Month 2 of the Race was spent in Draganesti-Olt in southern Romania; it was all squad month, meaning that all 43 of us would be living and serving in one place.
This was an opportunity for us to not only grow closer as a squad, but to be able to see how God is working across a whole community and come along side them in that work. In this region of Romania only 0.2% of the population are born again believers, the unemployment rate is high, and the need was visible. There were so many ideas in my head, of ways in which we could be used in this place, 43 people could be such a huge blessing to a community, we could make a huge impact.
So it was then to my great surprise that when our schedule was announced we were to have prayer and worship time every morning, then go out and do practical ministry in the afternoons. It was a bit confusing to me at first, why weren’t they using us to our full potential by getting us to help all day? Did they think we couldn’t manage a full day of ministry? Little did I know that Raul (Our Host) and Hope church knew so much more than me, they valued our prayers above our physical abilities, and they appreciated the power of prayer far more than I did.
So over the course of the next 3 and a half weeks that’s exactly what God decided to teach me. Every morning I got up and went with the 42 other members of my squad to church to worship and pray, and every morning I started to see the point more than the day before. We were starting our day, every day in the best way possible, and while we were at it we were lifting up specific issues, requests and nations to the Lord.
When we left Serbia I had challenged myself to try and pray out loud more often. Learning the value of my voice and that God hears me was a huge challenge for me, as soon as we arrived in Romania here was a way to force me to learn. I’m stubborn and don’t like doing things that make me uncomfortable, so often my challenges will pass me by as I’m too stubborn to step out and do them, but God didn’t give me the chance to hide from this one. On our first day of prayer he made that abundantly clear, as Raul called me out to pray for the whole squad, so clearly there was no hiding from this challenge.
Every day I prayed with different members of my squad, one on one, in groups, all at once, sometimes in silence on my own. But every morning I prayed. And every morning that’s exactly how Hope church wanted to be served. They have seen the power of prayer in action, and could see no better use for 43 missionaries but to work through a list of prayer requests. This still makes me stop and think, and it still takes my breath away that my prayers were so important to them. It still humbles me that I got to be a part of the work they’re doing across Europe through prayer.
I quickly went from feeling like we were wasting our time in the mornings, that it was just a time filler and that we could be better used. To feeling purposeful, significant and like God heard me. Romania became a month of bold prayers, listening for God’s voice, and learning to pray without ceasing. I will be forever thankful for the lessons I learned in Olt county Romania, I’m thankful for team mates and squad mates who push you and I’m thankful that I have a God who hears my prayers.
