“Do the thing you think you cannot do”, is it a quote by a former first lady, or a motto in which we are called to live our lives as Christians? If you would have asked me six months ago, I would have said that it was simply a good quote by an exceptional woman. Ask me now, however, and I would have to acquiesce that it is something in which Christ has called us to live in.
Month 2 on the race proved to be a month that brought me clear into the “what I think I cannot do”. This past month, my entire squad (yes, all 44 of us) resided in what some of us affectionately called the “sorority house”, aka mission home, in Draganesti-Olt, Romania. The ministry that we had was of all variety, with each team being assigned to a specific missionary, and then partnering with their ministry. My personal team was divided for two different ministries, and the half that I was with were partnered directly with the head pastor of the church that we were ministering alongside of.
Last month, I took off my hat of what I thought ministry looked like, and was given another one of what God views ministry as, and worked has one of Raul’s (the head pastor) personal assistants in the church office. My work consisted of being the social media correspondent (thanks LifeWay for preparing me for that btw), sending emails, answering Raul’s phone, and annotating Raul’s meetings. To be honest, going into last month, I was really looking forward to working with the Roma children (the gypsy children), helping with church plants, or really anything that had me interacting with the community face to face on a daily basis. I was NOT prepared for a ministry that had me behind a computer at a desk for roughly eight hours everyday.
However, as I continued in this aspect of the ministry, I grew more aware of what it looks like to operate a ministry, and I became much more empathetic to not only Hope Church in Romania, but also the ministries that I partner with in the USA and around the world. I also grew to know Raul and his beautiful family on an intimate level, and I could sit for hours and talk about how this man and his wife and their kids are such light bringers for the Kingdom of God. I could tell you how Raul’s heart is to see every single person in his town come to know the unfathomable love that Abba has for them in such a way that it radically changes everything about them. I could tell you how Ana (his gorgeous wife) works tirelessly to help Hope Church spread joy to the entire community. I could tell you about how each one of their children are involved in the church, either through being the worship pastor, helping translate numerous times, to running the sound, to talking to countless people about Jesus, without once complaining. I could tell you how the entire Costea family comes together to serve Jesus well through loving others abundantly, but I would need a minimum of six hours to begin to accurately describe this to you. This past month, that was what I had the privilege of being apart of. I had the honor to watch how a family who loves Jesus enormously, loves others with the same exuberance. I was able to take some of the administration (along with three of my amazing teammates) responsibilities off of Raul, so that he could go and love, and in return, I learned that I can love and minister in whatever capacity the Lord has for me. Whether that is in a Roma community playing with kiddos, picking up trash along the highway in America, or doing office work in Romania, I have the opportunity to serve Jesus anywhere. The question is whether or not I will take that opportunity, whether any of us will. These past four weeks, I chose to take the beautiful opportunities that Abba gives me to love, regardless of the circumstances. What about you?? Will you say “yes” to Him as well???
“You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face.
Do the thing you think you cannot do.”
~Eleanor Roosevelt~
Some Pictures!
