Moldova was an interesting month for me and my team. We had the opportunity to work with three different contacts this month.
This was a month of go-go-go with little time to sit and process the ways God was working but it became very clear to me the message He was speaking to me was not something new. This must be something I need to learn because it extends back to Albania when I learned that I can serve Jesus in any way and have joy in even the most menial of tasks.
In our first city, Falesti, we worked with a man named Vasilli who was a local Pastor. We knew going into this that our main ministry was construction. After a fairly uneventful month two we were all looking forward to hearing that we would be helping tear down a house and build some houses of prayer. Although we were only here 10 days we worked our butts off at the construction sites. Keep in mind that this isn’t America. There are no heavy machines or equipment to help with this process. Just a few hammers, shovels and a decent pair of gloves to keep your hands from getting too cut up. The work became very monotonous because it takes so much longer to with just your hands, but the spirit of joy played over and over in my head. There was one day that the only thing I did was dig metal poles out of a ground and shovel rocks into a sifter to make cement. 8 hours. No joke. The work might have gotten a little more boring after the house was torn down but I never heard complaining come from my team. We all knew we were a part of something greater, helping build a place where people from the village could go to and learn about the love of the Father.
Next, we headed to the capital city of Chisinau for three days to help with Campus Crusade for Christ. We sat in on a few English study groups and played a few games to help the students learn English. We also helped pass out agendas at a local university and inviting the students to CRU. Even though this ministry was only three days it was a little difficult because a lot of it was in Romanian and it was difficult to keep up with the translation. Again, I had to remind myself that even if I am not an integral part of the groups I could still pray for the people who were there. I also had the opportunity to speak in one of the English classes with a few teammates. At the end a girl came up and introduced herself to me. Like every other person we had met she was so friendly and welcoming and invited my team to her house in a village about 50km outside of the city. We were welcomed into her home for a home cooked Moldovan meal with her Mom and Grandmother. Seeing her joyful spirit made the entire trip worth it and was a reminder that something so simple as a meal can be an incredible blessing.
Our final stop was in Ungheni for the last 10 days of the month. We worked at a local church and helped out in a number of different ways during our stay. Once again, the theme of joy was ever present. For two days we worked in the corn fields shucking corn for a few local women. I loved this. I’m sure in the not so distant past I would have complained to myself in my head and been miserable the entire time but this became one of my favorite things we did the entire month. With our whole team out in the fields for hours on end we made the most of it. Sometimes we listened to music, sometimes we talked, sometimes we made up stories and sometimes we were silent, taking in the moment and sitting in the presence of God, the sun always shining down. Another day we went to the Pastors parents house in a village about an hour away from Ungheni. We spent the afternoon in their vineyard picking grapes. It was so simple but often it is the simple things that make life great. The view was incredible and his parents blessed us far more than we ever could in return. Not to mention the grapes tasted amazing.
Overall, this month got chaotic at times with the fast pace but I was reminded to slow down and enjoy each moment for what it is.
