Snapshots and thoughts from Romania

The origins of the Romani (not to be confused with Romanians, the ethnically European inhabitants of modern Romania) are shrouded in mystery. Linguistically and genetically they have roots in Northern India. They arrived in Europe in the wake of the Mongol invasion, serving as slaves. Their culture became so rooted in transience that they are unique amongst the nations of the world in that they have no bond at all to any land. They are eternal wanderers. The earliest record of their presence in Europe is attributed to a Franciscan Monk named Simon Semeonis in 1322AD , who called them “the children of Cain”. The name is only partially accurate. Cain, the first wanderer, eventually found a new home and built a city - the Romani don’t build cities. The are always strangers. More often than not, unwelcome and problematic ones. They are mysterious, foreign and impenetrable to everyone who is not one of them, and there is not a single other people group who have not either mistreated them or been mistreated by them in kind.”

The Romanian pastor paused to let his words sink in, then continued: “So, Mr. Josh...How would you bring the gospel to the Gypsy (the less formal, but much more well known name for the Romani people group)?” It took me a few moments and a few stunted thoughts to realise the question was rhetorical. He smiled, and said “I could tell you, Josh. But instead I will show you.”

I won’t leave you in suspense. The answer is “love, without fear.”

The Romani are a people who desperately need the truth of God. Their unique circumstances have led to a culture that limits education and outside interaction and in it’s absence they have developed very deeply held and inward facing values and beliefs about how the world works. Their primary motivator is fear. Fear of being caught, fear of being persecuted, fear of being misunderstood, and fear of the spiritual world that they are told from childhood is as hostile and uncaring towards them as the physical world has been.

The Romanian Christians found a unique challenge in sharing the gospel with the Romani. The gospel, even when translated into the gypsy language was completely opposed to their own worldview. Similarly, acts of kindness and charity were seen as either a bribe, a tribute, or simply foolish generosity that could be exploited. Only one thing held the genuine curiosity of the gypsies - Christians lived lives without fear. Even in the face of a Communist dictatorship, the church in Romania could not be cowed into submission. In Romania’s christians, the Gypsy’s witnessed fearlessness without ferocity - fearlessness that could exist alongside compassion and love. And the result was supernatural - Gypsies started trusting in Christ and becoming followers of Jesus.

I went to Romania prepared with a sermon on Hosea - the prophet who loved the unloveable and who forgave because he realised that his act of forgiveness was being used by God as a picture of what divine love and forgiveness looked like to a people lost in idolatry and sin. I found the lesson far more skilfully taught in how the Romanian churches were winning Gypsies to Christ than it could aha been in any sermon. The physical results were plain to see and greatly encouraging: The Gypsy congregations sing louder than I think I have ever heard in my life. They are full of Joy that their sins are forgiven and that God loves them. They have been freed from alcoholism, sexual immorality and demonic oppression. They share what little they have with their unsaved neighbours and forgive them when they steal from them or curse them.

The origins of the Romani I met on my trip are a mystery. But I know with absolute certainty where they will end up. They are joyfully on their way to heaven, and they are committed to taking as many of their unsaved family, friends and neighbours with them as possible. The key they have discovered, is love without fear. They are a young church, beset with all the problems common to every church since the Book of Acts was written. I don’t mean to make it sound like they don’t have problems. But their zeal for evangelism through forgiveness deeply impacted me, and challenged me to return home to Kirkby armed with a similar attitude. It’s so easy to grow weary of forgiving people, especially when they hurt me. It was sobering to be reminded of how powerfully God can use a testimony of sacrificially loving others to start a spiritual revival in a community.