My month was spent in Cornesti, Moldova. We worked with Emmanuel Church. As part of our ministry this month we made home visits and shared Jesus Christ with members of the community. We worked with the children of the community in the afternoons playing games, encouraging them, and loving them like Jesus Christ loves them. We had the awesome opportunity to spend time at the church with the staff of the church and the children that live in the shelter.
A family at the shelter that I got the privilege of becoming exceptionally close to was Vico, Vica, and Veronica. Veronica is their mother, she is my age and has a 15 and 16 year old. Her 15 year old son, Vico, was diagnosed with bone cancer earlier this year and had his right leg amputated in May. After a few rounds of chemotherapy it was communicated that there was nothing else they could do except keep him comfortable. It was truly God that sent Vico home to the shelter while my team was serving in Cornesti.
So with all of that said, most of you know that before leaving for the race I was a social worker for Hospice of Huntington for 8 years. I am just going to say this was another divine appointment from God. In Moldova within their healthcare system there is nothing set up for end of life care. People are just sent home to wait. When Vico returned home from the hospital that last time I knew that God had placed me in Cornesti, Moldova for such a time as this.
The death of a loved one is a subject that is hard to discuss because there so much involved. It involves losing apart of yourself. Even at home working with Hospice the discussions with family members were difficult and those families realize what Hospice is about and the services that are provided. So, let me try to explain how difficult this conversation was, first off the language barrier was huge. They all speak Romanian but God provided Natasha a wonderful translator that has a heart for Jesus Christ. Then attempting to speak to Veronica about her 15 year old dying in a culture that does not acknowledge death and who are more comfortable with just allowing it to be the big elephant in the room was quite a challenge.
I was a nervous wreck when I was preparing for the conversation with Veronica, then I just stopped being nervous and took a deep breath and knew that God was going to get messages he thought most important conveyed between the two of us. She shared that she felt that Vico’s cancer was due to the fact that she had stopped attending church. I made sure that she carried no guilt about this and explained that Vico is sick due to living in a sinful world and that she was doing all that she could which consisted of being by his side and providing his every need. Our actual conversation was about an hour. During this conversation, Veronica shared with me that Vico does not know that he has only 1 month to live and the Vica, her 16 year old daughter knows everything about his illness because she is the only person there is to depend on. I encouraged Veronica to sit and have a hard conversation with Vico regarding his illness and the freedom that could bring him to have conversations with the people he needs to. Veronica shared that she would pray about it but was afraid that Vico would give up if he knew what the doctors were saying.
Then we move on to Vica, a precious 16 year old that has the weight of the world on her shoulders. She is losing her little brother day by day and is attempting to be strong for her mother but inside and outside she is falling apart. We could look into each others eyes and communicate without saying a word. She is so concerned about her brother and her mother. One Wednesday evening we were sitting in church together and she pointed to Psalm 6: 6-10 which says:
I am weary with my sighing;
Every night I make my bed swim.
I dissolve my couch with tears.
My eye has wasted away with grief;
It has become old because of all my adversaries.
Depart from me, all you who do iniquity,
For the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping.
The Lord has heard my supplication,
The Lord receives my prayer.
All my enemies will be ashamed and greatly dismayed;
They shall turn back, they will suddenly be ashamed.
By sharing these verses I want you to understand that this is what Vica’s heart looks like right now. Even though she has a broken heart day by day she is also a great source of joy!! She is quite a strong young lady!! Thank goodness she has a Savior to cry out to for comfort. Her and her family will have a lasting impression on my heart. I ask all of you to pray for them. Pray for God’s healing of Vico, pray for comfort for all of them. Pray that God will be present more than he ever has been in Cornesti, Moldova.
Our squad has two teams returning to Cornesti this month, I ask that you pray for them to be able to minister in whatever ways that God has planned. I selfishly prayed that God would send me back so I could continue ministering to this family and then I was reminded by a friend that this World Race is not about me doing what I am comfortable with it is about stretching me in every way possible to serve God!! I love you all and miss you!! It means so much to me that you all are following my journey!! My new team and I are serving in Tirgu Mures, Romania this month!! More to come on that!!
