Expanding The Vision In Moldova

Sunday was a great day at Fellowship. Chuck and Carla Ward from Manna Worldwide shared with us the need to feed more children. We now have a feeding center in Pervamaisk, Russia that is ready to go…the only thing we need is sponsors. We also have a feeding center in Moldova that is ready to go...in fact…it is already going, but it desperately needs sponsors. Today I wanted to share some about our Moldova opportunity.
The feeding center in Moldova is run by a 35-year- old widow. Her name is Ala Goropceanu. She and her two daughters, Cristina (17) and Veronica (15), do their best to feed around 24 children every day. Ala lost her husband a little over 2 years ago to a stroke. Ala has also taken in a 15-year- old girl named Deeanna who was abandoned by her family. She and the three girls do their best to continue the work alone.
They live in the village of Andrusul-de-Jos. Each day Ala walks a ½ mile to catch the bus for the 7 mile trip to Cahul where she purchases food for the children at the feeding center. When I say feeding center I really mean her home. She has opened it to feed and teach the children. An industrious woman, she farms about 12 acres of land, growing corn, sunflowers, hay, wheat and grapes. She has a garden in her own yard where she also grows food. She has a couple of cows, chickens, ducks, geese, rabbits and pigs.
In April, I had the privilege of meeting Ala and her girls and seeing the work their first hand. It reminded me so much of the work we are partnering with in Russia. The poverty in Moldova is oppressive; in fact, it is the poorest country in Europe. It sits between Romania and Ukraine. It is landlocked with no coastal ports, so everything that they import and export has to travel through other countries.
Ala’s sister, Veronica, attends Fellowship along with her husband Scott Fields. Scott and Veronica, along with Scott’s dad Gary Fields, and one of my best friends, John Rhein (he lives in Sacramento),got to see up close and personal the sacrifice and investment Ala and her girls are making in the lives of these children. It was amazing. They teach them songs and tell them about the love of Jesus Christ. Ala’s father Ion is a 67-year-old pastor. He and his wife Valentina travel 3 hours every weekend to work alongside Ala and the girls. On Sundays they have a church service for the village and Ion (we called him John) preaches. They would like to eventually relocate to Ala’s village and work there full-time.
During our visit, Ion shared with us his vision to expand the work in Andrusul-de-Jos and eventually build a church. They are currently negotiating with a lady in the village about some property. If the locals know Americans are involved, they will raise the price significantly. The most urgent need they had was for a vehicle. They showed us a used van that they could purchase for $6000. I am so proud of the way God showed up and Fellowship stepped up. You gave $19,805 in our compassion offering to purchase the van along with our summer renovation project and playground in Pervamaisk, Russia.
Why do I share all of this with you? First of all, so you will pray for Ala and the work there. Moldova is a very “male-dominated” culture and it can be very difficult for her to navigate through at times. I also share this with you so you will pray about giving. Why not sponsor one of these kids? Why not sponsor several of them? For $20 a month you can make an eternal difference. Imagine the worldwide impact that could be made if every family at Fellowship sponsored at least one child. You can give online and designate your gift to Manna and Fellowship will forward it to the work in Moldova. Wouldn’t it be great if Ala could spend all her time loving on needy children instead of the backbreaking work of farming 12 acres by hand? Thanks for taking the time to read this and for letting me share my heart for this ministry with you. If you have any questions about how you can have a part, please contact our church office at 610-358-1358 or you can e-mail us at missions@fellowshiptoday.com.