My team and I are in Split, Croatia. We are about to end our “vacation” and head back to Budapest for 2 days before we fly out to Guatemala on June 30th. I thought this week would be a week without ministry, without having to be “on” and just a time to relax. Don’t get me wrong, it has been all of those things. Croatia is beautiful and the water is amazing. We have had such an incredibly time here. What I am realizing though, is that ministry is everywhere.
When we first arrived here at our hotel we were checked in by the receptionist. She’s a lovely woman who was so kind to us. Automatically, everyone on my team liked her. I got the opportunity to talk to her one day when I had to ask her a few questions. It is amazing how much someone will open up to you if you are willing to listen. I learned that she has lived in Croatia her entire life. She told me about the war and how it was particularly difficult for her because she is the minority, a Serb. She told me about how when she was younger she had thought about going out and doing humanitarian work, so she was particularly interested in what we do. She told me about her boyfriend and got that look on her face when she told me that she wanted to start a family and how he was particularly great. The most amazing part of talking to her was when I got to tell her about what we do. I got to tell her that we give up relationships for a year in order to dedicate it to God. That we spend this one year seeking after God’s heart and what He wants for us and our life. I got to tell her about how God is always there in the midst of hard times; that He never leaves us even when we feel so completely alone. She told me how she isn’t really religious but I gave her the name of some podcasts to look up of preachers anyway. She hasn’t been working since I got to have that conversation with her (these are her days off) but I keep praying that maybe that one small conversation will spark something inside of her. I could tell she was so hungry. She is searching for something and doesn’t even know what. She believes that there is something out there but she can’t quite put her finger on it.
Cindy, Katie and I were in town one day sitting at a little café. A man turned around and started talking to us because he heard we were speaking English and he and his wife are from Ireland. We learned that he is a retired Bio-Chemistry professor who now runs a farm with his wife. She is Catholic and he is Protestant. We sat talking to them about what we are doing and why we are doing it. They were amazed that we would be willing to give up so much to do the Race. He became even more impressed when he found out that I puked on Mother Theresa’s house in India (he feels she is overrated). We got to talk to them about what life is about; serving the poor, reaching out to those in need, showing love and kindness to everyone you meet. It was nice knowing that we could keep a conversation up with a scientist and even impress him! They told us about how important it is to see the world and how an experience like this can change everything about us. (Little did they know one conversation with us and they end up on a blog!) It was incredible hearing their story and getting to tell them a little about ours; to connect with strangers when the only thing you have in common is your language and knowledge about God.
This week has been so restful and relaxing but it has also been a reminder that ministry is everywhere. Our team does not stop working just because we are on “vacation”. We bring kingdom everywhere we go, because we ARE God’s kingdom.
