Fruits of the Spirit

So about six months ago at our debrief in Hong Kong, our coach, Gary Black spoke about the fruits of the spirit and how we go through stages to reach each fruit. We first learn love, then joy, then peace, and so on. He described it as a hill with love at the bottom left and leading up to kindness at the top and then descending on the other side down to self-control. He described each fruit and what it entails to have complete patience, goodness, gentleness, etc. He said that after kindness one usually flies down the mountain towards self-control; that growth is much faster because all that matters is kingdom at that point and you can’t die because you’re already dead. Dead to yourself and all selfish desires and fully alive in Christ and what He wants to do in you. The way he described someone who has “goodness” is that it radiates out of them and you can just see it by looking at them. Goodness along with gentleness are fruits he said we usually see in grandmas; people who’s hearts are so pure and gentle that there is no offensive way in them.

 

                       

                                               Marius                                                                                                          Catalin                     

 

So you might be asking why I’m writing about this now, six months later. The reason is because I met someone this month who I believe fully embodies just about every fruit of the spirit. We are working at Casa Shalom, an orphanage/ children’s ministry in Bucharest, Romania with Becky Walsh. She has been involved in overseas missions for over 20 years in Germany and Romania. We have only known her for eight days, but I am in awe of the way gentleness and kindness just exude out of her in everything that she does. Her heart is so pure and full of love from the Lord and it is contagious to anyone around her. The spirit of peace and love in this place is so strong and it is because of Becky and the love and heart she has poured into this ministry for so many years. She desires reconciliation and second chances with families for each of the children she has taken in and has only two children left who have not been reunited with parents or relatives. They will not allow her to keep only two children so the two remaining boys (ages 10 and 11) will go to another private home towards the end of this month or early in June. We also have three teenage girls here visiting for the month who used to live here that now live with their families. We have seen the fruit of Becky’s labor here at Casa Shalom. It is so obvious that these children have grown up under her love and care. They are so sweet and helpful and loving. The way they worship and pray and cry out to the Lord on behalf of others is so passionate it convicts me. It has been such a blessing for us to be able to serve here by doing whatever needs to be done around the house. From landscaping, to construction, to playing with and investing in the children here, to having our own bike repair shop, I’ve been able to see kingdom here in Romania unlike in any other country we’ve visited.