Here is a story of our precious Jesus- the one who brings life to the graveyards.
The month of September was spent in Draganesti-Olt, Romania. Our entire squad (of 44 people) lived together, ate together, played with puppies together, went to ministry together, prayed together, spoke truth together, called each other higher together, and silently wished for more quiet space together. It was messy and chaotic and beautiful.
Draganesti-Olt is known for a being a “graveyard for missionaries.” Less than 1% of the population is Evangelical Christian. Many parents curse their children and actually utter words that translate to “I hand you over to Satan.” It is a very spiritually dark place; you can’t help but feel the gravity of its darkness when looking at the solemn faces of its people.
Every morning, we spent 30 minutes in worship and 1 hour in intercessory prayer. Our ministry host, Hope Church, orchestrated this time for praising and petitioning to God because its pastors believed in the power of prayer and saw infinite value in this time and space. We prayed for the church, for the missionaries, and for the lost. We specifically spent time in prayer for the children- that they would rise up as beacons of Christ’s light and lead as followers of Jesus in their community.
One morning during prayer, one of my squad mates Paige (aka Pham, an incredible encourager and Kingdom builder and one of my most precious friends) rebuked the name “graveyard for missionaries” in Jesus’ name. (Don’t want to skip over this without giving it its due celebration- WOW how amazing is it that we have the power to rebuke things in the name of Jesus!?!)
After our prayer of agreement, another squad mate Emily (another bold and precious friend of mine who brings joy and life to every conversation and has the best stank face I have ever seen in my life) shared a word from the Lord and prophesied Ezekiel 37 over the area.
The Valley of Dry Bones
“The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. And he said to me, ‘Son of man, can these bones live?’ And I answered, ‘O Lord God, you know.’ Then he said to me, ‘Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.’
So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, ‘Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.’ So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.
Then he said to me, ‘Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.’ Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.”– Ezekiel 37:1-14 (ESV)
Draganesti-Olt is a valley of dry bones. Yet the Lord directed us to speak truth over this so-called “graveyard for missionaries” in the power of His Spirit and watch Him bring life to this place of death.
Later that day, I was separated from my squad and team and was asked to venture off and do ministry on my own. (This is just one example of rolling with the punches and having a continuaI “yes” in our spirit, being joyful in whatever the Lord wants us to do!) I was dropped off in a nearby village, at a strange house I had never been to. An elderly woman greeted me; I had never met her and she didn’t seem to speak any English. I thought I was doing a house visit until I walked into the house, looked around, saw 9 kids gathered together, and used my context clues. Hope Church created multiple Kids Clubs in the area to share the hope of Jesus in an after-school setting, and without my knowledge, I had just entered one.
Most of the kids didn’t speak any English and their only interaction with me was from across the room as they very obviously pointed at my new nose ring, amidst their whispers and giggles. I tried laughing along (I have to admit a little uncomfortably) to somehow fit in with my new little friends.
After Kids Club ended, I was invited to walk around the village with them. So here I was, unaware of my exact location, in a village by myself, among strangers and 9 little Romanian children who didn’t speak English but loved laughing at my nose ring. So of course my answer was, “Yes, I would love to!”
Unbeknownst to me, the Lord had a beautiful afternoon in store.
We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around the village. Two girls latched onto my arms and held my hands. We pointed to different objects and shared our languages. Halfway through the walk, they started singing,
“There is no one like Jesus
There is no one like Jesus
There is no one like Jesus”
Over and over and over again.
They led me to the top of the highest hill that overlooked their village. From there, we could see the horizon and every house along it. Their hands folded, their eyes closed, and their heads bowed as they addressed their friend Jesus and talked to Him. They prayed for their village, for their people, and for their families. Although I didn’t know what they were praying exactly, their earnest hearts astounded me. They invited me to join in prayer- I will forever be humbled by that moment.
We climbed back down the hill and walked through the rest of the village. When we passed certain houses, one of the girls holding my hand started pointing and saying,
“She is my sister
She is my sister
She is my sister.”
Over and over and over again.
Then she pointed to me and said, “She is my sister.” Every time she said it, she was overjoyed. She was so excited that all these people were her sisters.
I learned later, that this precious child of God was showing me all of the houses of her friends who knew the Lord. She was showing me her sisters in Christ. And she included me and celebrated that I was her sister in Christ too.
As we continued our walk, we went back to singing. We passed through a cemetery, stopped, and honored the dead. We specifically stopped at the grave of a father who had passed away a few years ago. All while singing, “There is no one like Jesus.”
Throughout our entire walk, everyone in the village stared at us. These children of Christ’s light completely captivated their community. I later learned, that every single child I walked with came from unbelieving families. They were each the first person in their family to proclaim Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
The afternoon was so surreal; I almost missed it. That week we had been praying for the kids to rise up as beacons of light for Christ and that morning we had rebuked the name “graveyard for missionaries” and prophesied life over this valley of dry bones. And here I was, a witness to the new life of these children springing up in a literal graveyard.
And how beautiful- the only English words these kids said were, “There is no one like Jesus” and “She is my sister.”
That afternoon will forever be etched in my mind and heart. Jesus gave me the greatest honor of witnessing His power at work. And I think this mighty group of Romanian children has a lot to teach us.
Are there any areas in your community or life (in your situations, sins, habits, families, marriages, jobs, relationships, or society norms) that you have written off as dead and labeled as “graveyards” and need to rebuke in Jesus’ name?
Do you need to speak truth and prophesy life over dry bones?
Do you need to sing, “There is no one like Jesus” in the graveyards?
Do you need to cry out to the Lord and depend on Him to transform death to life, the transformation that only He can do?
Do you need to celebrate your neighbors and praise the Lord that “She is your sister”?
Do you need to remember that you pray to the King of Kings who is alive and active, who conquered the grave and who brings life at the very mention of His name?
Praise Jesus that in Him, there is no such thing as a “graveyard.” Praise Jesus that He brings life to dry bones and raises us from our graves. Praise Jesus we can sing “There is no one like Jesus” and celebrate with our brothers and sisters. Praise Jesus that we serve a King who is alive and active and more than willing to bring new life. Praise Jesus we can see His goodness, and praise Jesus His Kingdom is the land of the living.
Xoxo,
Emily
