My team and I walked in the building having no idea what was going on. It was a Friday night and we were asked to get in the van, because it's time for church. So off we went, having no idea what we were going for on a Friday night, but hey, this is Moldova!
When we walked in, we immediately took our places in a seat on the right side of the church. So we all sat together in the five-seaters, and I, sat close to the aisle as I usually do.
I looked around to my left, scoping out the situation, seeing who was in the church building. There she sat, on the left hand side, looking at me with such a joyful face. Smiling.
She warmed my heart immediately, but I couldn't explain the feeling I got from her smile.
We soon figured out that the service was kind of…dedicated…to us. Cool.
So, Kenzie and I sang, James showed one of his videos from all of our previous months, and then we had a Q&A session about our time on the World Race.
It was fun talking to these kind people and telling them about our families and what the World Race has been like.
She speaks up at the end and asks Kenzie and I to sing, smile still plastered on her face. Man, this woman has got it! And naturally I'm thinking, I know how you feel lady. This joy, man, this joy that He gives us is awesome. So when we sang, she was just staring at us. Smiling.
But still, something was different about her and I couldn't quite place it.
By the end of the service, Kenzie speaks exactly what I couldn't come up with at that time.
"That lady has got the joy of the Lord ALL over her!"
Click. Ding dong. Knock knock!
I stood there, recapping the whole evening and finally I understood what I saw.
That woman was literally radiating the presence of the Lord. She was sitting there smiling at me, delighting in our presence there. She was smiling and telling us "you girls sing so beautiful" in her own language.
And I realized, that's how my Father sees me every day. He sits in the pews when I sing and he smiles so much that his cheeks almost fall off. He is proud of me. And He loves me, in the way that that lady was showering her love on us that evening.
He shows his love for us through the faces of tiny babies, or the Central American woman who smiles at you as you walk down the street, or even…the old lady sitting at church.
And I thought, this is good. This is what I needed to see. He is who I need to see and who I need to go to whenever I don't feel proud of myself, or beautiful, or whenever my voice is cracky when I sing. Because He looks at me every time, no matter what, joy emanates out of Him, and He says, "Here is my [daughter] with who I am well pleased."
Also, next month is the start of our last 6 months. These last months will be in SE Asia and Africa. Prayer partners, please be in prayer for us regarding physical health and spiritual health as these places are known for crazy sicknesses and even crazier spiritual atmospheres! Thank you kindly. Your prayers are powerful and effective throughout this journey! 🙂
