After one left behind bag, two mad dashes to catch a flight, and a total of 45 hours of travel, I am alive and well in Romania! And all I can say is wow.
Coming from Haiti to Romania shocked me in way I wasn’t prepared for. I felt the need to buy all the chocolate at the airport and train station until I realized that I am no longer in a third world country and I will in fact have another opportunity to buy it. I simply did not know what to do with myself when I slept in a bed for the first time in two months, and don’t even get me started on the hot water! After one magnificent shower I’ve begun to think that I should stick to cold showers because I don’t want to get use to this again. Needless to say Romania is quite fantastic.
All that said I still find myself missing my mountain town in the DR and those precious snot faced children in Haiti. I think about this as I go to bed at night (on an actual bed, in an actual room, with an actual closet…no sleeping pad…no tent…no packing cubes. This is a new concept for me.). I think that though I’m comfortable here in Romania, was I ever truly uncomfortable in the DR or Haiti, and surprisingly the answer is no. Although I washed my hair in buckets, slept in a tent, used an outhouse, fought a vicious battle against mosquitoes, and ate rice more than I ever wished, I was happy. While the World Race has been a far departure from life at home, I can honestly say I haven’t suffered. Maybe that’s because its only month three, maybe its because God is mercifully pushing me only one step at a time, or maybe its because I’m truly learning what Paul meant when he said he learned to be content in every circumstance.
I have not been through even a fraction of what Paul went through for the sake of Christ, but despite that his words ring true:
“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed of hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through Him who gives me strength” Philippians 4:12-13
Please don’t get the impression that I’m saying I’m a starving missionary! I am fed and taken care of even if the meal is just rice and beans. What I’m saying is the Marie 4 months ago would not have lasted in a tent for two months, or wouldn’t been ok with the lack of ability to get chocolate or internet when I wanted. Something has changed. Paul doesn’t specifically say the secret He found, but I believe it’s the Joy of the Lord. The end of Nehemiah 8:10 says “the joy of the Lord is your strength” and Paul says we can do all things through Him who gives us strength. I may not always have felt joyful, and yes I may have yelled angrily at multiple mosquitoes, but only through His joy was I able to live comfortably in circumstances that would have freaked me out only months ago.
This isn’t a blog to pat myself on the back, because heaven knows I’m far from catching this concept, and it isn’t to say that washing my hair in buckets and eating rice was so awful that I was only able to get through it with God’s help. I know where I sleep, how I wash my hair, and what I eat is very trivial, but God is teaching me something through that. He is teaching me to be content. I want to be able to be like Paul and sing God’s praises in a jail cell, or after being beaten. I want to boldly look into the future that God has for me without fear of discomfort. But all that starts with contentment because of the Joy of the Lord.
So yes I am being utterly spoiled this month, and although I thank God a thousand times a day for what he has blessed us with (about 700 times while using warm water), that stuff doesn’t truly matter. What matters is what God is doing in and through my team. Please continue to pray for my team as our ministry starts tomorrow. We are helping get a Christian camp all ready for campers this summer, but besides manual labor we hope to build lasting meaningful relationships with these lovely people in our village.
