It was a bitterly cold March night, with temperatures dropping to -10°C. The silence was broken only by the rustling of bags and the tired footsteps of village volunteers.
We had just finished preparing 30 beds for a new group of refugees. The previous group had left for Austria a few hours earlier. It was nearly 1am and my wife and I were getting ready for bed when the phone rang.
A sister from our church, her voice hoarse, asked if we could receive another group expected to arrive between 3am and 5am. My wife looked at me and nodded. I replied, “We’ve just finished the beds. They can come.” The woman burst into tears. “I didn’t think I’d find a solution for them at this hour. Thank you!”
I turned on the heaters in all ten rooms. At 4am, three minibuses arrived at the gate. Thirty people stepped out: children, mothers, single women, elderly people, two dogs and a cat. They carried only a few bags, one suitcase, no trolleys. They shivered from the cold, their faces frightened and uncertain. When they entered the dining hall and saw the photo board and the banner reading ‘United in Christ, serving others, glorifying God’, they began to calm down.
They didn’t ask for food, only for a bed. They slept until the afternoon, some still dressed and not leaving their rooms. Towards the evening, while we were preparing dinner, a woman entered the kitchen shouting, “Gift! Gift!”
It was Larisa, a 75-year-old woman from Kharkiv. She held a black plastic bucket covered with a bag. From it, she pulled out potatoes, onions, garlic, vegetable spread, smoked pork, buckwheat, bacon and greens.
Through tears, she told us she had lived a quiet life, working for her family. When the bombings began, she was gripped by paralysing fear. As the alarm sounded, her heart raced. She ran to the pantry, filled a bucket with whatever she could and fled her home, leaving behind an entire life. She hid in the forest, then in the subway, driven by panic and survival instinct, before taking a bus to Romania.
“I feel safe here,” she said. “I no longer need this food. Please give it to a family in need.”
That bucket of food represented hope, dignity and love. And reminded me that true wealth lies not in what we keep but in what we give.
The real question isn’t “How much do we have?” but “How much are we willing to share from the little we have?”
Be the answer to someone’s need today.
Daniel Ciupe, General Manager
Charis Fundatia Crestina de Binefacere
Reflect
‘A generous person will prosper;
whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.’
Proverbs 11:25
Pray
- Pray for strength to give cheerfully and trust God to provide.
- Ask God to show you something you can share this week.
- Thank Him for the people who give generously even when they have little.
Act
A generosity challenge for you to complete today:
| Skip something small today – your regular coffee, snack or treat – and give the equivalent of three to a cause you care about, using your Stewardship Giving Account.You can give anonymously but don't forget to put a note about #40acts to show them why. |
About Charis Fundatia Crestina de Binefacere
Charis Fundatia Crestina de Binefacere exists to share Christ’s love in Romania in practical ways, supporting social, cultural and educational initiatives that reflect Biblical values and ethics.
Their vision is to create a multi-generational retreat and ministry space that honours God and nurtures creativity, while serving children, young people, those in need and workers in challenging contexts.
