After my month of setting up minstries in Ukraine and Moldova with Ashley and Stephanie, we had a squad debrief in Romania for a few days, and then it was back on the train to Ukraine. We convinved team Pi (minus shanda and dre), the Pratts, and Zach to spend our last 6 weeks of the race in a village in Lugansk, Ukraine. We are living at a summer camp for orphans that currently has no kids and are doing ministry with 2 other teams from the October World Race squad. I was really excited about coming back up here and a lot of that was because of our contact, Shane. He is a pastor from Lousianna who has lived in this village with his family for the past 4 years. His heart for the people out here is incredible and he is such an encouragement to be around.
We knew coming back up here that our ministry would be more door-to-door and maybe some work with orphans. I was excited about the kids but really wasnt looking forward to the door-to-door. Being at this point of the race can cause a little burn-out, and I didnt want my final weeks of the race to be something I just ‘got through’. When we were in Romania for debrief, Marissa and I were sharing how we both have huge hearts for service. We love doing things for other people and serving in similar ways. Since we knew we would be joined with another squad for ministry, we were really hoping we could spend the month serving them at the camp. Its amazing to me how God knows our hearts and opens up oppertunities for us to be used in the ways we feel strong. We got to the camp a day before the other teams and were able to get things organized and try to make their transition here as easy as possible. Along with Zach, we took over the kitchen and convinced everyone to let us take care of them by cooking the meals and doing all the shopping. I never thought I would enjoy grocery shopping, cooking, and dishes so much. We have been here for a couple weeks now and have quite the system going. Everytime Marissa and I go to town to the market we comment on how it continually gets more and more fun (especially going to the small grocery store and taking the only two shopping carts to completely overflow with all our food). Probably 90% of my time is spent at the camp (though I have snuck out to an orphange), but I absolutely love it. It has been amazing to do something so simple but that makes other peoples day a little easier.
During one of my first mornings up here I was reading through Romans and found a passage that was exactly what I wanted this month to look like:
Romans 12: 9-13
Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil. Host fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints, and seek to show hospitality.
I feel so blessed by being at this point of the race and still finding joy and excitement about where I am at. Sure, I am very excited about returning home, but being able to live in present obedience to the Lord brings a lot of excitement as well. There are only 5 more weeks left on the race and my prayer is that my heart continues to stay open to what the Lord is doing in this place, and in me.
