Ministry to Orphans, Women Critical in Nation of Romania
by Allie Martin
November 12, 2003
(AgapePress) - A missionary to Romania says God is opening doors to the proclamation of the gospel in the former Communist stronghold.Barbara Gibson and her husband Pete have served for ten years as missionaries to Romania through Global Outreach, a Mississippi-based mission organization that was organized in 1970 by a group of Christian lay people. The Gibsons work in Arad, Romania, near the Hungarian border.
Gibson says there are many opportunities to impact people for Christ through orphanages and orphan homes throughout Romania -- a nation that was known for its overcrowded, state-run orphanages during the Communist era. "The doors are wide open for ministry in the orphanages and the orphan homes ... as well as for the establishment of orphan homes by different organizations," she says.
The missionary says it is a genuine joy to witness the blessings of such ministry. "I've seen as many as three or four children, siblings in different orphanages having grown through the system, and then to have them taken from the big orphanages, brought together, and combined again as a little unit -- brothers and sisters living in an orphan home," she says. "It's a joy to see that happen."
According to the missionary, ministry in Romania is not limited to children. She says there is a big need for ministry to women there as well. That element of Christian ministry, she says, is not as strong as she would like it to be.
"There's a big need for someone to invest time in women's ministry in Romania," Gibson says. "I know that there is a place for women in the Church, and I just think that we need to reach out to the women." She adds that that aspect of mission work in Romania is one in which fellow believers can join with her in prayer. "Maybe someone would feel led to contact us about doing a women's conference and minister in that way," she says.
Gibson says there are still sections of Romania where it is difficult to share Christ because of the influence of the Orthodox Church.
