A Thanksgiving Message From Romania

Below is part of an email I received from my daughter, Katie, who was working in an Romanian orphanage. I think it sums up Thanksgiving for me.

Email from Katie; Nov 24, 2005
Having my first Thanksgiving in another country has brought a lot more meaning to the holiday for me. The missionaries and we interns met together today for a Thanksgiving. One of the neighborhood boys saw us, and came over, and we let him stay. He has probably never seen so much food for one meal in his life.
After living in a foreign country, especially one so close to its communist history, I realize that we truly do live in a country of freedom and opportunities. The Romanian people are still essentially imprisoned in this country. A few can get visas, but the money to leave is hard to find. Many of the young people sneak into other countries to work, or get visas to go to school. Many more will never see another land. Many adults have never left, and never will leave. To them, America sounds like a dream, a promised land.

Here, a person can go to college for 15 years, and make the same amount of money a high school graduate does. Once a college graduate finishes their schooling, the government assigns them a place of employment. They will most likely work there until they die. It is near to impossible to find a job, and retirement is a joke. The country lives on bribes, because if it didn't everyone would starve.

[In Romania] Religious freedom is a creation on paper. Perhaps in other cities it is different, but in Lasi, it is the Orthodox Church that calls the shots. The [LDS] missionaries had to leave our neighboring country of Moldovia, because one priest didn't like them proselyting, and he complained to the government. Here, the contacts are many, but they are ostracized from their friends and neighbors for talking to the missionaries. The orthodox priest threaten them with eternal damnation, and in such a society, you cannot live if your social contacts turn their back on you. The current members [of our church] truly are pioneers in their own right.

America has its problems. In fact, it has many of them, but after seeing some of the problems that are in the rest of the world, there is very little Americans should complain about. Especially everyone I know. Each one of us has a place to live, not only a place to live, but also it is pretty, and if you want to have a bigger house, or a yard, it is actually there to find. While good jobs may be hard to find, they exist, and they pay enough to live on. If you want a second job, or a different job, it is possible to find; maybe not the perfect job, but there are enough available. We have the opportunity to attend school, or to not attend (and home-school, or go to VC [Jr College], or do whatever we want). If we want to be a neurosurgeon, or a lawyer, or a writer, or an artist, we can. It may take determination, hard work, (and a lot of scholarship applications), but it is still available.

I have met a mother with 5 children. Her youngest is 4 months old. He was premature, and lived for 3 months in a hospital. When he left the hospital, she did not have enough money to care for him, so he came to our orphanage. Now he is back in the hospital with meningitis, a side effect of his being in the hospital for 3 months. He spends all his days alone, because his mother cannot leave her other children to care for him, and his father is desperately trying to work, to [support] their family, so that their baby can come home.

I have met a 17 year old with a 2-year-old son. She is a drunk, and homeless, and so is the absentee father. Her son is with her. Now, I know our country has situations like this also, but here, this girl believes there is no hope for her. She has nowhere to go, and no way to get a job or an apartment. There are no programs to help her, even if she knew where to look. There are no fast food or waitress jobs for her to get without an education. Most girls in her position turn to theft, begging, or prostitution. She doesn't know that she is worth more than how she is living.

I have two parents who love me, and a brother and a sister, and two little boys that I love like brothers, (editor's note: 2 day care boys). I have a fiancé who is amazing. I have had the chance to go to college. I have worked full time, and part time, I have had jobs I loved, and I know of at least two jobs that would take me back without a moment's hesitation. I have grown up in a house. I have had amazing pets, and room to run around and be a kid. I have friends who love me, and who look out for me. I have had music. My family has had access to pianos, flutes, saxophones, trombones, trumpets, guitars, and other instruments!
What ever I want, I can have, it might not be easy or immediate, but I can still have it. Life isn't easy for anyone, and there are hard things we must all deal with. I have had as many opportunities as I wanted to make. My parents have worked hard to help me get these things. I have the gospel, and I have had the opportunity to bring the gospel to others. God is in my life, just as he is in everyone's, but I have the blessing of being able to recognize his work.

America is not the only place where all these things are possible, but by no means does every country have these opportunities. Today is a day to say "Thank You" and a day to give these things to those who don't yet have them.