Want to know my Moldovan experience?
First things first. I really liked the way I was able to do my blogs in Ireland, with pictures and everything. Unfortunately, during a surprise almost-dog-attack I was able to fight off a dog by slinging at it whatever object was in my hand at the time that I was ambushed. Unfortunately that object was my camera, and although shock resistant to a 1.5m high drop, being slung around by the cord and flying off the connector at a dog was apparently not factored into the camera’s design. What I’m trying to say is the camera is broken, so pictures by James are no longer available.
This isn’t so bad though. My teammates Robby Smith, Stacey Compton, Kara Graham, Alicia Tarjeft, and Micah Higgins still have pictures posted in their blogs, as do Tommy Sullivan, Caleb Galloway, Natalie Swartzendruber, Juliette Steele, Kimberly Kaim, Melissa Ventura, and Stephanie Woody from the other team we worked with. Besides, once we get into Malawi next month we’ve heard that internet is deathly slow, so much so that pictures probably won’t be feasible to upload.
But now let me give you the inside scoop on my experience in Moldova!
All in all, it was probably one of the easier months yet on the World Race. Granted, it was also the shortest with 21 ministry days. One if the things that I noticed in myself this month was how leadership was not such a burden this month as in all the previous months. I’m not saying there were fewer leaderly things to do, but this month marked a shift in my mindset went it came to leadership, a shift that will continue to grow and one that makes the whole thing much more enjoyable.
You see, in previous months my leadership was carried out almost grudgingly in my own mind. I was chosen to lead, and although I knew I could, I doubted my own confidence and decisions, I hated feeling like I was stepping on toes or fighting against the current flow of the environment or whatever you want to call it, having to almost always be the one that initiates a setting or transition. But this month I noticed a very small thing that made something click in my mind. This month all four of us men stayed in a room together. When it came time to wake up at 8 for breakfast, I noticed the first week that when I woke up at the approriate time, the other guys woke up, and when I didn’t get up, we all hit our snoozes until we absolutely HAD to get up and go. Also, we decided it would be cool to pray in the morning, just as us men, before going out. I noticed that in this, too, especially at when we first implemented this, that if I initiated it then it would happen, but if I didn’t then sometimes it would and sometimes not. Those are the first things I noticed, and through the month I noticed many other such things too.
I don’t say these things to boast anything about myself because I’m still deficient in many ways. But what I noticed was that my actions make a difference. Silly, right? Of course they do! But I had never taken it to heart that my actions can literally change the course of the day, history, the people around me. I noticed that I didn’t find myself thinking about poor ole me “oh here I am again having to get the ball rolling again.” Instead, I found myself thinking, “Man, in this moment these guys need an example to be lead by, so that we can make it to morning prayer and breakfast on time.” Or take the time this month when some… let’s call them spirits of complaint or individualism… obviously were manifesting and everyone knew it but no one was calling it out. I didn’t initiate that group discussion grudgingly as maybe I would have before, but genuinely approached it not as I was stepping on toes by calling some crap out, but as something that needed to be brought to light so that we could all benefit by taking on a Christ-like mentality and not having an atmosphere of complaint but rather thankfulness.
So I’ve begun to apply this lesson daily, having more confidence in action and also confidence in knowing that I do have wisdom and discernment to lead.
Another thing that was unique to this month was the church that we worked with. In America is would probably be called a charismatic church, but it wasn’t really. The only thing “charistmatic” about it was daily, corporal prayer for an hour between 5pm and 6pm. And this wasn’t just sit-there-and-pray prayer, these believers got up and spoke out in prayer or got down and their knees and cried in prayer. As they should, too because as I’ve previously mentioned it’s hard to be a believer and grow a church in Cornesti. But I really liked this style of prayer. Not that prayer has to look a certain way or anything, but when its time to pray as a body and people just sit there and say nothing as if afraid to speak out, well I just don’t have peace with that. You can pray silently in your own time by yourself, but as a group I think we should pray out loud, if for no other reason than when Jesus prayed with his disciples he prayed out loud, and when he wanted to go pray by himself he withdrew. Besides, when we fight in prayer we get into it and can’t help but speak out because just as God speaks and it comes to pass, so our words have power too.
But anyways, bygons are bygons. I really liked praying with them because with others around me fighting in prayer I felt like I had permission to pray a little more fervently as I do when I’m praying by myself. I mean, we should always pray as if it was just us and Jesus, but as a group there is a group order to things. Praying for a solid hour was a stretch though. I’ll admit, the first time we prayed I said everything I had and looking at my watch and it had only been ten minutes! So I got rid of all formality and just started again with, “Ok Jesus I have no idea what to pray anymore so I’m just going to chat with you like you’re my homeboy!” So I was stretched in prayer and grew and over the next two weeks that hour became a lot shorter and easier. It’s a good thing, too, because we are now on the continent in which we will be doing our month of ATL; without a plan or contact or anything, we pray and ask the Lord where he would have us go and what he would have us do. Then we go and do it.
Thank you to those who have been obedient to the call to support this ministry! You’re not just supporting me, you’re also supporting the many ministries we work with and sharing in the work being done in all these countries. As far as support goes, our final deadline to have all of our support in is January 4th! I still need $4,203 to be fully funded so pray about supporting me and do whatever seems best to you, because God’s will will be done no matter what! Nonetheless, the holidays are coming and the best way to bless me would be to support me, if you feel called to do so; I can’t receive packages anyways! I barely made it to the last support deadline of $10,000, so now it really is going to be in God’s hands to bring in support. In all things, though, may name the name of the Lord be praised!
