All Things Together

All Things Together: A Story of Sisterhood Only God Could Orchestrate

Every young person who comes into our transitional living homes in Moldova has an incredible story of tragedy and redemption.  But occasionally the hand of God is so profoundly apparent, it screams to be told.

Consider what the Father has done in the lives of Galina and Maria, two amazingly positive young ladies who share a room in our Chisinau Grace House.

These two girls knew each other since they were in pre-school at the orphanage in Straseni. Though in different classes, they ran into each other through occasional encounters at school dances and concerts.

Maria never knew her father as he died when her mother was pregnant with her. She only knows his name was Pavel.

Galina grew up thinking the man who was living with her mother was her father, only to be told much later that her real father was an alcoholic who often slept in the street. She discovered he had remarried and had two boys, neither of whom will claim him as their father. “Even in my birth certificate his name his name is not indicated…just a line.”

As estranged from their fathers as this, their relationships with their mothers were equally painful and astonishingly coincidental.  Both mothers were to commit crimes for which they would be imprisoned.  Both were incarcerated in the same prison. Both were remanded to the same cell….as roommates.

At this point in their young lives, neither Galina nor Maria were aware that they shared this dubious connection. It wasn’t until an “open-door” day at the prison that they ran into each other while visiting their mothers.

The providence of God is not lost on the girls.  “I am glad that someone has a history similar to mine; that someone went through the same sorrows and joys,” says Galina.  “If I did not have this history I would not be where I am now.  This means a lot to me and it is God’s plan for both of us.  I often think about my past and see my present, and do not have enough words to thank God for changing my life as I could have never imagined.  My story motivates me not to repeat my mother’s life but to be different, and I hope I will be able to help her even if she could not help me.  I will be a good mother for my kids and full of God’s love.”

Maria shares those sentiments:  “I think it is not a coincidence. God had a plan for us to be together just as our mothers are together, but we are on God’s side. For me it is very important that someone had the same story as I did and Galina as a friend can understand me better than anyone else because she has been through the same hardships and sufferings as I did and I feel free to talk with her and trust her completely.”

If this was all there was to the story of these two girls it would be more than enough to celebrate.  But our Lord wasn’t finished yet (is He ever?).

“I like everything about Maria,” says Galina, “starting with her name and ending with her soul.”

And Maria’s testimony closes the loop on God’s work of grace, at least for now:  “She has the gift of encouragement and she was the first person who brought me to the Lord.”

We need your help to care for more young men and women just like Galina and Maria. Several new guys and girls are moving into our Transitional Living homes THIS month and are in need of sponsors. Would you step in as a full or partial sponsor of a teenager in Moldova? Email Rachel at [email protected] for details!