From the country to the city
From grits to burritos
From dirt roads to metros
From one family to another…
That’s what this month has looked
like for me. My team was placed in Moldova, a country just south of the
Ukraine. We took a super long train ride to Chisineau (Moldova’s capital
city) then jumped on another train to the very edge of the country on the
border of Moldova and the Ukraine. We basically lived on a mountain in a
house our amazing contacts, Andre and Larissa, had just bought to fix up and
turn into a rehabilitation center. Although there was no running water or
heat, I was satisfied. The view was beautiful and we made it work.
I cooked a lot of meals, Katie washed a lot of dishes, Bekah and Steph did a
lot of laundry, Audrey prepped meals, Braedon attempted to build and outdoor
shower, John tried to build fires and we all made many trips to the well.
We functioned as a family and learned a lot about unconditional love and
serving one another.
A lot of the selfless love was shown
through our contacts who are better referred to as our brother and
sister. Andre and Larissa have testimonies that scream grace and
redemption. Andre was a drug addict and alcoholic who was radically saved
and he and Larissa are now missionaries in their own hometowns. Andre
left a job working in the capital city to a teaching job in a small village
taking a 90% dock in pay. He felt the call of the Lord to start a church
and help others from his hometown be delivered in the same way he was.
Just in being in their home once a week when we took showers (yup one shower a
week=2 showers in 2 weeks!) I could literally feel the Presence of God.
They gave us everything they had and laughed in our faces when we tried to
repay them simply saying, “What are you doing…we are all brothers and
sisters!” wow.
One of my teammates John got sick
and had to go back to America to get better. So we jumped on a train to
Kiev, Ukraine so that he could catch a flight back to the states. I went
with him so that he wouldn’t have to travel alone so for the last week I’ve
been staying with the Holy Banditz kind of joining in on their ministry here in
the city. I was in culture shock for about a day but quickly
adjusted. They’ve been becoming friends with students here and loving on
them so much. It was fun to get the chance to work with college students
for the first time while on the race and experience a different kind of
ministry. The Banditz took me in with open arms and the other night we
even made BURRITOS! We leave tonight for Odessa, Ukraine then off to
Romania…somehow. Please pray for our travel and that John would be
healed! Love you all!
*I’m computer dumb sometimes and couldn’t figure out how to make a picture blog work…so check out the new pics I added in the photo gallery. 🙂
