Wow so much time has passed since my last real “ministry” blog. There are reasons for this that I will reveal as I begin to catch up on my blogging. So let’s jump right in.
Moe! Oh my gosh. Where are you? Where have you been? What has God been teaching you?!
Let me start with this….
I am working with a church in small city called Floresti in small country called Moldova….
…and it has been AWESOME!
Moldova was one of the many countries on my route I had either never heard of or would not be able to win the final round of Jeopardy if I had to locate it on a map. (yikes…I think I’m revealing my natural “American-ness” and my age. Does anybody even watch this show anymore? Haha)
In our first few days here, we were asked to help out with the church's kids presentation about Indians.
Great I’m excited! I don’t know anything about people from India but would love to help in any way I can!
Yea….no, not people from India but […insert Native American chant here]. Oh and also we would like for your to be our indian chief and present the golden feather to the child who wins the competition we’ve put together.
(insert thoughts of whether or not you are being “politically" correct)
Picture this for a second, me dressed in the most “native” attire that could be found/made in a small Russian and Romanian speaking country. Having a little trouble? Here! Just look at this picture below.
This was the Gold feather winner and new chief! 🙂
Honestly, this one of the most fun times I’ve had on the race and the kids loved it.
This was really just the start of what has been one of my favorite months on the race.
So on to our “official” ministry. Two words…..grannies and flash mob.
Starting with the first thing, our ministry this month was helping elderly women otherwise known as “grannies”. Everyday for the first 2ish weeks we got up and packed bags of food that included dry goods and some canned items. They also receive a little money to help with other needs and there were also some days when they received clothes as well. Since many of these women were a lot older and some widows, they weren’t really working nine to fives. So it helped to have some of their basic needs provided.
As if helping old ladies wasn’t a blessing enough, these women were seriously the most loving and giving people I have ever encountered. There were several times we got the chance to help these ladies bring their things back to their homes but this is where they would get you!
It was next to IMPOSSIBLE to leave without being fed a full meal and straight up being served by women who should have someone serving them. They would hug and kiss you and show you all their pictures of their kids and grandkids.
But Moe, My grandma does this all the time…what’s so cool about this?
Well, I actually don’t know my grandparents nor have I had the chance to meet them so this is all a new experience for me. I’m not used to all this crazy affection and people actually pinching your cheeks!
…God has really given me a lot of first on this trip…
Anyway, these women were awesome and God just really used them to restore some joy I had lost during the previous month. (more on that in the blog to come)
Ok on to the next thing. As I mentioned we did this for the first 2ish weeks. After a while the granny ministry began to die down and our flash mob ministry started to take shape.
So here's the deal.
I have the privilege of being on a team with an awesome married woman of the Lord named Bekah Spurgeon! Before coming on the race, she and her husband Josh lived in LA, California where God allowed her to use her job as a professional dancer to love and minister to other dancers she met. God has frequently used her love for worship through dance on the race to serve the ministries we’ve been a part of. Seriously, she is awesome and she and Josh are truly an answered prayer of mine. I love them! Check out their blog.
Josh and Bekah….this picture barely shows their personalities…
Moving along, the church was planning a festival where the kids could come and play and adults could hang out and enjoy some live music. They also wanted to present the church as a part of the community and place for them to come to as well. So with that they asked Bekah to plan a flash mob and that is exactly what she did. She spent her days looking for music, choreographing and then also teaching it to all the kids, adults, and world racers there.
The day of the festival came and despite the fact that it rained for a little, it was awesome! (wow I need some new words in my vocabulary. Lol). Seriously! It was fantastic! The people had no idea it was going to happen, hence the name flash mob. Everyone loved it and really enjoyed themselves. The kids had their faces painted, played on inflatables, and the adults got to just sit and socialize. I also became a local celebrity because of my glorious skin color and I’m pretty sure about half of Floresti now have pictures of me in their possession. I have a new found respect for celebrities! (Currently, I’m planning to write a blog about being black on the race….yea get ready to laugh.)
This month was just fun and again I’ve been blessed more then I feel like I blessed them. If I’ve learned anything this month it is that literally God can use anything and everything to his glory. Also, that God’s ministry can seriously look like anything, even like you dressed up as a Native American chief.
