Normally I am a person of exaggeration, but scout’s honor I promise that this is the truth. Picture this: you are a toy in one of those chocolate kinder eggs. Do you know which candies I am talking about? They are milky chocolate eggs that you have to crack open and find a yellow case which contains a surprise toy. Today I felt like one of those toys inside of an egg that had just been given to an over zealous child on Easter. Egg firmly in the child’s hand, me as the toy inside, I felt as though he was shaking up and down over and out, as we traveled to a tiny town called Beltsi in Northern Moldova.
There were ten of us packed into a huge white van as we traveled through the Moldovan countryside to a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center. Our contact specifically told us that the trip would be no longer than two hours, and when we were still bumping along the road on hour three, I began to wonder where this center was.
We finally arrived at the center at around lunch time, and the structure of the building reeked of the Soviet Union. We meandered up the wide cement staircase and I strained my neck to look up at the many stories of the paint-chipped building. As we entered the facility, we were greeted by a dark gray hallway and two short Russian men who directed the center.
After a quick tour of the facility, we had a picnic style lunch on the side of the road while watching members of the community travel in horse drawn buggies. After our PB and Js and apples, we convened around the wide set staircase at the entrance of the center, ready to lead the members of the facility in some praise and worship. We looked out over about 20 recovering drug and alcohol addicts and I began to wonder if the little program we had prepared would really have much of an impact on these suffering people. Was the three hour trip each way really worth the short time spent here? Would our message and a few worship songs have any kind of impact on these suffering people? At that moment I knew I needed to take those thoughts captive and concentrate on what I had come to do; love on and encourage these people.
At the first strum of the guitar I could feel the Spirit begin to move. He began to speak to me softly about how much he loved these people; His children. He began to say, “When do you think the last time was when someone came to put sweet music in their ears or a strong message of encouragement? I want these people to know that even though they are suffering now, there are greater rewards to come. I love them enough to fly seven Americans around the world and ride in a bumpy van for six hours just to encourage them.”
It was at that moment that this entire day made sense. In a few months these people probably wouldn’t remember what we said, but they would remember our love, and that it was from an Almighty Father. After worship and a few testimonies, the Lord placed it on my heart to have my teammates go into the crowd and pray specifically over people and their afflictions. It was here when the Spirit really started to move. People who earlier had stone cold faces were now sniffling back tears as they shared their worries and prayer requests. It was such a powerful moment to love on these people who before recovery were probably unloveable. It’s a true testament to how much God cares for his children.
Our dear friends at the Rehabilitation Center 🙂
As I bounced back and forth in the van on the ride home, I looked over the vast Moldovan landscape and simply relished in the fact the we serve a good God. No, we serve a great God, and I am honored to be a part of His Kingdom dreams!
