Editor’s Note: The following is text from two emails directly from Raul Costea, leader of this Church Planting project. Headers have been added for clarity.
Motivated by Corrie Ten Boom and Oskar Schindler
Many of you know who Corrie Ten Boom is and how she got involved in World War II to save as many Jews as possible from Hitler’s wickedness and demonic obsession with eliminating Jews. But besides Corrie ten Boom, there were other people who tried to save the Jews. One of them is Oskar Schindler. At the end of the movie “Schindler’s List,” he said, “With this golden pin, I could save another one.” He paid to save the Jews.
Their example motivated me too. These days, when we no longer have to save Jews from Hitler’s bombs, we must save the Ukrainians from Putin’s bombs. Every time I see mothers with children safely taken to Western Europe or taken to Romania, fed and accommodated, I am reminded of “Another one saved.” I have such joy to see another Ukrainian saved, safe.
The Only Toy a Boy Has
Slovak is a little boy who left Ukraine with his mother and father and an older sister, just a day before a bomb destroyed their home. If Slovak’s parents were one day late, their family would not be on this earth today. Slovak and his family were in my car. I stopped at a gas station and when I went inside, Slovak stopped in front of a Ben 10 toy. He took my hand in his hand and cried next to the toy.
I remembered Jonathan when he was old enough to take my hand and walk me around looking for a Ben 10 toy. I bought Slovak the toy and he was so happy. I placed a small piece of security in this little boy so that he would know that there are still people of God in this world who think of him.
“How Can We Have Eternal Life?”
“Babushka” (Grandma) was with me in the car and I had a New Testament in Ukrainian. I told one of the young boys to read John 3:16 and explain it. And he began to explain it. I asked him, “How can we have eternal life?” He said, “By faith in the Lord Jesus.” And everyone in the car understood and Babushka kept looking at the New Testament, touching it with her hands, holding it in her arms, kissing it, after hearing the Gospel. And I said to everyone, “Can we pray?”
The English-speaking young woman translated my prayer. Babushka was crying and holding the New Testament. Then I said, “Do you want me to give you this New Testament?” “Yes, yes, yes, yes,” she said. She took the New Testament into her hands and began to weep because she also had a New Testament in her language.
How Could I Not Say, “Yes!”?
Twenty-six years ago I said Yes! to God when He sent me on the mission field and how could I not say Yes! when I see so many people fleeing the war. When you hold in your arms a woman who cries and tells you that she escaped from a house where the bomb came but her husband did not. How could I not say Yes! when in my car on the way to Budapest, a refugee told me that in order to get to Romania she had to go through Russian-occupied territory at the risk of being caught. How could I not say Yes! when I see so many mothers with children and so many ‘Babushkas’ who with tears in their eyes run away from this cruel war.
After I said yes! God began to move things and put us in touch with people from all over the country who have agreed to help take refugees in their care.
We thank the Lord for the people who have been helping us in this work with the refugees. So far we have had:
- Over 40 volunteers
- 22 drivers
- 588 refugees cared for
- 15 vehicles used
- Refugees went to 8 countries
- 6 different places to house them
- 48 long term refugees cared for by Raul’s church
