Month three in Romania has come and gone in what seemed like no time at all (slightly delayed on this post due to lack of internet access). While in Romania, we were partnered with Barnabas Ministries in the town of Sebis. The family we stayed with and ministered with were Dan and Maria Hurrelbrink. Dan, who is originally from the US, came to Romania in the early 90’s and his wife Maria was born and raised in Romania. They also have three children of their own and are currently the foster parents of five additional children that have been living with them for over two years now.
While we were partnered with this ministry we experienced a wide spectrum of opportunities: home visits, children’s ministry, youth ministry, grass cutting ministry (might have been my favorite of the month), outreach to gypsy families, etc.
The Hurrelbrinks were gracious enough to invite us into their home and treat us as part of the family while we were staying with them. They made us a part of their everyday life, from helping take/pickup the children from school to making plum jam from scratch (comprised of stirring for about six hours over an open fire).
One of the memories that will stick with me the most from this month happened while we were riding with the Hurrelbrinks out to a property they own that they hold youth camps at, in a town of 28 people. It is full of fruit and nut trees and it requires a lot of attention and work to keep it up. A large portion of the trip requires driving on a dirt and gravel road that is most of the time pretty empty from other people. This particular day, Dan and Maria had just finished telling us about how they had an issue with theft on the property and with so few people around the suspects were minimal. As we rounded a bend in the road we happened to see a man stumble into about a five-foot deep ditch on the side of the road. Immediately Dan stopped the van to assist the man, and mentioned he thought that it was a man from the village, to which we were headed, who was known as a heavy drinker. They then told us that the man they thought was in the ditch was also the man who had been caught with their stolen possessions just the year before.
I was immediately struck with a sense of conviction by what they had just told me, would I have stopped the car if I was at home to help out someone I knew had stolen from me? The truthful answer probably not, actually if I’m being honest then NO I wouldn’t. But then I asked myself why wouldn’t I? The Bible calls Christians to live their life to a higher standard and to put others before ourselves. But if we are being honest how often can we truly say that we are doing something 100% for the Glory of God and expect nothing back in return on our end?
But back to the story, as the van came to a stop and we made our way over to help this man out of the ditch it turned out it wasn’t the man that had stolen from them but a older man who was a widower, suffering from dementia, and was returning from a visit to his wife’s grave. We were able to pick up this man and take him the remainder way to the town.
Then I had a bit of another revelation: what would have happened if they hadn’t stopped the van because they thought it was the guy that stole their stuff in the ditch? How many times do we avoid doing a good deed because of a personal issue? What we don’t take into consideration is all the blessings that we are missing out on just because we put ourselves before what we are called to do as Christians.
Candace and I both appreciate very much all the time and effort that the Hurrelbrink’s spent incorporating us into their ministry and their lives. They live their lives for the Lord whole-heartedly and taught us so many lessons in that respect whether it was intentional or not.
We have many pictures from the last month but due to our current living situation in India we do not have the capability to upload pictures to this blog but when we have the opportunity we will post them. We do have some posted to our profiles on Facebook and you can see them there.
Look forward to updates from India coming soon!
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