I am beyond exhausted. 10 months of traveling will do that to you. I am constantly changing countries, foods, climates, you name it, and my poor body just needs a break. Let me tell you, I love my days off. As in, I look forward to them the entire week. I know, I am a terrible missionary. Sometimes though, I just want a break. I want to sit in a room completely alone and not have to talk to anyone or lift a finger for an entire weekend. Okay, let’s make that an entire month once I return home. I deserve it right?
Maybe not. On Saturday morning when I woke up my first thoughts were of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. He didn’t take breaks. He was constantly surrounded by people. He retreated only to pray and even then, he was usually interrupted. He handled these situations with grace and a supernatural amount of patience and love.
I should have known that if God was speaking these things to me first thing in the morning on my day OFF that my day was not going to go as planned. My team was told that there was a change in plans and we would be having lunch at the home of our contact and then delivering food in a nearby gyspy village. After a limited amount of grumbling, we were on our way.
What a blessing the day turned out to be.
First off, I met the sweetest girl from England named Pollyanna. She came to Romania for a four day mission trip and put me to shame with her enthusiasm and passion for missions. She spoke life into my team and renewed our energy with her encouraging words. She reminded us that we are lights in this hurting world and that even if our lack of energy has slightly dimmed us, we are still lights in the darkness and are still being used. What a little fire-breather this girl turned out to be.
Onward to the gypsy village. This little community was located at the garbage tip which basically means these people live among piles of trash. Their homes are hidden away and made out of rugs and scraps located within the dump. Because these people are perceived as criminals and have lost many of their rights, they have retreated away from society. They have formed their own communities and generally are very poor and uneducated. We were able to meet them today and provide them with bags of groceries. I hope that they experienced the love of God this afternoon.
These people literally live in a dump. They have made their houses among piles of trash. And I complained about not getting a couple hours off today. What must God think of me some days?
I love how sometimes God just yanks me out of the mediocre and hands me something so much better through lessons learned and divine interactions. I grumble and complain and attempt to explain to Him how tired I am and how hard I have been working but thankfully He doesn’t let me sit in my filth. He brings people to breathe back life into my and gives me a far better day than I would have had laying in my bed.
These are the moments I came on this trip to live. The moments that matter.
