I have nothing to offer
So far I’ve been in Lipova for a week and this is a beautiful, quiet and peaceful town. This week has been one of rest, worship and working in a farm. On Friday one of the pastors of the town invited us to a kids service in one village, and then to a prayer service in another. That afternoon we took off to the adventure.
Everyone who knows me knows that my focus and weakness, besides chocolate, are children. When we arrived at the church, the pastor asked if we wanted to see where the kids live. He took us to a poor area, the gypsy area, where the living conditions aren’t the best. Some of these kids have to endure cold and hunger. The pastor explained to us that a common way that families make a living is through prostitution. He said that in each house at least one woman is a prostitute.
That night we played, sang and worshiped with the kids. It was a magical night for me filled with laughter, hugs and love. After that service we left for the next one, bringing some of the teenagers with us. On the ride over to the church I connected with two beautiful girls named Larissa and Ionela. When I was worshiping and praying with these girls, I saw a huge passion and desire for God in them, something that is hard to find sometimes. At the end of the service Larissa was crying and left the room. I followed her with one of the teachers of the kid’s service to see what was going on. Larissa didn’t want to share what was wrong, and then it hit me. I thought, who was I that I could help this little girl from this gypsy community where she could end up prostituting herself for money, starving or just living a life far away from Jesus thanks to the pressures of her circumstances. Who was I? …. No one. What do I have to offer that can sustain her? … pretty much nothing.
That night I was so frustrated. I thought, what is my purpose on this journey? That question has awaken in me a hunger for God’s presence that I’ve never had before. He has made me realize that the only thing I can bring to these kids is His presence, and in order to be able to do that, I need to be filled of Him. This world is so corrupt, and it’s so filled with evil. It’s so ugly that the only hope is Jesus; the only hope is in His presence. So please help me. Pray that I may continue searching for His presence so that these kids may see Him, too.
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