Normally in MD there are very often changes in the program but even though I know this, I still am sometimes a bit surprised about how I ended up in a certain situation. For example yesterday, again I found myself in a situation that was totally not planned or I never even thought about it!
On Saturday morning there was a competition for different youth clubs organised around a biblical theme: Genesis chapter 1 till 11. So since Spiridon and I are involved with the teenagers in Micleuseni, we decided to help them to prepare for it and than we would go together with them to the competition and cheer them on! First prize was eating pizza at a pizza restaurant. A nice prize worth fighting for!
So there I arrived and as soon as I entered the room, the main guy who organized this competition, asked me to be part of the jury! So 3 minutes later I found myself sitting behind a table, with a sheet of paper before me, discussing with the other jury members about who had the best song, preach, sketch and who answered the bible questions most correctly! I never was part of a jury in Moldova and so I guess I can tick that of my list too now....
Of course I tried to be as honest as possible and judge the best I could. The teenagers from Micleuseni and even the ones from Nisporeni, tried to influence me to give their teams some extra points so they would win the pizza but as a good jury of course, I was strong and did not except any bribes! And as far as I know, the final decision about who was going to eat pizza was made honestly.
While I was travelling back home by bus I started to think about how it works with being influenced, bribing and corruption. In real life it is often totally different and especially in Moldova. I know that there is a lot of corruption in Moldova. You can see it and experience it everywhere. As a Christian I am always challenged about how we are supposed to handle corruption. I thought always that as a Christian you shouldn't bribe or tell maybe a small non-truth to a policemen when you are stopped....But....this weekend my opinion changed!
About 1 year ago I challenged Spiridon to not bribe policemen when they stop you. If you make a mistake and the police stops you, behave friendly and pay your fine at the banc and next time drive more proper.
But what happened that I changed my mind? Spiridon at a certain point lost his driving license because he didn't bribe the police anymore and he had collected some points and so his driving license got taken. After half a year he was allowed again to get it back. A half year had past and so Spiridon went to see how he could get it back. He was told when his driving license was taken, that he didn't needed to do again a test because that's only when they take it for a year or longer. He only needed to pay at the banc his fine.....and than he could receive his driving license back. Sounds easy? Too easy...
After some days asking around in Chisinau and visiting all kind of police offices and hospitals and being told off by several people, he didn't receive his license back. Because of all the unclearness and frustrations, Spiridon aksed if it was possible that his driving licence would be send to Nisporeni, his hometown so he could get it back there maybe even a bit easier....
He received the driving license there in the first place. So last Thursday Spiridon went to the local police office in Nisporeni (after first calling for two days, to check if the driving license really had been send there). Again he could start from the beginning....hospital visits, collecting different stamps from doctors, standing in line for hours etc. After he handed in all the right papers, he got told that he needed to do a driving test, the next day. On Friday he went again to police office and guess what? No electricity/power so no examen! Come back next day! Saturday morning again in line and yes, electricity is there but soon it becomes clear that without paying a BIG sum of money as a bribe, he wouldn't get his license back....
So there we go with our good idea and principle as a Christian to not be corrupt but live honestly and not paying bribes when the police stops you on the street. From the amount of money we paid to get the driving license back, we could have paid for a looong time all kind of bribes if stopped by the police....
So what did we learn from this whole situation? Firstly, always drive properly;-) Secondly, bribing is better that following the rules and being honest??? Thirdly, it is impossible to stick to Christian principles and live in a corrupt country???
Maybe I am a bit confused and discouraged about what has happened and the result of us trying not to be as "the world" but I stick to the following truth:
1 John 4:4 - You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.
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