CrozierLife Inc.

Ryan & Andrea Crozier - Human Trafficking Prevention in Romania

Full Weekend

written by Ryan

This weekend was FULL.  I mean that in the best way possible, like the "life to the fullest" meaning.  
On Friday night we ventured out around 9pm to Hard Rock Bucharest. Andrea was in the mood for nachos and that's the only place we have discovered with a nice pile of nacho chips with cheese! So, we ventured up there with our hearts set on that greasy plate of nachos. Unfortunately once we arrived we found out there was a concert going on and a $10 cover to get in and eat at the restaurant.  We were craving the nachos, but not enough to waste $20.  So, we hopped on a bus and headed to the Gara De Nord which is the big train station in Bucharest. Our hearts have recently been moved with compassion and care for the many women working in prostitution in Bucharest. There is a lot of prostitution happening around the Gara, so we decided to simply take a walk through that area to have our eyes opened to the need.  We were struck with how blatant it all was. The women standing on the street and approaching cars while the pimps stand back and watch it all happen.  There were young kids & older women around as well.  It seemed almost as though it was a family business.  We have a lot to learn and understand about prostitution in Romania, but our hearts were moved and eyes opened.  

On Saturday, I had the opportunity to travel to Sibiu, RO with Catalin (Teen Challenge Director) and some of the guys from the program. They were speaking at a workshop for the Peniel Conference.  Peniel is a movement of Christian teenagers and young adults in Romania.  It was started in the 90s by a few young Romanian men.  It's now grown into a international movement. It was almost exactly 10 years earlier that I was at a Peniel camp in the summer of 2002 where God spoke to my heart about living in Romania one day.  It was this experience at Peniel camp that set my life path in this direction. So, here I was looking around the room at 100s of Romanian students passionate about following God.  The potential in that room was astounding... if only these students will pursue a life submitted to God.  I couldn’t help but think about myself 10 years earlier.  I'm so thankful for the leaders of Peniel. They are shaping the future of this country. We also got the opportunity to visit the historic center of Sibiu as well.  It's a beautiful city. (see photos below from my time in Sibiu)

On Sunday, we were fortunate enough to spend some time speaking with Bill Prevette.  Bill and his wife were missionaries in Romania for 5 years in the early 2000s. He's now working in the academic arena with human trafficking prevention, so it was a no-brainier to do whatever it took to get a chance to speak with him about our work here. Bill shared a lot of wisdom with us about the need for prevention work and not just rescue work with victims. The recovery process is extremely difficult and the ”rates of recovery” can be discouraging to hear.  Our hearts for prevention line up exactly with Bill's recommendations. We desire to see the local church take ownership of this issue, but that is a path that will take years to clear. Social issues haven’t always been a priority in the Romanian church (much like in America).  Luckily, we are beginning to see leaders that understand just how SOCIAL the GOSPEL is!  We as Christians are compelled by the love of Christ to address social issues. Bill gave us numerous contacts with missionaries & NGOs that are operating throughout Europe. 

As you can see, this weekend was FULL.  We start this week with FULL hearts and motivated to see others live a FULL LIFE of FREEDOM!

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A Day at the Center

(written by Ryan)

We've spent the day at the Teen Challenge Center, which is about 30 minutes north of Bucharest.  We met the director at his house this morning and rode up with him.  (The journey wouldn't be complete without a stop for fresh pretzels on the way.)

We arrived a little before 10am and had a quick look around the property.  We checked in on the tomatoes growing in the greenhouse, observed the beautiful countryside/village the center overlooks, and listened to the director cast the vision for a new tree-lined fence surrounding the property.  There is an amazing history to this building and ministry, but I get excited about the future.  

There are currently 11 guys in the program ranging from 18-35 years old.  In the last few weeks, they've had quite a few new guys.  It's always fun to meet the new guys and welcome them to the center.  I can't imagine the difficulties they are having adjusting to their new life here, but they are on a journey to NEW LIFE!

We've spent the day working in the office helping in a few different ways...

Andrea organized the "library" by creating an inventory of all the books and placing them back on the shelf in alphabetical order.  (See a pic below for the before & after shot!)

I spent the morning designing new letterhead as the old one had outdated information.  I have no talent in the area of graphic design, but by keeping it simple... I think we pulled something together that is an improvement over the prior letterhead.  

Below are some pics we took of the greenhouse, view from the office window, & Andrea's library project.

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Faces of Hope

(by Andrea Crozier)

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About a week ago we were able to visit a shelter near Pitesti, Romania for victims of human trafficking.  This was an amazing experience and we met some incredible young women.

We visited the shelter which has been around since 1999 and has housed many young women in Romania.  The director has been on the leading front in Romania of working with victims of human trafficking for many years.  She is very well known and has a passion for working towards the end of human trafficking in Europe.  

There were 12 young women that we had the opportunity to spend a few days with at the shelter.  The ages of the girls were as young as 14, up to 24.  About half of the young women were from Bucharest.  One girl, who was 14 years old had been at the shelter since she was 13 and lived very close to where some of our friends are currently living.  There were two young women in their early 20’s that had children staying with them in the shelter as well.  

Most of the staff we met had been working at the shelter for at least 3 years and the young women would call them ‘mama’ and were very affectionate with them.  Within the first day the girls started to hold my hand and put their head on my shoulder as well.  I had expected the girls to be more distant because what they had been through and experienced.  It’s possible that these girls were reverting back to child-like behavior as they simply desired to be cared for and loved.

It was on the second day of our visit when we were talking that Ryan shared that we would like to work towards preventing other young women to end up in the same situation and posed a question.  “If we get the opportunity to stand in front of a bunch of students and warn them about the dangers of human trafficking... what are some things we should tell them”.  A few of the girls responded and one of the young mothers stated that she thinks by educating other girls about the issue and what to look for as possible ‘traps’ would be a solution.  A 14 year old girl said that it depends on the family.  She said that if a girl comes from a family that loves her, she would not have to look for it in drugs or a boy/pimp.

A few of the girls gave us bracelets they had made with yarn and tied them on our wrists and said “thank you for coming to visit us.”  As we said our goodbyes, I couldn’t help but notice that their hugs were a little big longer and they had tears in their eyes.  We learned so much from these 12 beautiful, kind, daughters of God during our 3 day visit.  Meeting these young women was an honor and I will never forget their faces.  

We believe with all our heart that no matter what life circumstances come their way, God has a purpose for their life and wants to see them live their lives to the fullest!   These girls are motivation to continue our work.

Women singing from Missio Dei church

(by Andrea Crozier)

This video was from Sunday at Missio Dei church in Bucharest. This group of women attended a women's conference in Brasov, Romania (only a few hours from Bucharest) a few weeks ago and shared one of their songs they learned at the conference.  It was great to hear some of the women talk about what God showed them for their life and what He did in their heart that weekend. 

It was a beautiful song, sung by beautiful women and I loved it!!!  Enjoy :)

Teen Challenge Conference - Italy

Our trip has come to an end. On Wednesday we flew from Bucharest to Forli, Italy on Wizz Air (yep, that's the real name). We were invited to attend the 2012 Europe Teen Challenge conference near Rimini, Italy.
 
The area was absolutely beautiful. Located right on the beach, we could look out our hotel window and see the Mediterranean Sea.

The conference had over 200 people in attendance from countries throughout Europe. We heard a number of Teen Challenge Directors share about their ministries in Sweden, London, Greece, Israel, Latvia, and others.

One of the main speakers was Marvin Oxenham from the London School of Theology. There were many ”takeaways” from his sessions, but I left infused with more of a passion for the Word of God. It's so easy to simply use bible verses that fit the situation before us, but we truly need to use the narrative (the story) to fully convey the depth of the scripture.

Andrea had the great idea to research and see if there were any human trafficking organizations near Rimini so we could visit them while in town. (She's always thinking how we can maximize every opportunity.)

So on Tuesday morning we emailed the Community of Pope John XXIII as we read online they have a shelter near Rimini for women who have been trafficked. Within a few hours, we heard back from one of their program coordinators inviting us to visit the shelter and have lunch with the girls on Thursday. She also invited us to participate in their weekly street outreach to girls that are currently prostituting which just so happened to fall on that Thursday night!

Our visit to the shelter was humbling. We had a tour of their beautiful home and sat around a large table having lunch with 10 young women that were trafficked from Nigeria for the purpose of sexual exploitation.  Speaking with the volunteer staff it was evident how deeply they cared for these girls.  

That evening we joined a small group of volunteers who hit the streets of Rimini to visit with many of the girls working the streets.  We stopped and spoke with around 10 girls; all but 1 of them was from Romania.  They had all moved to Italy pursuing a “better life” but ended up selling their bodies on the streets of Rimini.  Our hearts were broken to think that one of these girls came to Italy at the age of 17.  Originally she came to Italy to work as a caretaker for an elderly man, but that job didn’t work out and she soon found herself on the streets.  

We spoke with another woman that was in her 40s.  She’s from Iasi, Romania and has 3 children at home in Romania who she hasn’t seen for years ages 19, 14, & 12 years old.  She said the 19 year-old takes care of the two younger ones.  

We’ve had a number of people ask us “Is human trafficking really a problem in Romania?”  After this visit, we can firmly say YES.

We also had the opportunity to visit The Republic of San Marino (click the link for the Wikipedia) which is the oldest surviving sovereign state.  It’s perched on top of a mountain about a 45 minutes bus ride from Rimini.  The views are absolutely amazing.  (see some of the photos below)

We loved our time in Italy, but we are glad to be back in Romania.  We’re so thankful for the opportunity to be serving Teen Challenge Romania and the team.  We had a blast getting to hang out with them all.  We learned a lot at the conference that we will be bringing back and implementing here.  We have an exciting year ahead!

Here are some of the pictures from our trip...

 

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We have landed!

written by Ryan

We have landed and recovered from a little jet lag. We woke up last night at 2am. Thankfully, we managed to get back to sleep.

 

We are thankful for our friends J.J. & Nelia Ferrell (Assembles of God Missionaries) who have put in a lot of work to help us get situated. Nelia has been our real estate agent and spent many hours assisting in our search for an apartment. She had 4 very nice apartments for us to visit within 24 hours of landing. They were all within a 5 minute walk of Piata Victoriei which is a key location on 2 metro lines.

 

We have placed an offer on one of the apartments and are currently waiting to hear back from the owner if he is willing to pay for some upfront renovations like painting, screens for the windows, etc. It’s quite rustic, but really charming. The building was built in 1920 so the apartment has great features like wood floors that creak like crazy when the big man walks, high ceilings, rounded doorways, & its on a lovely corner so the living room has a rounded corner that overlooks the street. If this apartment doesnt work out, we have a few backups that are all great options.

 

We had a great evening last night chatting with the director of Teen Challenge Romania about our involvment with their ministry. It's refreshing to encounter leaders that get everything out on the table and allow us to share what God has put on our hearts.

 

It's wild to think that I first prayed for this country 15 years ago as a 12 year old visiting with a team of people from my church. That trip changed my family and changed my life. At the age of 17, I knew I would live here one day. That day has finally come.

 

Saying Goodbye - Last week in US

Written By: Andrea

Well, only 3 days left until we fly out to Romania.  It is crazy to think that we have waited for this moment for over 5 years!  There are so many emotions tied to it all.   

A few weeks ago we went to Iowa to share at Mason City First Assembly and to spend time with family and friends.  It had been over 10 years since I had been back to Mason City (where I grew up).  We appreciate the missions board and Pastor George of First Assembly for allowing us to share our heart and what God has called us to be a part of in Romania.  I grew up and was baptized in this church and it was where my dad started full-time ministry as the youth pastor.  It was neat to see the church again and old friends from so long ago.

During our visit in Iowa, my sister and her family and my Aunt Karen all came down from the great state of Minnesota :)  There were many laughs and tears shared.  I was able to spend some quality one-on-one time with my nieces Leila and Makiah.  We were also able to spend some time with friends from high school and college.  We enjoyed seeing everyone but I couldn’t help but think that during this visit we would have to say our goodbyes.

The day we had to leave to go back to Indiana it was hard and I don’t think I have hugged my parents so tight as I did that day.  As sad as it was, there was also a peace because we both knew that we were following God’s plan for our lives.  Also, hearing both of our parents say they are so proud of us and having their blessing to go - is an indescribable feeling.  

So, as we are only 3 days away from flying out, there is not this sad state of mind, rather it is excitement and anticipation because of our wonderful family, friends, church family and coworkers that make up our support team.

We cannot do this without you all and be encouraged today as you have encouraged us so much!!

Posterous theme by Cory Watilo