It has been an interesting month. I have honestly felt dry and wondered my place here in Serbia. To be honest, it wasn’t what I had expected. For the most part, I have felt spoiled, with having my own bed and hot running water to shower. Toilets are almost everywhere in Europe and most places have wifi and credit card swipes. It’s still a first world country and I get to have my daily comforts. When I signed up for the world race, I thought, complete abandonment. What I have had to abandon is my misconceptions and expectations. God can show up anywhere and this is a great practice for me to use back home. I just have to be willing to listen to what God is saying to me.
As I said, I had felt dry this month and a little discouraged. The younger generation can speak English fairly well, but most adults cannot. I’ve struggled with trying to communicate with people and how can I share about the love of Jesus when you can’t understand what I’m saying and the language barrier.
This past Sunday I gave my testimony at church for the first time on the World Race. As most of you all know, I dislike public speaking with a passion! I was feeling nervous about speaking, and still discouraged about others hearing what I had to say and understanding me, but then someone changed my outlook. Before church began, a man named Stephen motioned for me to come to him. He and I have had a few interactions and tried to have conversations, but the language barrier seemed to always get in the way from my perspective. On Sunday, after he motioned for me to come to him, he gave me a kangaroo trinket. I was shocked.
This man doesn’t seem to have a lot, but here he is, giving ME a gift. Why? Because of the few “conversations” we had? I don’t really know. I don’t even know how to express the joy and compassion I had for him in that moment. It may not have seemed like much, but to me it was a treasure. He was happy just to be able to give me something. Sometimes words cannot express what a facial expression can. All smiles…
So there it is, abandonment can look differently. I just need to appreciate what I have now while it lasts and know God can work through anything and anyone, even with a language barrier. I hope to try to make a difference in every interaction I come in contact with. Please continue to pray for Serbia and the people here. Pray for Zoli and his church Protestant Christian Fellowship of Sombor, and please pray for continued renewal of my thoughts and my mind. Every interaction matters and every conversation counts.
