orphanage was a curse onthe Romanian country, because it was growing more Gyp-sies. That tells you how despised the Gypsy people are. Weare also preaching in a place here in Bucharest called Ferentini.This place is called the “District of Terror”, because it is themost dangerous place in all of Romania. If you are not aGypsy and you go there at night you will not return alive.There are many Gypsies there. I want to see them come toChrist. We must reach my people now so that the futuregeneration will be changed.

It is hard for us to work among the Gypsies because thevillages are so far apart and there are so few workers. Oftenthere is no transportation, like a bus or train, and we mustwalk. It is even more difficult to reach the villages in thewinter when there are deep snows and subzero tempera-tures.

The Gypsies live in small closed communities and they

are all friends. If you go to preach to them by yourself theywill not trust you, they will not listen, but if you go in a groupthey become interested and listen. Your missionaries and Igo as a group and preach, sing and invite the people to learnwho God is. We have to return many times to the same villageand preach the Gospel over and over before the people beginto believe. The Gypsies are very tough people, but if you goand touch their heart, and you show them that you lovethem, they will open their hearts. The missionaries you sup-port are Gypsies, therefore, when we tell the people how wewere before Christ saved us and how He has changed us,they listen. They know how Gypsies are - we cheat, steal andare very bad until we meet Christ. Since the Gypsies are sobad, everyone can see the change when a Gypsy is con-verted by the power of Christ and His Gospel.

Because the Gypsies act and understand differently, weneeded Gypsy missionaries and Gypsy Churches that under-stand the Gypsy culture. I want to thank you for the supportyou are giving to our Gypsy missionaries. Without them wecould not do what we are doing now. We can already see amovement among our people. Our ministry, work and fruithas grown tremendously since you have begun helping us. Ithank you in the name of my people the Gypsies. I thank thepeople from HeartCry for your concern. It is a very greatblessing for us. Thank you for everything you have done forour people. You are in our prayers. You are our brothers andsister, and you are very precious to us. Before you came tohelp us there was no real mission among the Gypsies, butnow there is because of you.

Moises baptizinga new Gypsy convertin the village ofStehaia, Romania

The GypsiesBy Paul WasherExcerpts from the Patrin Web Page

I have been in many places in the last 10 years and haveseen many different nationalities and people groups, but ofall of these I must admit that the Gypsies are truly unique.They are vagabonds without a country and yet they are knittogether closer than any nation; they are the most despisedpeople group in all of Europe and yet they are proud of beingGypsies; they are famous for their deceit, thievery, lying andimmorality and yet they are one of the most open people tothe Gospel in the eastern hemisphere. They are a loud, color-ful, contradiction that will capture the imagination and theheart of anyone who will care enough to give them a secondlook.

Since so many people’s concept of the Gypsy people ismore myth than truth, we have decided to share a few impor-tant facts about the history, culture and life of the Gypsy. Wehope that a better understanding of these people will awakenyour heart to love them and help you see their great need ofthe Savior.

The Gypsy NameThe Gypsies have been known by many names such as

Tsigani, Tzigane, Cigano, Zigeuner, and others. Most Gyp-sies refer to themselves by their tribal names, or as Rom orRoma, meaning “Man” or “People.” The Gypsy names Rom,Roma, Romania, and Romaniya should not be confused withthe country of Romania, or the city of Rome, but are nameswith separate, distinct etymological origins and are not re-lated. The Gypsy people prefer to use the names Rom, Roma,Romani in all official communications and legal documents. Itis the hope of all Gypsy peoples to eliminate the use of de-rogatory, pejorative and offensive names, such as Gypsies,and to be identified by their true names of Roma, or Rroma.From now on in this article, we will refer to the Gypsy peopleas Roma.

A Brief HistoryThere are more than twelve million Roma outside of In-

dia located in many countries around the world. There is noway to obtain an exact number since they are not recorded onmost official census counts. The Roma are a distinct ethnicminority, distinguished at least by Rom blood and Romaneslanguage, whose origins began on the Indian subcontinentover one thousand years ago.

No one knows for certain why the original Roma begantheir great wandering from India to Europe and beyond, butthey have dispersed worldwide, despite persecution and op-pression through the centuries.

There are four Rom tribes, or nations (natsiya), of Roma:the Kalderash, the Machavaya, the Lovari, and the Churari.Other groups include the Romanichal, the Gitanoes (Calé),

the Sinti, the Rudari, the Manush, the Boyash, the Ungaritza,the Luri, the Romungro, and the Xoraxai. The first Europeandescriptions of the Roma upon their entering Europe empha-sized their dark skin and black hair. Through integration withEuropeans over the centuries, Roma today can also be foundwith light skin and hair.

CultureRomani culture is diverse and there is no universal cul-

ture per se, but there are attributes common to all Roma:

* Loyalty to family (extended and clan);* Belief in Del (God) and beng (the Devil);* Belief in predestination or fate;* Romaniya, standards and norms, varying in

degree from tribe to tribe;* Adaptability to changing conditions.

Integration of many Roma into gajikané (non-Roma, orforeign) culture due to settlement has diluted many Romanicultural values and beliefs. Therefore not all tribes have thesame definition of who and what is “Roma.” What may beaccepted as “true-Roma” by one group may be gadjé to an-other. Romani culture is diverse, with many traditions andcustoms, and all tribes around the world have their own indi-vidual beliefs and tenets. It would be invalid to generalizeand oversimplify by giving concrete rules to all Roma. De-spite what some groups may believe, there is no one tribethat can call themselves the one, “true” Roma.

Religion and SuperstitionsThe Roma cannot be said to have a religion of their own.

They have usually adopted the faiths of the countries inwhich they live. Among the Roma can be found Roman Catho-lics, Eastern Orthodox, Protestants, and Muslims. Many pre-fer to carry out religious rituals in their own homes or in thecontext of folk observances.

The best known Romani religious festivals are the an-nual pilgrimages to Saintes Maries de la Mer on the Mediter-ranean coast of France and Sainte Anne de Beaupre in Que-bec, Canada. In Saintes Maries de la Mer, Saint Sarah, theBlack Virgin, is paid homage to by the Roma on the 24-26 ofMay. In Quebec, the Roma pay homage to Saint Anne onJuly 26. These annual religious festivals are used as socialgatherings for the Roma.

Though they have, for practical purposes, adopted thereligions of those with whom they have come into contact,formal religion is often supplemented by faith in the super-natural, in omens and curses. These superstitions vary amongdifferent Roma groups, but it is to some extent a factor in thelives of all of them.

Roma believe in supernatural powers, as exemplified bytheir use of curses, called amria, and healing rituals. Theypractice fortune telling only for the benefit of gadje, and as asource of livelihood, but not among themselves. The fortuneteller is always a woman called a drabardi. The concept offortune telling contains several independent elements that

Musicians at alocal GypsyChurch outsideof Bucharest.

are misleadingly grouped together. One element is foretellingthe future, called drabaripé or drabarimos. Another elementrelates to healing powers, which the Roma do practice amongthemselves. The healing elements of fortune telling are called“advising.” Both elements are based on a belief in the super-natural.

Good luck charms, amulets, and talismans are commonamong Roma. They are carried to prevent misfortune or healsickness. The female healer who prescribes these traditionalcures or preventatives is called a drabarni or drabengi. SomeRoma carry bread in their pockets as protection against badluck, or bibaxt, and supernatural spirits or ghosts, calledmuló. Horseshoes are considered good luck by some Romajust as they are by non-Roma.

Since Roma feel that illness is an unnatural condi-tion, called prikaza, there are many supernatural ways inwhich they believe disease can be prevented or cured. Onemethod of lowering a fever has been to shake a young tree. Inthis way the fever is transferred from the sick person’s bodyto the tree. Another method to bring down fever has been todrink powdered portions of certain animals dissolved in spir-its, to the accompaniment of a chant. Some beliefs includecarrying a mole’s foot as a cure for rheumatism, and carryinga hedgehog’s foot to prevent a toothache. Any number ofherbs, called drab, are used for the prevention or cure ofvarious diseases. Herbalism may be practiced by both sexes.Some of these herbs, called sastarimaskodrabaró, actuallyhave medicinal value in addition to their supposed super-natural qualities.

TaboosMost of Roma society relies heavily on distinctions be-

tween behavior that is pure, vujo or wuzho, and polluted, ormarimé. Marimé has a dual meaning to the Roma. It refersboth to a state of pollution or defilement as well as to thesentence of expulsion imposed for violation of purity rules orany behavior disruptive to the Roma community. Pollutionand rejection are thus closely associated with one another.Pollution taboos, and their names, vary from group to groupand often among smaller Romani units. Nevertheless, Romadefine themselves in part by their adherence to these cleanli-ness rituals. There may be class distinctions among someRoma, based on how strictly individuals or families maintaindistinctions between purity and impurity.

The marimé concept applied to personal hygiene means“dirty” or “polluted.” Much of it stems from the division of awoman’s body into two parts, above the waist and below thewaist. A woman is clean from the waist up and “polluted”from the waist down. There is no shame, lashav, connectedwith the upper part of the body. The lower part of the body is,however, an object of shame, baro lashav, because it is asso-ciated with menstruation. The fact that blood flows withoutinjury seems to be the proof of a bodily impurity. This con-cept of marimé as applied to women is one explanation whyin many tribes the Roma women wear long skirts and why thebottom of those skirts must not touch a man other than theRoma woman’s husband.

A woman in a house must not pass in front of a man, oreven between two men. She must go around them in order toavoid “infecting” them. At meals, the men must be servedfrom the rear for the same reason. If a Roma woman is notwearing the traditional long skirt, she must cover her legswith a blanket or coat when sitting.

Many of the traditional laws of hygiene deal with water.For example, Roma must wash only in running water. A showerwould be acceptable, but a bath would not be, for the personwould be sitting or lying in dirty, stagnant water. Dishes can-not be rinsed in the same sink or basin that is used for wash-ing personal clothing. The kitchen sink is used only for wash-ing dishes, and therefore it cannot ever be used for washingone’s hands. In addition, women’s clothes and men’s clothescannot be washed together, because of the impurities of thewomen’s bodies.

Some traditional rules might make sense to the non-Roma.The surfaces of tables used for eating are kept spotless. Hand-kerchiefs for blowing the nose are frowned upon. They merelypreserve the dirt of the nose. For this reason Roma prefer toblow their noses in disposable material. In any case, afterblowing the nose or sneezing, one must wash before eating.

To some, the marimé code of pollution may seen unfairto women. However, marimé also gives women great power.

Prepubescent girls and older women are placed in a differentcategory from other women, because they do not menstru-ate. This allows them more freedom and they are allowed tosocially interact with men with fewer restrictions.

There are remedies or punishments for a person who hasbecome infected, or marimé. Minor offenses, clearly unin-tentional ones, can be forgiven by those present at the timethe offense is committed. More serious ones must be dealtwith by the community.

ClothingThe stereotype of the Roma woman with the long, color-

ful skirt, the heavy earrings, and often a flower in her hair hassome basis in fact. Traditionally, a woman’s legs must notshow. Exposure of the legs is a grave offense, so long fullskirts must be worn. It is probable that long skirts were oncethought of as protection against sexual advances, but theyalso cover the lower part of the body, which is consideredmarimé, or “impure.” These skirts are generally of bright col-ors, often consisting of many layers.

Except for color, a woman does not have a varied ward-robe. Among many tribes, if a woman is married she mustdisplay that fact by keeping her head covered by a diklo, orhead scarf. Women usually allow their hair to grow long.Their hair may then be braided or rolled into a bun on theback of the head. Roma women usually wear jewelry, not onlyfor its beauty, but for its intrinsic value. Most do not havebank accounts or safe deposit boxes, so they feel most se-

cure carrying their valuables on their own persons. Tradi-tionally, acquired wealth has been converted into jewelry orgold coins called galbi, the latter sometimes worn on cloth-ing as adornments, or woven into the hair, as with the womenof the Kalderash nation.

As for men, there is really no characteristic clothing.Since the head is regarded as the body’s focal point, manyRoma men draw attention to it by wearing large hats and widemustaches. For festive occasions, they will wear a good suitand show a preference for bright colors. Most of them ownone suit at a time and wear it until it is frayed. A brightlycolored neck scarf may be worn, but generally, their clothingis indistinguishable from that of the gadje among whom theylive or travel.

FoodTraditionally the eating habits of Roma have been con-

ditioned by their nomadic way of life. Their diet has con-sisted largely of what was readily available. This includedwild fruits, berries, leafy plants, mollusks, and small mam-mals. As the Roma have gradually come into greater contactwith people of the cities, their eating habits have conformedmore and more to those of the non-Roma.

A day will generally begin with very strong black coffee,heavily sweetened with sugar. Coffee is a staple of Romaexistence for many tribes, and many cups may be taken in thecourse of a day. There is usually no lunch, and dinner isserved at sunset, or, since the food is generally on the stove

all afternoon, whenever anyone is hungry. Thebasic element of this dinner is a thick, fattyvegetable soup, or stew, with any availablevegetables or greens put into it. It is usuallymade even more hearty by the addition ofpotatoes, rice, or pasta. Sometimes meat isserved, generally broiled or cooked on a spit.Game, such as rabbit and game fowl, are en-joyed when possible. Garlic is a very commonlyused seasoning. Some tribes serve maize cakesinstead of bread. Water is the most oftenserved beverage during the course of a meal.

Ceremonial events such as christenings,marriages, and religious festivals are occasionsfor community activity and sharing. Enormousquantities of food and drink are consumedduring these celebrations, and the prepara-tion is long and enthusiastic. A favorite Euro-pean Roma dish has traditionally been roastedhedgehog, although this delicacy is gradu-ally falling from favor among many Roma. Ithas a rich and succulent meat with a pork-likeflavor, which is also enjoyed by somenon-Roma Europeans. Ideally, this animal isflavored with garlic and placed skin and allabove burning hot coals or stones. In this way,it cooks in its own juices. When the roastingis completed, the animal’s prickles are shavedor picked off and the skin is peeled back. Themeat is served, sometimes wrapped in aromaticleaves. Chicken and other fowl can also becooked this way. On these special occasionsbeer, wine and other spirits are substituted forwater at the meal.

Marimé taboos extend to animals as well,from the edibility of certain types of meat to pet ownership.Romaniya prohibits cruelty to animals and they may only bekilled for food. The German Sinti consider eating horse flesha serious offense, as do other tribes. The exclusion of horsemeat has more to do with respect than to marimé, the horsehas been so important to the Roma’s mobility and survival inthe past. Dogs and cats are also considered polluted be-cause of their unclean living habits, as well as owls that areconsidered portents of death.

Popular Mythsabout the Gypsies

The term “Gypsy” as used in scholarly writings sup-ports misconceptions that all Roma are migratory, roam thecountryside, and are engaged in questionable or illegal ac-tivities, as exemplified by slang terms like “to gyp,” meaningto swindle. For many people, just the word “Gypsy” conjuresup the picture of dirty women in long skirts, apparently sicklybabies in their arms, begging for money or asking to readpalms. For others, they are petty swindlers who rent store-fronts and deceive a gullible public. It is only natural that

many Roma, therefore, view the word “Gypsy” as offensive.For centuries Roma were called Egyptians, because of

their having been mistakenly identified as Islamic invaderswhen they first arrived in Europe. The prevalent term “Gypsy”is a contraction of ̀ the name Egyptian. Roma are also calledZigeuner in German, Tsigani in Russian, Zingari in Italian,and Tigani in Romanian. These names are variants of theGreek word Athinganoi, meaning “don’t touch.” It was alsothe name of a religious sect formerly inhabiting Phrygia andThrace in Asia Minor who shunned contact with outsiders.

The Roma themselves perpetuated many myths aboutthemselves for many reasons. It better suited their purposesto encourage fanciful, imaginative explanations of their ori-gins. In the past, if they said their origins were biblical andtherefore Christian, they could more easily gain the sympa-thy of the people and the officials of the towns and citiesthey visited. If, instead, these roots were tinged with mys-tery, this would enhance their qualifications for fortune tell-ing and give them a mystical aura and presence.

Many of the myths of biblical origin were very popular.According to some, the Roma were descended from Noah.According to others, they were the true descendants of

Abraham and Sarah. Their endless wandering, some peoplebelieved, was their punishment for being among those whorefused help to Joseph and Mary on their flight into Egypt.Another popular story told that during the crossing of theRed Sea, when Pharaoh’s troops were trapped in the waters,a young couple miraculously escaped, becoming the Adamand Eve of the Roma.

One of the most widespread legends concerning the no-madic Roma was based on the story of the Crucifixion. Ac-cording to this legend, many people were asked to forge thenails of the Cross, but all refused when they heard the pur-pose for which the nails were to be used. Finally, some Romablacksmiths agreed to make them, and because of this, theRoma were condemned to wander the earth forever.

Many speculations on their origins were not based onbiblical sources. They themselves often said they had fledfrom Egypt and supported this by the use of fanciful titles,such as “Duke of Egypt.” There is no such thing as Romaroyalty. No king or duke makes proclamations of law. Romadid use imaginative titles of nobility when they first came toEurope, but these were meant to impress their hosts. Sincethat time, many journalists have found it colorful to write of“Gypsy” kings or queens, and some Roma, seeking a roman-tic image, have encouraged this. However, the fact is thateach community is ruled by a man who is chosen not be-cause he is part of any royal family, but for his age, experi-ence, and wisdom. The leader of a Romani community is aman who inspires respect by his strength and intelligence, aman who by his own life sets an example for the other Roma.

The Roma, too, were thought to be of Babylonian,Nubian or Abyssinian descent, or even descendants of theCeltic Druids. No explanation of their origins seemed impos-sible. A particularly romantic version stated that they werethe survivors of the mysterious people who inhabited thelegendary island of Atlantis.

Sometimes, the Romani choice of occupations was sup-posed to provide clues to their origins. For example, becauseof their skills at fortune telling, they were reputed to be thedescendants of the Euxians, neighbors of the Persians, whoin ancient times were known for their success in predictingthe future.

The deeply ingrained notion that all Roma are nomadicoverlooks the fact that in Europe today, it is estimated thatabout five percent of the Roma are nomadic or migratory.The commonly held notion that Roma steal or buy childrenhas no basis in fact. Gajikane (non-Roma) parents often warntheir children that they will be given, or sold, to the “Gyp-sies” if they do not behave themselves. There have beenallegations and accusations through the centuries in Europe,some resulting in circumstantial guilt and punishment bygadjikano courts, all with no basis in fact or reality.

European folklore contains a number of references tothe Romani complexion. A Greek proverb says, “go to theGypsy children and choose the whitest,” and in Yiddish, “thesame sun that whitens the linen darkens the Gypsy,” and “nowashing ever whitens the black Gypsy.” One word in Romaniwhich Roma in some countries use as a name for themselvesis Calé, meaning “black.” The Spanish Roma call themselves

A camp of Gypsies travelingthrough the countryside of Ro-mania. Notice their coveredwagons in the background.

Calé, and the Roma in Finland call themselves Kalo. Cauca-sian non-Roma are called parni or parnofi meaning “white”in some Romani dialects, even by fair-skinned Roma.

There is another equally one-sided picture of the Roma,and this is a romantic one. According to this point of view,they are a beautiful, colorfully dressed people, proud andindependent, life-loving and passionate. They are carefreeand enjoy the simple pleasures of life. These people havecreated a music and dance that throb with passion and joy.The women in their colorful long skirts are irresistibly seduc-tive and exciting. The dark-faced, high cheek-boned men, soproud and strong, are symbols of wild, uninhibited virility.These notions have, for centuries, been encouraged by ro-mantic writers and painters all over the world. These mythsare perpetuated by groups today, such as “medieval” societ-ies and other “Renaissance” organizations. They are as un-true as other notions that show the Roma to be a totallyimmoral and disreputable people.

PersecutionExcerpt taken from The Roma Persecution by Harold Tanner

There have been many large-scale, state-sponsored per-secutions, or pogroms, against the Roma throughout Euro-pean history. The Nazi terror of World War II is the mostinfamous and is responsible for the deaths of up to 1.5 millionRoma in the Porraimos (Holocaust).

The Roma presented a problem for Hitler. The racist poli-cies he directed against the Jews were based on the fact thatthey were non-Aryans. The Roma were one of the oldest

Aryan groups in Europe and did not fit into this category. Atfirst, the Hitler regime tried to force German scholars to denythe truth, and to state that Roma were not Aryans. However,many scholars refused to follow Hitler’s demands, often re-sulting in their own imprisonment. The Nazis soon aban-doned the non-Aryan argument, and they created other rea-sons for doing away with the Roma. According to Nazi policythe Roma were not Nordic. They were “asocial,” “subhumanbeings” and members of a “lower race.”

On 15 September 1935, Jews were restricted by theNuremberg Law for the Protection of Blood and Honor, andRoma were added later in 1937. This law forbade intermar-riage or sexual intercourse between Aryan and non-Aryanpeoples. Criteria for classification as a Rom were twice asstrict as those applied to Jews. If two of a person’s eightgreat-grandparents were even part-Rom, that person “hadtoo much Gypsy blood to be allowed to live.” According tothe Nazi hierarchical system, Roma belonged with Jews at thebottom of the racial scale.

In 1937, the Roma were forced into concentration camps,officially called “resident camps” at Dachau, Dieselstrasse,Mahrzan and Vennhausen. The Roma interned included thosefound in Germany and in the Nazi occupied countries. TheNazi Party was given the cooperation of other European gov-ernments in its campaign to locate and identify Roma through-out Europe. Prisoners at Buchenwald were worked to deathas slave laborers in the camp quarry or at outlying arms fac-tories. There were no gas chambers but thousands were shot,hanged, or tortured to death by the camp’s guards.

An impoverished Gypsycamp outside ofBucharest during thedead of winter.

To the Nazis, being a Rom meant being diseased, sothese prisoners were sterilized to prevent them from spread-ing this disease by reproduction. Some Roma were sterilizedas early as 1933, though no Jews had yet been.

In July 1938, the Endloesung, or Final Solution, planswere being finalized. Among the many categories of Nazivictims, only the Roma and the Jews were singled out forannihilation on racial grounds. Only Jews and Roma wereconsidered genetically “tainted,” threatening German racialpurity. During the following months, Roma were transportedto the camps in Poland. These Roma movements were laterstopped because of the expense involved. Roma in the BalticStates, Poland, Austria, Czechoslovakia, France, Italy, Hun-gary and the rest of Nazi-occupied Europe were forced intocamps for later extermination.

In February 1943, large-scale roundups were establishedin Germany, and over ten thousand Roma had arrived inSachsenhausen by April. Hitler’s infamous deputy, HeinrichHimmler, decided that the Roma camps were to be eliminated,and began a program of liquidation. Roma were beaten andclubbed to death, herded into the gas chambers, and forcedto dig their own graves.

The Gypsies ... are an idle, miserable race, a curse to the countries they inhabit, and a terror to thefarmer through whose lands they stroll. They seem utterly destitute of conscience, and boast of dis-honesty as if it were a heavenly virtue ... Laws have been passed in several countries to banish them,and great cruelties sometimes practiced to enforce these laws ... So deeply rooted are sin and va-grancy in the hearts of this miserable race, that neither penal laws nor bitter persecution can drive itout. They are not beyond the power of the Gospel, however, nor yet beyond the mercy of the Re-deemer.

The fate of the Roma paralleled the tragic fate of theJews, who were also imprisoned and exterminated. They weretortured, used for inhuman scientific experiments, and put todeath in the infamous gas chambers. One of the worst of thecamps, Auschwitz, held sixteen thousand Roma at one point.By August 1944, only four thousand Roma remained. After avisit by Himmler, the last imprisoned Roma were led to thegas chambers.

The recent collapse of the communist governments ofEastern Europe have rekindled anti-Roma sentiment in East-ern and Western Europe. Violent attacks against Romani im-migrants and refugees have been permitted to occur withlittle or no restraint from government authorities. The Romanipeople remain the least integrated and the most persecutedpeople of Europe. Almost everywhere, their fundamental civilrights are threatened. Racist violence targeting Roma is onthe rise after the fall of Communism. Discrimination againstRoma in employment, education, health care, administrativeand other services is observed in most societies, and hatespeech against them deepens the negative anti-Roma stereo-types which are typical of European public opinion.

The first American account to discuss Gypsies appeared in the Christian Enquirerfor September 29th, 1855:

Gypsy childrenin front of theirmakeshift homenear Bucharest.

When was the last time you thoughtabout the rest of the world?

“For God so loved the world, that He gave Hisonly begotten Son, that whoever believes in Himshould not perish, but have eternal life.”

John 3:16

I praise the Lord for the four weekly meetings that wehave to pray and to praise God. I am always visiting themembers of our church. We talk about family problems, trials,and the necessity of the Word of God and a real prayer life.Together with some teens from my church, we have begun awork with the children that play in the streets. In each meet-ing, we have songs, poems, games and Bible stories. I amalso spending as much time as possible on the streets tomake friends with the Gypsies who do not have a job and totry share the Gospel with them. They have many problems - alack of education, social integration, and most of all, theyhave no living relationship with God. This month, I was in avery difficult situation. A man became very disturbed that Istopped by and told him about Jesus. He threatened to beatme up and to cut the tires of my car. I am aware that the devilfights against me, so please pray for my protection. Wher-ever God is doing a work, the devil seeks in vain to destroy it.

I would like to share with you the wonderful work thatGod has done in a man’s life from our neighborhood. Atforty-seven years of age, this man was retired from his workbecause of a severe brain infection. Because of this, he startedto drink even though the doctors told him that it would affecthis brain. He would not listen to them, but became very vio-lent. Everyone in his neighborhood was very frightened ofhim. His family lived in continual terror and were finally forcedto institutionalize him. After a short while, the medical staffreleased him from the hospital because of his violence.

One evening, while we were having our worship service,the Holy Spirit led this man to our congregation. That veryevening, God touched his heart, and he knelt down and criedout for the Lord Jesus to save him. He told the Lord that hewas sick of his life and wanted to change. Since that night,God has really changed this man’s life. Everyone who knewhim is amazed about the transformation. He is an example tohis family and his neighborhood. Please pray for him. Hisname is brother Virgil.

There was another man in the neighborhood of our churchthat was destroying his family through gambling and alco-hol. His mother, who comes to our church, told me that shetried her best to help him but he would not change. Becauseof the broken heart of our sister, we decided to pray harderfor this man, and God began to work in his life. This man wasrenting out rooms in his house to anyone who needed board-ing, and God sent brother Mihai from our church to rent oneof the rooms. When the man discovered that brother Mihaiwas once a drinker and gambler, he asked him how he changed.Mihai shared the Gospel with him and invited him to church.The night they came to church together, the Lord changedmy message and I preached from Proverbs 23 about the dan-gers of drinking. After my message, the man fell on his knees,and cried out to the Lord with many tears. Please pray that hebecomes another example of the power of God’s salvation.

I will now tell you one more testimony of the power ofGod before I finish. God has begun to work in a family that Ihave been visiting lately. Every time I visited them, they toldme that they did not want to change their religion, because

ToniAngel

Reportsfrom

Our GypsyMissionaries

At the present, the HeartCry Missionary So-ciety is supporting several Gypsy Mission-aries in the Eastern European countries ofRomania and Moldova. In the following area few of their reports.

Toni (on theright) leadshis church inworship.

MarianNae

GeorgeSharma

they were very sinful and could not quit their vices. Finally,after many visits, step by step, God put it in the heart of thewife to listen to the Word of God. She began to come to ourchurch, but her husband opposed her and cursed her everytime she spoke of God. Finally, she made a decision to bebaptized even though it would cause her much suffering.Although we could not believe our eyes, her husband cameto the baptism. When his wife was baptized, the love of Godcame over him, and he began to cry. He continued to crythrough the rest of the service. The devil fought, but thelovingkindness of God overcame the man’s hardened heart.Since that moment, he has not missed one service in ourchurch and has even opened his home to us for Bible stud-ies.

In 1994, a family from the Ukraine moved to Tunari. Ev-eryone called them “the Russians.” They sought to integratewith the other Gypsies, but were for the most part rejected. Inthe end, they fell in with the wrong people. Soon they be-came involved with gunrunners, drug dealers, and prosti-tutes. Finally, the husband was thrown in jail and his wifewas left alone with four little children. The children go to thesame school with our children and God gave us the opportu-nity to befriend them and their mother. She was without anyfriends and she missed her husband terribly. God gave methe privilege of witnessing to her and she realized that sheneeded the Lord’s forgiveness. Please pray for her, her hus-band, and for her children.

One day, while I was in the bus on my way to witness inthe village of Voetin, I preached from the Word of God and aman named Gheorghe and his wife Olimpia invited me to theirhome. At their home, they shared with me that they enjoyedlearning about Jesus, but that they did not know what to door where to begin to follow Him. I taught them from the Scrip-tures and the next Sunday they came to our church. Theytold me that they did not want to come to church, but thatthey both had a dream in which they were thrown into helland were suffering in agony. This story, tells me that God isserious about having a Gypsy church in the area and that Heis going to save people.

Another day, when I was in the bus going to SloboziaBradului, I began to speak with the man next to me. I sharedthe Gospel with him all the way to Rimnic where he got off thebus. The following Sunday, this same man came to our churchin Voietin. He drew near to me and told me that ever since wetalked, he could not rest. He had come to church that day tofind peace and to be free of condemnation and the fear of thepunishment for his sin. I was so happy when I saw that hewas interested in the Word. It is a proof for me that we cannever know the extent to which God is working in our circum-stances.

Last month, when we were having a program for thechildren, a five year old boy began to pray for his parentswho abandoned him and left him with his grandparents. Healso thanked God for the love that our church had shownhim. A lost man who was visiting our church, heard the childpraying, and immediately began to cry. Later, the lost mancame to me and said that if our church could love a littledestitute boy, then every terrible thing that the Orthodoxpriest had told him about us was not true!

I will tell you one more thing about the Lord’s work amongus. There was a man coming to our church who said manytimes that he wanted to repent of his sins, but that he couldnot. Every time he came to the church, the sermon I preachedfrom the Bible would make him uneasy, but he would neverrepent of his sins. One day, I told him that God was workingin his life and that he needed to submit. I also told him that

MarianToma

IonMarin

God would continue working in his life in many ways andthat he would suffer and find no rest until he repented. To mysurprise, a few days later, his wife became very sick and wastaken to the hospital in Bucharest. When I visited the hospi-tal the following day, the man began to cry and repented ofhis sins.

There are two important events that took place thismonth. The first was that over thirty new people (some ofthem were Gypsies) came to our special meetings. It was ablessed time. I spoke from the Word of God, and I shared mypersonal testimony. I was glad because the people listenedwith an opened heart.

The second important event happened when we werecleaning the building we bought in the village of Cuba. I tookhalf of the teens from the church, and the villagers where allwondering why so many young people were walking throughtheir village with buckets, scoops, boots, rakes and a guitar!While we were working, a group of Gypsies came to help usand we had time to share the Gospel with them. We finishedthe day by walking through the village playing our guitar andsinging about the Lord. Of course, the people came out oftheir houses to watch us. At the present, no one has beenconverted for Christ, but I believe that God will continuewhat He started in His time. I am doing my part by prayingand trying to follow His will. I will do what He says and Iknow that He will complete His work. I visit the village twicea week and spend time with the people in their homes. Theyare very poor, but I am trying to encourage them and to showthem what it means to have a life with God. They do listen tome, but they have not yet been converted. I do not worry,because God knows how to draw them to Him.

Recently on the train, I spoke with a seventy year oldwoman. I was surprised to discover such an old woman whohad no idea why Jesus was born. Seeing that she was opento listening to me, I shared with her the Gospel of JesusChrist. At the end of my sharing, she cried out to the Lord inprayer and asked for salvation. I rejoiced not only for her, butfor the many other people on the train who overheard ourconversion. Please pray for this old woman, that I might oneday meet her in heaven at the feet of Jesus.

As I wrote to you in a previous letter, there was a mannamed Vali who came faithfully to our church, but was stillunconverted. I visited him often and shared with him hisgreat need of repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. Finally,one day when he was working on a bus with two other me-chanics a terrible thing happened. He moved away a fewyards from the bus and his fellow employees who were work-ing on it, when another bus flew out of control and smashedinto the bus they were working on. The two other employeeswere crushed and placed in intensive care. Because of thisterrible thing, Vali saw that the hand of God had saved himfrom a terrible accident. This has led Vali to seek the Lord asnever before. Please pray for him.

Another testimony that I have for you is about a mannamed Gelu. He is 28 years old and very friendly. He was verywealthy and lived a very immoral life of smoking, drinking,and prostitutes. He was very proud of his wealth and what hehad accomplished until the day we met and I shared with himthe Scriptures. He had no idea what the Scriptures said, butwhen I talked to him he listened very carefully. He came un-der the conviction of the Holy Spirit about his sins and criedout to the Lord for salvation. He was very happy when hediscovered that God forgives our sins.

Now Gelu tells me that he hates the way he lived his lifebefore, but that he still struggles with the sin. He says it islike there is someone inside him pushing him to sin and dowhat he does not want to do. I read the Scriptures with himand give him good tracts to read. (He always reads them as

Rustam Scripcenco

TomaMarius

soon as I give them to him). He now understands God’s willfor him and he wants to live according to God’s Word. Hiswife is very happy with the new life they have now. Pleasepray for this young man that the Lord will teach him His willand that he will obey it with all his heart.

Lina is a forty-nine year old woman who is married andhas five children. Her father taught her the Word of Godsince she was little. In spite of her upbringing, she rebelledagainst her family and married an unbeliever. About threeyears ago, Lina’s sister sold a piece of land that belonged totheir family and kept the money for herself. In anger, Linawent to the Orthodox church and asked for the priest to put acurse upon her sister. A week later, Lina’s sister died. Sincethen, Lina has felt terribly guilty and felt forsaken of God.

Through her contact with our church, Lina was introduced tothe true Gospel. God searched her heart and she was con-verted. Now she is happy that God has forgiven all her sins

My final testimony is about a lady named Liliana. Oneday when we were witnessing in the neighborhood, Lilianacalled to us. She has four daughters and three of them aredrug addicts. She begs them not to take drugs, but they donot listen to her. They had even begun to steal from theirmother and sell the things from the house. She went to theOrthodox priest, and prayed to God for help, but nothinghappened. I asked her why she thinks God does not answerher prayers, and then I explained to her the way of salvation.I do not know if she is yet saved, but I am happy that she hashad the opportunity to hear of Christ.

A Special Wordof Thanksfrom Moise Marin

I would like to take this time to thank each and everyoneof you on behalf of the children for the monthly support wereceive through the HeartCry Missionary Society. At the mo-ment we have seventy-three students and four teachers. Threeof our children were recently baptized in our church and eightmore are faithfully attending our church services. In the sum-mer months, our students do not attend school, but work onthe streets. In spite of this, there is still great evidence thatthe school is impacting their lives. Each of our youngeststudents received a New Testament and the older ones re-ceived Bibles. We are thankful to the Lord for all He is doingthrough us and you. Together, we are making a difference inthe lives of these children and will continue to make a differ-ence with the Lord’s blessing.

“He who shuts his ear to the cryof the poor will also cry himselfand not be answered.”

Proverbs 21:13

HeartCry Missionary Society

c/o Waldo Baptist Church6970 Waldo Church RoadMetropolis, IL. 62960

Non-Profit Org.U.S. PostagePAIDBrookport, IL.Permit No. 10

What part of “GO” do you not understand?Matthew 28:18-20

Email: [email protected]

Visit Our New Web Sitewww.heartcrymissionary.com

Gypsy Baptism inStrehaia, Romania