This month has been the roughest ride on the race. To sum up quickly the physical struggles: the first half of the month was filled with snow and rain and rushing winds. We were outside going door to door evangelizing and climbing into beds the moment we got back home. Our beds were the warmest places and it still would take an hour or two for our feet to warm back up. We were trying to visit the entire village because the church was putting on a program called Evangelize. An orchestra group from Chisinau played and a man from West Virginia spoke. There were only a few families that came from us evangelizing. Two men raised their hands to start a relationship with Jesus and that was enough.
The emotional and spiritual struggles this month are not at all what I expected. But then again, what ever is what I expect? Honestly, so much has gone on that I don’t even feel like blogging. I like to do short blogs so you don’t get bored or overwhelmed. I could do multiple blogs but let’s face it-it’s hard enough to get one out a month. The best way I know how to organize my thoughts are by lists. Here’s a list for Moldova…
Moldovans get offended easily but they don’t usually tell you until afterwards
I appreciate this month more than ever the effect of sunshine.
Music that helped me this month: Beach House, Temper Trap, Jesus Culture, Kelanie Gloekler, Paper Tongues…and Kings of Leon.
Honor is so important when working with a ministry that you don’t necessarily see eye to eye with.
I lost my boots to the mud this month.
I still have to remind myself that this is my life and it’s not normal. Riding the bus one afternoon as the sun was setting made me realize that I don’t want to take anything for granted. I don’t want to take for granted the landscapes that surround me but never become less beautiful. I don’t want to take for granted the fact that I get to listen to worship in Romanian. I don’t want to take for granted that I might never see these people again. I don’t want to take for granted that my race is only 7 months longer and I need to throw my whole heart in instead of holding back in any way.
I can’t run to anything but the Lord when life gets hard. That’s when I suffer. That’s how I shut Him out without even realizing it. I cut off communication if when I’m discouraged I don’t let Him come in and fill me up the way that NOTHING else can.
When we die to ourselves the Lord can then come in and resurrect us. In Romans 6 it talks about us dying with Christ and resurrecting with Christ and sharing in His glory. We must die in order to be brought to life. I started viewing this as a daily or even hourly lifestyle. When we surrender and die to ourselves the Lord can then come in and give us new life. So each time we give everything up He honors that and renews us. That leaves me speechless.
When we think we know someone or have them figured out we should probably dig deeper into them to find out we’re wrong.
Fence and house colors here consist of yellow, orange, blue, green, purple and more. They’re also the brightest versions of these colors.
Everyone is incredibly hospitable and welcomes you in for chai and snacks. Chai means hot water for tea or coffee. I’ve fallen head over heels for instant coffee. I have no idea how addicted I’ll be to good coffee when I get home.
The older generation here gives you kisses on the cheek as a hello or goodbye. This warms your heart to the core when a beautifully wrinkly woman embraces you this way. Why don’t we do this in America?
The food is wonderful and mostly consists of starches:) This morning we had sweet rice and cookies with apple butter. For lunch-boiled potatoes.
For me personally, this month was a lot of transition. I’m transitioning into carrying wonder and awe and learning the lifestyle of surrender all over again.
I’m bad at evaluating my team on my blog because they’re like my family. I don’t want to tell all that we’re going and working through. I’m proud of my family for this month! There’s always mess ups and discouragement but how we deal with them is what I look at in retrospect. My spiritual and emotional sifter can sometimes be so optimistic its unrealistic.
This is a hunky blog now. I hope wherever you are you’re enjoying the spring and what it could mean in your spirit and not only in your surroundings. All of us have to have our FULL support by the end of month 6 which is only two months away. I know I’m not the best at telling what we did for the month or sharing about the ministry but I can tell you that the race is changing the world even if it’s one life at a time.
Love.
