So much as happened in the last month in Romania. Looking back throughout the past weeks here, I can talk about all the Lord has taught me and the ways I have grown. iSquad (44 people) reached over 10,000 people in the Southern part of Romania this month. Several of the different ministries I was blessed to be part of were…
• Prayer Walks
• New Testament Project (Handing out New Testament Bibles to people)
• Children’s Ministry with the Gypsy Children
• Hospital ministry- praying and talking with patients
• Helping and caring for Widows
• Jericho Prayer Walks around the University
• Intercession of Worship and Prayer
• Babysitting
• Religion Survey Project
• Eyeglass Project
• Community Cleanup Project
Through these projects, the Lord made it clear to me of lessons to be learned that shaped my heart and soul. Experiencing new pieces of Him and having him reveal himself have made me strive to go deeper; deeper in who He has made me to be and who He is.
P is a simple letter. However, when mixed with other letters, the letter “P” has endless capabilities for revelation with power from the Holy Spirit and Scripture.
Papa has spoken to me through words and phrases that started with the letter “P”. He has also confirmed these words again and again by scripture, other people, songs, and through prayer throughout the month.
• Patience in the Planting. -Psalm 27:14
He called us to plant the seeds this month of His love. Getting the opportunity to personally gift a bible to someone who has never physically held the Word of God before was the most honorable task I have ever been asked to do. One lady in particular started crying as soon as she knew we were Christians and wanted us to pray for her. We all prayed by faith she would be healed and though it was very difficult to leave without seeing immediate results, the Lord reminded me to plant the seeds of Him and be faithful to Him by believing He will bring results in His own timing.
• Power of Prayer. -James 5:13-18
One day, my team went to a wall that was in the center of the city. This wall is known for being the meeting place for the Mason group/Illuminati. Going there in prayer meant going to battle; Battling the darkness with the Light. The Light of Jesus is so much more powerful than any darkness Satan holds. While praying over this wall, the Lord took me to Isaiah 45. I had not yet read this passage so I knew it was straight from Papa. He wanted me to pray this Chapter over a city that does not declare Him as Lord. A city that lives in darkness and has been numb to their sins and refuse to repent. Reading Isaiah 45 for the first time while sitting in the center of darkness brought tears to my eyes knowing how saddened The Creator of this world and these people must be watching from above. Isaiah 45 repeats 10 times “For I am God, there is no other.” In verse 5 He states, “I am the Lord, there is no other God. I have equipped you for battle. 13- “He will restore my city and free my captive people.”
• Praying Persistently and with Perseverance. -1 Thessalonians 5:17
NEVER STOP PRAYING.
Even when it feels like the prayers are never going to be answered, even when it hurts so bad, even when you are too broken to talk, even when you prayed for it yesterday, even when you feel alone, even when you feel like its pointless, even when you don’t know exactly how to pray, even when you have never prayed before, even when you don’t feel Him, even when you feel like you are unworthy of praying…
PRAY ANYWAYS. PRAY, PRAY, and PRAY again. THERE IS POWER IN PRAYER.
• Papa’s Plans are Perfect.
Be faithful and joyful in the season of waiting because His timing is so much more perfect than ours.
• Praise in the Pain. -Habakkuk 3:17-19
• Peace in His Presence. 1 Thessalonians 5:23
Understanding the beauty of the Cross and finally believing it in my heart how much He truly loves me today, exactly as I am. In Greece, watching the beautiful sunrise, I simply asked Papa to tell me how much he loves me. I clearly heard the Holy Spirit ask me, “Nicole, how much do you love this sunrise?” I answered in my heart, “Lord, you know how much I love this sunrise… Sunrises and sunsets are my love language. I would stay here forever if I could.” And my Heavenly Father replied, “The amount you love this sunrise is just a speck of how much I love and cherish you, Nicole.”
There is no greater peace than being in the presence of our Creator.
• Purify my Heart. -Psalm 51:7,10 & 86:11-12
Last month, the Lord really worked on my heart. He has been healing me of my past wounds and truly purifying my heart. I can feel myself being purified in the blood of Christ and I am living as a vessel for Him. Within the first week of Romania, I was given these two verses by two different people. Jesus was confirming my heart change and decision to live higher in Him. Purifying my heart has been my heart cry these past two months.
• Peacemaker. -James 3:17-18
• Papa’s Perfect Love
“God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. There is no fear in love, because perfect love casts out all fear.” -1 John 4:16, 18
These verses came to life when we did Kid’s Club with the Gypsy Children. These children craved to be loved and we craved to show them that love. Love that comes directly from Jesus. The way Jesus loves us is so pure and with no conditions. One young girl named Georgiana, who is around 5 years old, completely stole my heart this month. She would run into my arms every week and just wanted to be held and to play in my arms. She loved to grab two of us and have us swing her using our hands. She would play with my hair and sit in our laps. This kind of love showed me what Jesus is craving from us. He is so ready to embrace us and hold us. He wants me to grab his hand when I walk and sit in His lap when we have had a great day or a terrible night and tell him all about it. He is always waiting on us and wants our full attention in every activity, just like the children of the Gypsy community.
• Pour out what He has Poured in. -Matthew
I got the opportunity to read through the entire book of Matthew. Jesus poured out everything He had on all of us throughout his life here on Earth. And now He asks us to go make disciples and share of his love and what he has done. To pour out what He has poured into me. To Preach the Good News.
• Pursuing Him Daily. -Psalm 63, Romans 12:2
It is a daily choice to pursue God as he pursues us. I have gotten to the point where I crave to dig deeper. It is shaping who I am and knowing that the best offense and defense I can have against the enemy is becoming who God created me to be is the greatest reward of that choice.
• Pain into JOY -Psalm 45:7, John 8:36
Being able to tell my testimony and story to people is a humbling experience because it isn’t my story to tell. It is ultimately Christ’s story. His story of being in my life from beginning to end and redeeming me. It has brought me such joy to talk about the pain I have experienced and how God has transformed me. Connecting with others through pain brings hope because the cross. The cross is why we can have joy in our pain. Christ died so that we could have eternal joy. Christ died so we could be set FREE!
• Releasing my Past and living in the Present of His truths! -John 5, Galatians 2:20
I am NEW.
I am CLEAN.
I am WORTHY.
I am ENOUGH.
I am SPOTLESS.
I am BEAUTIFUL.
I am a TEMPLE.
I am a DAUGHTER OF A KING.
I am BELOVED.
I am CHOSED.
I am ADOPTED.
I am HEALED.
I am RESTORED.
I am FORGIVEN.
I am FREE.
• Pressing through crowd and pressing into Him. -Mark 5:21-34
There are so many little things that can distract us from Christ. Pressing though the uncertainty of being in a different country, language barriers, missing out on the things at home, living in a house with 43 other people with one bathroom, having no privacy, forgiving my own past, waiting patiently on the Lord to answer prayers, or the other 100 things that are going on. Pressing through all that, digging into the Word, being constantly in prayer and the joy of a Christian community is so worth it. It is the best decision I have ever done and this decision is never ending.
To me, Romania means all these words that start with “P”. Romania means to pray, press in, purify, pursue, and to praise Jesus with everything I have. I can’t wait to find out what Jesus has for me, my team (Beloveds), and iSquad in Bulgaria this month!
“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” -1 Corinthians 2:9
