It is Friday morning. I am in Moldova. My stomach is filled with fresh baked bread, my legs are wrapped with a beautifully knitted blanket, my Bible is in front of me, my team is around the table, I am staring out the window at what I know is fresh, crisp, wintery air. I look down and watch the steam dance on top of our tea. I take a deep breath, smile and let it sink in again…this is my life.
There are many moments like that on the Race. Some days it just seems like your everyday life; it all becomes normal while still remaining magical. Then there are days or moments where you come back to the reality of where you are, what you’re doing, and how far the Lord has brought you. All you can do is take a deep breath, smile, look up, and thank the One who gave you life. What a blessing it is to be woken up to new mercies each morning!
This month in Moldova has been great. We have stayed in a center that is used for banquets, a restaurant and a café. We have helped our contacts with events, cooking, catering, cleaning, etc. They eventually want to make their center into a soup kitchen and a place to share Christ. They want to be the light in their village, Gura Bicului. We have gotten to pour into them and have also been poured into. Their family has been a huge blessing and they have incredible hearts.
One of our ministries was teaching English class to a group of 8-12 year olds in the evenings. It was fun to come up with creative ways to teach them and to watch their confidence grow as they learned more and more. Many of them came because they were truly interested in learning English, while others came because they just wanted to be loved. Regardless of their intention, they were all welcomed and we had the privilege of teaching them while sharing the love of Christ with them.
Another ministry was working with social workers to meet the needs of elderly people in the village who had no family around and lived alone. We had the blessing of meeting babushka Alexandra and Ioan and helping at their houses. We painted, cleaned, chopped wood, chatted with, prayed for, cooked for, and loved these people. They were sweet and thankful for the help, but even more so, they were thankful for the company. It was such a treat to sit and listen to their stories of the past. Alexandra shared with us about her time in Russia, her family, the communist reign, and having the opportunity to watch Moldova change due to war, religion, communism, and independence.
I have cherished having the opportunity to share with these people the one thing that we all share a yearning for, which is love. There are language barriers that can be broken with hugs, smiles, laughter, etc. Christ’s love is bigger than our greatest obstacles.
This is something I have reflected on this month- the love of Christ. There was a comment made by a friend of my squadmate asking why we hadn’t seen more miracles as a squad. The friend was referring to healings, raising people from the dead, etc. I was at first confused by the question, and then sat with the Lord and realized what was missing. People are missing the thing that drives miracles; the biggest miracle in itself…the love of Christ. The love of Christ penetrated the heart of Carlos in Nicaragua and changed his mind about ending his life. The love of Christ brings boys back to Zion’s Gate in Honduras because they realize the world has nothing to offer compared to His love and being surrounded by the love of a family-style community rooted in Christ. The love of Christ brought peace to a single mom and three little girls in Guatemala who had lost their husband/father and their home. The love of Christ brought redemption and new life to a woman in Romania who had made bad choices in the past, but because of His love, she is changing. The love of Christ allowed our elderly friends in Moldova to not feel like they were forgotten and allowed them to reflect on the blessings of their lives. These things along with healings and other things have all happened because of His love. It has the potential to changes lives in every way.
This is the true miracle…the love of Christ.
