Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, January 10, 1993 TAG: 9301070152
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Kathy Williams/Landmark News Service
DATELINE: SARMAS LENGTH: Medium
OPPRESSION TESTS TEACHER'S FAITH
Auzi, ingeril cinta, O, ce glas dulce suna! Cinta-mi si tu inima. Isus, Isus, Isus.Tears stream down the face of Adriana Dandu, 26, whose voice never quavers as she sings the heartfelt words.
Listen the angel song, Oh what a sweet voice rings. Song of my heart. Jesus. Jesus. Jesus.
How wonderful to proclaim her religious beliefs in public, Adriana says.
Three years before, when Adriana was teaching English in the schools, she told her class part of a Bible story about Moses.
"I told them how his mother put him in the basket in the river. And I told them if they wanted to know what happened to Moses, to come to church on Sunday. I also taught them how to sing The First Noel and The Little Drummer Boy."
On Sunday, the curious school children showed up to hear the story of Moses amd to sing their newly learned songs.
When Adriana went to school on Monday, icy stares and an invitation to the principal's office greeted her.
The school needs an English teacher, she was told. But it will not tolerate a religious instructor.
Adriana was ordered to sign a paper saying she did not believe in God.
"I talked to my pastor, who said he would understand if I signed the paper. But I couldn't do it. I just could not sign such a paper."
Adriana quit and offered English classes in her home. Some parents sent their children, others rejected her invitation.
Teaching English, Adriana says, is important, but not as important as teaching faith and hope and love.
Every Sunday, she walks 5 miles to the tiny First Baptist Church that sits atop a hill nestled in the Transylvanian mountains where she teaches a class of nine students about God and hope.
Ascultati, acel miel sint chair eu. Totusi Isus, totusi Isus, totusi Isus m-a cautat.
Listen this lamb I am. Jesus looked for me.