Lost in Translation

If you were to ask me today, where in the world I am, my response would be, “I am sitting in a room that consists of the 6 other girls on my team.  It is our first Sunday morning here in Drăgănești-Olt, Romania.  The Mission House where we are staying, has come alive with the 4 R squad teams who are currently stationed here for the month.  Trying to find quiet time to simply be with God, journal, reflect and, well, blog-is a struggle living in community.  Quiet time sometimes looks like slipping away (with two other people-cause we all know that on the World Race, you can never truly be 100% alone), by 8:00 in the morning for worship and devotional time with Jesus on a local hilltop.  Other times, it’s resting in a hammock-which you’re borrowing from a teammate with a small kitty that a squad mate has officially adopted for the month. 

This morning, quiet time is consisting of waking up early, spending time eating cereal and time with Jesus in the Word, worship music flowing through the ear buds and ‘zoning out’ the happenings around me as I soak in the love God has continually lavished upon me.

Although we have only been at our ministry site here for 6 days, I have already been blessed, challenged, and encouraged by God, through our contact Raul, his family and the rest of the people involved in the ministries here.  They are a group of Believers who are fighting the Good Fight that God has called ALL Believers too.  After school programs for local gypsy kids, visiting local villages, handing out bibles, administrative work, teaching English, office work, spending mornings in prayer and worship, maintenance around the church, bee keeping/gardening, community garbage pickup, and street evangelism are just a few of the ways that ou(R) squad teams are serving here in the area of Drăgănești-Olt.

For the last few days, street ministry/evangelism is what God has been calling me to do. I will be totally honest, when I found out that that is what I would be doing, I did NOT jump for joy.  Yet, even before it was assigned, I knew in my heart that that is what God was wanting me to do as, once again, I could feel the peace and presence from God.  Each day, two World Racers are paired up with one Romanian Translator.

Let me tell you, the struggle is real

Although I’ve been involved in a wide range of ministries/missions before, these last few days of ‘dipping my feet into the waters’ of Street Evangelism, has been a challenged.  There has been a wide range of responses from the local people.  Times when we have gotten ‘shut down’ even before a word left our mouths, to times when we have been invited into a local’s home and served grapes, apples, bread, a mystery juice (we prayed hard for our immune systems as we sipped it down), and peppers.  There have been times when I have been able to talk to 80 year old ladies (through a translator) about their life and about Jesus. 

I know already, that street ministry form of evangelism is not strong point at all, and there are days that are a struggle as far as motivating myself to do it.  There are times when I have wished that I was doing the kids club and even administrative work.  Yet I know that God is growing me through this time.  I am realizing now, how our time in Serbia, was a time for preparing me now.  It was there, that I learned (as crazy as it may sound) how to pray and walk at the same time.  I have learned the value in it, even though I may not fully always understand it.

So if that means heading out each day for a few hours, getting to know the locals on the streets, I will do it.  If it means eating odd foods and drinking a juice that you have no idea what it is, I will do it (and continue to pray harder for our immune systems!).  If it means hugging a gypsy child while we talk with their mom, I will do it.  If it means simply taking a break and lifting up the people of Romania- I will do it.

One of the crazy awesome things about God, is even though we think that things will get lost in translation (whether literally through our translators, or not) God will speak to the person in the way He wants to speak to them.  Holy Spirit You are welcome here.  Pull us deeper.  Pull us closer.  Set a fire in my soul that I cannot contain, that I cannot control. 

I want more of you God.