Magazine for September 2010
Mission to Moldova
The English drink tea and forget what they’re about to say.
That’s the shock verdict of group of young Moldovans tasked with creating a skit about the north-west European nation. Ahem.
Yes, our trip to the continent’s poorest country was inspiring, moving, spiritually powerful and quite overwhelming at times. But it was also rather a lot of fun. And although we had hoped to bring smiles to the faces of dozens of troubled teenagers at the camp at which we were based, we generally found we didn’t need to; it was they who brought laughter and joy aplenty to us.
A bit of background: a couple of years ago, St Mark’s forged links with Bethany Church in Chisinau (pronounced Kizh-now), which is the capital city of Moldova, which borders Romania and Ukraine. Bethany Church does quite extraordinary work with impoverished, marginalised and dispossessed people, of which there are many in Chisinau. Among its many activities, it runs various camps for young people, and nine of us (eight from St Mark’s) helped at one such camp from August 8 to 12.
We arrived with a degree of trepidation. None of us had quite mastered Romanian, let alone Russian (both are mother tongues to Moldovans, who occasionally switch between them mid-sentence). Moreover, we were aware that the many of the young people we were to help, aged between 13 and 16, were from quite shockingly deprived (and quite possibly abusive) backgrounds. And it was seriously hot, about 35 degrees centigrade. But such anxieties soon melted away under the scorching sun.
When you’re playing basketball, throwing frisbees or making jewellery, language doesn’t really matter. When it’s that hot, you realise there are limits to what you can do, and you plan accordingly. And when the young people appear as happy and friendly as these Moldovan youths, it’s just a privilege to be around them.
We saw no trouble at all, which was perhaps due in part to the trust placed on the teenagers: everywhere was left unlocked, and the almost total absence of health and safety rules meant that trees were climbed, trampolines somersaulted off, roofs clambered upon and rocks vaulted from. There were no crash mats, but then there was very little concrete.
There was a service every evening. They lasted a couple of hours and comprised comedy (of which the above sketch is an example), music (with some St Mark’s musicians augmenting the Moldovan band) and a talk on the day’s topic, be it love, self-esteem, freedom or change, with Jay and Claire Farley delivering two of them. These gatherings were often genuinely affecting and very funny.
In fact, that sums up the experience. Thanks to your prayers and your practical help, everything worked beautifully, and God’s love was shared with young people 1,500 miles away. You helped make a real difference to these youngsters’ lives. Thank you.
The team comprised Jay Farley, Claire Farley, Lydia Sampson, Jeremy Clack, Amanda Wood, Dan Wood, Luci Beesley, Joe Page-Bailey and Peter Ormerod.
Peter Ormerod