In starting where my last blog left off, The Lord has been teaching me about rest, running, and release. Through spending time with Him in His presence, I realized that I was wasting my time here, sleeping the day away. So we (Apotolmao) prayed for ministry oppurtunities.
It all began when some young girls came and knocked on our door, wanting to show us their dances that they had choreographed to what we were told was Christian music (its was not christian music!! haha). Then they begun to teach us their dances and we had an afternoon of dancing and laughing and videoing. They even invited to dance in their performance which was coming up in a few days. Although we were not able to dance with them, we did go and watch them perform in their dances that they had created in the little community performance hall. Those kids, Roma, Verda, and Mano started something beautiful in us and, even if they did not know it, they opened the doors for more ministry.
After we watched them perform, we did not see them for a few days, until we decided to go for a walk around Dobromirka. While walking, we ran into them, and they said that they would show us around the village. They were great tour guides!! They showed us around some of the neighborhoods, they showed us the school, and they even showed as a fresh mountain water tap that has been used since 1930.
One of the things that we wanted to accomplish as a team while we were here, was to climb to the top of one of the hills/mountains that surround Dobromirka. And SURPRISE! they knew exactly how to get to the top!! The next day, they agreed to take us to the top.
It was such a great experience, spending those hours with the kids, walking up the mountain, hearing about their lives, doing weird dances, eating plums straight off the trees, and drinking from the cool, fresh mountain tap.
After our adventure they came back to our place and we had ice cream cones, and played cards, futbol, and frisbee.
While we were playing kids started to appear and stand outside the fence watching. So of course, we invited them in to play. At one point we had a crazy game of tag, frisbee, and futbol all happening at the same time. It was wild, but great fun.
The door had swung wide open.
Mariancho, Sashko, Teo, Nikolai–they have made me love it here and made me be excited about each day.
This ministry of loving kids and playing with them is not always easy. I may have scratched and bruised knees and a pulled muscle, but I would gladly play another match with them, day after day.
We did run into some attack, I believe, when Saturday, things seemed to go in a downward spiral…we ended up having to tell the three older boys to leave because they threatened to beat up the younger boys if they didn’t leave them alone with us….although those boys need Jesus just as much, it was for safety that we had to put a stop to it. I pray and trust, along with our contacts here, that the Lord will place teams here with men who are strong in the Lord who can reach out to those boys.
Other things happened that day too, like Mariancho being hit in the nose with a frisbee and having a nosebleed and Sashko cutting his knuckles…I was afraid that their mothers would not let them come back to play, or even that they may not want to! I felt saddened and sick…sick to my stomach. Was this the end of our ministry already?? I tried to hold back tears as we made sure the young boys got home safely.
But the next day, they returned, even bringing other kids–some little girls even came to play!
The Lord completely began to redeem the previous day; the kids seemed even more trusting of us, even more open.
It seems that God isnt finished with them yet.
So this has been our unplanned ministry, playing with these kids from the little village of Dobromirka, loving them and accepting them. The funny thing is that they have been ministering to me too. Every time little Mariancho or Sashko hug me, or Sashko play fights, or Teo and Sashko challenge me to a handstand competition, or when we do our secret handshakes–every time they boys show off their soccer skills–every time they smile, every time they laugh at taking selfies, my heart feels warm. I feel the love of the Lord for them so strongly. It is hard to explain that in such a short time these kids could mean to much to me. I dont want to even think about leaving them.
I pray every day that we can be an example to them and that they can feel God’s love and acceptance through us. I pray that in this short time that we are here, that seeds are being planted and that they hear the call of Daddy, God.
Spending time in rest and in the secret place with God has prepared me for this. It has equipped me with everything that I ever needed to reach these boys (even soccer “skills” that I never knew I had!!). It has prepared me to run. I believe that if I had not begun to draw deeper into the Lords presence, to rest in Him, and listen to His calling, that I would personally have missed this opportunity to release Christ’s love to the kids here–that I would have missed stopping for the one in front of me.
Slava na Boga (Praise God!) He is good and His love endures.
How awesome is it that He has chosen us to be carriers of His love to all people and all nations?!?
If you would like to help me continue on this journey, my next deadline of $11,000 is coming up in September. You can help by clicking the “support me” button at the top of the screen or in the menu bar to the left, and giving financially. Prayer is also HUGE. My team and I will need prayer as we go on this journey with The Lord and work in different ministries.
Thank you all for your support and for taking the time to read my blog!
Blessings!
