I had a moment today where I was just extremely grateful.
I was grateful for all the amazing people that SURROUND me.
I'm grateful for the AMAZING people that I get to meet around the world. I'm grateful for their faith and their hospitality. For their stories. For the Lord working in their hearts as He did mine…thousands of miles away from each other. Then bringing us together in order to serve Him better.
I realized today that I am completely SURROUNDED.
I'm SURROUNDED by…
AN AMAZING NEW TEAM…
(Backrow left to right) Candace Breaux, ME, Hannah Carden
(Front row) Molly Brandenburg, Grace Hartmann, Marie McCollum
Yes, I am now on an all girls team. Team changes happened at the end of our month in Romania and honestly we just got around to taking a team picture. Nonetheless, these are the amazing girls that I get to serve along side (maybe for the rest of the race…maybe not…it's how we role on the Race.)
I love the passion for the Word that I see in these girls. The great spiritual conversations that have already started to happen. I love the willingness to serve, to be serious and then to laugh hysterically. I love to think of the fact that once again God hand-picked another team for me…to grow and challenge me in new ways.
To go along with my new team, I'm also SURROUNDED by…
A NEW PASTOR AND CHURCH FAMILY
(See the video at the bottom of the blog. If I were remotely tech savy, I could figure out how to get the video in the appropriate position. Oh well!)
Lumina Lumii (which means Light of the World in Romanian) is the amazing congregation we are staying with this month.
They have shown us what true hospitality is! Between the meals they cook for us or the surprise Snickers they drop at door, we have felt so loved by this congregation.
I even feel SURROUNDED by a couple of my very own Moldovan grandmothers…someone that gets on you for not wearing slippers or socks, to spank your bottom (yes, for real) when you sit on the ground without a mat under you or force feeds you three pieces of cake because they want you to be a nice full-figured woman for your future husband. (Yes, yes all very true!)
And we have been especially SURROUNDED by our…
NEW MOLDOVAN FRIENDS
Candace, Catalina, Ion, Cornelia, Irina, Molly, Grace, Me, Marie, Hannah, Giku, Silviu and Andrei
I can't even begin to tell you how amazing these people are.
First, it is so much fun to have friends our age. We get together for dinner, play and watch futbol (that is soccer for the American people), beat each other in ping pong and drink tea and coffee.
Secondly, it is so cool to see friendships formed through language and cultural barriers. Some speak English and most don't, but I feel like you can still get to know someone without understanding them all the time. (And google translate is a handy tool to maintain a friendship…I had a wonderful conversation with Cornelia talking through google translate…I need to learn Romanian quick!)
They have been so welcoming and gracious to us (especially when we are our natural loud American selves.)
Also, I'm encouraged by my new friends' faith. Some of them have grown up in the church and others have not. It just makes me so excited that we were all called to Christ and now God has brought us together as friends…even bringing us thousands of miles to them. So COOL!
So although I'm somewhat far away from home, God continues to SURROUND me with amazing people and I honestly can't help but be SUPER grateful!!!!
