WE NEED MORE OF ROM

Photo: Roma camp Konik 1 in Podgorica, Montenegro was lost in fire on Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Marko Stupar, a member of the ROM Trial of Friendship 2012 team, shares his experiences from the trip in July.

Bojan Ruvarac and I joined the ROM 2012 Trail of Friendship trip in a small place in Montenegro on 14^th of July 2012. I am glad I was able to join the second half of the trip and witness great things that many Romates are doing in the region. Among many great experiences I would like to single out  the two that impacted me the most.

First one happened in Kosovo.

Kosovo has been a place of conflict between Serbs and Albanians for the last 30 years, but the last 10 years have been the toughest. Still, as I write this, there are minor conflicts going on and people there don’t live in complete peace.

This was my first visit to this region ever.

As a Serb visiting this part of Balkans, it wasn’t easy for me. The first time I attended a Renewing our Minds Gathering (ROM) was in 2006. This was the time when I got rid of many prejudices towards Albanians. But to take a big step such as visiting Kosovo in person was a challenge nevertheless.

I thought that people would not be friendly towards me and that I will have to face some uncomfortable situations. But what I experience there was completely different! People were amazingly friendly to all of us in the traveling group, especially to Bojan and me. They wanted to talk to us, to treat us; they even refused to talk in English but talked in Serbian all the time. I experienced different Kosovo then the one I see in the news all the time.

Also, I felt huge power of the ROM community and importance of the program. Even thought I had a great time there, I know that there are still many people on both sides who hate each other and that is why I think that ROM is necessary in this region. We need more peacemakers, reconcilers and leaders who are willing to stand firm, not for nationalistic views but as peace builders.

Second powerful experience took place in Montenegro. 

We visited Sinisa Nadazdin and his work with a Roma community. At that very day when we were visiting Podgorica, on Tuesday 25^th July, one of the two big refugee camps - populated by Roma families for the past thirteen years - burned to the ground. Most of the families lost everything they had however little that was.

But still, a group of Roma believer in Jesus gathered in a small church this afternoon to pray and worship the Lord. This was a worship I’ve never experience in my life before. There was a great presence of joy, humility, mixed with grief in that room. They were praising the Lord even though some lost everything they had, or someone close to them lost everything.

It made me think about how self-focused I am often. I had to go all the way to Podgorica to see that there are people in a dire need who nevertheless have courage to trust in Jesus.

It made me also more mindful about a Roma community not far away from me in Novi Sad that lives too in very poor conditions. I would like to help those people somehow. Maybe the first step will be to collect some clothes for them.

Many other great things happened on this trip, but one thing comes out clearly. ROM has a great influence in the region and many who have attended ROM gatherings in the past are now doing great things of service in their communities because they were touched by the spirit of Jesus at ROM.

So my conclusion is very simple. We need more of ROM, and we need to send as many young leaders as possible to ROM gatherings and events so that they can become equipped to change their communities.

Marko Stupar, Novi Sad, Serbia