While Making Other Plans....

Posted by Leona Bergstrom

John Lennon is credited for the statement, “Life is what happens to you while you are making other plans.” The words ring truer with each day that I grow older and experience more of what life throws at me.

My recent trip to Moldova is an example of such a time when life went differently than I planned. It is a well-known fact among my friends and family that I am, well, shall we say, a bit of a control freak? I love to make plans, put them in outline form, distribute to anyone who has anything to do with me, and wait for life to unfold in orchestrated fashion.

We had a stated purpose for our recent trip: to take seven leaders from our church to observe some specific ministries that I was sure everyone would get excited about and come back to the US with resolve to support them. I wanted everyone to sense and feel everything that I had in my encounters with my brothers and sisters there. I wanted them to just love being hugged and squeezed by little old ladies with missing teeth and colorful bandanas. I wanted to orchestrate what the team members saw, experienced, felt and resolved.

It isn’t hard to imagine that God had other plans.  Yes, we saw the same things, but God lit fires in our team members’ hearts for a whole range of ministries. He opened doors to meet with people that I never would have dreamed (much less planned) could happen.

One of our team members shared that she envisioned Moldova as a country outlined by a ring of fire, and soon the whole nation would be flaming with spiritual revival. I began to see our team as little sparks lighting many small fires of relationship, support, resolve and passion.

And it’s God’s fire-plan – not mine.

(Photo by Creativity+TimothyK, shared via Flickr)

Ministry in Moldova

Posted by Leona Bergstrom

It’s been several weeks since we returned from Moldova. I’m beginning to know what time of day it is and starting to feel normal. I’ve been told it’s "my age" but boy, did jet lag ever hit me hard this time!

It was a marvelous trip, filled with wonderful experiences. Again, I loved the relationships that have developed with our brothers and sisters. I loved visiting the lunch program for the elderly and sharing cucumbers and bright, luscious tomatoes with them. We cannot talk much because I do not understand nor speak Russian. But I speak love and smiles, and with those two languages, we get along.

PS – Anyone wanting to hear a full report is invited to Northshore on Sunday, November 15 at 1 pm for our report and a Moldova lunch/fundraiser!

MOLDOVA

Posted by Leona Bergstrom

In just a few weeks I’ll be standing again on the pot-holed streets of Chisinau, Moldova! I’ll see the dear elderly ladies eating their watered down soup and thanking me for providing food that, in actuality, came as gifts from others. I’ll get swallowed up in doubled cheeked kisses and strong Russian bear hugs. I’ll hold children’s hands that leave behind a dirty, sticky imprint in my palm. I’m going back to a land that God has branded onto my heart- Moldova!

And this time we are taking along six leaders who will experience a country devastated by corrupt government, empty promises, and abundant scarcity. Our prayer is that our team will develop relationships with the pastors and officials of the Christian church and will partner in their outreach to their communities. I do not know what God will do, but I know he will do far more than I can imagine!

A friend recently wrote to me about an article in September’s issue of National Geographic. The article is about the most failing countries in the world and Moldova heads the list in Europe. The article states, "When a nation is failing, you see it in the eyes of its people.”

I can’t escape that line. Indeed, the eyes of the elderly, the children, the teenage girls-- are eyes full of emptiness, darkened by hopelessness. I’ve looked into those eyes and I believe that God wants me to tell them that there is hope. There are people on the opposite side of the world that love, care and pray for them. Their hope is in the One who sends us.

Moldova Still Calls

Posted by Leona Bergstrom

I love how God is challenging both Terry and me to look at His world through His eyes. Terry heads to El Salvador to bring love, music and hope to a village—and to renew relationships that have grown to fill her heart. I continue to work on behalf of the elderly in Chisinau, Moldova and Bethany Church’s feeding program. We both are facing the cruel realities of poverty and looking into the desperate eyes of those who are both physically and spiritually hungry.

This week I am deeply moved (as usual) by the depth of the friendships we have in Moldova. I am rejoicing in recent news that the people of Bethany Church in Chisinau are now worshipping in their new building! I am rejoicing in news of elderly people being fed in the nearly finished basement, and how street children were given a party there on Christmas Day and were told of the love of Christ. I am happy to know that God is working there through His people. I also groan in my spirit knowing that these are desperate days for the people of Moldova. It is very cold, food is scarce and life is hard. The Russians threaten to withhold natural gas which could reduce even more the availability of heat in their homes.

Recently, we had the opportunity to visit Elena, Pastor Dima’s daughter. One of our Moldova mission team members brought her to Edmonds for a week after Christmas. What a wonderful opportunity for Elena to visit the U.S and for us to renew relationship with her! Hearing her voice and her Moldovan accented English made me long to go back. Maybe in 2009?? We’ll hope.

Pictured: Dick and Leona visit Elena in Anne’s home.
Recent baptism service at Bethany Church.

I Will Never Forget Moldova

Posted by Leona Bergstrom

Those words are printed on the front of a t-shirt given to me by our short-term missions team that went to Moldova last spring. The words are so true. Some days I blaze through my merry, prosperous, American schedule in such a flurry that the memories of Moldova are just a blur. But God does not let that last for long. Moldova and its people are emblazoned on my heart and etched in my memory - forever.

A group of us have committed to praying fervently every day for the next 30 days for God’s direction regarding our ministry in Moldova. We want to be open to taking another team in 2009 if that is what God would want us to do. Our brothers and sisters in Moldova and at Bethany Church have invited us with open arms and hearts to return.

This week I received a glorious picture and report from the pastors at Bethany. Amazingly, through the hard work of the congregation and generous donations of their partnering friends here in the U.S. and Scotland, they have finished the kitchen in their basement! This is awesome because it means they can serve the hot lunch program to the elderly and to the street children right in their own church! Ministry can now flow from the heart of their community to the people around them rather than from a rented “cantina.” Now they are praying for a cook!

I will never forget Moldova, and I would ask you to also remember them this month. We continue to send funds to Bethany to provide food for elders who otherwise would not have much to eat at all. Donations are processed through CRISTA Senior Living Community and sent directly to Bethany Church in Chisinau, Moldova. If you want to help, you can send donations to Chaplain Dave Passey, CRISTA Senior Community, 19303 Fremont Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98133.
(See Leona's prior posts here, here, here and here!)

Moldova revisited - Leona

Nearly 20 years ago I met Terri B2 in Bellingham. We shared a common interest in serving older adults and worked together on many projects in Whatcom County.

But what makes our friendship so special is that we also share a faith journey. We participated in a small group of midlife women that we called "Sisters of Grace."

When the opportunity to minister in Moldova came up I knew that Terri just had to go with me! Here is her account as published in The Bellingham Herald this weekend.

Sharing the Burden - Leona

On April 17, 2008, eleven of us boarded the plane to travel to Chisinau, Moldova! We were a team assembled to minister alongside of the pastors and people of Bethany Baptist Church. It was amazing to see how this group had come together – eight from Seattle, one from Bellingham, and two from Chicago. Our ages ranged from 47-82 and we were on a mission to minister to the older people whose needs had gripped our hearts.

I was excited to see how God was going to use us. I knew that the elderly in Moldova would feel loved and valued by this team. I also knew that the individuals traveling with us would never be the same. I had no idea what would become of this, but I knew it was the beginning of something revolutionary!

We took money, soup mix, new clothes, books and tons of art supplies. We wanted to share life and color in this gray land. We had the privilege of feeding old people, holding hands with infirmed, playing with street children, sharing communion with former communists, and best of all, listening to the stories of grace and survival.

We have returned determined to continue developing a relationship with these incredible people. Residents at two different retirement communities (Seattle and Chicago) are raising funds to help supply food for the hot lunch program. Our team members are sharing the story of their experiences. A small group is praying for direction for next steps.

We are looking at the calendar to see when we can go again.

Meanwhile the situation in Moldova is only growing worse for the elderly. News reports from June 17 indicate a growing desperation and hopelessness.
We must not quit.

Visiting Moldova - Leona

In May 2007 I made my first journey to Chisinau, Moldova. Accompanied by my husband and son, I saw for the first time what Leila had described to me. We found a once beautiful city marred by the effects of a corrupt government and a collapsed economy. We met a still beautiful people who loved their homeland but were beaten down by the daily struggle to find food and stay warm.

This former Soviet Union country is notably now the poorest country in Europe. Moldova’s children and elderly are oppressed and the middle aged and young are fleeing to other countries to find work. Young beautiful women are prime targets for human trafficking.

Amidst the overwhelming struggle for survival is a growing Christian movement. Churches are springing up all around the city and surrounding villages as people find love, hope and strength through a new relationship with Christ. One of these churches is Bethany Baptist in the Ciocano district of Chisinau. The pastors and people of this church have a heart for the people of its community, including the elderly.

While we were there the church held a special luncheon for the elderly in the community. It was like the ones they had done regularly before losing the funding. The grateful attendees were anxious to share their stories with us. We met women who showed us their bankbooks that once calculated a simple but growing retirement fund. Now the accounts were completely empty. They had lost everything in 1991 when the USSR collapsed. Their current pensions of $30-50 per month barely covered the cost of utilities, much less food and certainly not medicines or sufficient health care.

We vowed to bring their story back to the U.S. We promised that we would return and that somehow we would help feed the older people of Moldova. It was a calling we could not ignore.

The Least, the Lost, the Left Behind - Leona

“Someday I will come and help you feed the old people in your country.”

They were words that flowed out of a heart deeply touched during a conversation with a young woman from the country of Moldova in Eastern Europe. Surprisingly, they were MY words! The moment they were uttered I knew my life would never be the same.

I had been asked to meet a young woman from Moldova named Leila. She was studying for a year at the University of Washington through the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program. She had expressed interest in understanding the systems of care for elderly persons in the U.S. and so a friend suggested she meet me. Of course, I was delighted to wax eloquent about the abundant options for eldercare and how I had been privileged to work in many of them.

Leila listened to me with interest and then her dancing eyes suddenly clouded with intense sadness. She began to tell me of the old people in Moldova who were starving because they do not have the money to buy food. Her church had offered a hot lunch program where they served soup and bread to some of the most vulnerable elders in their community. The church no longer had the funds to offer this and Leila felt sure that many were suffering as a result.

I have never felt such searing pain in my soul as I did during those moments. I have spent my life developing services and programs to meet the emotional, physical and spiritual needs of older people. The thought of elders starving to death was completely reprehensible.

I knew I needed to do something. And thus began my relationship with a tiny country called Moldova and the hungry grandmas and grandpas who needed food. That meeting with Leila was in February 2006. Little did I know where this conviction toward compassion would lead me. Read more in the days ahead.