The Race is coming to an end. In less than 2 weeks I will be home. It is crazy to look over the past 11 months and seen all God has taught me, all the places I have lived, the people I met and was changed by, the foods I ate and the love for the Lord that grew through every trial, smile and tear.
I started this month wondering what it would look like. I was excited for my team’s last month to be a month of ATL (Asking the Lord). We were given no contacts, no ministry, and no location. So we started the month by spending an extra day in Riga, Latvia praying about possibilities of where the Lord wanted to send us. Most of the squad headed to Estonia for the month, while one squad remained in Latvia. We did not know if we were to go find ministry in Estonia or stay in Latvia. Our team was not feeling comfortable about heading to Estonia. We asked if there was a possibility for our team to work with other teams, go back to our ministry in Liepaja or go to another country. Our squad leader told us that she believed the Lord wanted us to go to another country. We were then informed that Lithuania was not off the list of possibilities (our original route included Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania the last 2 months). When I heard that we could go to Lithuania, my heart was excited and I believed that was where we were supposed to go.
We continued looking up different ministries for the Baltic States, finding that Lithuania had one of the largest organizations that helped with human trafficking, caring for the homeless, aiding in getting people off the streets, spending time with children and many more of our interests in ministry. We sent emails and tried calling the organization over the 2 days we were in Riga, but we were not getting a “go ahead” from the organization to work with them.
We left Latvia on May 3, heading to the capital of Lithuania, Vilnius. The bus ride was beautiful and I got more and more excited as we traveled closer and closer. It was gently raining over the land that was being prepared for farming. The grass was green and new life was peeking out of the soft brown soil.
When we reached Vilnius, we all got off the bus and laughed. We had nowhere to go, but we knew that the Lord was going to provide and show off. We could trust Him. We started to pray together and listen to the Lord. After questioning some people, we discovered a way to get into the city through the trolley bus. When we got off at a stop, we walked to the Holiday Inn questioning prices and other places to stay, knowing that our lodging budget was very small. Through a series of conversations and phone calls, we found out that there were only 3 beds available in all of Vilnius. The reasoning behind this was because it was Labor Day for Russia AND Poland. So there were a lot of people visiting on holiday. I think that our team started to question why we came to Vilnius. I clung to the truth in knowing that the Lord is good and faithful. I can trust Him. I saw this as an adventure. I did not know where we would be sleeping, whether it was on the street or in an expensive hotel room. I was just excited to see what God was going to do and how He was going to show off.
I went on a walk with my team leader to help him clear his head and for me to get out of my grumpy mood (yes, I was enjoying what God was doing, but I was in a grumpy mood with some of the team). I needed some fresh air. So we went on a search for a small and local Maxima that Chip believed the Lord told him to go to. Once we found it, we sat across the street and wondered what we were supposed to do. Were we going to find contacts? We sat down and prayed. All of a sudden, a man caught my attention. He was standing outside the doors with a cane. He looked so sad and lonely. I immediately felt compassion for him and felt like I needed to give him a hug.
What in the world? I am most definitely not a person that initiates hugs, more so specifically towards strangers. Why did I feel like I needed to go hug this man?
I expressed to Chip what I felt and he laughed and asked if he wanted me to have him give the man a hug. I told him no and that I needed to do it.
So I got up, crossed the street and walked up to the man. I asked him if I could hug him. He looked up and smiled. After the hug, he started talking to me in English about his past. This was definitely not something I was expecting, I was thinking I would give him a hug and that would be the end of it. I am thankful God had other plans. 20 minutes later, Chip and I left the man, leaving him encouraged and loved; letting him know that he had a beautiful smile and a good heart. As we walked away, we realized that God told Chip about Maxima so that we could love this man.
When we returned to the team, we found out that they had found a place for us to stay for the night. Through a series of phone calls, texts and emails, we were given the name of a pastor and his church. We found him through a friend in Latvia who knew of a pastor in Vilnius who knew of Pastor Steponas, our angel for the night. We made our way to the man’s home to find out that he and his wife, Marija, had a house church. They were from Korea, originally missionaries in Russia when they first allowed missionaries to come. After a year of living there, they realized that there were too many missionaries in Moscow, so they moved to Lithuania and have been here for the past 20 years. They love and serve the Lord so well.
We were so thankful to see how God provided and through all the people He used to get us to Vilnius. We have been here for the month, allowing to stay at the church for as long as we needed. We are so thankful for all the ministry that has been created, all the people we have met and been able to love on, and for all the blessings that we have received this month.
We are so excited to be in Lithuania, helping build relationships and create new contacts for future Racers. I am so thankful for all the people we have met and how much joy I have found in this city. It has been incredible just seeing how the Lord is so gracious in tying the knot. I learned more about faith in India. It is so beautiful to see how I have been able to truly practice it over the year, but put it into action this month. It seems like all the lessons I learned over the year are being put into practice this month, refining them.
