Tickets Purchased and The Roma Question

Feel free to either watch the video for my latest update or read below!

The Roma Question from rachel titiriga on Vimeo.

First bit of news, I purchased my tickets and will be flying to Romania on Saturday, October 11th!  The countdown has begun and I have less than 2 months to go!

Every time I tell someone I am moving to Romania to work in an after school program for Roma or Gypsy children, I get asked the same question.  Who are the gypsies?

Well first off, the term “gypsy” is not a politically correct term to use.  It is very derogatory.  We actually get our phrase “I got gyped!” from the word gypsy, meaning we were cheated somehow.  The correct word would be Roma or Romani people.  So I am going to work in an after school program for Roma children and teens.

The Roma are a completely separate ethnic group in Romania.  They are actually the second largest ethnic minority there.  Although it is difficult to say the exact number of Roma in Romania because many do not have an identity card or even a birth certificate.  The Roma have their own language and their own flag, although they do speak Romanian.

The majority of the Roma, including those that I will be working with are socially and economically disadvantaged and have high illiteracy levels.  Specifically with the group that I will be working with, most do no attend school and those who do, do not go on to high school and often marry very young.

Genetic and linguistic connections tell us that the Roma people actually originated from India and present day Pakistan, and came or were brought over to Europe as slaves.  The first mention of a Romani slave was in present day Romania in 1385.

The Roma people have been segregated and persecuted throughout their hundreds of years in Europe.  They have been subjected to ethnic cleansing, forced labor and during WWII were sent to concentration camps or killed on sight by the Nazis.

Today in Romania, the Roma people are often segregated and there is a large prejudice against them.  My hope with the after school program is not only to help educate the Roma children we will be working with and encourage them to continue their education through at least high school, but to share with them the Word of God so that their hearts, lives and community can be transformed from the inside out.  

Only the Lord can truly transform a life and cause such great change and that is my desire for the kids and teens I will be working with.

Grace and Peace,
Rachel

Sanctification

"Am I prepared to let God grip me by His power 

and do a work in me that is worthy of Himself?

Sanctification is not my idea of what I want God to do for me; 

sanctification is God’s idea of what He wants to do for me, 

and He has to get me into the attitude of mind and spirit 

where at any cost I will let Him sanctify me wholly."

Oswald Chambers

Mini Meltdown

Well I had myself a mini meltdown today.  This past week has been filled with an unusual amount of stuff just not going my way!  And today it all just came bubbling over.  Moments like I had earlier today, make me wish I could have had my meltdown in the comfort of my home....all alone...but no...I had to share my meltdown with others....sigh....the joys of living life.

I suppose the most frustrating part is knowing I want more from myself, and my representation of Jesus to the world.  I know I fail Him, but I also know how much He loves me, even in my less than graceful moments.

And in HIS grace, He reminded me tonight of His love by giving me what I needed to read at this moment....

So as usual....I will share....who knows, maybe it will bless one of you as well...or maybe it is only meant for me tonight. 


From "My Utmost for His Highest"

"If you want to know whether God is the God you have faith to believe Him to be, then go through your Jordan alone...At your Bethel you will find yourself at your wits’ end and at the beginning of God’s wisdom. When you get to your wits’ end and feel inclined to succumb to panic, don’t; stand true to God and He will bring His truth out in a way that will make your life a sacrament. Put into practice what you learned .... Determine to trust in God..."

Then from my Bible reading tonight

"For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.  Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen"
Ephesians 3:14-21

Sometimes I wonder, when I read these things at the end of my day what my day would have been like if I had read them at the beginning of my day....would it have altered how my day went?  Or would it have just passed me by without me realizing the importance and love and grace that the words contain.  I guess sometimes I need to have a day where I fall on my face in order to truly see the grace that the Lord is always offering to me.

“Though our feelings come and go, God’s love for us does not.”

-CS Lewis 

 

Ready for My Adventure...

"Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing!"

-Helen Keller

"How then shall they call on Him 

in whom they have not believed? 

And how shall they believe in Him 

of whom they have not heard? 

And how shall they hear without a preacher? 

 And how shall they preach unless they are sent? 

As it is written:

“How beautiful are the feet of those 

who preach the gospel of peace,
Who bring glad tidings of good things!”

Romans 10:14-15 

 

I Am Persuaded

My sweet little mama shared this very encouraging devotional with me today...so I thought I would pass it on.  

 

For I am persuaded beyond doubt (am sure) that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor things impending and threatening nor things to come, nor powers, Nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  

- Romans 8:38-39

And this is why I am suffering as I do. Still I am not ashamed, 

for I know (perceive, have knowledge of, and am acquainted with) Him Whom I have believed (adhered to and trusted in and relied on), and I am [positively] persuaded that He is able to guard 

and keep that which has been entrusted to me and which

I have committed [to Him] until that day. 

- 2 Timothy 1:12

Are you persuaded? What about? Not wishing about, not wondering about, not hoping for the best about, but persuaded about?

There are certain things we can be completely confident about and be fully persuaded are the truth. They are the things that become our foundations and what we can build our life upon.

Here are a few things you can be persuaded about…

• God’s plans are greater than man’s plans and man’s plans cannot frustrate, cancel or hinder God’s plans for my life.
• God knows the plans He has for me and He asks me to trust in Him with all my heart to fulfill those plans.
• God never makes a bad decision and He never makes a mistake.
• Every decision God makes for my life is a wise decision because God is wisdom.
• Every decision God makes for my life is a loving decision because God is love.
• Every decision God makes for my life is a good decision because God is good.
• God will never leave me nor forsake me. Therefore, I do not need to be afraid or worry about where God’s decisions will take me.

- Roy Lessin