May 2006

Easter celebration

Easter was three days ago in Romania, and I am taking time to reflect and to send all of you Easter greetings. Hristos a Inviat! Christ is risen. I thought it might be of interest to many of you about how we at NOROC (New Opportunities for Romanian Orphaned Children) take advantage of the Easter season to speak the good news to all the children.

We attempt to go to every orphanage where we have good relations and do a simple presentation, using the painted Easter egg as the starting point. We do this in groups of 10 to 12. We also accompany as many children as possible to one of the many celebrations during Holy Week. Every year since I have been here, we have taken the children out on Easter Eve to get their candle lit at the church when the entire city attends a worship service at midnight. Joining thousands of people in the city walking home with their light of Christ makes everyone feel a part of the greater Christian community. This year, we asked permission at the children’s home well in advance. However, there was a sudden regime change at the largest children’s home, so on the Friday before Easter the children were told they were not allowed to go out. The new director does not know us yet, so we had no choice but to drop it. The children were very disappointed, and so was I. It made me realize the importance of the earlier presentations we had done during the week.

We did go to church with 15 of the older youth and some children from a private handicapped center. While we were standing in the courtyard of the church waiting for midnight, one of the mentally retarded young men, Marius, spotted his brother and sister-in-law and his little niece. Last Easter, he had attempted to visit them and they had slammed the door in his face. They were ashamed of him. This time, his sister-in-law came over and said, “I am so ashamed of myself. Marius, will you forgive me and come to Easter dinner tomorrow?” This was truly a blessing. It is what Easter should be about—reconciling us with God and with each other. It made me glad I had accompanied this group to the service.

and architect of the project. It consisted of many, many people writing prayers to God on red paper donated by Danish supporters. (Thank you!)

All the children in the centers participated in this phase of the project. The cross was huge—70 meters long and 40 meters across. It was made of sturdy paper. Across the horizontal bar of the cross, “HRISTOS A INVIAT” was spelled out from the pieces of red paper on which we had written prayers. The remaining prayers were placed up and down the vertical pole of the cross. It was an intricate engineering problem to glue hundreds of sheets of paper together in long scrolls attached to wooden strips every few meters so we could nail this cross to the ground. Working with the large nails gave us a chance to speak of the nails that pierced the hands of Jesus.

They began reading all the prayers and walking around it in awe. Who would have thought that abandoned and outcast children working together could produce such a wonder?

The cross only lasted a few days. We returned and gathered the scattered pieces and had a ceremonial bonfire, but the memory of what we could do with almost nothing still lingers. People are still talking about it and wondering what we will do next. This is the hope for all Christians—what we can do if we put our minds to it. What the world would be like if we had a glorious dream and worked together for implementing it. Let’s dream!

Mary Ferris

The 2006 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 182