“Perhaps home is not a place but simply an irrevocable condition.” James Baldwin, Giovanni’s Room
If you were to ask me the qualities that fall under the concept of home I would state, “Security! Safety! A roof over your head of course.”
If you were to ask me the qualities that fall under the concept of stability in a relationship I would say, “trust, consistency, and protection of course.”
Well, I would have said this just 14 days ago, but now, I’m not so sure. You see, when you spend all of your life with the comfortable consistency of a nuclear family in the U.S. it is difficult to even comprehend the reality of anything else. Sure, I can slip into my hyper empathetic mind and imagine what a world unlike my own could be like but never had my own eyes witnessed this separation enough to take hold of my being.
To not leave the readers under too much confusion in the broadness of my writing I’ll start with some context. As I am writing this I am at my lovely host family’s home in Gala ți, Romania in the midst of my month-long internship with Word Made Flesh international (WMF).
The city of Gala ți is home to just over 200,000 people, full of families, beautiful walks along the Danube river, Orthodox churches rounding every corner, and many many cats and dogs (or piscici ș i caini). But beyond the movement of the city there is a clear divide in power, wealth, and familial stability.
As families live lower in the hill, the lower their status becomes in income, education, and opportunity.
When WMF set up their home in Gala ți 25 years ago their mission was to create a safe environment for the children of Gala ți , to take them off the streets, and to prepare them for a better future.
The hope and prayer of Word Made Flesh is to be a daily expression and example of stability. Many of the children who enter the Community Center in WMF Romania do not know what stability looks like. Whether that instability be in the loss of a parent, siblings sent away into trafficking, lack of authority, or something else, WMF is a space where the children can be witness to a new mindset and track of life.
“If an adult is constant in a child’s life, here or at home, it gives them confidence. They learn to trust. That they can trust adults. That they are secure and safe at that moment. That if they mess up they can reconcile and come back tomorrow,” said Monica, one of the organization’s educator staff members in WMF Romania.
The saying is true, “consistency is key.” Because whether we acknowledge it or not, we emulate the examples around us starting at birth. We live by example, we wear the faces of all that we have grown up with and around.
Influence is lasting, and the influence of consistency in a child’s life when consistency is foreign to them is even more important.
“We also have goals to deepen our connection with them. Different activities just with girls to have time to connect with them -face masks, nails, makeup- We try to get to their level. When we open up to their level they will feel accepted in the good and the bad,” said Nicoleta, another educator.
Something we must not forget in difficult and heavy work such as this; the children can teach us something too.
“But Jesus called the children to him and said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.’” Luke 18:16
Children are a beautiful manifestation of the creativity, purity, and joy of the Lord and in moments of burden we can look at them as examples of what it looks like to turn brokenness into laughter, scars into story, and hurt into resilience.
Monica is reminded through her work with the kids at WMF that we were created for community. “We are not made to be by ourselves. [The kids] come out of their families where there is a lot of pain, and they come here where everything is so different, and I know it’s hard for them but through this they can realize at one point that life can be lived differently.”
As I entered Romania, my assumption was that by the end of this experience my biggest lesson would come from witnessing and navigating the poverty, pain, and brokenness of the community but instead my lesson is despite the poverty, pain, and brokenness that there is a reality of richness, wholeness, and healing being done here through WMF and through the transformation of the families and kids in this community.
It would be shallow to continue to define home as merely a physical space, to say that without stability one cannot experience home. Because as I am in this new city, under a new roof, meeting new people each and every day, it isn’t the spaces I have entered that bring me into a sense of belonging. It’s the joy in little Anna’s voice as she runs to say hello to me every day, the gentle prayers of thank you from sweet Noah before we eat lunch, and the hospitality of our host families preparing a meal for us every night that have made this short experience become a piece of home in my heart forever.
Christina Smith | WMF Romania Intern
Christina is a Multimedia Journalism student with a passion for using storytelling to serve others. As a Word Made Flesh Romania intern, she has spent the summer documenting stories, building relationships, and learning from the children, families, and staff of the Galați community. Through writing, photography, and videography, Christina hopes to use her journalism skills in humanitarian work that reflects the love and dignity of Christ. She believes some of life’s most meaningful stories are found in simply being present with people and listening well.
As Word Made Flesh Romania celebrates 25 years of ministry in Galați this week, we are honored to share a reflection from current intern Christina Smith. Through her time alongside the children, families, and staff of the community center, Christina witnessed firsthand the impact that consistent, caring relationships can have in the life of a vulnerable child. Her reflection offers a glimpse into the heart of a ministry that has faithfully shown up for children and families for the past 25 years.
All photos in article are taken by Christina Smith during her 2026 Internship.