Just Another Day

 

     Thursday started as any ordinary day. We would be traveling to a local village to visit with people and to conduct a kid’s program. Before we left, God laid 2 Corinthians 4:18 on my heart. He was urging me to open my eyes and to look into the unseen. Today was not just another day… today would be a day of His Kingdom life bursting forth in a thousand tiny ways.

      As we entered Arcalia, one of the surrounding villages, we took a little detour going to visit a park with beautiful Romanian architecture. Our plan was to spend some time just playing the part of tourist and goofin’ off together, but God was working His Kingdom purposes. As we laughed taking classic World Race jumping pictures, we were approached by a group of college students (already half drunk at noon) who were attending leadership training. These are some of the brightest students in Romania and they are hungry for truth. We began singing and joking together, but before I knew it we were sitting together on the grass talking about God’s love and diving into tough questions of relationship with God through Jesus Christ. It was amazing to see them questioning and searching for truth! What we saw as a fun detour, the Lord purposed to plant seeds in the heart’s of these students, to have them beginning questioning their lives and relationship with God. 

      As we walked by from the park, we found some of the other girls visiting with Kati, an elderly Christian who has been unable to attend church. She was beaming from ear to ear and kissed both my cheeks as she welcomed me to her home. You could tell that the fellowship of the Body was joy to her heart. Tears streamed down her cheeks as we sang Amazing Grace together. We were also able to spend time with another house-ridden Christian named Ginny. As we entered her bedroom and looked into her eyes, you could see that she was downcast and discouraged. We prayed for her, listened to her hurts, and offered her encouragement from God’s Word. Once again, the Lord was bringing new life into the hearts of His people. It was a beautiful moment of Kingdom seeing Krystle sitting beside Ginny holding her hand as the other girls spoke words of encouragement and prayed over her. 

     As we left Ginny’s house, some of the other girls had already begun the children’s program. All of the children in the village had gathered together running and playing games. All except one. One little boy just sat silently on Steph’s lap clinging to her. He sat there all afternoon without saying a word. As we were leaving, we found out that his mother just abandoned him and his siblings leaving them in the care of an abusive, alcoholic father. Although we had no idea of his situation when we arrived, God used Steph’s embrace to show this boy that he is noticed and loved. Once again, the Kingdom of God coming to His hurting children. 

     We arrived home in Viile Tecii to find the family once again in tears. Their grandma suffered a stroke earlier in the week and has been in the hospital ever since. It’s been a really stressful week for them. After dinner we were on the hilltop playing with some of the kids. I suggested to Krystle and to Alex, the 13 year old daughter of our host family, that we roll down the huge hill just like I used to as a child. The three of us tumble down the hill laughing uncontrollably. This may seem like me just acting like a small child (again), but this was much-needed laughter and joy for Alex.

     I discovered today that if you open your eyes that the love and pursuit of God is EVERYWHERE… you just have to be willing to look for it. His love takes a million forms a day.