Raising a family is challenging enough – but raising children in poverty, living with the constant fear of how to afford groceries or pay the bills, is tough beyond measure. Many parents struggle on, oppressed by stress and fear, unaware of the strength and comfort that is available to them in Christ.
Cristina Fita, 43, lives in Romania and has battled poverty most of her life. When she struggled with her faith, full of questions and doubts, she had no one to turn to.
“I committed my life to God two decades ago, but as time went on, I found myself drifting away from him and life became difficult,” she said.
She and her husband Achim, 46, were living with their children in a one-room house that was hardly more than four walls held together by patched-up pieces of wood, bricks and dirt, standing alone in a field.
Cristina said, “We’ve had our fair share of challenges. Not having enough – and going through times of poor health – has been a part of our lives.”
When Cristina’s family was enrolled on Mission Without Borders’s family sponsorship programme, it wasn’t just the regular material help that the family needed. Cristina also felt in great need of spiritual support, to help resolve her confusion and unanswered questions.
Cristina reads with her daughter and grandchildren
“No one in my immediate family has ever been a born-again Christian, so I didn't have anyone to confide in about my feelings or questions, especially because talking about feelings wasn’t really encouraged in our family or even in our culture in general. I yearned for someone to talk to,” she said.