I don’t even know what to tell you guys.
Month 5 is already a ridiculous bundle of blessings…and it’s only the third day of May!
As I wrote in my previous post (Asking and Receiving), the Lumies and I are in our ATL/UHC month. What this means schedule-wise is that there is no schedule. We literally ask the Lord where we should go and what we should do, and then we follow Him! All the while, we are actively using all resources available to us to get in contact with pastors, missionaries, and other ministry workers who are tirelessly working to serve the Lord. Our hope is to share their stories with all of you and connect them with AIM to pave the way for future ministry partnerships.
SO—
As I was saying, ridiculous bundles of blessings have befallen Team Luminous.
We didn’t know where to start in Ukraine!
Our coordinator Drew suggested the city of Odessa (It's beautiful here, by the way.). And fortunately, our sister team—formerly known as Reckless Pursuit—is in Odessa this month.
But we didn’t have a place to stay!
Well, Patty got in touch with Justin’s ministry contact, who said she would be glad to help us find a place to stay. Sweet! On to Odessa!
But we’re on a pretty tight budget: $10/day per person for food, lodging, transportation, etc.
Oh, $5/day per person in this apartment conveniently located right next to a grocery store, around the corner from the other team, and a 10-minute walk to the Black Sea? Great!
But the internet in the apartment is down. We need to find Wi-Fi for UHC work and all the cafes and restaurants with internet are outside our budget.
Oh, wait! Except this place called “Aladdin” where we can get fast Wi-Fi and a cheeseburger with a drink for 23 Ukrainian Hryvnia (= $2.84). Plus, we can just walk there! (And now we do have internet in the apartment—hallelujah!)
…you kind of get the picture?
Well, there’s more—
Let’s be honest. The women of Team Luminous can eat. We don’t need to eat much. But we can. I had been anticipating some stomach shrinkage this month, due to our food budget. But you know what? God’s providing in that arena abundantly!
– When we cook, everyone is satisfied and filled up, AND there’re leftovers!
– We were invited to a church our second night here and we met one of the leaders–from Buffalo, NY; teaches at the university here; speaks fluent English, Italian, and Russian (and probably more)—who treated us to pizza for dinner!
– The following day, we were invited to another church to meet with them. That whole ordeal turned into an awesome UHC meeting, which will likely result in future partnership, AND they fed us kabobs, fresh vegetables, and bread!
And we didn’t plan any of this. God is laying down the path for us, brick by brick, perfectly. When we were praying for this month, Patty got a vision of Jesus doing just this >> check out the full description in her post.
Trust me—it’s worth reading.
Every day of ATL, I look back on the day before and think, “That wasn’t real. Okay, maybe it happened—but that wasn’t my life.”
Wow. Okay—I would consider myself an organized person, though I’m fairly certain that this post isn’t organized at all. But that’s me right now—kind of in sustained shock of how much our Heavenly Father provides for us; not knowing what to expect; not really sure how to not know what to expect; and wonderfully, pleasantly confused about the happenings of my life right now.
"The path of the righteous is level; O upright One, you make the way of the righteous smooth. Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts" (Isaiah 26:7-8).
Chances are that we won't be in one spot too long…but only God knows! I will keep you updated. This month’s going to be fun.
