Today has been one of the coldest days we’ve had in a long time. It also happened to be grocery day, so you can imagine how thrilled we were to carry all of our groceries and huge bottles of potable water back to the home. Needless to say, the plan was to get in, get what we needed fast, and get back as fast as possible since we would be weighted down.
As I walked out of the grocery store, giant water bottle in tow, I barely noticed an older woman standing outside of the store begging. I started to keep walking. My teammates were already ahead of me since I’m generally the last one out in every situation, and I didn’t want them to have to stop when they were carrying so much stuff. But I felt in my spirit that I should give some of my groceries to her. So I stopped and walked back a few steps to her and put my backpack down to get out some food. Ramen and baked beans was what was on top, so I offered it to her with a, “is this ok,” face and a smile. She started nodding and speaking in Romanian and I zipped up my backpack and put it back on, ready to walk away.
Before I walked away, I put my hand on her arm and looked her in the eyes and offered to hug her. She looked back and her eyes began to tear up and she embraced me and kissed both my cheeks. “Isus te iubeste,” I said as we both began to cry. Jesus loves you. She hugged me again and continued to speak in Romanian as she crossed herself and pointed up.
I have no idea what she said. I’ll probably never see her again and never know her name. But our spirits connected in that little moment, and I was so blessed by her heart.
