A few weeks ago I was privileged to have my parents come to Romania and do a week of the race with my squad and me. They got to experience our ministry, live in host homes, and meet my squad family.
Saturday evening was filled with laughter, tears, and a lot of beautiful reunitings as we saw our beloved family for the first time in 9 months. Right off the bat, my dad was asked to give a bible story at church the next morning. He was completely caught off guard and stretched out of his comfort zone, but he jumped in with both feet. It was awesome being on this side and able to relate to the initial shock of, “Holy crap, I have to preach tomorrow morning.”
Sunday morning came around, and it was Fathers Day. I got to hear what my Heavenly Father was teaching my Earthly Father. A squad mate shared her testimony, I shared my testimony, and then it was time for my dad’s sermon. I could see him fidgeting in his chair, crossing out and rewriting a bunch of things on his piece of paper, and I stood next to him and prayed. I prayed for peace, confidence, and assurance. The Holy Spirit told me to pray with him before he went up. So, I went to Raul, our pastor, and asked if I could pray for my dad before he preached. While the song was finishing, all I could think of was how proud I am of my dad. He took the task that intimidated him the most and tackled it. He relied on God to speak through him and to the congregation. He expanded his comfort zone and tried someone that was completely out of left field. The song finished, my dad, Raul and I walked up on stage, and I got the privilege of praying for my dad on Fathers day before he preached his first sermon. It was such an awesome blessing from my Heavenly Father.
The sermon was from Matthew 14 when Jesus walks on water. This was the very same passage I first preached on too. As I was sitting their listening to my dad, I admired his faith. Faith for letting his little girl go all the way across the world to be Jesus’ hands and feet and trust the Lord with it. Faith to raise a God-fearing family in the amazing way he has. And faith to step out and preach to a congregation the day after he gets to Romania.
Later on in the week, I got to do more ministry alongside my parents. We handed out New Testament bibles and evangelized, lead a kids camp and encouraged families that I’ve grown to know while I was there. It was so awesome seeing the Lord move through my father. I got to watch his eyes light up when talking to people and his energy increase when sharing the gospel.
My fathers given me a lot, way more than I could ever explain, and I’m so thankful for that. He’s raised me with faith and encourages me to follow where God is leading. He’s shown me how to be bold and walk in God’s confidence. His characteristics have also reminded me of my Heavenly Father’s characteristics and how He loves us.
Fathers are such a beautiful thing. Doing ministry with my father gave me a new view of my Heavenly Father and oh, is it beautiful.
