Casey Bloom serves as a missionary with the Church of the Nazarene in Romania. She writes about offering hospitality to people from Ukraine in the shadow of war.
For two nights, we had the immense privilege of hosting five brave men who were returning to their home country of Ukraine.
Bucharest is one of many Eastern European cities that lies along the path of refugees fleeing the invasion of Ukraine. Many people are stopping to rest in our city, and we have been providing them shelter and meals to set them on their continued journey.
At the same time, many Ukrainians were abroad when the invasion began. Some, like these five men who were working in other parts of Europe, are traveling back home. Our new friends had decided they needed to return to support their families. On their way, they found shelter with us in Bucharest.
These men expressed such gratitude for the space provided for them. They even asked how much the accommodations would cost when they first arrived. We assured them it was our absolute pleasure to host them (for free, of course) during this difficult time, and that we were here to help with whatever they needed during their stay and beyond.
Even though we may not see them ever again, the men said they intended to send their families to us (from Ukraine) to experience the same love and care that we were offered to them.
“I’ve worked in Turkey, Uzbekistan and Denmark, but I’ve never been treated like this – with so much love and care,” one of them said.
The Bucharest Blessing Church of the Nazarene and Open Door Foundation are working together to provide housing, with Open Door being the only emergency shelter for trafficking victims in Romania. When it started, the founders of Open Door, could not have guessed that someday it would provide shelter for people experiencing another kind of emergency – war.
As we said our goodbyes, one of the men presented Open Door’s director, Monica Boseff, with a small plastic bag. He said that this precious gift was a piece of their home in Ukraine, and he wanted to share it with us because we had made them feel at home here in Bucharest.
Inside this small, rolled up plastic bag was a piece of bacon from Ukraine.
This type of bacon (Romanian: slănină) is a traditional Slavic food that is a coveted part of the pig. If you are familiar with Eastern European culture, you understand just how deeply moved we were by this gesture. Monica said it is one of the most precious gifts she’s ever received. She even put it in her freezer to forever remind her of the blessings we have been given and the blessings we have to share.
