This has been the most challenging month for me so far. Let me just fill you in…
We are in a city called Targu Mures in Romania. This is a primarily Hungarian community within Romania. Almost no-one speaks Romanian. Most of the people that live here are either Hungarian or Gypsy. The Hungarian language is one of the most difficult languages to learn. I can see why. You have to say things with just the right accent to make any sense. My accent is evidently horrible because nobody understands me. Often, I find myself saying things in Spanish with the hopes that maybe they will understand THAT.
The pastor we are working with is an amazing man of God with a really clear vision for his church and a really huge passion for the people in this community. He is an amazing prayer warrior and he is teaching us new things every day. Our ministry has been slightly frustrating in that we don’t have very much direction. We are continuing to learn how to seek God’s direction for our day and to find ways to show Him in the little things that we do.
On Tuesdays and Thursdays, we basically go into Targu Mures and ask God what He wants us to do. We go to a park or we try to talk to people on the street. We just try to strike up conversations with people and invite them to church. It has proven very difficult because the people here are very closed off to foreigners. When we smile and wave, they look at us with as much disgust as possible as they contine walking along. I have had to resort to things like climbing trees and just being totally silly to attract any sort of attention. The language isn’t as much of a problem as I thought it would be. A LOT of people here know English. The Pastor said that the people are so closed off as a result of Communism. He says that they stopped trusting people and became very hard hearted. He says that it takes a LOT to break through to them. I can tell you from experience that it takes a LOT of energy to have a conversation because they never really talk back. They simply answer your questions and stare at you.
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n Wednesdays we get to go into the villages surrounding the city and do some ministry there. We do childrens ministry, which we all love. We pretty much get to play games and tell stories. The pastor translates for us and the kids really seem to love it that we are there. This Wednesday, we get to go play soccer with the boys in the Hungarian village, and that makes me very happy. We also go to a Gypsy village and that was a LOT of fun. The Gypsies are a LOT more open than the Hungarians were and they were VERY excited that we were there. We played with them for a LONG time and then told a story about David and Goliath. They ate it all up!
I am currently learning SO MUCH about how to listen to God’s voice. Being in a leadership position has totally humbled me and taught me SO MUCH. I am learning so much about trust, obedience, and love. He has been calling me again and again to vulnerability…which is SO hard for me. God keeps telling me over and over and over again to step up…to be bold and courageous…to be the mighty warrior He has called me to be. I am learning that finding my identity in Christ isn’t so much about me running forwards and DOING things, as much as it is about me listening to God’s voice and being obedient. He is continually keeping me on the edge of myself and I am continually having to jump off in huge leaps of faith. But every single time I jump off, HE is there… He is constantly talking to me, and I am constantly arguing with God and telling Him why I just can’t do what He is asking me to do. Through my experiences this month, I am learning to be confident in myself and the fact that I heard something from God…and that when I act in that confidence, it will be the exact thing I needed to do and I will have the strength to do it. It requires incredible amounts of faith and my faith has grown incredibly lately. I am learning that as long as I am faithful, available, and teachable…God can use me to do anything. That is what I want!!
