Dreams and a baby goat…
It is a beautiful thing to find yourself in places you’d never have dreamed you would be, and realize it’s where you wanted to be all along.
We want purpose. We want progress. We want life and adventure beyond the comfort of our cozy couches, and rightfully so.
What if that leads you to find yourself squatting in front of a red tub washing your dishes, or holding a little boy’s hand whom you can’t communicate with, for the language barrier?
One of two things will happen if you dare to dream. You will either end up living the dream, or you won’t. Or… maybe it’ll be alittle of both.
Maybe, just maybe, you’ll find yourself in Narnia. A placed you fantasized, and realized it’s real. Real, but with so many surprises you hadn’t anticipated.
I have some pretty big dreams set in place. I believe we all do. And lately I’ve been thinking a lot about those dreams and also the possibility of them looking quite different than “the world I was gonna make”.
Here in Craiova, Romania, we are meeting more people and making friends every day. This month has been a beautiful experience so far.
The very first day we were in Craiova, Alyssa and I got into the car with two boys we did not yet know, Dennis and Emanuel, and drove to the Roma neighborhood for an afternoon ministry of which we had no idea what to expect.
Dennis took his guitar and we took a big box of chocolate bars. Turns out we just threw a random party in the middle of the street as children, mothers, and fathers flocked from every direction and joined the merry crowd.
Dennis made up songs about Jesus and the kids repeated the lines. We passed out chocolate, played games with chocolate, held kids and sang.
This kid came trotting down the street and joined the party too.
For me, this afternoon was also the beginning of a very real interest in and love for the Roma people.
That interest has even provoked thought of compromise to my ”dreams”. What if I’d return to Craiova?
What if?
Bad dogs and good dogs…
Last week as Alyssa and I were on an evening stroll, talking as we walked, we suddenly met up with four unfriendly dogs. Before I knew what was happening one of them bit me in the leg. A man yelled at them and they all retreated behind the gate of the home we’d just passed.
Raul told us that it is a common practice for Romanians to “curse” their animals and even their children to Satan. How crazy to think that this dog may have been cursed that way! I guess it should be no surprise that the enemy will lash out at us, be it even through the mouth of dogs.
In Philippians, Paul says to beware of dogs. I never before thought of that to mean something so literal, tho I realize that’s not actually what he was referring to in his context.
I love dogs.
This incident, though, has birthed in me a fear of dogs that I acknowledged a few days later when we were walking again and we met dogs along the street. When I saw a dog up ahead I would pray that we don’t cross paths, and I was ready to take a different street if he started our direction. That is very unusual for me.
They next morning in prayer with the team I confessed my fear. Later that day we went to the park to meet with people, build relationships, and invite them to the socializing event we’re having later this month. That’s when I met Aslan.
Aslan is a beautiful chow chow (which literally means puffy-lion) dog. His owners introduced us to him, his wife, (as they called her), Mia, and their puppy child. We asked if the dogs are friendly. They said yes and that we could pet them. It was so great!
I loved Aslan. What a good dog!
What redemption from the Lord, delivering me from that fear and bringing me to Aslan, who in Narnia, represents none but God Himself!!
