Erin Jones is a freelance writer and humanities teacher, who visited Romania in 2014 with a group from her church, Fourth Presbyterian in Bethesda, MD.
This past October when RCE celebrated 25 years together, Nicoleta Balog shared her family’s experience of adopting Darius and Claudiu. She spoke in Romanian, and Carmen Bosca joined her at the podium, translating for her as she shared. The moment these two women took center stage to share a story together evoked an image that has been a common and beautiful thread throughout the story of redemption: God loves to work wonders through women supporting one another.
Just think back to the in the book of Ruth: in the midst of horrific heartbreak and tragedy, God used the bond between a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law to bring redemption, not only to their lives and circumstances, but to carry on the lineage of Christ.
Think of the bond between Mary the mother of Jesus and her older cousin Elizabeth, who hosted and supported Mary in the midst of the confusion and scandal surrounding her pregnancy. Their friendship would later be carried on through the bond between their sons, one the incarnate son of God and one the messenger and evangelist John the Baptist who heralded arrival of the long-awaited Messiah.
In his comments in October, RCE Board Chair Jim Perry, spoke about the beginnings of RCE, mentioning in particular Founder Mary Ann Bell’s heart to help the women of Romania. That heart and vision led to the formation of many gospel partnerships over the years--with women like Doina Martin, who started RCE's work of mercy by holding babies in state orphanages. She now provides leadership in the Poverty Prevention Program--helping over 200 impoverished families each year become self-sustaining.
The support that the daughters of God show for one another is clearly close to the heart of the Father. It was present at the organization’s inception, and demonstrated 25 years later in a very simple moment of translating a story from Romanian into English.