We arrived in Transnistria on a chilly Saturday night. As we sat in the storage closet that was to be our room for this month, this tiny little lady in ski pants and a jacket came in with the pastors sons and started clearing out the mess.
As we lived in our little storage room this month, I’ve gotten to know this lady as Tamara. She and her husband live in a teeny tiny apartment at the church office. It is about the size of our laundry room at home. They are very content and both work for the church.
Tamara is a feisty little lady. She likes to be in charge and have things her way. Pastor Yuri said if she doesn’t like the way you do things, she will do it herself! Haha. I love this stubborn woman. At first she was very shy and wary of us. I made it my goal to break her walls down.
As the month has gone by she and I have formed a friendship. She tickles my side, gives me sweet hugs, grabs my hand for a squeeze, and always shoots me a sweet smile as she says good morning. I try to help her in little ways but like Pastor Yuri said, she likes to do things herself.
Tamara is on the praise team at church and she gets it every Sunday. Arms high, she sings her heart out to the Lord. One of my teammates has been in serious pain from a very severe back injury and has been in bed all week crying from the pain. On Wednesday this week, Tamara came in and knelt down beside her and prayed in Russian for my teammate. My teammate said it was one of the most touching things that has happened on the race. One morning this week, she brought us breakfast(she cooks us breakfast and dinner everyday) and was just singing praises to the Lord. I have seen her joy grow this month with us there, and I know that my joy has been increased because of her. She is always yelling at us to put on shoes when we go outside because she thinks we will get sick from being barefoot! And we will damage our bodies by sitting on the cold concrete.
God has blessed me with so many people to love. While I know she loves all of us, I hope and believe I hold a special place in her heart just like she does in mine.
