I didn't sleep well last night. I've been having a lot of back pain and a late dinner involving cheese gave me leg cramps. I should have known. I always get leg cramps if I eat a salty food before bedtime! But our contacts were leaving and we decided to cook them tacos, complete with homemade tortillas. I couldn't pass it up, but dinner didn't start until after 9 pm, so the cramps were inevitable. So combining the leg cramps, neck and back pain, and this cold/cough that I can't seem to shake, didn't give me a lot of rest.
During the restless night I kept thinking that I would either skip the morning prayer meeting or skip my afternoon ministry and catch up on my sleep. I felt so much pain in my legs and I could not get comfortable no matter what I did. I prayed that the pain would go away, so I could finally get some rest, but it didn’t happen. But I woke up feeling surprisingly rested. How could that be? I didn't fall asleep until after 2 am and I remember being awake from 4 to 5:30 and then again at 6:30 and 7:30. It didn't make sense that I felt ready to start the day. I realized He must have big plans for me today. I didn't want to skip any of those things anyway, and on top of my regular ministries I had planned to help our contact with some administrative duties. I got ready and set out to have a very busy, but productive day.
I had packed a lunch to be able to start administrative tasks immediately after the prayer meeting and when we saw the pastor, he informed us that his meetings had been switched around and he actually needed the administrative folks to show up 2 hours earlier than normal. Perfect! I was already ahead of the game. I set out to burn 50 CDs of a presentation that I had spent the previous days translating to Romanian from English (using Google translate and my minimal translating skills). I made some progress before it was time for me to walk to my afternoon kids club.
Jessica, who normally goes with me, had stayed behind to support raise. Another sister, Marian, had badly wanted to come along, so it was the perfect opportunity. We walked briskly the couple of miles to the house, and were greeted by the kids running to us in the street as usual. That is always the moment where my spirits are lifted no matter what kind of mood I am in. Nothing can beat the hugs I get from those kids!
We all piled into a room and the fun began. Singing songs, Bible stories, hilarious answers to serious questions, and games filled the next 2 hours. When it was time to leave, I couldn't bare the thought, but we made the trek back toward the church. One of the local missionaries asked us over for coffee and though we were a little pressed for time, we gladly accepted. We had promised to clean out the pastor's van before the end of the day, but we can always make time for coffee and chatting. In the middle of a lovely bran muffin, our friend received a call saying that a man was dying and also a couple was coming for a surprise visit to the pastor's house for dinner. A surprise visit on the night before they are to leave town for a one month mission trip across Europe.
We prayed immediately and then set out to help in any way that we could. We cleaned the van in record time and headed over to the dying man's house to pray for him. He had cancer. It was clear that he only had a few hours to live. We entered a tiny room where he resting quite uncomfortably and we knelt down on the floor and began to read scripture and pray. I touched his leg and he felt like a skeleton. He was in a lot of pain. The man kept asking for the pastor by name, but saying that he was too afraid to accept Jesus as his savior.
We were just about to read/explain Luke 23:39-43 to him, about the criminal being crucified next to Jesus who believes moments before he dies. Jesus tells the man that he will be with him in paradise that day. The pastor arrived and had a conversation with the man in Romanian. We listed and prayed to ourselves. I kept repeating that wherever two or more are gathered in His name, there is love. And perfect love casts out all fear. We heard the man say "da da" (yes yes), but we were not sure what the context of the conversation was at that time. Before we knew it, people were saying "amen" and we were packing up to leave.
When we go to the van, we asked the pastor what was said and what had happened. He said that he had told the story of the criminal being crucified next to Jesus. The very story that my teammate Kristen had wanted to tell and the man had accepted Christ as His savior. It was a moment for celebration amid great sadness. It was the unexpected, but fitting ending to a day full of divine appointments and redirection.
My plan to go back to bed and sleep didn’t make sense. But what I went through last night was just a preparation. I could relate to him as he lay there. The pain and discomfort that I experienced was not as extreme as his. But I know what it is like to feel hurt, restless, tired, afraid, and heavy with burdens. Tho it seemed may have seemed logical after a night of no sleep to go back to bed, it wasn’t how His plan was supposed to unfold. And something deep in side me (that voice in your head that sounds smarter than you, that’s God) knew what I was supposed to do. As I explored World Race blogs before I began this journey, I often read that it would be the most amazing and hardest thing I have ever done. Today and every day, that is so very true.
My plan to go back to bed and sleep didn’t make sense. But what I went through last night was just a preparation. I could relate to him as he lay there. The pain and discomfort that I experienced was not as extreme as his. But I know what it is like to feel hurt, restless, tired, afraid, and heavy with burdens. Tho it seemed may have seemed logical after a night of no sleep to go back to bed, it wasn’t how His plan was supposed to unfold. And something deep in side me (that voice in your head that sounds smarter than you, that’s God) knew what I was supposed to do. As I explored World Race blogs before I began this journey, I often read that it would be the most amazing and hardest thing I have ever done. Today and every day, that is so very true.I didn't sleep well last night. I've been having a lot of back pain and a late dinner involving cheese gave me leg cramps. I should have known. I always get leg cramps if I eat a salty food before bedtime! But our contacts were leaving and we decided to cook them tacos, complete with homemade tortillas. I couldn't pass it up, but dinner didn't start until after 9 pm, so the cramps were inevitable. So combining the leg cramps, neck and back pain, and this cold/cough that I can't seem to shake, didn't give me a lot of rest.
During the restless night I kept thinking that I would either skip the morning prayer meeting or skip my afternoon ministry and catch up on my sleep. I felt so much pain in my legs and I could not get comfortable no matter what I did. I prayed that the pain would go away, so I could finally get some rest, but it didn’t happen. But I woke up feeling surprisingly rested. How could that be? I didn't fall asleep until after 2 am and I remember being awake from 4 to 5:30 and then again at 6:30 and 7:30. It didn't make sense that I felt ready to start the day. I realized He must have big plans for me today. I didn't want to skip any of those things anyway, and on top of my regular ministries I had planned to help our contact with some administrative duties. I got ready and set out to have a very busy, but productive day.
I had packed a lunch to be able to start administrative tasks immediately after the prayer meeting and when we saw the pastor, he informed us that his meetings had been switched around and he actually needed the administrative folks to show up 2 hours earlier than normal. Perfect! I was already ahead of the game. I set out to burn 50 CDs of a presentation that I had spent the previous days translating to Romanian from English (using Google translate and my minimal translating skills). I made some progress before it was time for me to walk to my afternoon kids club.
Jessica, who normally goes with me, had stayed behind to support raise. Another sister, Marian, had badly wanted to come along, so it was the perfect opportunity. We walked briskly the couple of miles to the house, and were greeted by the kids running to us in the street as usual. That is always the moment where my spirits are lifted no matter what kind of mood I am in. Nothing can beat the hugs I get from those kids!
We all piled into a room and the fun began. Singing songs, Bible stories, hilarious answers to serious questions, and games filled the next 2 hours. When it was time to leave, I couldn't bare the thought, but we made the trek back toward the church. One of the local missionaries asked us over for coffee and though we were a little pressed for time, we gladly accepted. We had promised to clean out the pastor's van before the end of the day, but we can always make time for coffee and chatting. In the middle of a lovely bran muffin, our friend received a call saying that a man was dying and also a couple was coming for a surprise visit to the pastor's house for dinner. A surprise visit on the night before they are to leave town for a one month mission trip across Europe.
We prayed immediately and then set out to help in any way that we could. We cleaned the van in record time and headed over to the dying man's house to pray for him. He had cancer. It was clear that he only had a few hours to live. We entered a tiny room where he resting quite uncomfortably and we knelt down on the floor and began to read scripture and pray. I touched his leg and he felt like a skeleton. He was in a lot of pain. The man kept asking for the pastor by name, but saying that he was too afraid to accept Jesus as his savior.
We were just about to read/explain Luke 23:39-43 to him, about the criminal being crucified next to Jesus who believes moments before he dies. Jesus tells the man that he will be with him in paradise that day. The pastor arrived and had a conversation with the man in Romanian. We listed and prayed to ourselves. I kept repeating that wherever two or more are gathered in His name, there is love. And perfect love casts out all fear. We heard the man say "da da" (yes yes), but we were not sure what the context of the conversation was at that time. Before we knew it, people were saying "amen" and we were packing up to leave.
When we go to the van, we asked the pastor what was said and what had happened. He said that he had told the story of the criminal being crucified next to Jesus. The very story that my teammate Kristen had wanted to tell and the man had accepted Christ as His savior. It was a moment for celebration amid great sadness. It was the unexpected, but fitting ending to a day full of divine appointments and redirection.
My plan to go back to bed and sleep didn’t make sense. But what I went through last night was just a preparation. I could relate to him as he lay there. The pain and discomfort that I experienced was not as extreme as his. But I know what it is like to feel hurt, restless, tired, afraid, and heavy with burdens. Tho it seemed may have seemed logical after a night of no sleep to go back to bed, it wasn’t how His plan was supposed to unfold. And something deep in side me (that voice in your head that sounds smarter than you, that’s God) knew what I was supposed to do. As I explored World Race blogs before I began this journey, I often read that it would be the most amazing and hardest thing I have ever done. Today and every day, that is so very true.
