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A letter from Gary Payton in Russia
and the U.S. |
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April 22, 2006
Dear Friends in Christ,
What does it mean to be an “Easter people?” You may
answer, “to trust in life after death, to live in the knowledge
that God can bring life out of places of death, or to live in
darkness trusting God will bring the sunrise.”
And, what might that question mean to a Roma (or Gypsy) in Ukraine
or Russia?
I have just returned from a late winter visit to Hungary, Ukraine,
and Russia. I traveled with my colleague, Burkhard Paetzold, the
PCUSA’s regional liaison for Central and Eastern Europe
and the denomination’s expert on ministry with the Roma.
In Russia, Burkhard and I traveled with Ellen Smith, our PC(USA)
mission colleague who lives with her family in Moscow.
The Roma are the largest, most marginalized and impoverished
ethnic group in Europe. These people, whose forebears came from
India, often live on the very edge of society, literally and figuratively.
Wrenching poverty, widespread illiteracy, unemployment, police
harassment, participation by some in drug trafficking, theft,
and smuggling. All these characterize the plight of thousands
of Roma in Ukraine and Russia.
In Ukraine, our church partner is the Reformed Church of Carpath-Ukraine,
a denomination of 108 churches comprised primarily of ethnic Hungarians
living in the westernmost part of the country. Many of the villages
where Hungarian-speaking Christians live have Roma camps or “tabors”
on the outskirts. Since independence and the breakup of the Soviet
Union in 1991, the Reformed Church has established eight prayer
houses or small churches among the Roma. |
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Women from the tabor in Komoroz, Ukaine, speak with their
visitors from the PC(USA). |
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One such tabor is Komoroz, which has
about 250 adults of whom only three or four can read. Komoroz has
about 100 children—none go to school. Komoroz has no bus service.
Mud is ankle deep in late winter. The people have no interaction
with the nearby Ukrainian village, where some services are available.
The nearby villagers speak Ukrainian. The Roma speak Hungarian.
But the Christians in the Komoroz tabor can claim to be
an “Easter people.” Despite their circumstance, they
know the hope of the risen Christ. |
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They are building a mud-brick community
building to serve as a church, a school, and a meeting place. They
have a grant from PC(USA) Self Development of People to purchase
a small plot of land, seeds, and hand-tools for the upcoming growing
season. And they are planning two wells to provide the community
with clean water. With the hope their faith has given them, they
are investing their labor to improve their future and that of their
children. |
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In Russia, one of our church partners
is the Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists. In the city of
Kostroma on the banks of the Volga River, Pastor Peter Romme and
his wife Olga have dedicated their lives to ministry among the
Roma. First in Siberia, now in European Russia, Peter and Olga
are called by God to serve those on the very edge of society.
Roma in the Kostroma area live in houses more integrated in the
villages than the tabors of the Ukraine. Still, the challenges
of daily living remain daunting: no documents to apply for social
services, harassment and discrimination in the schools, assumptions
that all are involved in drug trafficking and the spread of HIV/AIDS,
and constant fear of attack by Russia’s growing “skinhead”
movement. |
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The Roma in Komorov built this mud-brick building by themselves.
When finished, it will serve as a church, community center, and
school. |
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One household at a time, one Gospel
story at a time, one offer of assistance to deal with the bureaucracy
at a time, Peter and Olga spread the good news of Jesus Christ.
A highlight of our time in Kostroma was a visit with a Roma family
whose father was a butcher. When Peter’s Bible lesson ended,
the living room was filled with family members—the elder
father, his adult son, a grandson, cousins, and other family members—our
conversation began. We asked simple questions about work, and
school, and hassles with the state. We shared our knowledge of
Roma in other parts of Central and Eastern Europe. And then came
the question we had learned to expect, “Are there Roma in
America?” We answered, “yes,” and shared information
as we understood it. Then came the question that stopped me cold,
“Do they have horses?”
The question was a link to this family’s past as well as
a link to Roma around the world and their tradition of movement
and migration. Above the lintel of every room in this house, was
a painting of a white stallion in a beautiful field of green.
Can we from Western Europe and North America really understand
the loss of culture for a people “settled” by order
of Joseph Stalin in the communist era? Can we fully feel the marginalization
of the Roma? While the answers may be a humble, “no,”
we do share the meaning of life as an “Easter people.”
We share the "cross cultural," "beyond-language
barrier," knowledge that Jesus' death and resurrection give
us hope, move us from darkness, trusting God will bring the sunrise.
We find comfort in Christ’s charge, “Remember, I am
with you always, to the end of the age (Matthew 28:20).”
You can help in our outreach to the Roma through our church partners
in Ukraine and Russia by a donation to this
Extra Commitment Opportunity.
May the Peace of Christ be you this Easter Season,
Gary
The 2006 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p.189 |
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