It’s been a long time since I blogged. First, I’d like to shout out to my sweet Wednesday night elementary school friends who have been faithfully praying for me all year. I’m so excited to see you all soon!
Right now I’m in Draganesti-Olt, Romania where many of the racers have their parents doing ministry here with them. For those of us who did not have our parents come, we have been praying each morning for Hope Church and for the people of this small community and this region of the world. Less than 1% of the 145 million people in the Balkan countries of Eastern Europe believe in Jesus. Half of them follow the Muslim faith. And that is before you add all the refugees pouring in from the Middle East.
My heart is so full right now. God has done so much this year and he deserves to be praised. I have friendships that will last a lifetime and love that will last forever.
The last two mornings during our Intercessory prayer we have hiked up large hills that offer a wonderful view of the city we are in. One of them looked like the village of Rohan in LOTR. The other we a huge plateaued hill that looked out over the whole village. Beside it was a graveyard. I stood in the graveyard for a while praying. It was a very foggy morning and as we stood their praying for the city of Draganesti-Olt the fog began to clear. And God showed me what the presence of racers do. We spread the light and disperse the fog wherever we go. It may not be completely gone but our presence changes the atmosphere. Because we bring Jesus with us.
In the afternoons I have been putting my research and writing abilities to work. We are researching partners for our host Raul to work with in the future. This area of the world needs many long term and short term missionaries. They also need financial and prayerful support. The 28 of us who don’t have parents here are living in the missions house. It’s like a big worship comunity party all the time. Yes community is hard and messy and people still have a hard time serving each other in some ways, but it’s also fun and love-filled and days that will soon be missed.
This month God has shown me a lot about what I’m going to do with my life (which I will share at a later date). Romania, although not somewhere I feel called back to, has shown me a lot about who I am and what I love.
Later next week we head to Bucharest for a few days of workshops and then we head to month 10 in Moldova! What?!? Keep you updated when I know where we are going.
