Presbyterian Mission Agency

A letter from James Adams serving in Germany

august 2015 - who is our neighbor?

Dear Friends:

On August 29, 2002, Madalin Voicu, one of the most well-known Romani politicians in Romania and one of two Romani representatives in the Romanian parliament, made the following statement:

Our Gypsies are stupid. They could at least be crafty, but they aren't. They are just primitives and they manage to irritate the entire society which is already watching them closely. ... They run through the country and Europe barefoot, slimy and dirty, wearing clothes which are more likely to disgust you than make you feel sorry for them. ... Begging, soliciting and being disorganized will never bring them any advantages.

This quote graphically illustrates that Romanian society harbors one of the worst cases of social stigma in Europe.  And this attitude prevails today as the Roma population has grown immensely, far surpassing the growth rate of the general population of Romania.

A letter from Burkhard Paetzold serving in Germany

June 2015 - Visits to Ukraine, Hungary

Dear Friends,

Warm greetings from Central Eastern Europe. Thank you for your prayers and continuing support for my ministry as I connect with our mission partners in this region.

When I was starting this letter, I was at a Roma children's summer camp surrounded by 55 beautiful children of God. My mornings started with sounds of laughter and my evenings finished with noisy karaoke songs. There was constant movement and a lot of energy in this place; I suspect it didn't come only from the extremely sweet tea, but from the joy of togetherness and freedom.

A friend who lives near these kids tells me that many of them face very difficult situations, including generational poverty and dysfunctional families. Most of them lack the opportunities that all kids deserve.

I also came to this camp to meet with Nancy, Lauren and Haley, friends from Winnetka Presbyterian Church in Illinois.  This church has a long relationship with Roma in Carpath-Ukraine. Together we met old and new friends, both Roma and non-Roma.

It was rainy this year, so I was able to see the benefit of the roof built at the camp last year with PC(USA) Roma ministry funds (I'm sure it included part of your gifts!!).  This roof replaced the old tent that was here before.

A letter from Nadia Ayoub serving in Ukraine

June 2015 - A Roma Cook-out

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord…. For as the earth brings forth its shoots, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations  (Isaiah 61:10a, 11).

Dear Friends and Families,

Indeed I thank God for he is with us and able to cause his righteousness and praise to spring up before all nations. Thank you all—because of your prayers and encouragements and financial support for me and the Roma mission I am able to see and tell you what God has been doing among the Roma in the Peterfolvo area in Karpatalja Ukraine.

Elemer Barta, the new helper, is now working in full capacity among the Roma families, adults and children, and the Lord is empowering his ministry. By God’s grace with Elemer I have been able to do many new things that were not possible before.

A letter from Al Smith serving in Germany/Russia

April 28, 2015 - Planning Summer Camp

Dear Friends,

Spring has arrived here in Berlin: the flowers are blooming, the trees are leafing out, the grass is turning green. On the other hand, there was snow last week in Russia while I was there, and the temperatures are, shall we say, fluctuating. Nonetheless, one can tell spring is on the way, because everyone is getting ready for the big spring holidays, May 1 (Labor Day for most of the world outside the U.S.A.) and May 9, which this year marks the 70^th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany. Massive celebrations are planned for Moscow and many other cities.

After arriving in Moscow I took the last available train to Kursk, another 500 kilometers out, in order to spend some time with our colleague Pastor Andrey Beskorovainiy and discuss the plans for this year’s Roma children’s camp, as well as other evangelization trips Andrey has been asked to make. Andrey is the pastor of the Devlesko Lav (Word of God) church in Kursk and the only ordained Roma pastor in the Russian Baptist Union. Andrey and I have worked together for almost 10 years to help him bring God’s word to his people. The annual camp is a high point of the summer for many Roma children.  The Roma people, more commonly known as gypsies, suffer from discrimination in housing, education and employment. Most Roma families are in dire financial straits, especially now when sanctions connected with the conflict in Ukraine are causing increased levels of unemployment all over Russia.

A letter from Nadia Ayoub serving in Ukraine

March 2015 - Prayers Answered

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget all his benefits  (Psalm 103:1, 2).

My dear friends and families,

I worship the Lord for he is worthy of all praises, and I give thanks to God for he is faithful and has kept each one of you a faithful and trustworthy steward, proclaiming his love not only to your neighbors but to many as far as to the Roma people in Zakarpattia–Ukraine. Thank you so much for your unceasing prayers and support. I pray and trust that you and your family have a blessed Easter.

Over and over again I see God answering our prayers. In February I completed four years in Ukraine, 2011-2015. I was filled with joy as I reflected on what God has been doing among the Roma people and the local people in the Peterfolvo area. It was not easy, but I can see his everlasting arms carrying us through. And now we rejoice as we look for his benefits as he grants us answers for our prayers for forgiveness, healings, satisfying, renewing, works of vindication and justice for the oppressed people and many more.

A letter from Nadia Ayoub serving in Ukraine

September 2014 - A New School Year

May the God of hope fill you all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13).

Dear Friends and Families,

Peace and grace in abundance for you all. Thank God, for he is our hope, shield, and strength all our days.  Thank you so much for your prayers and kindness and encouragements and support. I miss you all, but I cherish the memory of the joyful time I had with many of you.

Praise God, we in the west part of Ukraine continue to have a peaceful atmosphere . But they call the young men to join the army and every once in a while we receive word of a casualty, and that makes people sad and worry. The Roma people have some fear; they used to live in open homes and open yards, but last month they all built a fence around their homes and a closed gate. Once I asked a Roma woman, "Why do you have the fence?" and quickly she said, "We are afraid."  I asked, "Of what?" She thought for a while and then said, "The dogs." But Roma people love dogs. They always have many dogs, and they are not vicious because they live in the open—and when they are puppies the children play with them all the time. So they are not really afraid of the dogs; they are scared of new discrimination if there is a war. Inflation is going higher and higher every day and people worry about the winter—if there will be gas and electricity for heat.

A letter from Al Smith serving in Germany/Russia

September 2014 - Partnering in a Bible Camp

Dear Friends,

I include here an excerpt of a letter that we recently received from our colleague Andrey in Kursk, Russia.

Dear Friend,

God bless you for your work, for your love for my people, for your prayers for my Roma. It is spring again and my group is back on the road carrying the word about the salvation of Christ.  From March 10 to March 17 I was able to travel to the Rostov region, to the cities of Shakhty and Novoshakhtinsk. There, four years ago, two Christian groups were formed. A “spirit of deception” worked its way into one of these groups and many brothers and sisters were deceived. Brother Vadim, who has been serving this group from the very beginning, has put a lot of work into these groups, caring for every member. But the temptations and pleasures of this world work their ways into the families of my Roma and they fall by the wayside. But as soon as they come to their senses, they understand their sorry situation and turn in prayer to God. Just like the people of Israel.

A letter from Jay and Nancy Adams in Germany

Spring 2014 - Being the Hands of Jesus

Spending a week living in Vizuresti, Romania, a village of 3,000 Roma people, is a mixture of heartbreaking sympathy combined with the warm smiles of the local little boys and girls.

The children were eager to pick up insulation and begin to plaster the walls of the medical clinic we were building the week before Easter. In addition, three teenage boys pushed a wheelbarrow filled with a huge squawking sow past us on the muddy road as they were seeking to deliver her to the local sire…and we could see a skinny horse pulling a wagon of wood to a mud hut for warmth.

For five days of Holy Week leading to the celebration of the Risen Christ, 20 teenagers and teachers from Germany labored day and night to build indoor bathrooms as well as insulate a medical clinic for the Roma people. Government officials had set a date to shut down both buildings for not meeting minimum code standards of decency. Interestingly, none of the Roma people’s homes met that standard, but the homes are not public buildings.

A letter from Nadia Ayoub in Ukraine

june 2014

I lift up my eyes to the hills from where will my help come? My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth. … The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time on and forevermore (Psalms 121:1–2, 7–8).

Dear Friends and family,

Greetings to you all from west Ukraine. With people here I give thanks to God for the peace and safety we have in the west part of the country. Indeed, God hears your and our prayers. Thank you for your prayers and encouragement and support.

A letter from Nadia Ayoub on home assignment from Ukraine

Spring 2014

Dear Friends and Families,

I greet you all with the peace of Christ. I pray that you all are rejoicing in this Lenten season as we prepare for celebrating the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ for our sake to obtain the forgiveness of our sins and have eternal life with God. Thank you so much for your partnership by your prayers, encouragements, and financial support.  

It is Joy that winter is ending and there are signs of spring in some places with a few flowers.

It was difficult to leave the Roma children toward the end of January to come to the United States for interpretation assignment, but I thank God, for he is all-wise, and love rewards my faint obedience and even encouraged me more in this time.

By God’s grace during my interpretation time here in U.S.A. I visited with many very faithful Presbyterians on the East Coast. Some churches were new to me, one church had not had a missionary for more than 15 years, and some churches I visited 10 years ago. I drove for many hours to reach some churches, some were big with five services every Sunday morning, but also some were small churches, but nevertheless they organized several smaller meetings, for example, meeting with Sunday School, then preaching in the church, then again sharing during lunch after the church service. Oh, let me tell you about all the wonderful, delicious meals that Presbyterians love to gather around to fellowship and share what our loving God, our Father, is doing in the world, especially among the Roma people in Karpatalja-Ukraine.