Translators are a luxury in all regards. Especially when you are responsible for teaching and entertaining almost 50 kids. This past week my team and I have been doing just this. The catch??? Only one translator.
Probably the hardest thing for me to get used to while here in Romania is the language barrier. I DON'T SPEAK ROMANIAN!!! I sure wish I did, but I don't. So I've been wrestling with how in the world am I going to make an impact if I cannot communicate. I've felt useless.
I've been learning day by day that love is what shines through.
-A hug
-A smile
-Some animal noises
-A tickle fight
The love of Jesus permeates the darkness whether you share the same language or not. Jesus knew when he sent me here to Romania that I wouldn't be able to communicate. But he still wanted his message heard. And his message is love. Even though I am unable to vocalize this through me mouth, my actions can show Christ in me.
This past weekend we did several house visits in a local village. As we have covered already, I don't speak any Romanian. They don't speak any English. One lady in particular that we visited was close to 80 years old and the left side of her body was paralyzed. She immediately began to cry when we walked up.
At first I was confused. Was she upset that we had come to visit?
Our translator explained that these were tears of joy. She was so grateful that we were coming to see her. I wanted to reach out to her…but once again we have the language barrier. So while the translator was assisting in a conversation with the lady's husband, some of the other girls and I just surrounded her and sat next to her. It was all we could do.
We prayed over her in English, which I thought was useless at the time, but I saw light come into her eyes as tears continued to spill down her cheeks. This is how we love. We reach out a hand. We give a smile. We pray for others. Same language or not, you can sense the love of God is present.
I'm not saying that I have fully come to terms with feeling helpless when it comes to communication, but I am learning to love in not just word but in deed.
"For God who said, 'let light shine out of darkness,' has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus." – 2 Corinthians 4:6
My prayer is to become the hands and feet of Christ this next year and in the years to come. To step out of my comfort zone and just love people. It's only through Jesus that I can do this.
"Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor." – Romans 12:9-10
—Financial Update—
We have officially raised $7,660!!! That is huge guys! Seriously thank you. My next deadline is approaching though. By the month of October, I need a total of $11,000 in my account to stay on the field. This means $3,440 to go in order to meet that mark. I know that we are capable of doing this! Pray hard guys and let's get to this next deadline. If you would like to give, click the 'support me' tab at the top of the page.
