A letter from Mary Ferris in Romania
April 23, 2009
Dear Friends,
Last month was one of the most nerve-wracking of the more than seven years I have spent in Romania. What I thought would be a routine renewing of my visa turned into a nail-biting nightmare. Finally, after three trips to Bucharest, two trips to Bulgaria, and a run-in with immigration officials, one of whom reminded me of a cross between the captain in “The Caine Mutiny” and Barney Fife, I have been approved for another year. I decided it was a win-win situation—if I wasn’t approved, I could move to Santa Cruz where my daughter lives and relax on the beach all day, or I could get approved and serve another year in Romania, helping to open doors of opportunity for the children and youth here in Tulcea.
Each egg has a Christian symbol hidden inside. The children from the orphanage have a great time with their Easter egg hunt.
This Easter season has been a special blessing for us. Our Thursday-evening Bible study group started Lent with a Seder meal. We started this way because Orthodox Christians fast during Lent, and we did not want to compromise their tradition. On Palm Sunday, 13 young adults from this Bible study group went to four locations—the center for the elderly, two small houses for younger children, and a center for handicapped—and performed a short program about the events of Holy Week. One of the highlights is playing the musical chimes gived by Carol McClellan from Abilene five years ago. We have gotten so much pleasure out of this magnificent gift. Some visitors from Denmark were here to see our program. The Danish teams are wonderful donors of many items for all the children and centers. We have grown to love and appreciate them very much.
Story books about the last days of the life of Christ teach the children at the social center about Easter.
On Wednesday of Holy Week we took two groups of younger children to “Closer to You,” a social center recently opened for children and youth in Tulcea. The center’s goal is to offer healthy recreation for youth, a larger version of Casa Noatra. The center is run by the music minister form the Baptist Church, and they let us use their space for many Easter-related activities with the children. On Wednesday evening, the same group that witnessed on Sunday repeated the program for all the children at the main children’s home, Sperantza. At this performance, we invited the children to go with us Saturday evening for the midnight resurrection service, a tradition in the Orthodox church.
On Thursday we took the boys to the apartments run by the Department of Protection at Camp Dunavetz. We will have some activities there with the Palo Duro Mission Team this summer. The boys launched all the boats for the season. It was a beautiful, special day for the young men.
The Saturday evening resurrection service begins the night before in Jerusalem where an Orthodox priest goes into the tomb of Jesus and comes out with a large burning candle. Representatives from all the Orthodox conferences all over the world are there, and they light candles from one, then return immediately to their respective countries. The light from Christ’s tomb then spreads throughout each district in each country, as people travel to get the light and return to their respective areas. Finally, every Orthodox priest in the world has the light straight from Jerusalem. People all over the country go to one of their local churches and wait outside until midnight when all light is extinguished. People wait in the dark for the light to spread from person to person. This is followed by a short service and ringing of church bells all over the city and people walk home trying to keep their lights from being extinguished. If your light goes out, someone else shares their light with you, etc. It’s a beautiful display of what it means to be a member of the church. To see hundreds of Christians walking the streets at midnight carrying the light of Chirst into their homes is a moving sight.
A little one finally got it done! She is so happy.
I always invite children and youth from the children’s home to go with me. This year I was delighted when I showed up at the children’s home and there were 26 children ready to go with us. I had a team of young adults with me, so we were well prepared. Such experiences with the children are worth all the hassles with the immigration officials.
Another favorite of my favorite Romanian traditions is that from Easter until Pentecost, Christians here greet one another with “Hristos A Inviat,” which means “Christ is risen.”
Then the other person responds, “Adverat! A inviat!,” which means, “Indeed, He is risen.” This is said by everyone to everyone else for 50 days.
The final special day for the Orthodox during this season is called “the Resurrection of the Dead,” which is the Monday following Easter Monday. This is a day as Christians we celebrate the belief that our loved ones who have gone before us and those that are yet to come will also share in our Lord’s resurrection. The tradition is to give special treats in honor of our resurrected loved ones. I will be serving ice cream to all the children at Sperantza on that day in honor of my parents.
I want to thank each of you for your contributions though prayer, work, or financial support and for being a part of this amazing ministry.
Christ has risen!
He has risen indeed!
Rev. Mary Ferris
The 2009 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 182
