I may have graduated college but man am I still being taken to school by God every day. Every Monday while we are in Serbia we have an “adventure day” these days are designed for us to have the freedom to explore and travel somewhere nearby. The prior two Mondays we really didn’t do anything and took the day more so to rest and catch up on work that needed to be done. But today we went to Budapest, Hungry which is about a 3 hour van ride from where we are staying in Sombor. We were picked up at 6am and arrived in Budapest at 9am. Our van driver dropped us off in the middle of the city but we had no idea what we were doing/ where in the city we even were. Through talking to some locals we managed to make it get to an ATM and find food. We continued to go on with our day and we explored the amazing city. St. Stephens Cathedral was a beautiful building, the indoor market was an awesome experience and then exploring the huge Buda castle (though only on the outside) was amazing and had some great outlooks on to the city.
After the Buda castle we bused back to the middle of town and walked around looking for somewhere to eat dinner. As we walked we noticed several homeless people sitting or laying in the crevices of buildings. It hurt so much to see. When we got to dinner I ordered food for take out because I was still on my bread and water fast. The bread and water fast throughout the day was challenging but it did its purpose. Through the times where I was thinking how much I wanted to try street food or just eat something besides the loaf of bread I had bought that morning I was consistently redirected to praying, thanking God for all the blessings He has given me and also asking Him what He wanted to teach me in this time. Consistently Mathew 4:4 kept popping in my head,
“Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
This kept reminding me to not only just do the fast because I felt led to but to also at the same time use this time to lean on God more. I continued to pray for more direction. Part of this “more direction” was feeling led to by a meal for takeout at this restaurant not for myself, but for the first homeless person I saw. I thought “man shall not live on bread alone” and I decided to take that part literally. I bought a burger with fries and a croissant thinking, “maybe God wants to teach me that I should be giving the poor more than just some bread. I should instead give beyond what is financially comfortable. Looking back on it now, yes, though I do still think that was one thing God was trying to teach me it was more than that. While waiting for my food I decided to look up what Jesus was referencing when He said “It is written.” Where had it been written in the Bible before that man shall not live on bread alone,”?. I found it in Deuteronomy? ?8:1-3?,
“Be careful to obey all the commands I am giving you today. Then you will live and multiply, and you will enter and occupy the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors. Remember how the Lord your God led you through the wilderness for these forty years, humbling you and testing you to prove your character, and to find out whether or not you would obey his commands. Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to you and your ancestors. He did it to teach you that people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.”
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Now this whole thing was starting to make even more sense. There is a lot to this but please bare with me. My whole life, the good, the bad, the spiritual highs and the spiritual lows have all led me here to the World Race. Everything I have gone through up to this point I believe happened so I can be where God has me right now. In this analogy, this right here, this trip, is my personal promised land. I’ve been planning on doing mission work for 7 years and the world race specifically for about 3. God has worked in ways I hoped He would and in ways that I never saw coming. I have been tested and humbled in life but I am still here holding on to Him with everything I am. These next 10 months , though spectacular in so many ways are going to be a challenge and at times a struggle. There may be times where I may not feel like He is there but I still need to hold on. No matter what this Earth may have in store for me, I know ultimately my strength needs to come from God.
Furthermore, my heart to help the broken is great but I need to go beyond what I have been doing in just giving them food. That may for a time fulfill their physical suffering but the only way I can help long term is by helping fulfill that spiritual suffering and brokenness they may have. In their time of suffering this earth and the things of it like bread or any other food will ultimately not satisfy. Only a relationship with God can.
After giving the food to a man (who unfortunately spoke no English) I had a time of reflection on the walk back to where the van was picking us up, I feel like this was what God was trying to teach me through this fast. It’s truly humbling to have the ability to not only be on this trip, but also the ability to have a variety of foods at my disposal. It’s something I will definitely no longer take for granted to the extent that I used to. And though part of me thought this fast would go longer, I write all of this hoping you all can get something out of this experience too. Whether my experience can help you gain a greater appreciation for food as well. or you feel led to fast something (it doesn’t have to be food), I hope you got something out of it as I did. As always thank you for your support.
I write this on the van ride back home (to be uploaded when I’m next at wifi I want to say thank you to my Aunt, Clare Crossan, for sponsoring this truly memorable day in Budapest on October 30th, 2017.
