When I left for Atlanta I had feelings of nervousness about the unknown. My flight was delayed due to rainy weather, and I wasworried that I would be late for my first session for some last minute training. But to be completely honest, I was also overcome with an intense feeling of adventure and excitement that was building up within me as time grew closer to the 11 month journey ahead of me. Finally the time was here!
Back at training camp, myself and one of my squad mates, Christian, were asked to handle the logistics of traveling between countries. One of our tasks is to serve our squad of 53 people as a liaison for communications between the WR Logistics staff in Atlanta and my squad on the field. We plan debriefs between countries where we are able to share our ministry experiences with one another and receive a little time of rest and recovery before we begin our trek to the next ministry site.
My first experiences dealing with logistics occurred at the airport from Atlanta to Romania with an 8 hour layover in Amsterdam. Without knowing much of anything about traveling overseas, much less with a group of 53, I dove into my responsibility of leading my team. Thankfully, the WR staff has plenty of experience and I received enough information to carry out the duties that led us to a safe arrival in Romania.
Most of my squad mates spread out to local ministry sites to evangelize to the lost, feed the poor, spend time with widows, and pray over the community. Some are assigned to teach English lessons and others help out with a bee-hive ministry where the proceeds go to helping other ministries in the area.
I, on the other hand, have agreed to serve our ministry contact, Raul, as his personal secretary for the month. Raul is the pastor at Hope Church that we are paired with for our first month in Romania. Every day he leads our squad in intercessory prayer for local, regional, and international needs of God’s people. I find him to be hilarious as well as one of the most passionate leaders in bringing God’s kingdom to earth in the here and now. His heart for the people of Romania is truly something that has been placed on his heart by God.
Since I work directly with him in his office, I get to spend a lot of one-on-one time with him. On my first day that I came to work as his secretary he said to me, “I make people who work for me bitter, so first I give them sweet” and he handed me a piece of chocolate. Every day I walk into his office ready to accomplish a never-ending list of things to do. In any moment that the list seems overwhelming, he pauses to remind me why he needs a full-time secretary. When he has a brief moment to sit still, he stops to pray for the needs around him. As I’m growing in my own faith, I’m encouraged by Raul’s unwavering commitment to prayer.
I’m thankful for meeting Raul in my first month on the World Race. He has already been a mentor to me and has shown me love that exemplifies God’s love to me as my Heavenly Father. Though I don’t get to experience many of the typical ministry opportunities I might’ve been expecting in my first month, I’m more than thankful to serve Raul and his ministry.
Me with some of my team on our way to hike the Carpathian Mountains in Romania on our day off
