Called to What?

This past week Team Abandon spent three days at a girls home. Our contact, Becky, told us about this home
at the beginning of the month. The home
is for girls who are in their twenties. Some of them have handicaps and/or disabilities, some have nowhere else
to go. Becky explained that most of the
girls have been physically and/or sexually abused, and because of this, they
are shy around people. She told us to be
careful with how we interact with them. No sudden movements, no going up and just hugging them, because that
might scare them.

I was a little bit nervous going to the home for the first
time, and I didn’t know what to expect. All these things were running through my mind about what it would be
like. And all my thoughts were wrong. I remember driving up in the van, and the
scene before me reminded me of the old woman who lived in the shoe, with so
many kids she didn’t know what to do. I
saw people everywhere; some were hanging up laundry, some were hanging out
windows, some were cleaning a car. I
remember a feeling of anticipation and eagerness coming over me.

 

We spent the day sitting outside with the girls, talking,
dancing, playing ball and building relationships. The second day Jessica prepared a
presentation on healthy living and nutrition. I have never sat through a presentation quite like that one. Both presenter and presentees were highly
entertaining. Afterwards, we washed the
girls’ hair, painted their nails, and Kimi gave a few haircuts.

It was nice to be able to serve the girls in that way, but
the longer we stayed, the more unsettled I felt. A lot was going on between the girls and the
staff, and we didn’t fully understand because everyone was talking in Romanian. At lunch I sat and watched all the girls,
thinking about how precious they are. They are so sweet, so quick to love and forgive. They take care of one another. I felt an overwhelming sense of love for
them, but also an overwhelming sense of hopelessness. The foundation cannot afford to hire the kind
of professional help that would really benefit the girls. They do not live in the best conditions. The house is undergoing renovations, but it
takes time and money, which isn’t readily available. I left that day feeling very confused, with lots
of questions going through my mind.

Before leaving the next morning, I prayed for the day. I was still feeling unsettled, and I told God
that I didn’t understand. How can he
love these girls but just sit and watch while all these bad things happen to
them? How can he not send people to love
and care for them and help them deal with all the hurt, frustration and anger
they have inside? I told God that he
needed to prove that he loved these girls. I know. That WASN’T very polite.

That afternoon we painted with the girls, and I saw God
working during that time. The girls are
very creative and talented. It was heart
warming to see how much effort went into each picture, and the pride the girls
felt when they were finished.

 

 

“In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of
every human being.”

Correct me if I’m wrong, but apparently that means that God
holds every one of those girls in his hand. It’s not always easy to believe that, and I feel like I am going to deal
with these same kinds of feelings often over the next 8 months and 9 days.

I think that I need to remember that we only see a very
small piece in the puzzle. The time we
spent with the girls is only a very tiny part of their lives. God brought us there to love them, and he
will continue to be with them and love them even after we’re gone. He DOES have a plan for them, and we had the
honor of being a part of that plan. I
don’t feel like any life altering changes were made because of us being there,
but we did what we were called to do, which is love them. I believe God will use that small thing and
make it way bigger.

God, I commit these girls into your hands. Hold them close, and thank you for the part we
got to play in their lives.