As we all piled into the Scooby Doo van – there was an air of excitement and dread mixed into the quiet chatter and laughter.
We were going camping up in Naslavcea (nah-slahv-cha).
Not so scary except for the fact that my team would most likely be the only English-speaking people around for the week….Andrei and Larisa wouldn’t be around to translate this time.
The back of the van was filled with all our camping equipment and food for the week. Our first times using our tents and hammocks on the Race! – that was the exciting part. Making all our food over a fire, making a fire for every meal, sleeping in and waking-up to cold temperatures, and bathing in an ice-cold river was where the dread came in. Good thing we packed our winter-wear!
We arrived in Naslavcea – a small village that has one church, a post office, two tiny grocery stores, a community well, and a school that must be out of Laura Ingles Wilders time – and set to work staking our tents down and stringing up our hammocks.
This is our home/campsite for the week.
We bring all our food into the designated storage space, and shortly after, begin building the squatty-potty. Yes, our very own, brand new squatty-potty….compliments of Andrei Luca and Team Bellator. (You’re welcome future World Racers).
Soon thereafter, Larisa and Andrei trek back to Ocnita (our real home for the month), and we are left to our own devices….it kinda felt like the first day of kindergarten – where you’re trying to catch your bearings and make sense of your new surroundings, haha. Only this time, no one else but your team spoke the native tongue….
So why are we camping, you ask? Well let me tell you: Each year, Andrei and Larisa provide housing for an American Medical team that provides healthcare for the people of Moldova over the span of a week. The medical team just happened to be coming while we were in Moldova. In order to help with accommodations and convenience, our team went camping and the medical team stayed in our home. As world racers, we came prepared and had no objections to a new scenery with new ministry opportunities for the week! Who knows what God would have in store for us there!
Our first few days were spent cleaning up the land around the house. We cut down small trees, weeds, moved dead branches and placed it all in a big pile to burn later on. Each of us with a different tool – a handsaw, shovel, rake, pruners, an axe, and our hands. You can imagine the laughter that bubbled up from the look of us….each with our own special tool.
Once that was finished, we spent the rest of our time with an elderly woman named Neusa (Noosa). Our initial interactions with her were slightly awkward because of the language barrier. But the refreshing truth about love is that it has no need for translation – it’s universally understood without words. So instead of talking (though we did attempt), we loved her by helping her in her fields, sharing our food with her, praying with and for her, smiling and laughing with her, and eating our final meal with her. Everything we did was to SHOW her that we loved her – that God loved her. Our God has the key to language barriers – LOVE – He is the King of translation.
Each day of camping brought it’s own agenda, but one portion of each day was set in stone – visiting Neusa with a bowl full of food to give her and love to shower upon her. In the end, our goodbyes were exchanged by way of tears and toothless, sloppy kisses.
She is held dear in my heart and I will never forget our time with her. God paved the way for us to connect with Neusa via meal exchanges. Food began the journey that produced a lifelong memory for our team.
It’s true: God loves his children well – in a way they need it most. He knows what we need, when we need it. Don’t rush into something you think you need when God already has you covered. He will give you what you need, when you need it. Just another facet of patience and trusting that He’s got you! In the meantime, all He asks of us is to love one another better than ourselves and to love Him with all our hearts. So go out and love on people! Be the love that others need to see and receive. Allow Christ to flow through you and pour into others around you. Not only will they be full of His love, so will you.
Love is always a win-win when God’s involved.
