A Quick Update

Ready for church. (This was about a month ago..) We had our first team here. We all had our hair "fixed".

2 months in Moldova…
Can you believe it has already been 2 months? Sometimes it seems like the time has just flown by. Other times, it seems like I’ve been here for ages.

As I reflect back upon my time here thus far, I can see the Lord’s hand and his blessings. For this, I am so thankful! I still have a smile on my face! This is a good thing.

I feel like a lot has happened since my last post. I went to harvest in a village here. The best way to describe this is to say that we had a meal similiar to our Thanksgiving meal. Here, the Moldovans take time to celebrate and thank the Lord for the harvest of crops. I have also spent more time with some American girls that I met here. This has been really encouraging and good for me. I have also gone to youth group a couple of times. Here, youth group is for teenagers and young adults until they married. Youth group is really great. The worship is more contemporary. There are also young Moldovans that have learned some English and are eager to practice speaking. I have met more Moldovan girls my age. I am excited to build relationships with them.

I think that some culture shock has set in, but I am just praying through it. This is the definition of culture shock that makes the most sense to me: the reaction experienced on exchanging a familiar culture for an unfamiliar one. It has been said that anything one struggles with in their home country only intensifies once they on the field in an unfamiliar place. I have found this to be true.

I will have new challenges and trials here. I will have many more opportunities to step out of my comfort zone. I will experience aspects of the culture here that can be frustrating at times(i.e. crowded mini buses). I might even have to change the way I think about things, but the Lord holds my hand through it all! For this, I am so thankful!

Thank you for your prayers and support!! I really do appreciate everyone's prayers, support, and encouragement.

A few more pics...

First Day of School(4 weeks ago!) First Trip to Mickey Dees. Not smiling??

A couple of pics from the center of the city, Chisinau

Statue of Stephen Cel Mare (Stephen the Great)

The arch of triumph...

A Lesson on Courage

Today was my first language lesson. I was so excited about beginning my study of the Romanian language. The excitement was overtaken by the intense fear that I felt about traveling in the city alone to get to my lesson. My outing would take about 3 hours to and from with the lesson included. I would spend about an hour on the minibus and then another 30 minutes or so walking (good exercise). I don’t even travel (on foot) in the city alone back home….with good reason! I kept hoping that something would come up so that I didn’t have to go to my lesson today. i.e. the lesson would be cancelled by my teacher, I would need to work on school stuff, etc. Nothing came up. I even asked the 11 yr. old to come along with me. She didn’t think it sounded like fun (what 11 yr. old would?) I even bribed her with a candy bar. It was to no avail.

Sensing my fear and resistance to this new step for me, Andy and Nancy prayed for me last night and again before I ventured out on my own today. Even though I know that God is with me and I believe in his covering and protection, I still tend to make myself sick with worry. This frustrates me so much. I want to completely trust God and surrender the situation to him. Instead, I give into the flesh and listen to Satan’s lies about everything bad that could happen. When I walk in fear instead of faith, I am paralyzed by the fear.

Today, holding back tears I left our protective gate of the house and my comfort zone to have a lesson in courage. Andy and Nancy both were so encouraging and reassured me of the confidence they had in me. This helped somewhat to build my level of confidence which was zilch. Andy also said, “John Wayne used to say courage is saddling up and riding in spite of the fear (paraphrased by yours truly).” The Bible also tells us that faith is the evidence of things not seen. I know all this, yet I still struggled today.

What it boils down to is that I had to step out and muster up what little courage I could in order to build confidence, grow, and experience God’s faithfulness. A verse that comes to mind is…When I am weak, He is strong!! Today I lacked much. I was extremely weak in faith, but in spite of my fearful self, the Lord blessed, guided, and protected me. Thanks be unto God.

Lesson: Sometimes we have to do things we don’t want to do. Lesson: The only way to grow is to step out of the comfort zone. Lesson: If I had not stepped out today, I could be in this same place of fear 1 month down the road. How this blog ends: I ended up doing just fine. No one spoke to or bothered me the whole trip. People here don’t smile, make eye contact, or talk to strangers often. It’s the Moldovan way. I was able to stop the bus driver both times where I needed to get off. I didn’t get hit by a fast moving car or even a slow one. None of my worries came to fruition. Not one of them. This builds confidence for the next trip and the next trip. Praise the Lord.

The Things We Take for Granted

Last Sunday at church there was a lady who stood to testify. She was crying and holding up her Bible. It was translated to me that she was praising the Lord for the Bible which she was finally able to get. She had wanted one for a long time. It was a very humbling moment for me as I realized how precious the Word was to her. I thought to myself, "Am I that thankful for the Bible I have? Do I simple take it for granted that I have always had immediate access to my Bible?" It was a convicting thought. One that I took to the Lord for sure. It really made me think about how blessed I am. I should treasure the Word more than I do. So, the next time you read the Word, which will hopefully be everyday, think about the precious words you have daily access to through His Word. Hopefully, your heart will be filled with gratefulness and thankfulness like mine has this week as I pondered this young woman's testimony.

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A side note: At the service I was delighted when the song "Days of Elijah" began to play. I love this song. Too bad I can't remember the words in English. It's really hard to recall the words you know when you hear them in another language at the same time. It was a wonderful and exciting moment. That's for sure!

God Bless.