By RtC President, Andy Baker
It was in 1998 that I returned to Romania and found our friends at Caminul Felix in a food crisis. At that time, we could not communicate well back to the United States, but the people in the team with me knew we had to respond. Upon arrival, they took us to the empty food storage and asked us to help. The shipment they had been expecting from England had not arrived, and they had no money. Our team of nine took a collection of our “extra money” we had brought and came up with $1,000. The next day we would go and see what we could do to fill the food storage.
As I arrived the next day ready to help, we first had to go and exchange the money. A few phone calls were made, and soon I was in a back alley holding a small suitcase that would soon be filled with Romanian currency in exchange for our ten, one-hundred-dollar bills. I carried a suitcase of cash that day to shop, but it was my first-time shopping, and more surprises were in store. After the currency exchange, we then traveled around the city to various small warehouses or open markets where we would purchase the needed food items, cooking supplies, and cleaning supplies. I remember starting around 10 am and arriving back at Caminul Felix around 5 pm. It took an entire day to shop for food for 100 children that would last a month.
Mircea and Lidia Toca were the house parents at Caminul Felix who were hosting our team on that trip. It was just a couple of years into our growing friendship, and I will never forget how impactful that moment was for me. Somehow by the grace of God, we had arrived at the very day where they had prepared the last of their food. I have found over the last twenty-five years that when Mircea and I find our lives intersecting it is usually around a divine appointment that turns into a ministry moment that only God could orchestrate.
When Mircea asked me to join his team in developing the Eternal Families Village in Tanzania, there was never any hesitation on my part. When Mircea is involved, I have always found that God has gone before us to prepare the way. The team that Mircea has gathered in Tanzania is amazing and they are teachable.
Last year when Covid-19 was beginning to shut down the world, our team in Tanzania recognized three things. First, the locusts had been destroying the crops in surrounding countries. Secondly, the borders would be closing and food moving from country to country would soon cease. Thirdly, with the interruption of food distribution, our team recognized that there would soon be limitations, and if the borders did open, the countries struggling from the locust destruction would soon be coming to buy what Tanzania had. As I spoke with Mircea, we realized there would be shortages and that there would be rising costs. We immediately instructed our team to buy enough dry goods to feed our children for one year, and we were grateful that we had Covid Relief funds to allow this purchase to happen, and that we had the storage on our new property to handle it.
This crisis led to another teachable moment, and Mircea took his experience growing up under communism to begin teaching our team in Tanzania about preparation. Mircea and his family were feeling the limitations of Covid as well and had put a plan into place to grow, store, and prepare for the future as if there would be food scarcity. I even joined this effort as Gerri and I raised a small garden to be part of the team effort in preparing for the uncertainty. Those of us in America have seen through the news the food scarcity for many families especially due to the lack of employment, and all Americans remember the limited supply of toilet paper.
Through your generosity, twelve additional acres were purchased adjacent to the Eternal Families Village, and George Ng’wavi, one of our house fathers, is leading the way in growing crops to feed our families and to sell the access in the open market to help pay the monthly bills for the ministry.
But Mircea, always being the teacher, sent pictures of his garden in Romania, and showed pictures of his wife and sister-in-law processing chickens to freeze and pork for curing. Mircea was so proud to tell me that they did not have to buy any food in 2020 because of their hard work. This is Mircea’s leadership, he leads by example, and our Tanzanian brothers are learning.
After twenty-five years of ministry in Romania and now Tanzania, we have continued to evolve in our ministry efforts. It is easy to ask for money and to “buy our way” out of a crisis. But I think we can all agree that better stewardship is to use our resources to teach life-changing ideas and skills to help those we serve to find true freedom in a sustainable life-giving future. Thank you for what you are doing to bring a hopeful Christ-centered future to our friends in Romania and Tanzania.