Ask the Lord month: Ask the Lord. Then choose to do or not do what He answers. Then reap.
I went into this month with a great desire to be unfamiliar. I wanted my team to sleep on the streets, live with the homeless, talk with prostitutes, put ourselves in dangerous situations so that nothing will help us escape death but a miracle. Obviously….. that was a little unrealistic, seeing as we're not idiots and won't just ask to be held at gunpoint for kicks and giggles. But after prayer and deliberation, we did stretch ourselves and God did show up… but in ways I didn't expect or imagine… typical.
While I was working on the Unsung Heroes Campaign this month, I made a facebook status asking if anyone knows people from Ukraine. My friend from college told me to contact her friend Maria… they met at summer camp. Long story short…. my team now lives with Maria! We moved in her family's house 4 days ago and have another week here.
This house is beautiful. There are luxuries, things we haven't had [to this extent] since we left America: It smells nice, there are fresh sheets and comforters that smell like laundry detergent, the toilet flushes, the shower head can hang in one place so water doesn't go everywhere, there's hot water, extra space, soap when washing your hands, toilet paper that gets refilled when empty, the trash is taken out when it's full, there's a washing machine and dryer(!), many American products, fast wifi, and food. An abundance of food. Mouth watering food.
Maria's mother is a chef
(like… she actually is).
So…. back to the beginning. I wanted to be stretched and uncomfortable. We started the month not knowing where to live on an extremely tight budget. We had little food and little green. But here we are now, with close to all of the physical comforts from home, with excessive amounts of everything we want, and it's all for free. They even do our laundry for us. It's just ridiculous.
As I'm writing this blog in less than a 1/2 hour, Maria's mom walked in with these cookies and said “Nomnoms” and walked away aaaand she fed these boys (one is her son and 2 are friends)…
Because of all we've been given and continue to be blessed with, I'm actually uncomfortable. It's hard to accept everything. They give, give, give and they don't even know us! They aren't even sure why we're in Ukraine (translation problems…)! They just know we're serving the Lord. Wow.
God has asked our team to take on the challenge of learning to receive in great abundance – something none of us do well. One way to start thanking Maria's family would be through words of affirmation, but we can't even do that with the language barrier. When we communicate well enough for them to understand we're thankful, her mom says “Hallelujah” and her dad says “In His name”. God is asking us to literally taste His greatness. It's okay to be amazed by His blessings. After all, He is our mighty God – why do we assume so little?
Yum? Yum!
Oh you know, normal breakfast….
Beet soup, fresh fruit juice!
Part of the cake-making process and some pasta….
HUGE cake, check out my foot to get perspective….
Since I can remember, this verse has reminded me of leveling out sugar to make more room. How appropriate! 🙂
Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you. – Luke 6:38
Thank You God.
