By Natalie Barentson
There is power in a cup of coffee.
In 2014, RtC founder Andy Baker was in Romania with a mission team. One of the team members, Katrina, brought water purification devices for the Roma villages in Santandrei. Some of the residents were getting worms because they were drinking contaminated water, therefore the devices seemed like a great way to bless the communities.
Andy and a few members of the team were invited to the house of the Roma community leader, Nelu. They began to share about the water purification device and how to use it. Nelu used the clean water and made a pot of coffee with it. He set cups of coffee in front of the team and said, “if it works so well, then you drink it.” They all looked at each other and took a sip. They never got sick!
For the rest of the afternoon, they spent time with Nelu and got to know him a little more. They talked about faith and enjoyed some time of fellowship. This opened the door to something special.
For the next 2 years, each time Andy visited the Roma community, Nelu would invite him into his home. He would make a cup of coffee and they would talk about their lives. Nelu asked questions about God and being a Christian, as he hadn’t accepted Christ yet.
After 2 years of coffee chats, Nelu approached Andy and said, “Hey, can I ask you a question? How come you’ve never invited me to church?” It had never donned on Andy to ask, as it hadn’t come up in their conversations. He apologized and joyfully invited Nelu to the church he was attending the next day.
During the service, Andy spoke on the importance of communion and described it as a celebration of believers. When the opportunity to receive communion came, Nelu bolted to the front to receive the bread and juice.
Andy said, “communion is for those who have placed their faith and trust in Jesus. Have you done that, Nelu?”
Nelu replied, “yes, I have.”
It was a joyous day! Nelu and Andy were now brothers in Christ.
Today, Nelu is mentored monthly by one of the RtC staff members, Daniel. He attends church every week in his village and has become a spiritual leader for his village.
It’s incredible what can happen when we are willing to simply spend time with others, love them, and treat them as brothers and sisters. One of Remember the Children’s values is the ministry of presence, or spending time just being with people. Incredible things can happen for the kingdom if we simply drink a cup of coffee with someone!