back to RO

Zach and I will be returning to Romania for a week this summer with a group from church to work with Belief in Motion.  We are so excited to be going back to see familiar faces, new precious ones, changes and improvements in the ministry, and to just love our brothers and sisters in Christ from a different tribe and tongue and to share that love with those who don't know it yet.  

There are many different opinions about missions, about whether sending money is better than spending it to go places or about staying and helping in your own backyard instead of going out.  I'm not here to say one is right and one is wrong, I'm here to say that they are all truly needed depending on the area and time, and it is your job to ask God what he is wanting YOU to do.  

I personally want to do them all.  I want to send money to ministries that have plenty of man power but lack the funds to drive it.  I want to go, encourage and share and show the love of Jesus with others, like in Romania, where they need to see that people around the world love them, care for them and remember that they are there and where the missionaries there need the exact same thing.  It is so good for us to say yes to God and step out of our comfort zones and learn about and embrace new cultures to see the likes and the differences and to learn from each other.  Heaven will not be made up of people who look like you and live right next door to you.  It will be a beautiful combination of souls from all around the world, from every tribe and tongue, sharing the One thing that truly matters, the faith in Christ that saved us all.

The biggest thing that happened on our last visit was a desire to take that same thought to where I live, to look around at the different cultures of my community, to see the likes and differences and to learn from each other.  Sometimes you need to go out to come home.  Sometimes you need a drastic life changing experience, to make small differences around you.

My life has been a bit hectic lately, and the well thought out and intentional prayers and planning for what I am hoping for in this trip and what God wants from me in this trip just hasn't happened.  I am going in completely unprepared, which is pretty perfect I think, because I know He has prepared me for whatever it is.  That is His promise.  I am laying my heart before Him, asking Him to speak to it, guide it and open it up to the next thing in our onward journey.  It's a scary place to be but the safest place there is.  Pray with us please and pray for us as we spend a week opening our hearts to the real life hurts of others and the joys they see in the midst of them.