Moldova… Population of 3.6 million people. 98% of those are Russian Orthodox believers and 2% evangelical Christian. Moldova has lost half their population within the past 20 years. The people here are hopeless. The spirit of hopelessness is intense and written all over their faces. With a major language barrier (most all people only speaking Romanian or Russian) I'm asking myself how am I supposed to share the Gospel with these people when I cant even carry on a conversation with them? It's frustrating. At times we have a translator but what do I do 80% of the time I don’t?
I go back to my first week in Romania. Where I felt like I was being attacked. I had no joy. So, I began to dig a little. Randomly someone came to me and said “Kendall, you just seem so full of joy.” Really?! I asked. I told her that’s exactly what I've been struggling with. I opened up to my team about it and received prayer from my teammates and found every scripture I could about joy. My teammates shared with me that satan was attacking me in the very gift I bring to the team. Every moment I had I prayed about it. God kept speaking to me through this small three letter word. Another day I'm praying and I look up and on a box I see the words “joy for people.” Then, there was a book a friend gave me little did I know it was about… JOY. The next day, I'm sitting with my friend Jessica while I'm writing in my journal I look up and see a drink sitting in front of her labeled… you guessed it “Joy!” I cant help but ask her “can I have a drink of your joy.”
That’s when it hit me. I'm here for a reason and although I cant speak their language I can do one thing. Give them a drink of joy. What I'm learning is no matter where you are and what you’re doing you always have the option to have joy. Its a choice. So, why was I having such a hard time if it's that easy? I'm learning that joy comes from thanksgiving. When you give thanks for the small things like being able to feel the wind blow across your face or looking up and seeing the most stars you’ve ever seen in your life it cant help but put a smile on your face and give you Joy.
So, that’s it? Joy? Just share my joy, Lord? God also spoke to me during a prayer time with my team and he said “love My people.” Love and joy. Okay, Lord got it! The people here are watching. They see us loving. They see us working, tilling gardens for hours but doing it with joy. They see us with the children loving them. Playing games with them. All I can hear is God saying yes! That's it! Love my people. So, I decided to step out in it.
Sunday morning before church I see a babushka(grandma) at the farmers market. Immediately, I am drawn to her. I lay a hand on her, smile and say God bless you. She stops and I start walking away. She is still standing there with this blank stare looking like she just saw a ghost. I come back to her and she starts speaking fluently in Romanian. I find a translator and she asks where I'm from. We tell her America and she starts crying. The translator tells her I said God bless you. She looks at me and gives me a sweet kiss and hugs me. The translator also tells her we are here on a mission trip and what church we are with. My teammates and I walk away. We walk in to the church and I see the babushka. Immediately we lock eyes and she comes over to me hugging me with tears of joy. She is going on in Romanian telling the story of how we met. All because of a smile that brought hope.
So, I encourage you to love. To bring joy. To find joy in the simplest moments. I haven’t mastered it but I am hungry for it, that despite how I may look, how I may feel, or where I may be that I can be thankful whether I'm empty or full.
“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
