Meet Lacrimioara

Lacrimioara Onolfo grew up on a farm in the Carpathian Mountains of Romania during the communist era, in a time when life was simple, demanding, and deeply connected to the land. What many might consider a difficult way of life, she remembers as one of the richest gifts of her childhood.

From a very young age, Lacrimioara learned what it meant to provide, create, preserve, and care for others. As the oldest grandchild, she helped care for and raise her younger brothers, sisters, and cousins. She learned to cook for a large family and to make the most of everything the farm provided.

Her grandparents raised chickens and other poultry, cows, goats, sheep, pigs, and horses. The family grew much of its own food and produced its own dairy products. Nothing was wasted. They milled their own flour, prepared food for the long winters, and followed the natural rhythm of the seasons: planting in the spring, gathering throughout the summer and fall, and preserving what they had produced for the winter months.

Because the family lived far from the city, self-sufficiency was not a hobby. It was simply life. Lacrimioara learned from her grandparents how to recognize berries, roots, leaves, and edible mushrooms found in the surrounding woods, as well as traditional ways of using plants for natural remedies. She learned that the land could provide not only food, but also many of the resources a family needed to live and care for one another.

Autumn was a season of preparation. The family preserved its harvest through canning and pickling and prepared and preserved meats for the long winter ahead. During the colder months, the work continued indoors. Wool from the sheep was transformed into rugs for the floors and tapestries for the walls. The family knitted warm clothing such as socks, gloves, hats, scarves, and sweaters. Animal hides were used to make coats, while feathers were saved for pillows and comforters.

Among Lacrimioara’s most treasured childhood memories are the simple aromas of home: the smell of freshly baked bread, stuffed cabbage, and hearty, nourishing stews prepared from food the family had grown, raised, gathered, and preserved themselves.

Her childhood taught her lessons that have remained with her throughout her life: waste nothing, prepare for the seasons, use what God has provided, learn practical skills, care for your family, and share what you have with others.

Today, Lacrimioara wants to pass these forgotten and valuable skills to a new generation through the Bible Survival Project. Her vision is not rooted in fear or isolation, but in faith, wisdom, stewardship, preparedness, community, and service.

She believes that many of the skills her grandparents practiced every day can still teach families how to become more capable, resourceful, and resilient, while reminding us that everything we have ultimately comes from God’s provision.

The Bible Survival Project is, in many ways, a bridge between generations: preserving the wisdom of the past, equipping people for the present, and preparing families to faithfully steward what God has placed in their hands.