If you have not read Part 1 of this blog, you might find yourself a little lost. Check it out here if you missed it. Now, let’s pick off where we left off in the bar…
I slowly opened my eyes from my prayer time, and it seemed like most everyone had finished praying as well. So, we began discussing what our thoughts were about the rest of the afternoon, and whether or not Holy Spirit had spoken anything.
This was taken about an hour into our journey around Rezina. We decided to stop and admire the beauty of the valley. (Photo Cred: Larisa Aleksandrov)
As I was telling them about how the only words I got were “candy” and “rope,” I looked over at my teammate Larisa’s coffee plate. She had received a piece of candy with her coffee that actually said the word ‘Candy’ in Russian on the outside of the wrapper.
Now, I immediately thought it might be a sign from God, especially since I was one of the ones who pushed going into the bar in the first place. It gave me extra confidence, so I thought it would be a good idea to speak with the bartender about our situation. I didn’t see why it would hurt to be honest about our purpose and not having a place to stay and see if she knew of a hotel or a friend we could stay with.
Larisa translated the Russian for me. Long story short, she didn’t seem willing to help much and gave us the name of a hotel we’d already heard of (I think it was the only one in town). So, that was slightly discouraging.
Ultimately, we decided as a group to split up. 3 of us (Cody, Larisa, me) would walk around again for awhile, while the other 3 (Ali, Melissa, Stephanie) would sit on a bench on the main sidewalk to pray and possibly meet someone walking by.
The bench the girls stayed at. Still homeless at this point and about to split up. (Photo cred: Larisa Aleksandrov)
For another couple hours we walked around talking through translation with folks. It seemed like whenever we might catch a break or be onto something, things would just end up falling flat. I prayed, “God, send somebody to us. This going up to people just isn’t working.”
When we tirelessly returned to our teammates, there were a group of teenagers around them playing Cody’s guitar that he’d left with the girls. As we joined them, Larisa began speaking to them in Russian, getting to know them a little.
Because dusk had arrived, she explained to them how we had tents and asked if they knew a place we could set them up. They ended up showing her a place down the street as well as give her the number of a taxi company.
And now we find ourselves where I began Part 1 of this whole adventure, cold and down to two options: Tents or a hotel, with tents being the only sure thing.
Because taxis were apparently busy at the moment, the taxi company told us they would call us when one became available for two of us to go to the hotel. In the meantime, we decided to eat dinner at the bar again.
We sat at our “usual” spot. Within ten minutes, this lady comes up to our table with a baby and starts speaking English to us. “Hello! How are you? Are you with the Peace Corps?”
We explained we were volunteers in Rezina for the next few days. Turns out her husband and a friend of hers were sitting at a table next to us. They were a mix between French and Moldovan, but all spoke English. We all began carrying on conversation for 5-10 minutes. Then came the big question… “Well, where are you guys staying?”
You can probably guess what happened next. She told us that she’d make a couple phone calls, and that she was pretty confident she’d find us a place to stay. Within another five minutes, she’d contacted some director of an organization who said she’d be happy to let us stay at her late parents’ two-bedroom apartment in the town center! We were a little overwhelmed.
There we were, in the same place we were hours before, seeking God together. Then God showed up in the form of that kind, welcoming woman.
When we finished our meal, she took us to the beautiful, spacious apartment.
Lo and behold, one of the first things we saw as we entered the living room was a big bowl of candy sitting on the counter. We just kind of chuckled.
Our God is amazing. He is a daddy who loves to provide for and surprise his children. We had an incredible time in Rezina praying for and with the people there. We also enjoyed our time together as a team.
By the way, that taxi company never called back. Guess God knew they’d never need to.
PS: For those wondering about the word “rope” I think that was God saying, “I’m throw you a rope and get you out of this pickle (give you help).
