Whew, it feels like a breath of fresh air to be out of the atmosphere in Romania. I ended up really enjoying Romania, but there was definitely a heaviness around me that I'm really grateful to be out of. I'll fill you in as much as possible about Ukraine and what's going on here (it's pretty dang sweet), but first let me catch you up on the rest of Romania.
Ministry-wise, we were really blessed. The missionaries in Draganesti-Olt are SO on fire for what they're doing in the villages and towns that their passions become contagious. If anyone reading this is interested in doing mission work, please seriously consider coming here. The workers are few and the harvest is great (350,000 great). Many of the missionaries are discipled by Paul Washer and HeartCry missions (and if you haven't heard any sermons by him, please check him out!), and Raul, our main contact, has a heart to pour into us spiritually and make sure we know what we're talking about regarding what we believe. He's a strong man in the word, and has the personality of one of those professors who likes to play devil's advocate when debating with students. I've learned to absolutely love professors like that, so you best believe him and I went back and forth a few times, causing me to learn a lot. It was almost like the kick in the butt I needed to dive into the word to make sure I knew what we were going to be talking about.
About halfway through the month, Amie, Jamal, Jordan and I were set aside to work specifically with one missionary and his family. Marian, his wife Andrea, and two children blessed us immensely–they had so much wisdom to share and genuinely cared about us and for us. I will definitely miss them; it's almost like they became family to us for that week. We learned a lot from them about what it looks like to live a lifestyle of discipleship, and about the ways they do this practically in Draganesti. For example, Marian heard about some goats that were for sale, and he purchased them to give to a family who doesn't have much, but that is incredibly hard working (as in, the husband welds his own farming tools hard working), to help them become more self-sustainable. The husband later helped him plow a plot of land that they're planning on building a community center on–really cool examples of what community living looks like in other parts of the world. We also went around and prayed for different areas that they're serving in, and basically shadowed them for the week to see what they are doing and what they've done in the community.
My task with them was to help build a website for their ministry, so I'm excited to share that with you all once it launches. I was also in charge of a lot of logistics work for the ministry once they found out I was skilled in website work. I worked a lot on websites the month before in India, and have found that this is a great way to do international ministry and connect people in the United States with ministries and non-profits abroad. I absolutely love doing this too, and am sure that I'll be doing something like this when I get home. Well, actually, I know–I already have four websites that I'll be helping maintain after leaving India and Romania :). It's been a blessing and another weight lifted to have God showing me so clearly possible areas that I'll be working in after the Race. I know that hasn't been the case for everyone, so I'm really thankful to be one of the few to have a general idea. Anyways, that's kind of why there weren't many updates about my ministry time in Romania, because most of it was spent looking at a computer screen.
As for personal growth, God taught me so much last month about what it meant to depend on Him in all circumstances. One major change that happened during this time was that I was transitioned out of leadership and my incredible teammate Bethany was transitioned in. This was very timely and honestly an answer to prayer. I had been praying for God to close doors on leadership for a few months. Leading in the World Race is a ministry in itself, and while I found SO much joy leading and pouring into the women on my squad, I found myself more often than not yearning to be able to pour all of my energy into the ministry opportunities each country offered. I learned a lot during that time of yearning about balancing ministry with "family" (my team), and being content in all circumstances, and being thankful for the responsibility He had given me, but I was really thankful to hear that my deepest prayer was being answered and that they were planning on raising up someone new to lead my team. Bethany couldn't have been a more perfect person to step in to the position and I am so grateful to be led by someone who seeks the Lord so earnestly and is so disciplined to dive into the word each and every day. I'm in good hands!
With all this new-found free time, I was able to read for hours, listen to sermons, catch up with Em Waito (who was in a bed right next to me), and even continue practicing guitar. It was like yet another weight had been lifted, and I was free to just be. Free to soak up all that God had for me. Free to catch up on sleep. Free to be told where to go (a nice little break from figuring out and telling others where to go and what to do). Free to dive into ministry. Free to be a mess. God has been showing me so much about the areas where I led from my own strength and where I acted a certain way just because I was a leader, and is working in me to build back the parts that look like Him as a part of my character instead of me being those things because of a role that I had (I hope that makes sense).
So that was basically my month! I'm working on brainstorming more blogs, and want to put together some blogs about previous months (even if they're just the "Recap" blogs that I was doing at the beginning of the Race). I hope you all are doing well!
