I decided to share this "bonus" post because I just feel like it is a message we all need to hear... some of us maybe are hearing it for the first time. For some, it is just a good reminder of the basis for our faith. Either way, I hope you see that it is not my word that I am sharing but God's.
The message to the Gypsy church in Vinga - as presented on July 15, 2012:
"I struggled with what to speak on today There are so many scriptures that are important and need to be heard. I had settled on a passage in Luke, but as I prayed this morning I felt God was calling me to speak on something else. Hopefully it is a message you've heard before. But even so, it is a message that we all should know by heart and be able to share with others. It is the message of salvation.
It begins in Romans 3:23, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." All have sinned. Not a single person in this room is innocent. We are all guilty. Scripture tells us that any sin, no matter how small, is what separates us from God. He is holy and by his very nature He cannot be in the presence of unholy, sinful beings. So even the little lies we tell, or the judgement we pass on others, or the coveting of our neighbor's stuff - all of this separates us from God.
Romans 6:23 says, "for the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." This is telling us that the price we must pay for our sin is death. Death is our punishment. But this verse also gives us hope. It says that, "the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." But if we are deserving of death, how can we receive this gift?
Romans 5:8 says, "But God demonstrtates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." And then in Ephesians 2:8-9 it says, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast."
God made a perfect world for us with colors, tastes, sounds and smells. He
could have made us an empty world, one without joy. But because He loves
us, he gave us a world that we could enjoy. Not only that, he gave us a
world that was perfect, all the while knowing that we would mess it up by bringing sin into it. But he loved us enough to give it to us anyway.
Christ did not wait for us to stop sinning before he died. "While we were still sinners Christ died for us." He gave his life, he took our punishment upon himself, not because of anything we've done, but because he loves us. He did it becasue He loves you!
But like any gift, we can refuse it. He gives this gift to us freely, but it is up to us to accept it.
How do we accept this gift? The answer is in Romans 10:9-10, "That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you willl be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved."
You accept Jesus' gift by believeing in your heart that Jesus is the son of God, that he died to cover over your sins, and that God raised him from the dead. Then you are to confess that you are a sinner in need of Jesus as your savior. Confess that you want Jesus to come into your heart and be Lord your life. Ask him to come into your heart. This is how you are saved. You cannot buy the gift of salvation from God and you cannot earn it with good deeds. But we know from Romans 10:13 that, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." John 5:24 adds, "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life."
How about you? Have you accepted Jesus as your savior? If so, your llife should be a reflection of him. If you have asked him to be Lord of your life, sin should no longer have a hold on you. Does that mean you'll become perfect? No, we are still human after all. But once you accept Christ, people should see a change in you. And when they ask you the reason, be prepared to share with them how Jesus has changed your life.
If you haven't accepted Christ, please consider what I have said. Study the Bible and seek the truth of God. He says that if we seek him with our whole heart we will find him.
Thank you for allowing me to speak to you today. May God bless you and keep you. May his face shine upon you all the days of your life. And may the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you. Amen!"
***Though I had written this following part down, I did not read it aloud in church that day. However, I include it here for those that may be trusting in Christ for the first time.
"If you feel you are ready to accept Christ, I want to give you an opportunity now to pray to Him. You can pray this prayer or one of your own.
- "Jesus, I confess that I am a sinner. I confess that nothing I do can save me, but that you, the Son of God can. I believe that you died for me and that you rose again. I believe that you are in Heaven right now looking down on me. I want you to come into my life and be my savior. Please change me into the person you want me to be. Amen!"
If you've just now prayed this prayer, please find someone that you can tell. Connect with other believers that can help you to understand the Bible and what it means for your life.
If you're not sure about this whole Jesus thing, but are interested in reading about him, I suggest starting by reading in the book of John which is found in the New Testament. The first four books (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) of the New Testament in the Bible all tell about Jesus ministry. Start your search for God there. Ane remember, if you seek him with your whole heart, you will find him.
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Romania Part 8 - Hoarders, Fleas & VBS
Have you ever watched an episode of Hoarders? Well, if you have, then you have an idea of what Ghita's house was like. Partly from depression and partly from bad health, his house was a mess. Not only was it infested with fleas, but there were heaps of trash everywhere and the yard was completely overgrown. The first thing we had to do was clear a space at the back of the property to make a fire pit. Charlie had fun working the scythe. While he, Scott & Randy worked on clearing space then digging a fire pit, Lisa and I worked on cleaning out Ghita's spare room. (Keith and Tammy were both sick so they didn't get the joy of doing the work this day).
I'm so thankful that I brought some work gloves along with me on the trip. I'm not sure what I would have done without them. It took a while, but we finally got the room cleaned out. Everything we pulled out went straight to the trash. We burned what we could and the rest got taken to the dump. The only thing left in the room when we were done was an old wardrobe. Most of what we dumped was old clothes and bedding. I didn't find a single thing that was in once piece or didn't smell horrible. I did however find his dentures, still in a jar or solution, at the back of his wardrobe. Jackie said it had probably been a few years since he had even seen them. The most interesting thing (at least to me) I found was an old glass syringe. Thankfully I saw it before I stabbed myself with it!
We also threw out dozens of plastic 1 and 2-liter bottles. He kept all the bottles to use as kindling for his fires in the winter. Yes, plastic burns well, but it's also toxic. So - out they all went - into the fire pit. However, before we could burn them, we had to empty them. I'm not sure what the liquid was that was in them, but it was putrid. I don't gag easily, but I came pretty close to throwing up at one point. So, I left the bottle-emptying to Scott and just worked on clearing the trash out of the house. I'm sure his neighbors loved the smell that fire was putting out, but it had to be done. Jackie is going to replace his bottles with fire-starter bricks so he has something that burns well but is safe.
Also going on the fire was his old straw mattress and hopefully a few thousand fleas.
Ah, yes... the fleas. I was the lucky one. I only received a few bites. Charlie however was COVERED with flea bites. After the spare room was clean, the guys moved all the furniture we were able to salvage from the bedroom into the spare room. Then the guys worked on patching the walls with cement and getting it ready to be painted. Since the bedroom is where he spent most of his time, that is where most of the fleas were. Anyone who even walked through the room for a few seconds would come out with a handful of fleas on them. *side note* We unfortunately brought the fleas back with us. The night we stayed in Budapest I opened my suitcase to get something out. Within five minutes I found 3 fleas on me. YUCK! When we got back to the states I left our suitcases on the front porch and didn't bring them in until I sprayed them with flea spray.
While all this was going on Alina, Carolyn, Lavina, & Claudia were working on painting a new wardrobe for Ghita and cleaning all the dishes we were able to salvage. They also helped with cleaning up some of the yard. Adina gave Ghita a shave and cut his hair. Jackie convinced him to wash as much of his body as he could politely expose with all the people around. He looked so much better once he had cleaned up a bit.
I think it was really hard for him to see how much of his stuff was getting taken away. But there just wasn't much to salvage. It had all been eaten away by moths, rodents and rust. Jackie bought him a new bed and a new mattress that we were able to put in his house the next day.
In the afternoon, the guys stayed at the house to continue working while we headed a couple of blocks away to hold our VBS. We had it outside under a couple of trees, in front of one of the widow's houses that Jackie takes care of. We had planned on maybe 25-30 kids showing up when we prepared things back home in the states. To our surprise we had more like 75-80 kids! VBS was good, but frustrating. Unlike Iosif's VBS where there was a clear plan of "We're doing this, then this, then this," this was more like, "Okay, now what are we doing?" I thought I had planned well, but due to me misunderstanding how much time I needed to fill, I didn't have near enough stuff to fill the 2 1/2 -3 hour VBS that was wanted. Thankfully, I work well under pressure and Adina knew some extra songs and I thought up some extra games. We also didn't have enough crafts - which we didn't realize until we already started handing them out. Most of the kids did okay with sharing their crafts, but some of the younger kids threw a fit about it (as 3-5 year olds will do). It all worked out okay in the end. Carolyn did a "Watermelon Testimony," where she used the colors of the watermelon to represent different parts of the salvation story (red - blood; black seeds - sin; green rind - growth in our faith; etc.). It was really neat. The best part for the kids was that they got to eat watermelon when they were done.
The guys were still going when we were done and weren't close to being finished - but there wasn't enough work for all of us, so we headed back to Arad while they stayed and worked. We got home around 5:30, Charlie and Scott didn't get back until almost 8:30! They went late because they were trying to get the walls repaired so they'd have time to dry so they could be painted the next day.
The next day, at least for me, was a day of "hurry up and wait." The guys (Keith was feeling better so he was with them) left at about 7:30 because they had some things to pick up for Ghita's house before they could work. Adina had some things to pick up as well, but the store she needed them from didn't open until 8:00. So we waited for her. We had hoped to leave around 8:30 - 8:45. We didn't end up leaving Arad until 9:45. We stopped to pick up watermelon for VBS at a roadside stand. At some point Adina had gotten a call about a stove top the guys needed picked up for Ghita's stove. So, after getting that, we didn't even get to Ghita's until 12:45. We had just enough time to eat and then head to VBS.
I thought for sure today at VBS would be less frustrating because, now that I knew what was going on, I had planned better and had plenty of stuff to fill 2 1/2 - 3 hours. Unfortunately, it went closer to 3 - 3 1/2 hours! That is a LONG VBS when you are outside in 100+ degree weather. The main problem, which I didn't realize until much later, was that we had too many transitions. It was my fault for not going over the schedule with the other leaders beforehand so we were all on the same page. Instead, I'd get them started on one thing, in my mind thinking, "Next we'll do..." whereas, my co-leader was thinking, "as soon as we're done here we'll do..." So, there were too many cooks in the kitchen so to speak and the one with the experience doing VBS (me) didn't do a good job of making my plans clear.
This time it was the guys that got done before us. They left town around 3:30 whereas we didn't leave until closer to 5:00.
After dinner at a pizza place we went back to the apartment for our last night with the girls. While there, Keith and Ramona were chatting through Google translate. They were having a good time, then she suddenly closed the laptop and walked away. Keith wasn't sure what had happened, but she had been acting a little off all night - you could tell she was struggling with saying good-bye. Later, as I was sitting on the couch beside her she said something about telling Keith not to be mean. Then, as we were getting ready to go, she gave everyone a hug good-bye, but only shook Keith's hand. I asked Adina to talk to her and find out what was wrong because as buddy-buddy as they had been all week, it seemed to me that something was wrong.
Turns out Google Translate is not the best way to communicate with someone. Keith doesn't know what he typed, but what got translated was something along the lines of, "You're crazy," which is a huge insult. (It'd be like someone calling you an idiot.) Her feelings had gotten hurt because she thought Keith had actually said that to her. Thankfully, we finally got things cleared up and she and Keith made up. Later that night though, Keith was really struggling with it. He felt like the whole week he had spent getting to know her and befriend her and it was like it was all washed down the drain. But, thanks to the "miracle" of facebook, they've been able to keep in touch and mend what was broken.
The next day Dany drove us to Budapest where we got to sight see for the day before flying home on Saturday. (By the way, Budapest is a fun place to visit if you ever get a chance).
All in all, it was a very good trip. We were exhausted when we returned, but honestly, being busy helped the time away from my kids go by faster. Keith has walked away from this trip a different man. I think a world view would do that to most any person. But, more than being different, I think he also has a clearer vision of what God wants from him. We've talked quite a bit, and I can see us at some point doing a minsitry similar to Scott & Carolyn's here in the states. We've also talked about going back to Romania next summer and maybe staying for a longer time (and taking the kids with us). I don't know exactly what the future holds, but I know God has more planned for us than to just be sight-seers on this wonderful planet. He is calling us to get our hands dirty in kingdom work and I can't wait.
Bonus: Here is a link to Jackie's blog that talks about Ghita's house (including before and after pictures). http://jackieramseysspace.blogspot.ro
I'm so thankful that I brought some work gloves along with me on the trip. I'm not sure what I would have done without them. It took a while, but we finally got the room cleaned out. Everything we pulled out went straight to the trash. We burned what we could and the rest got taken to the dump. The only thing left in the room when we were done was an old wardrobe. Most of what we dumped was old clothes and bedding. I didn't find a single thing that was in once piece or didn't smell horrible. I did however find his dentures, still in a jar or solution, at the back of his wardrobe. Jackie said it had probably been a few years since he had even seen them. The most interesting thing (at least to me) I found was an old glass syringe. Thankfully I saw it before I stabbed myself with it!
We also threw out dozens of plastic 1 and 2-liter bottles. He kept all the bottles to use as kindling for his fires in the winter. Yes, plastic burns well, but it's also toxic. So - out they all went - into the fire pit. However, before we could burn them, we had to empty them. I'm not sure what the liquid was that was in them, but it was putrid. I don't gag easily, but I came pretty close to throwing up at one point. So, I left the bottle-emptying to Scott and just worked on clearing the trash out of the house. I'm sure his neighbors loved the smell that fire was putting out, but it had to be done. Jackie is going to replace his bottles with fire-starter bricks so he has something that burns well but is safe.
Also going on the fire was his old straw mattress and hopefully a few thousand fleas.
Ah, yes... the fleas. I was the lucky one. I only received a few bites. Charlie however was COVERED with flea bites. After the spare room was clean, the guys moved all the furniture we were able to salvage from the bedroom into the spare room. Then the guys worked on patching the walls with cement and getting it ready to be painted. Since the bedroom is where he spent most of his time, that is where most of the fleas were. Anyone who even walked through the room for a few seconds would come out with a handful of fleas on them. *side note* We unfortunately brought the fleas back with us. The night we stayed in Budapest I opened my suitcase to get something out. Within five minutes I found 3 fleas on me. YUCK! When we got back to the states I left our suitcases on the front porch and didn't bring them in until I sprayed them with flea spray.
While all this was going on Alina, Carolyn, Lavina, & Claudia were working on painting a new wardrobe for Ghita and cleaning all the dishes we were able to salvage. They also helped with cleaning up some of the yard. Adina gave Ghita a shave and cut his hair. Jackie convinced him to wash as much of his body as he could politely expose with all the people around. He looked so much better once he had cleaned up a bit.
I think it was really hard for him to see how much of his stuff was getting taken away. But there just wasn't much to salvage. It had all been eaten away by moths, rodents and rust. Jackie bought him a new bed and a new mattress that we were able to put in his house the next day.
In the afternoon, the guys stayed at the house to continue working while we headed a couple of blocks away to hold our VBS. We had it outside under a couple of trees, in front of one of the widow's houses that Jackie takes care of. We had planned on maybe 25-30 kids showing up when we prepared things back home in the states. To our surprise we had more like 75-80 kids! VBS was good, but frustrating. Unlike Iosif's VBS where there was a clear plan of "We're doing this, then this, then this," this was more like, "Okay, now what are we doing?" I thought I had planned well, but due to me misunderstanding how much time I needed to fill, I didn't have near enough stuff to fill the 2 1/2 -3 hour VBS that was wanted. Thankfully, I work well under pressure and Adina knew some extra songs and I thought up some extra games. We also didn't have enough crafts - which we didn't realize until we already started handing them out. Most of the kids did okay with sharing their crafts, but some of the younger kids threw a fit about it (as 3-5 year olds will do). It all worked out okay in the end. Carolyn did a "Watermelon Testimony," where she used the colors of the watermelon to represent different parts of the salvation story (red - blood; black seeds - sin; green rind - growth in our faith; etc.). It was really neat. The best part for the kids was that they got to eat watermelon when they were done.
The guys were still going when we were done and weren't close to being finished - but there wasn't enough work for all of us, so we headed back to Arad while they stayed and worked. We got home around 5:30, Charlie and Scott didn't get back until almost 8:30! They went late because they were trying to get the walls repaired so they'd have time to dry so they could be painted the next day.
The next day, at least for me, was a day of "hurry up and wait." The guys (Keith was feeling better so he was with them) left at about 7:30 because they had some things to pick up for Ghita's house before they could work. Adina had some things to pick up as well, but the store she needed them from didn't open until 8:00. So we waited for her. We had hoped to leave around 8:30 - 8:45. We didn't end up leaving Arad until 9:45. We stopped to pick up watermelon for VBS at a roadside stand. At some point Adina had gotten a call about a stove top the guys needed picked up for Ghita's stove. So, after getting that, we didn't even get to Ghita's until 12:45. We had just enough time to eat and then head to VBS.
I thought for sure today at VBS would be less frustrating because, now that I knew what was going on, I had planned better and had plenty of stuff to fill 2 1/2 - 3 hours. Unfortunately, it went closer to 3 - 3 1/2 hours! That is a LONG VBS when you are outside in 100+ degree weather. The main problem, which I didn't realize until much later, was that we had too many transitions. It was my fault for not going over the schedule with the other leaders beforehand so we were all on the same page. Instead, I'd get them started on one thing, in my mind thinking, "Next we'll do..." whereas, my co-leader was thinking, "as soon as we're done here we'll do..." So, there were too many cooks in the kitchen so to speak and the one with the experience doing VBS (me) didn't do a good job of making my plans clear.
This time it was the guys that got done before us. They left town around 3:30 whereas we didn't leave until closer to 5:00.
After dinner at a pizza place we went back to the apartment for our last night with the girls. While there, Keith and Ramona were chatting through Google translate. They were having a good time, then she suddenly closed the laptop and walked away. Keith wasn't sure what had happened, but she had been acting a little off all night - you could tell she was struggling with saying good-bye. Later, as I was sitting on the couch beside her she said something about telling Keith not to be mean. Then, as we were getting ready to go, she gave everyone a hug good-bye, but only shook Keith's hand. I asked Adina to talk to her and find out what was wrong because as buddy-buddy as they had been all week, it seemed to me that something was wrong.
Turns out Google Translate is not the best way to communicate with someone. Keith doesn't know what he typed, but what got translated was something along the lines of, "You're crazy," which is a huge insult. (It'd be like someone calling you an idiot.) Her feelings had gotten hurt because she thought Keith had actually said that to her. Thankfully, we finally got things cleared up and she and Keith made up. Later that night though, Keith was really struggling with it. He felt like the whole week he had spent getting to know her and befriend her and it was like it was all washed down the drain. But, thanks to the "miracle" of facebook, they've been able to keep in touch and mend what was broken.
The next day Dany drove us to Budapest where we got to sight see for the day before flying home on Saturday. (By the way, Budapest is a fun place to visit if you ever get a chance).
All in all, it was a very good trip. We were exhausted when we returned, but honestly, being busy helped the time away from my kids go by faster. Keith has walked away from this trip a different man. I think a world view would do that to most any person. But, more than being different, I think he also has a clearer vision of what God wants from him. We've talked quite a bit, and I can see us at some point doing a minsitry similar to Scott & Carolyn's here in the states. We've also talked about going back to Romania next summer and maybe staying for a longer time (and taking the kids with us). I don't know exactly what the future holds, but I know God has more planned for us than to just be sight-seers on this wonderful planet. He is calling us to get our hands dirty in kingdom work and I can't wait.
Bonus: Here is a link to Jackie's blog that talks about Ghita's house (including before and after pictures). http://jackieramseysspace.blogspot.ro
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Romania Part 7: Country living, fleas, and spoons
On Monday, July 16, Dany drove us out to the property where the horse ranch will eventually be. We met Gabby and Samina there and they took us on a hike up the hill where they plan on building the house for the girls. It is beautiful there. It is on the edge of the Carpathian Mountains. Since it is kind of in the middle of nowhere, you are surrounded by nature. It is a wonderful place for healing to begin.
Gabby's grandparents lived in a small village (I'm sorry, I can't remember the name of it) just down the road from the main part of the property. He is working on restoring that property. It is a very traditional layout. It was common years ago (and many of the older generation still live this way) to have a small house that you lived in and then a larger house for guests. Not only is the guest house larger, it has the nicer furniture, decorations, and the most comfortable beds. For many of the owners, the only time they will ever stay in the guest house is during their funeral.
Let me try to give you a mental picture of the property. As with all properties it is fenced in. As you walk through the gate, the guest house is on the left and the main house is on the right with a little bit of grassy area in front of each. There is a small courtyard between the two houses. Hanging overhead, stretching from the guest house to the main house, were grapevines. Immediately behind the guesthouse was the old pig pen. If I remember right, it had three stalls. The stalls open into the courtyard. At a 90 degree angle to the pig pen was a wine cellar that created the back corner of the property. Immediately behind the main house was the storage area (a barn basically) where they would keep everything from animal fodder to fire wood. In this area was also a huge barrel (I could have easily sat in it) that they used to use to make whiskey. There was a gate connecting the barn to the wine cellar. This gate opened onto a field and also led to the all important outhouse. It was as quaint and as rustic as you can get.
The guest house (from what I remember) was basically two large rooms connected by a small entry way. It had an old straw mattress in one room along with old photos and papers still lying on the desk. It really was like stepping back in time. The main house is 3 rooms laid out in a straight line. The front room will be a bedroom once it is updated a bit. A door leads from there into a smaller room that houses the old stove - which also heats the house in the winter. From this room, you walk into the last room which for now is the kitchen (I don't know if that was the original use, but I'm guessing it served as the pantry at least).
I wish I had pictures to post here so you could see it. But, I don't, so hopefully I described it well enough. That afternoon, us girls worked on getting the window frames ready for a fresh coat of paint while the guys worked on tearing off the old mud & straw plaster from the pig pen. The pig pen will eventually be torn down and replaced with more housing for teams that come to help on the horse ranch. We enjoyed a picnic lunch before we got to work and then enjoyed some fresh watermelon during a break.
The neighbor next door is a bee keeper. I am very grateful for the yummy honey fresh from the hive that we got to bring home to Kansas.
That night we ate at the apartment. While Charlie, Keith, and I sat at the "kids" table in the kitchen, Lisa, Randy & Tammy sat at the "adults" table in the dinning area. Let me just say, that the "kids" table was more fun. We got in "trouble" by Adina for distracting the girls while they were trying to eat. I don't know what they talked about at the "adult" table, but us "kids" sure did have fun at our table.
The next day we went to work with Jackie. She visits the mental hospital - Mocrea - once a week and Scott & Carolyn often join her. Almost the only time some of the residents get to come outside is when Jackie and crew visit. Though some of the residents have family that visit, many have become forgotten by the world. I admit - this was a really hard activity for me. I think it would've been easier if I spoke Romanian. Although by this point I knew a few phrases I found myself very frustrated that when someone tried to talk to me, I couldn't respond. It was also very uncomfortable. Some of the people definitely needed to be there, but there were some who looked and acted like anyone else I would've met on the street. It made me wonder if they really needed to be here. We talked a little about it later and I think Carolyn said it best. She said that even if you didn't need to be there in the beginning, staying there would have the potential to make you mentally disturbed.
We stayed at Mocrea for about 1 - 1 1/2 hours then we went to Dud (pronounced dude). The guys went to Ghita's house (pronounced Geetza). Ghita is a widower that Jackie has begun helping. After his wife died he was basically helpless. He didn't know how to take care of himself. Recently he had a fire in his house (a small 3 room mud/straw house) which caused some damage though it thankfully didn't destroy the house. A couple weeks ago, Scott and a couple other guys helped him out by rebuilding his fence (all properties in Romania are surrounded by fences. Basically - if something is out in the open - it's free for anyone to take, but if it's behind a fence it's your property). But his house still needed a lot of help because of the fire and also because the housework and upkeep have overwhelmed him. So, we planned on working on his house Wednesday & Thursday. However, before going in, we needed to try to kill the THOUSANDS of fleas that had infested his house.
Upon arriving in Dud, the guys went to Ghita's to try to kill some fleas while the girls went around the village handing out flyers saying that we would have a VBS the next two afternoons. Ghita is kind of ignored and looked down upon because he doesn't take care of himself. You can literally smell him across the room. One of his neighbors said they would help him out once he started taking care of himself. The problem is he is depressed and until someone starts showing him that he has some worth, he's not going to take care of himself. Well, when his neighbors saw the Americans building him a fence a couple weeks ago, they started to wonder what made him so special that Americans would help him. So, Jackie figured that since our presence would be noticed as we worked on his house, we should take advantage of the opportunity and also have a VBS for the kids.
After we got back to Arad, Me, Keith & Charlie headed back to the apartment. The rest of the crew was tired &/or not feeling well, so they stayed at the hotel to rest up. We taught the girls (Ramona, Alina & Adina) how to play Spoons. Ramona decided that we needed to change it up a bit so at her suggestion the winner got to give the loser a penalty. We were a rowdy bunch that night. The penalties ranged from having to sing "I'm a Little Teapot" to doing the Chicken Dance, to standing out on the balcony and barking like a dog. It was hilarious. We had such a good time. Well, that is until "Dad" (aka Scott) told us it was time for Ramona to go to bed (she goes to work at 5:30 most mornings).
Well, tomorrow will probably be my last post about Romania. Sorry it's taken me so long (and so many words!) to tell you about it. :) I hope you have enjoyed it. It has been good for me to go back through my journal from the trip and re-live the memories. There are some parts I had forgotten about until I started looking back. Thanks for listening as I relive it.
So... until tomorrow...
Gabby's grandparents lived in a small village (I'm sorry, I can't remember the name of it) just down the road from the main part of the property. He is working on restoring that property. It is a very traditional layout. It was common years ago (and many of the older generation still live this way) to have a small house that you lived in and then a larger house for guests. Not only is the guest house larger, it has the nicer furniture, decorations, and the most comfortable beds. For many of the owners, the only time they will ever stay in the guest house is during their funeral.
Let me try to give you a mental picture of the property. As with all properties it is fenced in. As you walk through the gate, the guest house is on the left and the main house is on the right with a little bit of grassy area in front of each. There is a small courtyard between the two houses. Hanging overhead, stretching from the guest house to the main house, were grapevines. Immediately behind the guesthouse was the old pig pen. If I remember right, it had three stalls. The stalls open into the courtyard. At a 90 degree angle to the pig pen was a wine cellar that created the back corner of the property. Immediately behind the main house was the storage area (a barn basically) where they would keep everything from animal fodder to fire wood. In this area was also a huge barrel (I could have easily sat in it) that they used to use to make whiskey. There was a gate connecting the barn to the wine cellar. This gate opened onto a field and also led to the all important outhouse. It was as quaint and as rustic as you can get.
The guest house (from what I remember) was basically two large rooms connected by a small entry way. It had an old straw mattress in one room along with old photos and papers still lying on the desk. It really was like stepping back in time. The main house is 3 rooms laid out in a straight line. The front room will be a bedroom once it is updated a bit. A door leads from there into a smaller room that houses the old stove - which also heats the house in the winter. From this room, you walk into the last room which for now is the kitchen (I don't know if that was the original use, but I'm guessing it served as the pantry at least).
I wish I had pictures to post here so you could see it. But, I don't, so hopefully I described it well enough. That afternoon, us girls worked on getting the window frames ready for a fresh coat of paint while the guys worked on tearing off the old mud & straw plaster from the pig pen. The pig pen will eventually be torn down and replaced with more housing for teams that come to help on the horse ranch. We enjoyed a picnic lunch before we got to work and then enjoyed some fresh watermelon during a break.
The neighbor next door is a bee keeper. I am very grateful for the yummy honey fresh from the hive that we got to bring home to Kansas.
That night we ate at the apartment. While Charlie, Keith, and I sat at the "kids" table in the kitchen, Lisa, Randy & Tammy sat at the "adults" table in the dinning area. Let me just say, that the "kids" table was more fun. We got in "trouble" by Adina for distracting the girls while they were trying to eat. I don't know what they talked about at the "adult" table, but us "kids" sure did have fun at our table.
The next day we went to work with Jackie. She visits the mental hospital - Mocrea - once a week and Scott & Carolyn often join her. Almost the only time some of the residents get to come outside is when Jackie and crew visit. Though some of the residents have family that visit, many have become forgotten by the world. I admit - this was a really hard activity for me. I think it would've been easier if I spoke Romanian. Although by this point I knew a few phrases I found myself very frustrated that when someone tried to talk to me, I couldn't respond. It was also very uncomfortable. Some of the people definitely needed to be there, but there were some who looked and acted like anyone else I would've met on the street. It made me wonder if they really needed to be here. We talked a little about it later and I think Carolyn said it best. She said that even if you didn't need to be there in the beginning, staying there would have the potential to make you mentally disturbed.
We stayed at Mocrea for about 1 - 1 1/2 hours then we went to Dud (pronounced dude). The guys went to Ghita's house (pronounced Geetza). Ghita is a widower that Jackie has begun helping. After his wife died he was basically helpless. He didn't know how to take care of himself. Recently he had a fire in his house (a small 3 room mud/straw house) which caused some damage though it thankfully didn't destroy the house. A couple weeks ago, Scott and a couple other guys helped him out by rebuilding his fence (all properties in Romania are surrounded by fences. Basically - if something is out in the open - it's free for anyone to take, but if it's behind a fence it's your property). But his house still needed a lot of help because of the fire and also because the housework and upkeep have overwhelmed him. So, we planned on working on his house Wednesday & Thursday. However, before going in, we needed to try to kill the THOUSANDS of fleas that had infested his house.
Upon arriving in Dud, the guys went to Ghita's to try to kill some fleas while the girls went around the village handing out flyers saying that we would have a VBS the next two afternoons. Ghita is kind of ignored and looked down upon because he doesn't take care of himself. You can literally smell him across the room. One of his neighbors said they would help him out once he started taking care of himself. The problem is he is depressed and until someone starts showing him that he has some worth, he's not going to take care of himself. Well, when his neighbors saw the Americans building him a fence a couple weeks ago, they started to wonder what made him so special that Americans would help him. So, Jackie figured that since our presence would be noticed as we worked on his house, we should take advantage of the opportunity and also have a VBS for the kids.
After we got back to Arad, Me, Keith & Charlie headed back to the apartment. The rest of the crew was tired &/or not feeling well, so they stayed at the hotel to rest up. We taught the girls (Ramona, Alina & Adina) how to play Spoons. Ramona decided that we needed to change it up a bit so at her suggestion the winner got to give the loser a penalty. We were a rowdy bunch that night. The penalties ranged from having to sing "I'm a Little Teapot" to doing the Chicken Dance, to standing out on the balcony and barking like a dog. It was hilarious. We had such a good time. Well, that is until "Dad" (aka Scott) told us it was time for Ramona to go to bed (she goes to work at 5:30 most mornings).
Well, tomorrow will probably be my last post about Romania. Sorry it's taken me so long (and so many words!) to tell you about it. :) I hope you have enjoyed it. It has been good for me to go back through my journal from the trip and re-live the memories. There are some parts I had forgotten about until I started looking back. Thanks for listening as I relive it.
So... until tomorrow...
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Romania Part #6 - The girls, A Gypsy Church, and a Movie
The Saturday we left Iosif's I was looking forward to sleeping in. However, his dogs, Zeus and Marley, had other plans. They thought 6:30 am was a wonderful time to play tug-of-war with a plastic water bottle. So, I laid there for about 1/2 an hour trying to ignore Zeus' massive jaw chomping relentlessly on the 1 liter bottle before I finally gave up. But, at least we weren't rushed to leave and were able to take our time getting ready and packing up our stuff.
Dany picked us up around 11:00 and we left Timisoara and headed to Arad. Since they only have one guest room, we stayed at a Bed & Breakfast. After dropping off our stuff there we went to Scott & Carolyn's apartment and got to meet their girls. Alina was not home from church camp, but Ramona and Fifi were both there. We also got to meet Liviu and he and Charlie immediately hit it off by talking about soccer. After lunch (mmmm.... shawarmas) we headed back to our hotel (I know it was a bed & breakfast - but hotel is faster to write). I was exhausted from the previous week so I took advantage of the down time and took a nap.
I awoke to the guys laughing and Keith saying something about, "Boobies!" Some inside joke that I think is better off left ignored. He, Charlie and Randy had gone for a walk around town while the girls relaxed. That night we ate dinner at the apartment with the girls. They had fixed us dinner (stuffed mushrooms - my FAVORITE!!!).
At some point, Ramona noticed Keith's toenails that I had painted the week before. Somehow that turned into her getting out ear rings for him to wear. Then suddenly he was in a wig. It was hilarious - and also a little disturbing! But, in true Keith fashion, he let himself be the butt of the joke so as to break down barriers. The girls were not timid around us at all after that. Once we got Keith to look like a man again we played Sequence with them until about midnight.
Sunday I thought for sure I'd get to sleep in since we weren't going to church until the afternoon. However, the rooster in the yard next door thought 6:45 was as good a time as any to awake. This was the day we were headed to the gypsy church in Vinga. I was giving the message from our group. I had planned on talking about loving your enemies, but as I tried to write out what I wanted to say, it just wasn't coming to me.
After prayer, it became clear that I was to talk on the Roman Road. This was one of the instances where I saw God's hand at work. You see, ever since going to Haiti I've felt I am supposed to teach God's word in some form. On top of that, I've always wanted to write. I've felt that maybe I'm supposed to write a Bible study. Well, when my co-worker, Sharon, learned this she said, "I'm throwing down the guantlet. Why don't you write a study for us [co-workers] to do?" So I accepted that challenge and have spent the past several months writing a study on the Roman Road. I finished it the week before we left for Romania. So, as I'm preparing what I'm going to say in the gypsy church, God told me, "You already know what to say. You just wrote a six-week study on it!"
After lunch, we headed to the villiage of Vinga. All the other places I visited, though rural, did not look "poor." Vinga reminded me of Haiti. There were people just sitting outside their unkempt houses, which were made from mud with dirt floors. Some had only a blanket for a door. There was trash just kind of dumped where ever. The roads were hard and pitted with pot holes. There was one water pump for the tiny village. Before church, we helped Jackie pass out food to some of the widows in her program. The women were very grateful. Without Jackie's help, I'm not sure how they would get enough food.
The church was held in a one room building. I don't know if it may have been a house at one point, but I do know that the one room is not much bigger than my living room. I'm not good at estimating numbers so I couldn't tell you for sure how many were in attendance. I would guess there were about 50 people total. The service was interesting, though not unfamiliar. A group of the older members stood to sing a song. It didn't sound bad, but I swear it had about 20 verses. :) The youth group aged kids got up to sing a couple songs and one of the songs they sang was, "Blessed Be Your Name." We also took communion. Though there wasn't enough juice for everyone to have a cup, so we shared.
Jackie pastors the church in Vinga. She has tried to get another pastor to take over there, but no one wants to teach at a gypsy church - so she does. There is a strong racial tension between the gypsies and the Romanians. We saw it some in Gataia as well. The best way to describe it would be to think of the segregation between blacks and whites in the US about 60 years ago.
After a brief message from Jackie it was my turn to speak. I told them that from what I had seen during the service so far, that this was a message they had probably heard before, but that it was one I felt God was telling me to share. So, I shared the message. While I was speaking, about five different people got up and walked out. I asked later if this was common. Carolyn said it wasn't uncommon. I wasn't sure what to think though. On the one hand, I didn't want to offend anyone, but on the other, I wished they had stayed because maybe they were missing something God wanted them to hear.
After the service, Jackie provided us with pop and cookies while she had a church leaders meeting to attend. I'm not sure how long we sat there, but after a while we finally had to leave because Jackie was still in her meeting and the girls were waiting for us in Arad. It was weird being served snacks while all the poor kids were outside. Keith and Charlie took some of the cookies and a bottle of pop out to the kids while we waited on Jackie.
We headed back to Arad so that we could take the girls out for a special treat. Keith found out the night before that Fifi had only been to the movie theater a couple of times and Ramona had never been. So, we took them to the movies. Alina came home right before we left so we were able to take her as well. We let the girls choose the movie, so we got to see Ice Age 4 in 3-D. We went all out and also bought them popcorn and sodas. It was so fun to sit next to Ramona and see her reaction the first time something "jumped" out at her. Interesting note on the movie theaters - they have assigned seating! You can actually be fined if you don't sit in your assigned seat. It's basically like going to a fancy theater where you choose where you're going to sit when you buy your ticket. That was a new experience for me.
After the movies we headed back to the apartment for a late dinner and then went back to our hotel.
I could keep writing, but since this is already a long post, I'll just stop right here. Until tomorrow...
Dany picked us up around 11:00 and we left Timisoara and headed to Arad. Since they only have one guest room, we stayed at a Bed & Breakfast. After dropping off our stuff there we went to Scott & Carolyn's apartment and got to meet their girls. Alina was not home from church camp, but Ramona and Fifi were both there. We also got to meet Liviu and he and Charlie immediately hit it off by talking about soccer. After lunch (mmmm.... shawarmas) we headed back to our hotel (I know it was a bed & breakfast - but hotel is faster to write). I was exhausted from the previous week so I took advantage of the down time and took a nap.
I awoke to the guys laughing and Keith saying something about, "Boobies!" Some inside joke that I think is better off left ignored. He, Charlie and Randy had gone for a walk around town while the girls relaxed. That night we ate dinner at the apartment with the girls. They had fixed us dinner (stuffed mushrooms - my FAVORITE!!!).
At some point, Ramona noticed Keith's toenails that I had painted the week before. Somehow that turned into her getting out ear rings for him to wear. Then suddenly he was in a wig. It was hilarious - and also a little disturbing! But, in true Keith fashion, he let himself be the butt of the joke so as to break down barriers. The girls were not timid around us at all after that. Once we got Keith to look like a man again we played Sequence with them until about midnight.
Sunday I thought for sure I'd get to sleep in since we weren't going to church until the afternoon. However, the rooster in the yard next door thought 6:45 was as good a time as any to awake. This was the day we were headed to the gypsy church in Vinga. I was giving the message from our group. I had planned on talking about loving your enemies, but as I tried to write out what I wanted to say, it just wasn't coming to me.
After prayer, it became clear that I was to talk on the Roman Road. This was one of the instances where I saw God's hand at work. You see, ever since going to Haiti I've felt I am supposed to teach God's word in some form. On top of that, I've always wanted to write. I've felt that maybe I'm supposed to write a Bible study. Well, when my co-worker, Sharon, learned this she said, "I'm throwing down the guantlet. Why don't you write a study for us [co-workers] to do?" So I accepted that challenge and have spent the past several months writing a study on the Roman Road. I finished it the week before we left for Romania. So, as I'm preparing what I'm going to say in the gypsy church, God told me, "You already know what to say. You just wrote a six-week study on it!"
After lunch, we headed to the villiage of Vinga. All the other places I visited, though rural, did not look "poor." Vinga reminded me of Haiti. There were people just sitting outside their unkempt houses, which were made from mud with dirt floors. Some had only a blanket for a door. There was trash just kind of dumped where ever. The roads were hard and pitted with pot holes. There was one water pump for the tiny village. Before church, we helped Jackie pass out food to some of the widows in her program. The women were very grateful. Without Jackie's help, I'm not sure how they would get enough food.
The church was held in a one room building. I don't know if it may have been a house at one point, but I do know that the one room is not much bigger than my living room. I'm not good at estimating numbers so I couldn't tell you for sure how many were in attendance. I would guess there were about 50 people total. The service was interesting, though not unfamiliar. A group of the older members stood to sing a song. It didn't sound bad, but I swear it had about 20 verses. :) The youth group aged kids got up to sing a couple songs and one of the songs they sang was, "Blessed Be Your Name." We also took communion. Though there wasn't enough juice for everyone to have a cup, so we shared.
Jackie pastors the church in Vinga. She has tried to get another pastor to take over there, but no one wants to teach at a gypsy church - so she does. There is a strong racial tension between the gypsies and the Romanians. We saw it some in Gataia as well. The best way to describe it would be to think of the segregation between blacks and whites in the US about 60 years ago.
After a brief message from Jackie it was my turn to speak. I told them that from what I had seen during the service so far, that this was a message they had probably heard before, but that it was one I felt God was telling me to share. So, I shared the message. While I was speaking, about five different people got up and walked out. I asked later if this was common. Carolyn said it wasn't uncommon. I wasn't sure what to think though. On the one hand, I didn't want to offend anyone, but on the other, I wished they had stayed because maybe they were missing something God wanted them to hear.
After the service, Jackie provided us with pop and cookies while she had a church leaders meeting to attend. I'm not sure how long we sat there, but after a while we finally had to leave because Jackie was still in her meeting and the girls were waiting for us in Arad. It was weird being served snacks while all the poor kids were outside. Keith and Charlie took some of the cookies and a bottle of pop out to the kids while we waited on Jackie.
We headed back to Arad so that we could take the girls out for a special treat. Keith found out the night before that Fifi had only been to the movie theater a couple of times and Ramona had never been. So, we took them to the movies. Alina came home right before we left so we were able to take her as well. We let the girls choose the movie, so we got to see Ice Age 4 in 3-D. We went all out and also bought them popcorn and sodas. It was so fun to sit next to Ramona and see her reaction the first time something "jumped" out at her. Interesting note on the movie theaters - they have assigned seating! You can actually be fined if you don't sit in your assigned seat. It's basically like going to a fancy theater where you choose where you're going to sit when you buy your ticket. That was a new experience for me.
After the movies we headed back to the apartment for a late dinner and then went back to our hotel.
I could keep writing, but since this is already a long post, I'll just stop right here. Until tomorrow...
Romania Part 5 - Character list for week #5
Sorry for the delay in finishing up my journal about our trip. We enjoyed a mini family get-away this past weekend and I am just now getting back into my routine.
As I mentioned in the last post, once we were done helping Iosif with VBS in Gataia we headed to Arad to do some work with Scott and Carolyn. This means that there is a whole new list of people to get to know. So here's the cast of characters for week #2:
Scott & Carolyn Pouncey: American missionaries living in Romania for the past 4 years. They've worked with street kids and orphans. They recently were able to start up their new ministry which I am excited to support. They have an apartment in Arad and across the hall they rent a second apartment. So far in the second apartment they have 3 girls plus a social worker, but they have space for a fourth girl. Their hope is to eventually have space for 12 girls (correct me if I'm wrong Scott!). All three girls living there have aged out of the foster care system and so they are now on their own. Scott & Carolyn work with them on finding jobs, finishing school, and learning the basic life skills that our parents teach us. They intentionally live out a healthy husband/wife relationship so that these girls can see what God wants for them too. They have truly become the stable parents that these girls never had. I do not know all the back story on the girls so I don't know their family situation. Some kids in the system have parents - it's just that the parents can't take care of them.
Gabby & Samina: Romanian husband and wife. Gabby has inherited land from his grandfather. He has always wanted to use it to share his love of nature and God with others. God brought him together with the Pouncey's and they are working as partners to use that land to build a horse ranch that will function as a therapy ranch for troubled girls. The only thing holding them back is money. Some of the girls that could be helped by this are ones that have been rescued from prostitution (which is common in Romania). Also, the general mindset of the male/female relationship is that if the guy needs to beat his girl into submission - that's okay. I kind of see Romania as having the mentality of the U.S. in the early 1900's. So there are young women that need to be restored. This ranch could help with that.
Jackie: an American missionary living in Romania for the past 15 years. She works with ministering to the gypsies and providing food to widows... among many other projects. She and the Pouncey's work together on some of her projects.
Adina: social worker living with the Pouncey's. Adina is a busy girl. Not only does she help the Pouncey's in their ministry (being a big sister/house mother to the girls, helping with paperwork for the Pouncey's, grocery shopping, etc.), but she is also employed by Jackie and helps her with all her ministry work.
The "girls": Even in the short time they have been with the Pouncey's (since May I believe), there is already much love. Scott is very protective of "his girls," especially in regards to the Italian boys who live on the floor below them. (He does NOT like the Italian boys. Just mentioning them brings a fire to his eyes).
Ramona: 21 years old. She graduated from a technical high school and currently works in a factory sewing clothes. She is very sweet and bubbly.
Mariana (aka: Fifi): 20 years old. She just completed her first year of nursing school. She is one of the most petite people I've ever met. :) (Thus the nickname Fifi).
Alina (not to be confused with Adina): 18 years old. Although she is 18, she just completed the 8th grade. Unlike the US, you have to take tests to be able to move on to the next grade. So being a certain age does not garantee you'll be at a certain grade level. However, it is virtually impossible to get a job without at least a 10th grade education. So being able to finish school is very important. Since Alina turned 18, she was told she had to leave the foster home at the end of the school year. But instead of living with a relative or maybe ending up on the street, she lives with Scott & Carolyn and will now be able to finish her education.
And the Pouncey's "son" - Liviu: he is Fifi's boyfriend. He also grew up in foster care. In fact, he met Fifi when he went back to the foster home to visit some friends of his. He is also the one that encouraged Fifi to live with the Pouncey's and take advantage of the opportunities they could provide for her. He is a strong believer and has a powerful testimony about how God has worked in his life. He is a stock broker and dreams of one day being able to visit Wall Street.
Dany & Lavina: Husband and wife (Dany is Adina's brother). They helped drive us around town and helped us on a couple of our projects throughout the week. Very sweet people!
Claudia: social worker that the Pouncey's met about 7 years ago when they were making yearly trips to Romania, but not yet living there. She is super sweet. She helped us out a couple of days toward the end of the week.
Well, that is the character list for this week. (I apologize to my friends if I spelled any of your names wrong!) I hope you enjoy getting to know them better as I tell you about the remainder of our trip.
Until next time...
As I mentioned in the last post, once we were done helping Iosif with VBS in Gataia we headed to Arad to do some work with Scott and Carolyn. This means that there is a whole new list of people to get to know. So here's the cast of characters for week #2:
Scott & Carolyn Pouncey: American missionaries living in Romania for the past 4 years. They've worked with street kids and orphans. They recently were able to start up their new ministry which I am excited to support. They have an apartment in Arad and across the hall they rent a second apartment. So far in the second apartment they have 3 girls plus a social worker, but they have space for a fourth girl. Their hope is to eventually have space for 12 girls (correct me if I'm wrong Scott!). All three girls living there have aged out of the foster care system and so they are now on their own. Scott & Carolyn work with them on finding jobs, finishing school, and learning the basic life skills that our parents teach us. They intentionally live out a healthy husband/wife relationship so that these girls can see what God wants for them too. They have truly become the stable parents that these girls never had. I do not know all the back story on the girls so I don't know their family situation. Some kids in the system have parents - it's just that the parents can't take care of them.
Gabby & Samina: Romanian husband and wife. Gabby has inherited land from his grandfather. He has always wanted to use it to share his love of nature and God with others. God brought him together with the Pouncey's and they are working as partners to use that land to build a horse ranch that will function as a therapy ranch for troubled girls. The only thing holding them back is money. Some of the girls that could be helped by this are ones that have been rescued from prostitution (which is common in Romania). Also, the general mindset of the male/female relationship is that if the guy needs to beat his girl into submission - that's okay. I kind of see Romania as having the mentality of the U.S. in the early 1900's. So there are young women that need to be restored. This ranch could help with that.
Jackie: an American missionary living in Romania for the past 15 years. She works with ministering to the gypsies and providing food to widows... among many other projects. She and the Pouncey's work together on some of her projects.
Adina: social worker living with the Pouncey's. Adina is a busy girl. Not only does she help the Pouncey's in their ministry (being a big sister/house mother to the girls, helping with paperwork for the Pouncey's, grocery shopping, etc.), but she is also employed by Jackie and helps her with all her ministry work.
The "girls": Even in the short time they have been with the Pouncey's (since May I believe), there is already much love. Scott is very protective of "his girls," especially in regards to the Italian boys who live on the floor below them. (He does NOT like the Italian boys. Just mentioning them brings a fire to his eyes).
Ramona: 21 years old. She graduated from a technical high school and currently works in a factory sewing clothes. She is very sweet and bubbly.
Mariana (aka: Fifi): 20 years old. She just completed her first year of nursing school. She is one of the most petite people I've ever met. :) (Thus the nickname Fifi).
Alina (not to be confused with Adina): 18 years old. Although she is 18, she just completed the 8th grade. Unlike the US, you have to take tests to be able to move on to the next grade. So being a certain age does not garantee you'll be at a certain grade level. However, it is virtually impossible to get a job without at least a 10th grade education. So being able to finish school is very important. Since Alina turned 18, she was told she had to leave the foster home at the end of the school year. But instead of living with a relative or maybe ending up on the street, she lives with Scott & Carolyn and will now be able to finish her education.
And the Pouncey's "son" - Liviu: he is Fifi's boyfriend. He also grew up in foster care. In fact, he met Fifi when he went back to the foster home to visit some friends of his. He is also the one that encouraged Fifi to live with the Pouncey's and take advantage of the opportunities they could provide for her. He is a strong believer and has a powerful testimony about how God has worked in his life. He is a stock broker and dreams of one day being able to visit Wall Street.
Dany & Lavina: Husband and wife (Dany is Adina's brother). They helped drive us around town and helped us on a couple of our projects throughout the week. Very sweet people!
Claudia: social worker that the Pouncey's met about 7 years ago when they were making yearly trips to Romania, but not yet living there. She is super sweet. She helped us out a couple of days toward the end of the week.
Well, that is the character list for this week. (I apologize to my friends if I spelled any of your names wrong!) I hope you enjoy getting to know them better as I tell you about the remainder of our trip.
Until next time...
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Romania Part 4 - Affirmation and Clean Feet
On Thursday, during craft time, Keith - being his normal goofy self - drew Charlie's name inside a heart, with permanent marker, on a little girl's arm. Before long, all of us had kids swarming around us asking for our autographs on their arms. By the end of the day, the kids looked like they had tattoo sleeves.
So, Friday, we came armed to get their autographs. Some of us had the kids sign our t-shirts - others signed bandanas. And still we had kids wanting our autographs on their arms - even though our names were still there from the day before.
The morning followed it's usual routine. But we asked the youth leaders to meet us back at the church at 3pm. Originally the idea was just to have a time with them that they could ask any questions they wanted about us or the US. Though a couple of them could speak English - language was still a barrier. So we wanted a time to spend just with them without other distractions around. But God led our time in a different direction. It became a time of us affirming the work they are doing with Iosif. We all took the opportunity to point out the remarkable things we were seeing in these kids.
I told them (and I truly feel this) that they have become like my little brothers and sisters. I told them that even though I would soon be going back to America, part of my heart would remain in Romania with them. We also had the privilege of praying over them and commissioning them to go out and do God's work in Gataia. I'll set it up for you the same way we set it up for them. In our church, anytime a person or group of people are getting ready to go on a mission trip, the spiritually mature believers will gather around them, lay hands on them, and pray over them before they go. This is what we wanted to do for these kids. It was a powerful moment. Over and over again, I heard others say what had been in my heart all week - that God was doing a mighty work in Gataia and he was using these kids to help do it.
I heard throughout the week that a lot of the kids (not just youth leaders, but VBS kids as well) want to visit the US. I think our country has this image of being some magical place where dreams come true. Times are tough in Romania - as they are all over the world. However, people often leave Romania for other surrounding countries where there are more opportunities. Some kids are living with grandparents because both parents have had to leave the country to find work. In some cases throughout Romania - that is the same reason kids are in foster care. During our time with the youth leaders I told them that God has them in Romania for a reason. He could have placed them in the U.S. or England or Germany, but he chose to place them in Romania. On Thursday, when Keith gave the message, he talked about following God's path and how even when we stray from His path, He will guide us back to it. He also told them that you are never too young to start seeking what God wants you to do. My hope for Denisa, Dennisa, Marius, Mada, Christi, Larissa, & Lige is that they see the path God has placed before them in Romania. I believe that they can make a difference in Gataia and beyond to the rest of the country.
After our time with the leaders we got ready for the evening program. We didn't play games because we wanted to set the mood for what we planned to do next. As the kids arrived for the program Iosif had them line up in front of the church steps. On the top landing, we had four chairs set up with four bowls of water. As and act of service, we followed the example Christ gave us and we washed their feet as they entered the church. All week long we had been treated like stars and we wanted them to see that we had come to serve them, not to be worshiped by them. We started with the youth leaders. I had the privilege of washing my dear little sister, Denisa's, feet. As we washed their feet, we prayed over them. I'm not sharing this to show how godly we were - for we are all far from Godly - but to show how a simple act can have an impact. As we washed feet, Iosif explained to them that this was not some magical ritual but that it was an act of service. He read the story from John where Jesus washed his disciples feet so that they would understand we are just trying to live out what Christ taught us to do. For many of the kids, they had never seen a foot-washing before, let alone taken part of one. The last one to have his feet washed was Iosif. There were tears in his eyes as well as ours.
We surprised the girl youth leaders in the closing program by presenting them each with a rose. We had acknowledged them in our private time during the afternoon, but we also wanted to acknowledge them in front the of the kids. We wanted the kids to see the respect that the American team has for the youth leaders they have year round.
As the kids left VBS, Iosif gave them each 2 books - one on Moses and one on David. We also were able to hand out left over Biker Sunday shirts to all the kids & helpers. After a group photo on the front steps (with all the kids in their new shirts), the majority of the kids started to leave. However, there were many that now wanted our autographs in their new books or on their t-shirts. One of the most moving moments was to see one of Charlie's groupies take him over to the water pump so he could wash Charlie's feet. When it was time to go, there were many tears. It's amazing how such tight bonds can be built in such a short amount of time. I held it together until our van drove away and then the tears flowed. When I got out of the van at Ramona's Iosif saw my red eyes and asked what was wrong. I just said I was happy-sad. In usual Iosif style he said, "There is no crying on Fridays. Serios!"
At dinner that night we were joined by the pastor, Marcel, and his wife, Elvira. Just as we had encouraged the youth leaders that afternoon, they encouraged us by saying we had done a good thing in Gataia. It's times like this where I can look on New Testament scriptures with new eyes and see what the disciples were talking about when they returned from their journeys. That is why I take the time to write long updates when I return. Just as the disciples told their home congregations of all the good in the villages they visited, I believe it is my responsibility when I return to report all the good I see in the places I visit.
God is doing amazing things in Gataia. It may be a small village, but I find it no coincidence that God has brought several people from Timisoara to Gataia to minister. I believe a spiritual fire is being ignited and that those involved are going to spread the flame of Christ's love throughout Gataia and the countryside beyond. Many of these kids will end up going to college in Timisoara. My prayer is that the fire will then ignite there as well.
...
...Well, that is the end of Week 1 of our trip. On Saturday, we left Iosif's house (but were told by him, "No crying on Saturdays! Serios!") and headed to Scott & Carolyn's place in Arad which is about an hour away. Thus begins week 2 of our trip with a whole new set of adventures and a brand new cast of people. Tomorrow you'll get to "meet" them. But for now, if you are willing, please take time to pray over the kids of Gataia (Denisa, Dennisa, Mada, Larissa, Lige, Marius & Christi) and also for Iosif and the work God has him in charge of there.
So, Friday, we came armed to get their autographs. Some of us had the kids sign our t-shirts - others signed bandanas. And still we had kids wanting our autographs on their arms - even though our names were still there from the day before.
The morning followed it's usual routine. But we asked the youth leaders to meet us back at the church at 3pm. Originally the idea was just to have a time with them that they could ask any questions they wanted about us or the US. Though a couple of them could speak English - language was still a barrier. So we wanted a time to spend just with them without other distractions around. But God led our time in a different direction. It became a time of us affirming the work they are doing with Iosif. We all took the opportunity to point out the remarkable things we were seeing in these kids.
I told them (and I truly feel this) that they have become like my little brothers and sisters. I told them that even though I would soon be going back to America, part of my heart would remain in Romania with them. We also had the privilege of praying over them and commissioning them to go out and do God's work in Gataia. I'll set it up for you the same way we set it up for them. In our church, anytime a person or group of people are getting ready to go on a mission trip, the spiritually mature believers will gather around them, lay hands on them, and pray over them before they go. This is what we wanted to do for these kids. It was a powerful moment. Over and over again, I heard others say what had been in my heart all week - that God was doing a mighty work in Gataia and he was using these kids to help do it.
I heard throughout the week that a lot of the kids (not just youth leaders, but VBS kids as well) want to visit the US. I think our country has this image of being some magical place where dreams come true. Times are tough in Romania - as they are all over the world. However, people often leave Romania for other surrounding countries where there are more opportunities. Some kids are living with grandparents because both parents have had to leave the country to find work. In some cases throughout Romania - that is the same reason kids are in foster care. During our time with the youth leaders I told them that God has them in Romania for a reason. He could have placed them in the U.S. or England or Germany, but he chose to place them in Romania. On Thursday, when Keith gave the message, he talked about following God's path and how even when we stray from His path, He will guide us back to it. He also told them that you are never too young to start seeking what God wants you to do. My hope for Denisa, Dennisa, Marius, Mada, Christi, Larissa, & Lige is that they see the path God has placed before them in Romania. I believe that they can make a difference in Gataia and beyond to the rest of the country.
After our time with the leaders we got ready for the evening program. We didn't play games because we wanted to set the mood for what we planned to do next. As the kids arrived for the program Iosif had them line up in front of the church steps. On the top landing, we had four chairs set up with four bowls of water. As and act of service, we followed the example Christ gave us and we washed their feet as they entered the church. All week long we had been treated like stars and we wanted them to see that we had come to serve them, not to be worshiped by them. We started with the youth leaders. I had the privilege of washing my dear little sister, Denisa's, feet. As we washed their feet, we prayed over them. I'm not sharing this to show how godly we were - for we are all far from Godly - but to show how a simple act can have an impact. As we washed feet, Iosif explained to them that this was not some magical ritual but that it was an act of service. He read the story from John where Jesus washed his disciples feet so that they would understand we are just trying to live out what Christ taught us to do. For many of the kids, they had never seen a foot-washing before, let alone taken part of one. The last one to have his feet washed was Iosif. There were tears in his eyes as well as ours.
We surprised the girl youth leaders in the closing program by presenting them each with a rose. We had acknowledged them in our private time during the afternoon, but we also wanted to acknowledge them in front the of the kids. We wanted the kids to see the respect that the American team has for the youth leaders they have year round.
As the kids left VBS, Iosif gave them each 2 books - one on Moses and one on David. We also were able to hand out left over Biker Sunday shirts to all the kids & helpers. After a group photo on the front steps (with all the kids in their new shirts), the majority of the kids started to leave. However, there were many that now wanted our autographs in their new books or on their t-shirts. One of the most moving moments was to see one of Charlie's groupies take him over to the water pump so he could wash Charlie's feet. When it was time to go, there were many tears. It's amazing how such tight bonds can be built in such a short amount of time. I held it together until our van drove away and then the tears flowed. When I got out of the van at Ramona's Iosif saw my red eyes and asked what was wrong. I just said I was happy-sad. In usual Iosif style he said, "There is no crying on Fridays. Serios!"
At dinner that night we were joined by the pastor, Marcel, and his wife, Elvira. Just as we had encouraged the youth leaders that afternoon, they encouraged us by saying we had done a good thing in Gataia. It's times like this where I can look on New Testament scriptures with new eyes and see what the disciples were talking about when they returned from their journeys. That is why I take the time to write long updates when I return. Just as the disciples told their home congregations of all the good in the villages they visited, I believe it is my responsibility when I return to report all the good I see in the places I visit.
God is doing amazing things in Gataia. It may be a small village, but I find it no coincidence that God has brought several people from Timisoara to Gataia to minister. I believe a spiritual fire is being ignited and that those involved are going to spread the flame of Christ's love throughout Gataia and the countryside beyond. Many of these kids will end up going to college in Timisoara. My prayer is that the fire will then ignite there as well.
...
...Well, that is the end of Week 1 of our trip. On Saturday, we left Iosif's house (but were told by him, "No crying on Saturdays! Serios!") and headed to Scott & Carolyn's place in Arad which is about an hour away. Thus begins week 2 of our trip with a whole new set of adventures and a brand new cast of people. Tomorrow you'll get to "meet" them. But for now, if you are willing, please take time to pray over the kids of Gataia (Denisa, Dennisa, Mada, Larissa, Lige, Marius & Christi) and also for Iosif and the work God has him in charge of there.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Romania part 3 - Fan clubs, Broken Ribs & New Believers
I don't think Charlie had any idea when he stepped off the plane in Budapest that he was about to become a superstar in Gataia. I don't know if it was his mad soccer skills or his infectious smile, but by the end of the first day he had a group of boys that followed him everywhere. By Wednesday he had one boy that was bringing him presents every morning (usually a bag of chips and a Coke)! It was crazy! On Thursday we had Charlie duck down in the back of the van as we pulled up to the church. His groupies were eagerly waiting for him. You should have seen their faces fall when we said, "Charlie is sick, he's not here today." Then up pops Charlie and the kids start laughing. One day, just to be silly, I painted Keith's toenails during our break time. When one of Charlie's groupies saw it he said, "Did Charlie do it too? If Charlie did then I will!"
It was humbling to see how quickly any one of us could be put up on a pedestal. You could tell Charlie, though flattered, wasn't really comfortable with all the attention. I asked him how he felt about it. He said that he knew he would be out of his comfort zone coming on this trip and that if this is how God was going use him then he would go along with it. Of course, the rest of the team liked to jump on the bandwagon so anytime the kids started chanting Charlie's name - we did too. Heck - we even started it sometimes.
Though none of us had the following like Charlie, we all had at least one or two kids that always sought us out to play volleyball, American football, football, draw, and - in what became "my thing" - rock, paper, scissors.
On the first day we had 75 kids - 30-35 of which were completely knew names for Iosif's database. He does a very good job of keeping track of the kids and where they live. Soon he is going to start making a point of visiting with the parents so that they too might start coming to the church. Though the daily attendance stayed roughly the same - in all we had around 120 kids attend VBS at some point throughout the week.
From my experience, there is always at least one "thorn in my side" that I have to learn to deal with while on a mission trip. God usually puts it there for a reason. Keith quite literally had this same experience. On Tuesday, Keith & Charlie - with encouragement from the kids - went against each other in a sack race. They were intentionally being silly. Randy - not to be left out - tripped Charlie so he wouldn't win, then Keith dove over Charlie to win the race. After, Keith came over to me and said, "I think I just broke a rib. I heard it crack!" He was in a lot of pain that day and in the days to come. Upon our return to the states, our doctor confirmed that he indeed broke a rib, maybe as many as 3 were either broken or cracked (he didn't do x-rays but could tell by feel). It was a struggle for Keith because there was no outward sign of his internal pain. Not even a bruise. We all knew he was hurt, but the kids didn't and still wanted him to play football & soccer. So what's a guy to do?
Keith became a rock star - though like Charlie - it wasn't his desire to be one. On Monday, during the closing program, he accompanied us with guitar while the kids sang, "Jesus' love is bubbling over" (this was the English song I taught that day. And just like the kids in Haiti when I taught them, they loved it). Thursday, when it was Keith's turn to give a message, Iosif convinced him to play a drum solo for the kids. And then someone told Iosif that Keith could sing opera, so on our last day, he put him on the spot and made him sing for the kids. As talented as Keith is, he doesn't like to "show off." It's usually someone else convincing him to share his talent. As for me - I just live vicariously through him.
Lisa did an awesome job leading the crafts for the kids. I am so glad she was on the trip. Prior to leaving I was so focused on the things in my own world that I didn't even really think about Romania. We would have been lost but for Lisa's prep work. One day they made a paper basket that I think was the thorn in Lisa's side - but they turned out so well - even if they were a headache to do.
Randy & Tammy also should be commended for their prep work. Without them we wouldn't have had prizes and candy to hand out to the kids. Not only that - but had they not made this same trip last year - not a single one of us would have been here this year.
Each night we got to give a brief message to the kids. On Wednesday, Lisa spoke. She told of how she had accepted Christ as a child, but when she grew older, she had gone away from that faith, only to come back about 5 years ago. After she came back she prayed that God would use her. So He sent her a friend to share Christ with. That friend accepted Christ and then shared Him with someone else and on it goes. After her message - Iosif said something to the kids - I don't know what because he didn't translate it for us. Next thing I knew - he was praying and some of the kids were repeating the prayer. We found out later that he felt led to lead the kids that wanted to pray in the prayer of salvation to accept Christ. He told us that he wasn't sure if he'd get in trouble because usually, you don't give that message to children. I guess the idea is to wait until they are older to present it to them. I guess it's kind of like waiting to present it until they can make a more informed decision. Anyway, the pastor was in attendance that night and had no problems with it (and why should he - there are now kids that have Christ in their life???) God is good.
Throughout the week we quickly developed friendships - with some of the kids, the leaders, Iosif, Lanutza, Ramona & Florian, Anca, Marianna and each other. These people became more than just acquaintances, they are now friends. I feel honored to know each and every one of them.
You'll notice I haven't talked much about Friday. That's for tomorrow's post. There is too much to tell to justify it with a simple paragraph or two.
So until tomorrow...
It was humbling to see how quickly any one of us could be put up on a pedestal. You could tell Charlie, though flattered, wasn't really comfortable with all the attention. I asked him how he felt about it. He said that he knew he would be out of his comfort zone coming on this trip and that if this is how God was going use him then he would go along with it. Of course, the rest of the team liked to jump on the bandwagon so anytime the kids started chanting Charlie's name - we did too. Heck - we even started it sometimes.
Though none of us had the following like Charlie, we all had at least one or two kids that always sought us out to play volleyball, American football, football, draw, and - in what became "my thing" - rock, paper, scissors.
On the first day we had 75 kids - 30-35 of which were completely knew names for Iosif's database. He does a very good job of keeping track of the kids and where they live. Soon he is going to start making a point of visiting with the parents so that they too might start coming to the church. Though the daily attendance stayed roughly the same - in all we had around 120 kids attend VBS at some point throughout the week.
From my experience, there is always at least one "thorn in my side" that I have to learn to deal with while on a mission trip. God usually puts it there for a reason. Keith quite literally had this same experience. On Tuesday, Keith & Charlie - with encouragement from the kids - went against each other in a sack race. They were intentionally being silly. Randy - not to be left out - tripped Charlie so he wouldn't win, then Keith dove over Charlie to win the race. After, Keith came over to me and said, "I think I just broke a rib. I heard it crack!" He was in a lot of pain that day and in the days to come. Upon our return to the states, our doctor confirmed that he indeed broke a rib, maybe as many as 3 were either broken or cracked (he didn't do x-rays but could tell by feel). It was a struggle for Keith because there was no outward sign of his internal pain. Not even a bruise. We all knew he was hurt, but the kids didn't and still wanted him to play football & soccer. So what's a guy to do?
Keith became a rock star - though like Charlie - it wasn't his desire to be one. On Monday, during the closing program, he accompanied us with guitar while the kids sang, "Jesus' love is bubbling over" (this was the English song I taught that day. And just like the kids in Haiti when I taught them, they loved it). Thursday, when it was Keith's turn to give a message, Iosif convinced him to play a drum solo for the kids. And then someone told Iosif that Keith could sing opera, so on our last day, he put him on the spot and made him sing for the kids. As talented as Keith is, he doesn't like to "show off." It's usually someone else convincing him to share his talent. As for me - I just live vicariously through him.
Lisa did an awesome job leading the crafts for the kids. I am so glad she was on the trip. Prior to leaving I was so focused on the things in my own world that I didn't even really think about Romania. We would have been lost but for Lisa's prep work. One day they made a paper basket that I think was the thorn in Lisa's side - but they turned out so well - even if they were a headache to do.
Randy & Tammy also should be commended for their prep work. Without them we wouldn't have had prizes and candy to hand out to the kids. Not only that - but had they not made this same trip last year - not a single one of us would have been here this year.
Each night we got to give a brief message to the kids. On Wednesday, Lisa spoke. She told of how she had accepted Christ as a child, but when she grew older, she had gone away from that faith, only to come back about 5 years ago. After she came back she prayed that God would use her. So He sent her a friend to share Christ with. That friend accepted Christ and then shared Him with someone else and on it goes. After her message - Iosif said something to the kids - I don't know what because he didn't translate it for us. Next thing I knew - he was praying and some of the kids were repeating the prayer. We found out later that he felt led to lead the kids that wanted to pray in the prayer of salvation to accept Christ. He told us that he wasn't sure if he'd get in trouble because usually, you don't give that message to children. I guess the idea is to wait until they are older to present it to them. I guess it's kind of like waiting to present it until they can make a more informed decision. Anyway, the pastor was in attendance that night and had no problems with it (and why should he - there are now kids that have Christ in their life???) God is good.
Throughout the week we quickly developed friendships - with some of the kids, the leaders, Iosif, Lanutza, Ramona & Florian, Anca, Marianna and each other. These people became more than just acquaintances, they are now friends. I feel honored to know each and every one of them.
You'll notice I haven't talked much about Friday. That's for tomorrow's post. There is too much to tell to justify it with a simple paragraph or two.
So until tomorrow...
Romania - part 2 - A summary of the people and schedule for week 1
We met a lot of people on our trip. So that I don't have to stop and explain who they are as I tell about our trip, I'll just give a character list before I begin.
Iosif - Romanian living in Timisoara. He travels several times a week to the church in Gataia to help run the youth program. He also works for an international Christian organization that sells & distributes Bibles. He is the only employee in Romania. (The name of the organization is escaping me at the moment). Due to funding cuts he is no longer able to just give away Bibles and now has to figure out a way to sell them.
Lanutza - (I'm sure I spelled that wrong) - is Iosif's wife. She often goes with him to the church to help with the kids' programs. She's a retired teacher so working with kids comes naturally to her.
Scott & Carolyn Pouncey - American missionaries living in Romania for the past 4 years. You can learn more about them on their website - http://www.rockofhopeministries.org. Friends with Iosif & Lanutza.
Iosif's youth leaders - Denisa F., Denissa A., Madalena (aka Mada), Larissa, Lige (pronounced Lee-jah) and the boys - Marius and Christi. These kids are amazing. They help lead the singing, crafts, games, and lessons. Iosif gives them the tools they need and then basically lets them take control. He has worked on training them up to be leaders in their community and beyond. You don't realize how unusual this is until you understand that just because the Romanians are no longer under communism doesn't mean that the old ways are gone. To put it in perspective - think of the generations in our country that have lived on government welfare. Generally speaking - do these people take initiative to change their well-being or to make life better for themselves? Not really. Why do they need to? - the government will keep giving them assistance. That's kind of the same mindset that communism instilled in it's people. It's not an exact annalogy, but it's close.
Ladies of the church - Anca, Marianna. (I'm sure I've forgotten someone). These ladies were at the church each day and helped clean up before and after. They also were very gracious and loving towards us.
Florian & Romona - Husband and wife. Romona cooked for us twice a day for the entire week we did VBS (except Tuesday's lunch). It was SOOOOOOOOOO good. I gained 4 pounds that week - even though I was running around in the heat playing with the kids!!! I miss her cooking. They were very gracious - opening up their home to us.
There were others we met, but for what I'm writing, that is what you need to know.
Oh yeah - I almost forgot - the members of our team were: Charlie, Randy & Tammy, Lisa, and me & Keith.
*sigh* So now to get started with part 2 of our trip - VBS.
I thought VBS at our church was exhausting! Our daily schedule was pretty much the same. We started at 9am and the kids played for a while then went inside to hear the lesson for the day. All the Bible stories they learned focused on "amazing kids." After the lesson they were split into two groups. While one group was at music, the other was at crafts. After a while they'd switch. Usually around 11:30-noon Iosif would call them together for announcements then they'd be dismissed until later.
We usually ate at Romona's around 12:30 or 1:00 and then came back to the church and had some time to ourselves. Most of us took this opportunity to take a little pui de somn ("chicken nap" the Romanian equivalent of a "cat nap"). This was when we really got to enjoy the only air-conditioned room in the church.
The kids usually came back around 4 - 4:30 and we would play games with them until around 6:30 or so. Then they would have an evening program that lasted until around 7:30. During this program, they would review the Bible story, memory verse, and songs. Then they had a little puppet show that was set up like an TV interview show. The main puppet character would interview someone from the Bible story (David, Mariam, Naaman's servant, etc.). Then I'd get to lead them in the English song I taught them that day, followed by one of our team members giving a message.
After the kids went home for the night, we'd head back over to Ramona's for some delicious food and then finally drive an hour back to Iosif's house. Every day we left Iosif's around 7:45am and wouldn't return until around 10pm (sometimes later). It made for very long days.
To keep this post from being too overwhelming I'm going to leave it as a summary of our first week. In the next post I'll give some detail about some of my personal experiences.
Iosif - Romanian living in Timisoara. He travels several times a week to the church in Gataia to help run the youth program. He also works for an international Christian organization that sells & distributes Bibles. He is the only employee in Romania. (The name of the organization is escaping me at the moment). Due to funding cuts he is no longer able to just give away Bibles and now has to figure out a way to sell them.
Lanutza - (I'm sure I spelled that wrong) - is Iosif's wife. She often goes with him to the church to help with the kids' programs. She's a retired teacher so working with kids comes naturally to her.
Scott & Carolyn Pouncey - American missionaries living in Romania for the past 4 years. You can learn more about them on their website - http://www.rockofhopeministries.org. Friends with Iosif & Lanutza.
Iosif's youth leaders - Denisa F., Denissa A., Madalena (aka Mada), Larissa, Lige (pronounced Lee-jah) and the boys - Marius and Christi. These kids are amazing. They help lead the singing, crafts, games, and lessons. Iosif gives them the tools they need and then basically lets them take control. He has worked on training them up to be leaders in their community and beyond. You don't realize how unusual this is until you understand that just because the Romanians are no longer under communism doesn't mean that the old ways are gone. To put it in perspective - think of the generations in our country that have lived on government welfare. Generally speaking - do these people take initiative to change their well-being or to make life better for themselves? Not really. Why do they need to? - the government will keep giving them assistance. That's kind of the same mindset that communism instilled in it's people. It's not an exact annalogy, but it's close.
Ladies of the church - Anca, Marianna. (I'm sure I've forgotten someone). These ladies were at the church each day and helped clean up before and after. They also were very gracious and loving towards us.
Florian & Romona - Husband and wife. Romona cooked for us twice a day for the entire week we did VBS (except Tuesday's lunch). It was SOOOOOOOOOO good. I gained 4 pounds that week - even though I was running around in the heat playing with the kids!!! I miss her cooking. They were very gracious - opening up their home to us.
There were others we met, but for what I'm writing, that is what you need to know.
Oh yeah - I almost forgot - the members of our team were: Charlie, Randy & Tammy, Lisa, and me & Keith.
*sigh* So now to get started with part 2 of our trip - VBS.
I thought VBS at our church was exhausting! Our daily schedule was pretty much the same. We started at 9am and the kids played for a while then went inside to hear the lesson for the day. All the Bible stories they learned focused on "amazing kids." After the lesson they were split into two groups. While one group was at music, the other was at crafts. After a while they'd switch. Usually around 11:30-noon Iosif would call them together for announcements then they'd be dismissed until later.
We usually ate at Romona's around 12:30 or 1:00 and then came back to the church and had some time to ourselves. Most of us took this opportunity to take a little pui de somn ("chicken nap" the Romanian equivalent of a "cat nap"). This was when we really got to enjoy the only air-conditioned room in the church.
The kids usually came back around 4 - 4:30 and we would play games with them until around 6:30 or so. Then they would have an evening program that lasted until around 7:30. During this program, they would review the Bible story, memory verse, and songs. Then they had a little puppet show that was set up like an TV interview show. The main puppet character would interview someone from the Bible story (David, Mariam, Naaman's servant, etc.). Then I'd get to lead them in the English song I taught them that day, followed by one of our team members giving a message.
After the kids went home for the night, we'd head back over to Ramona's for some delicious food and then finally drive an hour back to Iosif's house. Every day we left Iosif's around 7:45am and wouldn't return until around 10pm (sometimes later). It made for very long days.
To keep this post from being too overwhelming I'm going to leave it as a summary of our first week. In the next post I'll give some detail about some of my personal experiences.
Monday, July 30, 2012
Romania - Part 1
Every time I come home from a mission trip it takes me a while to get back to "normal." This time around was especially hard because of the jet lag caused by the 8 hour time difference between Romania and Kansas. But, 1+ week after being home I finally feel "normal" - whatever that is.
So, it's time to give a report of my trip to Romania. I could be brief and just say, "It was good, we worked hard, we were tired and very hot," and it would all be true. However, for the sake of those that don't get to go on these types of trips I feel compelled to be more specific.
Two years ago, when I returned from Haiti, the first thing Jaedon said to me was, "I missed you Mom. Please don't ever do that again!" Tears were running down his face and it broke my heart in a whole new way. And here I was, going to Romania for twice as long as the Haiti trip - and this time taking his dad with me. I was worried about how he'd handle us being gone. A few months ago when we first told him we might be going to Romania he said, "Can't you just stay here and tell people about Jesus?" But God answered our prayers concerning Jae. The night before we left I asked if he was okay with us leaving. He said, "I'm not worried because God is in control. He's bigger than anything." Thank you Lord for answered prayer.
We left the US on Thursday morning (7/5) and arrived in Budapest, Hungary on Friday morning (due to the time change and a 5 hour layover in Chicago). We flew into Hungary because it was a bit cheaper. Plus it saved us in the long run... 4 of our bags didn't make it to the airport at the same time we did. One contained all of Charlie's (one of the team members) clothes, and two others contained computer towers for Scott and Carolyn to use in their ministry (you'll hear more about them later on). The 4th one had some VBS supplies. We finally received the bags on Sunday and not a thing was missing. Had we flown into Bucharest (in Romania), it would have been a different story. Corruption is not uncommon, and likely, had our bags gone through security hands in the Romanian airport, the computers would have been gone along with anything else that looked good to them.
Friday night, Keith had the beginnings of an anxiety attack. The combination of having little to no sleep in the past 24 hours, being overheated, staying in a room where the windows opened right onto the street - with no screens to keep passers-by out, dogs barking, people talking in the street outside and being in a foreign country took it's toll on him. It has been a long time since his anxiety has caused him problems. I am so grateful that he has learned to handle it. I'm also grateful that God allowed us to take this trip together so I could be there for him. I felt compelled to pray that the blood of Christ would be a cover over him and empower him to control what was going on in his mind. I told him before hand that the prayer might sound weird, but that it is what I was feeling lead to pray. After I prayed for him, he prayed a prayer of confession - he told God that he had not been trusting in Him but in himself. After that he seemed to sleep okay and to my knowledge he didn't have any major anxiety issues the rest of the trip. Well... until we were flying through turbulence several times between Munich and Chicago on the way home - but that's a different type of anxiety.
The whole first week we stayed at Iosif's (pronounced Yosif) house in Timisoara. Having no a/c was definitely an adjustment. The day we got groceries we also bought some fans so we could at least circulate the air in our rooms. They helped, but it was still hot. It was over 100 F many of the days of our trip.
On Saturday we walked around Revolution Square in Timisoara. I don't have room to give all the information on the Revolution that took place, but here is a link if you'd like to learn more. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanian_revolution. For the purposes of this post, all you need to know is that the Revolution that took Romania from Communism to a Democracy occurred in December of 1989 and a large part of of the protesting took place in Revolution Square in Timisoara. The bullet holes are still present in some of the buildings.
After our tour we drove about an hour to Gataia, a small village of about 3000, where we were going to hold VBS the following week. (My Romania friends - please correct me if I have any of my facts wrong!!!) Some of us stayed and helped Iosif set up some tents (so the kids would have some shade) and others went around the village with Iosif's youth leaders (aged 14-18) to tell the kids there would be VBS that week.
The church, Biserica Tabor, in Gataia is a blessing to the community. The pastor lives in Timisoara. He has a successful business there, but says that as long as God keeps blessing him he will keep giving back to the community. The church is not huge but it is beautiful. It is being finished in stages, but we were blessed to be able to use the only room with an air-conditioner to rest in during our breaks during VBS. They also have a well that is available for the whole village to use. Several times a day we saw people walk, drive, or bicycle up to the pump with their bottles to be refilled. It's not that they don't have running water, but not everyone has water that is safe to drink. Many people have wells in their own yards. But for those that don't have them, the church is able to provide clean water.
Sunday we were able to attend church at Biserica Tabor. I was surprised at how similar their service was to the one at Hope Community (where I attend). Though the songs were in Romanian, I recognized many of the tunes. The praise band that leads worship comes from Timisoara as well. They didn't have a drummer, so Keith jokingly told Iosif he could play. Iosif took him at his word so they tried tracking down some drum sticks. When they couldn't find them, Keith settled for a couple of short (but very thick) broom handles! (*side note* twice in our church, the drummer has not gotten back into the service on time for one of the songs so Keith has jumped up on stage to fill in - and he did it well! - I love this man!) Another similarity with Hope, they had their youth leaders who had just come back from a retreat/training camp with Iosif talk about their experience - JUST LIKE we have people talk about the mission trips they go on. Also, every time a missionary comes to Hope they always give a brief talk to the congregation. And just the same in Gataia. Randy Moss was elected to be our delegate to the congregation. The cool thing was that the verses he focused on were the same verses two other guests speakers had talked about in previous weeks. So, when the pastor (the youth Pastor - Raoul - gave the sermon) got up to speak he mentioned that and said that God must really want them to hear what he has to say.
This was the day I also stopped trusting Iosif. He is one ornery guy!!! He was introducing us to the pastor and he told me, "You say _______________." (I can't remember what the Romania words are). So I repeated after him. Then he looked at me in mock shock and said, "That wasn't nice!" Me:"Iosif! What did you tell me to say???" Iosif: "You just told him, 'You have an ugly church here in Gataia.'" From that day forward, I never repeated what he told me to say until I confirmed through one of the other translators. Though I do take comfort in the fact that I wasn't the only one he tricked. During VBS he had Keith tell the kids, "You are all bad children!" Oh Iosif!
Well, this is a long enough post for one day, and look - I made it through 4 days of the trip! Only 13 days to go! :) I'll try to be less long-winded in the days to come.
Thanks for praying for us while we were away. Even though you weren't with us physically, your prayers put you there with us spiritually.
So, it's time to give a report of my trip to Romania. I could be brief and just say, "It was good, we worked hard, we were tired and very hot," and it would all be true. However, for the sake of those that don't get to go on these types of trips I feel compelled to be more specific.
Two years ago, when I returned from Haiti, the first thing Jaedon said to me was, "I missed you Mom. Please don't ever do that again!" Tears were running down his face and it broke my heart in a whole new way. And here I was, going to Romania for twice as long as the Haiti trip - and this time taking his dad with me. I was worried about how he'd handle us being gone. A few months ago when we first told him we might be going to Romania he said, "Can't you just stay here and tell people about Jesus?" But God answered our prayers concerning Jae. The night before we left I asked if he was okay with us leaving. He said, "I'm not worried because God is in control. He's bigger than anything." Thank you Lord for answered prayer.
We left the US on Thursday morning (7/5) and arrived in Budapest, Hungary on Friday morning (due to the time change and a 5 hour layover in Chicago). We flew into Hungary because it was a bit cheaper. Plus it saved us in the long run... 4 of our bags didn't make it to the airport at the same time we did. One contained all of Charlie's (one of the team members) clothes, and two others contained computer towers for Scott and Carolyn to use in their ministry (you'll hear more about them later on). The 4th one had some VBS supplies. We finally received the bags on Sunday and not a thing was missing. Had we flown into Bucharest (in Romania), it would have been a different story. Corruption is not uncommon, and likely, had our bags gone through security hands in the Romanian airport, the computers would have been gone along with anything else that looked good to them.
Friday night, Keith had the beginnings of an anxiety attack. The combination of having little to no sleep in the past 24 hours, being overheated, staying in a room where the windows opened right onto the street - with no screens to keep passers-by out, dogs barking, people talking in the street outside and being in a foreign country took it's toll on him. It has been a long time since his anxiety has caused him problems. I am so grateful that he has learned to handle it. I'm also grateful that God allowed us to take this trip together so I could be there for him. I felt compelled to pray that the blood of Christ would be a cover over him and empower him to control what was going on in his mind. I told him before hand that the prayer might sound weird, but that it is what I was feeling lead to pray. After I prayed for him, he prayed a prayer of confession - he told God that he had not been trusting in Him but in himself. After that he seemed to sleep okay and to my knowledge he didn't have any major anxiety issues the rest of the trip. Well... until we were flying through turbulence several times between Munich and Chicago on the way home - but that's a different type of anxiety.
The whole first week we stayed at Iosif's (pronounced Yosif) house in Timisoara. Having no a/c was definitely an adjustment. The day we got groceries we also bought some fans so we could at least circulate the air in our rooms. They helped, but it was still hot. It was over 100 F many of the days of our trip.
On Saturday we walked around Revolution Square in Timisoara. I don't have room to give all the information on the Revolution that took place, but here is a link if you'd like to learn more. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanian_revolution. For the purposes of this post, all you need to know is that the Revolution that took Romania from Communism to a Democracy occurred in December of 1989 and a large part of of the protesting took place in Revolution Square in Timisoara. The bullet holes are still present in some of the buildings.
After our tour we drove about an hour to Gataia, a small village of about 3000, where we were going to hold VBS the following week. (My Romania friends - please correct me if I have any of my facts wrong!!!) Some of us stayed and helped Iosif set up some tents (so the kids would have some shade) and others went around the village with Iosif's youth leaders (aged 14-18) to tell the kids there would be VBS that week.
The church, Biserica Tabor, in Gataia is a blessing to the community. The pastor lives in Timisoara. He has a successful business there, but says that as long as God keeps blessing him he will keep giving back to the community. The church is not huge but it is beautiful. It is being finished in stages, but we were blessed to be able to use the only room with an air-conditioner to rest in during our breaks during VBS. They also have a well that is available for the whole village to use. Several times a day we saw people walk, drive, or bicycle up to the pump with their bottles to be refilled. It's not that they don't have running water, but not everyone has water that is safe to drink. Many people have wells in their own yards. But for those that don't have them, the church is able to provide clean water.
Sunday we were able to attend church at Biserica Tabor. I was surprised at how similar their service was to the one at Hope Community (where I attend). Though the songs were in Romanian, I recognized many of the tunes. The praise band that leads worship comes from Timisoara as well. They didn't have a drummer, so Keith jokingly told Iosif he could play. Iosif took him at his word so they tried tracking down some drum sticks. When they couldn't find them, Keith settled for a couple of short (but very thick) broom handles! (*side note* twice in our church, the drummer has not gotten back into the service on time for one of the songs so Keith has jumped up on stage to fill in - and he did it well! - I love this man!) Another similarity with Hope, they had their youth leaders who had just come back from a retreat/training camp with Iosif talk about their experience - JUST LIKE we have people talk about the mission trips they go on. Also, every time a missionary comes to Hope they always give a brief talk to the congregation. And just the same in Gataia. Randy Moss was elected to be our delegate to the congregation. The cool thing was that the verses he focused on were the same verses two other guests speakers had talked about in previous weeks. So, when the pastor (the youth Pastor - Raoul - gave the sermon) got up to speak he mentioned that and said that God must really want them to hear what he has to say.
This was the day I also stopped trusting Iosif. He is one ornery guy!!! He was introducing us to the pastor and he told me, "You say _______________." (I can't remember what the Romania words are). So I repeated after him. Then he looked at me in mock shock and said, "That wasn't nice!" Me:"Iosif! What did you tell me to say???" Iosif: "You just told him, 'You have an ugly church here in Gataia.'" From that day forward, I never repeated what he told me to say until I confirmed through one of the other translators. Though I do take comfort in the fact that I wasn't the only one he tricked. During VBS he had Keith tell the kids, "You are all bad children!" Oh Iosif!
Well, this is a long enough post for one day, and look - I made it through 4 days of the trip! Only 13 days to go! :) I'll try to be less long-winded in the days to come.
Thanks for praying for us while we were away. Even though you weren't with us physically, your prayers put you there with us spiritually.
Monday, April 2, 2012
Reflections on Palm Sunday
My mind wandered a bit in church yesterday. I began to wonder how many parents missed Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem because they were distracted by their kids - just as I had been. We're told the people were shouting, "Hosanna" and waving palms branches in the air. But as I looked at the kids holding their palm branches while everyone sang "Hosanna" I had to laugh. You know, the kind of laugh where you better laugh because if not you might start crying?
Jesus humbled me in that moment. I was so distracted trying to make sure the kids I was in charge of weren't beating each other with their palm branches, that they weren't standing on their chairs about to topple over and trying to get them to pay attention instead of having palm branch sword battles with their neighbors. Because I was so focused on their behavior I missed out being actively involved in praise and worship of our triumphant king.
I can picture it though. A dusty, well trod road. The heat of the sun on my face. The sound of the crowd around me.
"He's coming!"
"I can see his disciples around him!"
"Look! He's riding on a colt!"
"Hosanna! Hosanna in the highest!"
I crane my neck trying to get a look. All the while my kids are waving their palm branches in each others faces instead of in the air. Of course, the youngest one gets poked in the eye and starts crying. The older one tries to apologize to her, but feelings have been hurt and forgiveness does not come easily. Finally I've had enough. I bend down to talk to them, trying, but failing to control my frustration. All I want to do is see Jesus! Can't they just behave for five minutes?
The crowd around me gets louder. I look up, but others have pushed in front of me. I can't push through the crowd without leaving my children behind. Finally an opening appears and I see... the donkey's tail swish once and then Jesus is gone - out of sight.
I don't know what lesson there is in this. Obviously Jesus wants our focus to be on him. But to allow our kids to be out of control is not acceptable. Where is the line? Do we ever get to stop being a parent and just sit in Jesus' presence? Or is parenting an excuse we use to keep our distance from Him?
Jesus humbled me in that moment. I was so distracted trying to make sure the kids I was in charge of weren't beating each other with their palm branches, that they weren't standing on their chairs about to topple over and trying to get them to pay attention instead of having palm branch sword battles with their neighbors. Because I was so focused on their behavior I missed out being actively involved in praise and worship of our triumphant king.
I can picture it though. A dusty, well trod road. The heat of the sun on my face. The sound of the crowd around me.
"He's coming!"
"I can see his disciples around him!"
"Look! He's riding on a colt!"
"Hosanna! Hosanna in the highest!"
I crane my neck trying to get a look. All the while my kids are waving their palm branches in each others faces instead of in the air. Of course, the youngest one gets poked in the eye and starts crying. The older one tries to apologize to her, but feelings have been hurt and forgiveness does not come easily. Finally I've had enough. I bend down to talk to them, trying, but failing to control my frustration. All I want to do is see Jesus! Can't they just behave for five minutes?
The crowd around me gets louder. I look up, but others have pushed in front of me. I can't push through the crowd without leaving my children behind. Finally an opening appears and I see... the donkey's tail swish once and then Jesus is gone - out of sight.
I don't know what lesson there is in this. Obviously Jesus wants our focus to be on him. But to allow our kids to be out of control is not acceptable. Where is the line? Do we ever get to stop being a parent and just sit in Jesus' presence? Or is parenting an excuse we use to keep our distance from Him?
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Weird Random Thought
As a kid, I loved helping Mom fix spaghetti. It was all because she taught me to test if it was done by throwing it against the fridge. If it stuck, it was done. My brothers and I would fight over who got to throw it onto the fridge. By the time dinner was ready there would be five or six pieces of spaghetti stuck on the fridge and several more on the floor.
So tonight as I was making spaghetti for dinner, I had this weird random thought: Does God ever feel like throwing me against his fridge to see if I'm done yet?
I wonder...
So tonight as I was making spaghetti for dinner, I had this weird random thought: Does God ever feel like throwing me against his fridge to see if I'm done yet?
I wonder...
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Is He Really Lord of Your Life?
Working with kids, one of the things we teach them when talking about Christ is asking him to be "Lord of our lives." Kids understand that concept better than they understand "asking Jesus into your heart."
It makes a lot more sense to me too. It's an active text versus a passive text. To my mind, asking Jesus "into my heart" just means I'm asking him to live there, but not really take part in anything I do. But asking him to be "Lord of my life" means (to me) that I'm asking him to actively guide me in what to do and where to go.
But this morning I thought, "Am I doing this daily?" In all honesty - no I'm not -but I should be. Scripture says:
"...If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lost it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?" Luke 9"23-25
Did you catch that one little word in the first sentence? The word DAILY. Ouch, I'm supposed to take up my cross daily, not just the one time I accept Jesus to be Lord of my Life, but I should be asking him to take control over every day.
Think about the day Jesus took up his cross. Before he was arrested, he knelt in fervent prayer. Praying so earnestly that at one point, he sweat was like drops of blood (see Luke 22:44 then check out http://christiananswers.net/q-eden/edn-t018.html for more information on how this can happen). His body was under such stress that he literally sweat blood. But did he turn away from what the Father had called him to do? Did he say, "Forget it, I'm going to do this my own way." No! He took up his cross and followed God.
That is what we are called to do - DAILY. Does that mean God is going to call us to suffer and die for a world that doesn't deserve it? No, because Jesus has already paid that price. But God may call us to suffer at a job that is stressful in order to support our family. He may call us to step out of our comfort zone and talk to the person behind us in line at the grocery store about our faith. He may call us to suffer from loss or injury so we can be a servant to those who will follow in our steps. He may call us to the mission field - whether it be in Uganda, Romania, or at our very own homes.
My point is simple. Are you taking up your cross daily to follow God? Is He really the Lord of you life - the Lord of your everyday? Are you starting your day with prayer to seek God and find out what he wants from you that day? Even if you're doing that much, are you following through? Or are you saying, "No, that's to hard/uncomfortable. I can't do that. Let someone else."
Luke 9:24 "What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?"
It makes a lot more sense to me too. It's an active text versus a passive text. To my mind, asking Jesus "into my heart" just means I'm asking him to live there, but not really take part in anything I do. But asking him to be "Lord of my life" means (to me) that I'm asking him to actively guide me in what to do and where to go.
But this morning I thought, "Am I doing this daily?" In all honesty - no I'm not -but I should be. Scripture says:
"...If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lost it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?" Luke 9"23-25
Did you catch that one little word in the first sentence? The word DAILY. Ouch, I'm supposed to take up my cross daily, not just the one time I accept Jesus to be Lord of my Life, but I should be asking him to take control over every day.
Think about the day Jesus took up his cross. Before he was arrested, he knelt in fervent prayer. Praying so earnestly that at one point, he sweat was like drops of blood (see Luke 22:44 then check out http://christiananswers.net/q-eden/edn-t018.html for more information on how this can happen). His body was under such stress that he literally sweat blood. But did he turn away from what the Father had called him to do? Did he say, "Forget it, I'm going to do this my own way." No! He took up his cross and followed God.
That is what we are called to do - DAILY. Does that mean God is going to call us to suffer and die for a world that doesn't deserve it? No, because Jesus has already paid that price. But God may call us to suffer at a job that is stressful in order to support our family. He may call us to step out of our comfort zone and talk to the person behind us in line at the grocery store about our faith. He may call us to suffer from loss or injury so we can be a servant to those who will follow in our steps. He may call us to the mission field - whether it be in Uganda, Romania, or at our very own homes.
My point is simple. Are you taking up your cross daily to follow God? Is He really the Lord of you life - the Lord of your everyday? Are you starting your day with prayer to seek God and find out what he wants from you that day? Even if you're doing that much, are you following through? Or are you saying, "No, that's to hard/uncomfortable. I can't do that. Let someone else."
Luke 9:24 "What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?"
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Don't Be A Hoarder
I have to admit it. One of my guilty pleasures is watching "Hoarders." I'm mesmerized by this show. It just amazes me that someone can live amongst filth and decay and feel as though nothing is wrong with it.
I always thought hoarders just held onto stuff - clothes, tools, old newspapers, etc. Until watching this show I never knew they also lived amongst piles of rotten food, overflowing cat litter boxes, even human waste. It's disgusting. Not only that, it's unhealthy. Often times hoarders struggle to breathe because of the dust and allergens in the air - not to mention the mold. Climbing through piles of their ramshackle hoard can cause an avalanche of junk that could literally smother them to death. It's ridiculous!
But yet, there are people that live like that and can't let it go. Throwing out, what would be to us, trash is like throwing out a family member to them. They can't let go of their stuff. Someone can come along and try to show them how useless and worthless their hoard is, but their minds are so dazed by their mental disease that they only see a priceless, irreplaceable pile of treasures. I just can't wrap my mind around it.
And yet...
How many of us are hoarders?
We say, "I'm going to hold onto my love until I find someone who really deserves it," and then we're cold to our family and friends. We're cold sometimes even to our kids and spouses because once we give that love away, we can't get it back.
We say, "I can't give my time. I haven't had a moment of peace to myself in forever." Then we squander our time on the internet or absorbed in gossip magazines.
We say, "I can never forgive them," and then we hold on to our anger until we're a bitter shell of our former selves.
We say, "I can't show them compassion, if I do they'll just squander it," and then we don't buy a meal for the homeless man on the corner.
If we hoard - not our stuff, but ourselves - we're no better than the hoarder with a house full of junk. We'll become sick and unhealthy. It may not have physical symptoms, but the symptoms are there - callousness, greediness, impatience, loneliness, bitterness, depression, cynical, not trusting... you get the idea.
So what are you hoarding?
I always thought hoarders just held onto stuff - clothes, tools, old newspapers, etc. Until watching this show I never knew they also lived amongst piles of rotten food, overflowing cat litter boxes, even human waste. It's disgusting. Not only that, it's unhealthy. Often times hoarders struggle to breathe because of the dust and allergens in the air - not to mention the mold. Climbing through piles of their ramshackle hoard can cause an avalanche of junk that could literally smother them to death. It's ridiculous!
But yet, there are people that live like that and can't let it go. Throwing out, what would be to us, trash is like throwing out a family member to them. They can't let go of their stuff. Someone can come along and try to show them how useless and worthless their hoard is, but their minds are so dazed by their mental disease that they only see a priceless, irreplaceable pile of treasures. I just can't wrap my mind around it.
And yet...
How many of us are hoarders?
We say, "I'm going to hold onto my love until I find someone who really deserves it," and then we're cold to our family and friends. We're cold sometimes even to our kids and spouses because once we give that love away, we can't get it back.
We say, "I can't give my time. I haven't had a moment of peace to myself in forever." Then we squander our time on the internet or absorbed in gossip magazines.
We say, "I can never forgive them," and then we hold on to our anger until we're a bitter shell of our former selves.
We say, "I can't show them compassion, if I do they'll just squander it," and then we don't buy a meal for the homeless man on the corner.
If we hoard - not our stuff, but ourselves - we're no better than the hoarder with a house full of junk. We'll become sick and unhealthy. It may not have physical symptoms, but the symptoms are there - callousness, greediness, impatience, loneliness, bitterness, depression, cynical, not trusting... you get the idea.
So what are you hoarding?
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
He really does hear us.
Right now I feel giddy. The kind of giddy that comes from knowing God just taught me a lesson (thankfully not a painful one). I love that He takes the time to teach me. Even when it's something I've supposedly already learned and re-learned several times. One of these days I'll get it. So what's this great, amazing lesson? Simple: God hears and answers our prayers.
Let me see if I can express through words my experience.
I had just come from Bible study where we had an deep conversation about prayer and how we should pray. (Our scripture that spurred the discussion was Luke 11:1-13. It was a discussion that hit me particularly hard. I felt that God was trying to get my attention. It was like He was saying, "Your prayer life up till now has been okay, but not what it should be. This is the next step you need to take..."
So I was pondering all this as I drove back to the church to pick up my kids from their activities. We got back out to the car and it wouldn't start. It's not even that it wouldn't start, but I physically could not get the key to turn in the ignition. Knowing Keith was stuck in a meeting for the next hour I went inside to see if I could find someone to give the kids and I a ride home.
An acquaintance, Mel, opened the door for me. "Do you happen to know anything about cars?" I asked.
"Some," he said and then he went out to the car with me. He tried several times to get the key to turn and nothing happened. He asked some questions: have I had trouble before now, etc. Then he asked, "Have you prayed about it?"
I kinda laughed, "Not yet."
He smiled. He tried a couple more times. Then he paused, just for a couple of seconds, then turned the key again and the car roared to life.
"Did you just pray for it!?!" I exclaimed.
He just smiled, "Yeah."
I had spent the last hour and a half contemplating prayer and how I should pray and then didn't even bother to pray when God presented an opportunity. Duh, Naomi!
Let me see if I can express through words my experience.
I had just come from Bible study where we had an deep conversation about prayer and how we should pray. (Our scripture that spurred the discussion was Luke 11:1-13. It was a discussion that hit me particularly hard. I felt that God was trying to get my attention. It was like He was saying, "Your prayer life up till now has been okay, but not what it should be. This is the next step you need to take..."
So I was pondering all this as I drove back to the church to pick up my kids from their activities. We got back out to the car and it wouldn't start. It's not even that it wouldn't start, but I physically could not get the key to turn in the ignition. Knowing Keith was stuck in a meeting for the next hour I went inside to see if I could find someone to give the kids and I a ride home.
An acquaintance, Mel, opened the door for me. "Do you happen to know anything about cars?" I asked.
"Some," he said and then he went out to the car with me. He tried several times to get the key to turn and nothing happened. He asked some questions: have I had trouble before now, etc. Then he asked, "Have you prayed about it?"
I kinda laughed, "Not yet."
He smiled. He tried a couple more times. Then he paused, just for a couple of seconds, then turned the key again and the car roared to life.
"Did you just pray for it!?!" I exclaimed.
He just smiled, "Yeah."
I had spent the last hour and a half contemplating prayer and how I should pray and then didn't even bother to pray when God presented an opportunity. Duh, Naomi!
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