Those who’ve known us a long time also know our friend Justin Vetrano. In fact, he was our manager for our first ten years or so, and really helped us get our footing in the earliest days. (For example, he told us we needed to get some new-fangled thing called “an e-mail address” back in 1991.) Justin left us to go on to bigger things, and was ordained a Lutheran pastor in 2010, serving at The LIFE Lutheran Church on Long Island. On a European trip with his congregation, Justin met the tour guide Neina, from Romania, fell in love, and got married.
Neina grew up in a town called Constanta, a lovely little Romanian city on the coast of the Black Sea, quite close to the border with Ukraine.
When the Russian invasion of Ukraine began at the end of February, Justin and Neina felt compelled to do something to help the Ukrainians. Actually, the word Justin uses is, “obligated.” They were uniquely positioned and equipped to make a difference to those who needed help and hope. They went to Romania the first week in March to welcome Ukrainians fleeing for their lives into Romania, and to help them move away from the border and on to safety. (Read about their first two days HERE.)
Justin and Neina contracted to rent an office building in Constanta, and with the help of some folks from The LIFE, began to make improvements to make it livable.
The day after Easter, Michael and I flew over to Romania to help where we could. Here we are, visiting a warehouse that receives and sends out supplies destined for Odesa.
We did small things, like hang shower curtains in the new bathrooms and help assemble furniture. Our new friend Dana (an engineering student) came up with a creative way to cut a pipe without a hacksaw.
After a few days Michael had to head back home to his family, and I stayed on for a while longer, helping assemble dresser drawers, with lightning speed.
We continued to welcome more families into the center, and moved some families along to new beginnings in Germany and elsewhere. Our friend Christian Utpatel’s congregation in Homberg has welcomed several families so far, and we continue to make connections with others across Europe. At present, the LFU Center houses about 45 people (all women and children), and we’ve partnered with a smaller center across town to share overhead and expenses.
To celebrate the Orthodox Feast of Easter, we brought residents from both centers together to celebrate the resurrection, and it was a foretaste of the feast to come.
