October 2018

Update: Reaching Out Romania (ROR) with director Iana Matei and son, Stefan Matei

Sunrise Sunset

It is good to give thanks to the Lord and to sing praises to Your name, to declare Your loving kindness in the morning and Your faithfulness at night.

Psalm 92: 2

There is nothing more beautifully peaceful and inspiring than watching the sunrise and sunset, looking down on the valley with Iana and Stefan from the terrace of the Reaching Out home, on the agricultural land in Craiova, southwest Romania.

Gods’ Faithfulness

Certainly, each evening God’s faithfulness can be recounted and each morning begins with a fresh dependence upon his mercies that are new every morning. Because, how do you fight a constant battle against the horrors and complications of human trafficking, the violence against young and vulnerable girls who see no alternative? It must be done with the Lord’s help first, and foremost, otherwise, mere human efforts simply leave you emotionally drained and exhausted!

Trafficking – 21st Century Pandemic

Forbes magazine, July 2018, states that human trafficking is a pandemic of the 21st century. Romania remains one of the top five source countries for trafficking in Europe. ROR was the first and is still the leading organization for rehabilitating survivors in Romania. They have served over 550 youth and take a holistic approach to healing, combining shelter with education, life skills and psycho-social-spiritual care. They aim to restore survivors and prepare them for life outside of the trafficking industry.

Once freed from their traffickers, young women and girls are still vulnerable to being re-trafficked if they do not have stable income. Reaching Out Romania needs your support to create viable alternatives for survivors of this hideous crime.

Help to Carry

With help from the Velux Foundation, ROR already has the farm, farmhouse, greenhouses, solar panels and 9.5 acres of lavender in its second year of production, with lavender oil already on the market. By its fifth year, profits from the lavender oil business will pay for 80% of the organization’s activity.

To make the operation cost-effective, ROR needs their own lavender oil distillery and to make repairs to the access road. Your donation will help raise the $30,000 needed: $21,000 for a lavender oil bottling line and $9,000 for access road repairs.

Our role has been to offer support, friendship and encouragement to Iana and Stefan. At times, we fulfill Galatians 6:2 and carry one another’s burdens. Will you come alongside and help to remove some of the load as well?

Short interview with Iana Matei