Hello everyone!
I would like to apologize for not having blogged for a while. Honestly it has been difficult, as I commonly feel that I can only blog after I have encountered God in a new way or have learned something incredible or vulnerable or feel as if have something insightful to say. Despite how it may appear, the race is much like every day life. It is easy to move through the day without a “spiritual breakthrough,” and furthermore, it is the same as normal life in terms of feelings of disconnection from God or just not feeling anything in a day. However, it was after my mom thought I was literally dead that I realized it had indeed been a long time since I had blogged. So for that, I apologize. I value the prayers of those following my journey immensely and I do believe it is important to consistently update you all regardless of how profound my words are.
My team and I have made it to Serbia safely. We are staying in a town called Sombor. Sombor is truly wonderful. It is a charming Eastern European town full of truly interesting people. When we stepped off the plane, we were hit with a wall of bitter cold air, and the overwhelming realization that “we aren’t in Thailand anymore.” We are working with one other team this month and living at a Protestant church (one of two in the town). Our host is extremely passionate about using our gifts and interests to foster friendships with people in the community. Through the building of relationships, we will continue to encourage believers here in their walks with Christ and will pursue those in the community who do not necessarily have an understanding of who He is. Our host yearns for a religious revival of his community, as he feels a level of spiritual oppression in this somewhat jaded culture that for so many years has been defined by its Eastern Orthodox tradition. I have to admit, although I immediately fell in love with this town as it reminded me of other beautiful European cities I might have visited in my year of studying abroad in Germany, I could also nearly immediately sense the spirit that overwhelms Sombor. Within a few hours of walking around the city and within the first few interactions, I observed a common narrative that wove itself through the words of nearly everyone I met that day. “Boring,” “not exciting,” “not much to see,” “it gets old.” These descriptive judgments of Sombor made by locals who have lived here all their life were not necessarily glowing reports of the people and things in the town. While the dreary wintry snow and barren trees that line the cobble stone streets certainly contribute to an overall vibe of melancholy, I believe there is a contagious feeling of complacency, routine, and boredom. As we explored the town on the first day, I noticed sullen shop owners whose eyes lit with interest at the sight of unfamiliar faces when we walked in their virtually empty stores, and older wrinkled men who mechanically trudged through the snow without any visible sign of excitement or joy. It was not until we passed a rowdy group of teenagers recently dismissed from class playfully throwing snowballs at each other on their walk home from school that I recognized any sign of vigor or life. Coming from the colorful, loud, and spicy land of tuk-tuks and jaywalking that was Thailand, there was something beautiful about the order and seemingly sterile environment I immediately observed. However, there was also something terribly sad in it. The city felt drained of hope. It felt almost as if the city had given up a fight they knew was lost. As Christians, we know Christ holds the victory. I strongly believe The Lord sent Zoltan (our host, aka Zolly) to rally the people of Sombor and that He continually sends teams to this community because the battle is not over. Even in an area of the world that is deeply entrenched and misled by a history of orthodox practice and thought, Jesus has chosen these people to be His children if they so choose, and has not given up nor will ever give up on them.
With that being said, our ministry is one of my favorite structures of ministry yet. As I shared, Zolly wants us to use our passions to reach the community. For instance, because I like dance, I am trying to join a salsa class here in town. Because others on the team enjoy baseball, they are going to help coach a team here. Because others have knowledge of photography, they will be hosting an info session on how to take impressive shots on a smartphone. The ministry is incredibly relational, and after our daily prayer walks in the morning, we are free to live our lives in the town with the intention of making connections and building those relationships throughout the month. In many cases, we stand on the shoulders of teams who came before us, fostering friendships they formed while they were here, but in other cases we are working to organically find individuals who have not yet been reached in Sombor and develop relationships with them.
This month is solidifying a lesson I learned last month in Thailand on multiple occasions. Sometimes on the race, there is a pressure that when we are evangelizing we seek out individuals who have never heard of Christ and lead them to a powerful encounter with Him that convicts them of their sinful nature and ultimate need for a Savoir, guiding them to salvation. It’s amazing when this happens. But this mindset can also be problematic. I have certainly dealt with anxieties in past months of, “I am the last Christian you will ever talk to so I better tell you right now everything I’ve ever known about the Gospel and who God is to me before I leave and you die!!” There is almost a panic or an urgency, and in some cases I feel as if I have prematurely shared the Gospel. This might sound problematic in itself. Is there ever a time too soon to share the Gospel? Isn’t the “Good News” so wonderful that there is a certain urgency? Absolutely, we should boldly testify to our faith, and most likely, there will never be a completely comfortable time to slide it in the conversation. And certainly, the Gospel, inherently, is an urgent message. However there is a difference between awknowledging these things and also being mindful of the person’s heart and their receptivity and willingness to receive. Many times I have not invited the Holy Spirit into the process to make me aware of the line between my plan and what I think is right and what God is calling me to do or say.
A few weekends ago some of my team and I went on a trip to Pai, Thailand. Over two days, I met incredible people from all over the world. All of them were not believers. It was through the development of sincere friendship with these people that I realized what evangelism is at its core. Evangelism is making friends. Evangelism is living a life every day that is patterned after how Christ would live. It is providing witness through action and words to who He is and who He has made us to be. It is being bold in faith and honest in testimony and asking the Holy Spirit to grant discernment that will inform what to say and do. Sometimes it ends in holding someone’s hand as you walk with them into the light of a new relationship with Jesus, but sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes you are able to share every small thing the Lord has done in and through you and sometimes you are not given the opportunity to even share that you are a Christian. Evangelism can be an unexpected smile to a stranger in a busy store or a long, philosophical discussion with an atheist. I’ve begun to understand evangelism at its core to simply be friendship.
All that to say, I am so ready for all the new friends this month.
