Sunday, July 25, 2010

Romania week 1

A week in Romania has come and gone. Some of you kept updated via e-mail or facebook. I can not even begin to explain the spiritual struggles that the team and I have been through. I can't speak for my team, but this was the most difficult mission trip week I have ever experienced. In it all, God was so faithful. I have never before felt so clearly the prayer support of my church family and friends back home.
We lost bags, which meant lost meds for me and learned to share almost everything...and currently our team is continuing to be unified and patient while they wait in a nearby city, Cluj, hoping to get home after a canceled flight. There are so many other things that happened that are not for the blogging world to know...God worked through them all though.
In it all, I still had an amazing week. The morning group of kids was my Camp Week 1 group two years ago. The two I knew best and prayed for so often were not there...they moved back in with parents. But so many others remembered me as well. And new relationships were formed. The third day I shared a little about being adopted and my story and the kids on my team began to open up and share their stories as well. Two of the kids shared how God gave them the ability to forgive despite circumstances. The others in the group listened well, but it was evident that they did not understand. It was amazing to see two teenage boys take my story to the next level and share what it meant to surrender their pain and past to Christ.
The evening group was the LOC kids, a group I have now known for 4 years now. The time with them was fun but not nearly as deep. The first day I spent with the kids (before camp started) I was able to have some meaningful conversations. As soon as camp began, they seemed distracted. My prayer this week is that God will give me a chance to be bold and finish some conversations I need to have with them.
Monday brings another group of kids and new challenges. I have so much to sort through, but more than anything, I pray that I am aware and obedient to what God calls me to this week...each conversation and appointment I make will glorify Him.

p.s. sorry for any grammar/spelling errors. tried to spellcheck and its set to Romanian somehow...almost every word showed up as a misspelling.