sometimes things don’t turn out exactly as you plan
We left Moldova on a Saturday. Packed up our bags the night before, we only had a few more things to gather before stepping out the door. It was a little tough for Lauren and I to leave our host who had become such a large part of our experience in the last country of our World Race.
She had just joined the church we were working with one week before we rolled up in Moldova. One of the ladies at the church asked her if she’d be willing to take two girls in for 2 weeks, let them sleep at her place and cook them breakfast. She selflessly agreed and that how we met Valya.
She would take Lauren and I out around 
the town and show us the Balti she grew up in. We walked around a lake on the outer part of town. We asked her about her childhood and growing up. It wasn’t an easy one for her, she didn’t have her parents growing up, but she said she always clung to hope that God would take care of her.
One of her good friends came over one night and Laurenand I introduced the two of them to UNO. Sitting around the kitchen table, we drank tea and laughed. Our lighthearted game turned into a riveting discussion about healings and supernatural spiritual realm. Valya was a bit of a skeptic, we discussed what the bible said and shared our thoughts. Our conversation died down and we got back to our game. I lost.
Lauren and I felt pretty strongly that a huge part of our ministry in Moldova was with Valya – to get to know her, to encourage her. She was getting into regular bible studies at the church and we’d discuss the Bible and God at various points during our stay.
Valya was a feisty one. She had the biggest personality I met on the race.
I had got a nasty cold during the two weeks we stayed in Moldova. Despite all the refusal of meds and fuss over me, Valya made me many home remedies and bought me nasal spray and insisted I take all of them. She nursed me back to health, the fact that she was 3 years younger than me didn’t stop her from taking that motherly role.
We left and I was excited about the connection we made. I was so excited to see her grow in her relationship with God.
So much of our time there was laying a foundation.
That’s what I thought.
Less than a week later we landed in the U.S. We flew into New York and I decided to stay a few days. I was in Penn station just off a train and I got a phone call from one of my team mates. “I don’t know how to tell you this, but Valya is dead”
What?
For real? This doesn’t seem real. Are you sure? What happened? I don’t understand.
My team mate said that she died in a car accident.
I was stunned and void of emotion. I don’t really know exactly how to deal with death anyway and I know I take it much lighter than the average individual. It just didn’t make sense to me. I was so looking forward to hearing about Valya in the future. I thought there would be a future. I thought God put us there with her to invest in her.
God did put us there. But not to invest in the way I had once thought.
I suppose we’ll never truly understand these things.
I don’t know God’s plan. But I trust He does.
I miss Valya dearly.
