Day 2 in Moldova

Checking in with day two here in Moldova. Today was an eye opener for me. The non medical people stayed with the clinic about half the day to help with organizing all the people and trying our best to communicate with them :-) After that Oleg had a few of us go out with him into the City to hand out care packages. Driving through the City the day before I was taken back by the poverty, and run down buildings that we saw. But today when we actually went into the homes of the people that Oleg has been reaching out to- I was overwhelmed. The first home we went to was a family of 6 that are living on about $100 a month. Both parents are disabled making it almost impossible for them to find work to provide for their four children. When we arrived the oldest child who was six was watching her younger siblings until her mother came home. When her mother came home and invited us in we were led down a broken up mud/concrete path, smelling of animal waste, into a home that was barely standing. The ceiling had large holes covered by paper right over the childrens bed and one of the walls was leaning and shifting away from the rest of the housing structure. Oleg translated for us and told us the mother was most concerned for her children, should there be an earthquake their home was sure to fall in and crush them. As Oleg was telling us this all I could think about was how am I supposed to tell this woman that she had to have hope and that Jesus would care and provide for her family and then walk out leaving her and her childrens lives with a simple bag of groceries. Through God's grace I was able to talk to her and pray for her without bursting into tears overwhelmed by feelings of guilt and helplessness. The other homes we went to were just as bad and worse. I am still trying to remember that we aren't here to fix all the problems we see, but rather show love, and compassion to the broken and hopeless.

Thank you so much for your continued prayers- they are much needed!!

Kristen Kaseman