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ATLANTA – When Glen Adkins started the music program at the Gandhi School, one of the first songs he learned was the “Gypsy Hymn.” He was surprised to find out that the chorus of the rhythmic but lamenting song translated “God, have mercy on us, so as our people should not suffer any longer, you have cursed us, you have punished us, you have made us eternal vagabonds.” 

For the Romany people, also referred to as gypsies, the words of the song reflect their experience of discrimination, persecution and suffering. The Gandhi School in Pecs, Hungary, where Clista and Glen Adkins serve as Cooperative Baptist Fellowship field personnel, provides unique educational opportunities for 250 Romany youth.

“Glen and I hope that we can help [the students] to understand that God loves them,” said Clista, who teaches English classes at the school. “To understand that God loves Roma people, that they are part of the larger family of God, and that God’s gift of love in Jesus Christ was for Roma just as much as it was for everyone else. We have this goal in mind in everything we do.”

Only 3 percent of Roma attend a university, and less than 20 percent attend high school. Those who do enroll in a public school are often placed in classes for students with mental disabilities in order to separate them from non-Roma. The Gandhi School  provides a nurturing alternative for Roma, who come from impoverished backgrounds. The students travel from throughout Hungary to attend the school, and all of them come from families facing hardships – poverty, unemployment, life-threatening illnesses, social discrimination.

“When students graduate from Gandhi, perhaps they will have what few Eastern European Roma have – hope for their future,” said Clista Adkins. “That hope might include a broader view of the world and their potential to be a part of that world, the ability to lead, opportunities for jobs and education, ambition for their future, the ability and knowledge required to make life better for the next generation or the ability to maintain their heritage while working within the larger society.”

The school gives hope to students such as Jaelle, who when asked at Bible club one evening what she was most afraid of, responded “I don’t ever want to have to stand on the side of the road.” Jaelle, who has seven siblings and whose father must travel to Germany to find work, was referring to girls in Hungary who enter into prostitution in order to survive.

“We are finding that people all around us seem to be looking for hope,” Clista said. “We are constantly surrounded by Roma people, particularly, who seem to be hanging on to their lives by a thread. So, with every word we say and every coin we give, we hope we are being the presence of Christ.”

The Adkins, members of members of First Baptist Church of Greenville, S.C., first served at the school in 2005, but last year they move to Hungary to minister full-time. First Baptist’s partnership with the Gandhi School was facilitated by church members Ethel and Jim Childress in 2005. Since then, missions teams have traveled to the Gandhi School each fall, teaching English classes and leading special programs.

“Our focus of each trip has been to build relationships, share God’s love, and teach conversational English,” said the Childresses, who have participated in six trips. “The common thread in these interactions and relationships is openness and acceptance. Over the years we have come to love these remarkable Roma teenagers. Knowing them and working with them has been life changing. We are humbled that even though they are treated so poorly by most people outside their culture, they still treat us with acceptance and respect.”

First Baptist is one of several churches partnering with Glen, a former music minister, to sponsor choir members as they prepare to perform at the Baptist World Alliance Youth Conference in Leipzig, Germany this summer. In addition to learning hymns from the Romany tradition, Glen is also teaching the choir songs such as “Oh Happy Day” that communicate God’s love.

“Our partnership through CBF with field personnel at the Gandhi School is one opportunity for our members to live out [the church’s] mission statement and covenant,” said Laura Shelley, missions coordinator at First Baptist. “As we share the inclusive love of Christ with the Gandhi students, we serve alongside CBF personnel, Gandhi teachers and Hungarian Christians. An important aspect of our partnership with the Gandhi School is the recognition that God may speak to us through this mission experience, transforming us in ways yet unimagined.”

CBF is a fellowship of Baptist Christians and churches who share a passion for the Great Commission and a commitment to Baptist principles of faith and practice. The Fellowship’s mission is to serve Christians and churches as they discover and fulfill their God-given mission.