Brick By Brick

This first two weeks of ministry in Transnistria has been so different than the last two months. For starters we are eating, sleeping, and working on at a construction site nestled in the shadow of a Russian military base that may or may not house KGB offices. There are also several guys who live and work here that are in a rehab program supported by the church here which is really cool.

Our first few days of ministry were on the construction site. Our job was to move piles of bricks from one side of the work site to the other, throw them up into the space where the men could get to them easily, stack the brick on pallets, and use an axe to pick concrete of of some the bricks. By the end of the our first day our hands were scrapped from bricks, arms sore from throwing them for several hours, our backs and legs tired from hauling and stacking bricks. Some of us had bruises, some of has cuts, and some even had a few bee stings. We were beat.

I was almost dreading this work over the next month. How on earth was I going to have the strength to do this every day and the maybe go teach English class at night if we had students? But morning after morning I woke up and continued to move, throw, haul, and stack bricks until all the brick were finished.

One day during what seemed to be an endless day of picking concrete off of bricks I had a beautiful revelation from The Lord. You see all the bricks we have been moving are being used to build a church. So as I sat in this uncompleted room I wondered to myself what it would be used for. Will it be a nursery or counseling office or supply closet? Then The Lord showed me this beautiful picture of the completed church and training center. All over the grounds of this complex people were praying, singing, and dancing. People were coming to know The Lord but know just know about Him they were coming into deeper and more intimate relationships with Him. People were being delivered and healed. Children were running free. Everywhere you looked life was flourishing. It was beautiful!

So for the rest of my time picking concrete off of bricks I prayed for the people who would come to church here. The People who would come into life with Jesus here. People who would come to know His love, grace, mercy, and freedom. I may never see this church completed or see the fruit that comes from it but I am so excited about what this place will become. I am so excited for all the lives it will touch.

Please pray for the church in Transnistria. Pray for the people who are already on the ground here doing great kingdom work here. It is going to be so good.

Below are some picture from our time moving bricks and weeding.