Yesterday I packed my life into my backpack for the 7th time this year and headed to my new destination. It felt strange leaving what was my home for 2 months in Craiova, Romania. Our long travel day consisted of 1 van trip, 2 train rides and 2 Uber orders (the first one wouldn’t let us come in with our hiking packs), not to mention the 3 hour layover in the Bucharest train station. I write this from my hostel bed in the mountains of Brasov, Romania, looking out my window at the beautiful town that feels like a dream.
When reflecting on my time in Romania I think of many things. I think of the coffee shop mornings with my team and the wonderful friendships I made that were hard to leave. I think of the times the gospel was shared and I saw seeds being planted. What I’m learning about short term missions is that it involves a great deal of humility. In short term missions, you usually do ministry that plants seeds you don’t get to see come to fruition or you reap seeds you never got to plant. Satan can use this process to instill doubts that you are not making an impact. These doubts have been quickly eradicated when I think back to the countless people I have been able to tofu for God’s kingdom. Just because we may not have been able to stay long enough to see major change in the relationships we cultivated does not mean that we never planted seeds. Over the time in Romania we have done so many things for the kingdom and in return I have seen so much growth in my heart. Romania has showed me that when you are serving God and his people you are in turn growing in Him. Even if you only realize it after the season passes.
While we where here we have passed out 2,000 calendars with Bible verses. We have given out 2,000+ shoeboxes to children in need, visiting 15+ Roma communities, packed 500+ bags of food for the hungry, had 200+ deep conversations about the gospel, passed out 3,000 flyers and 1,000 gospel timeline posters, held 20+ events for the community and the youth, had 100+ coffee dates, spent around 85 hours in prayer over Craiova and the spiritual darkness here, and held 50+ worship sessions where many youth felt the Holy Spirit and some heard about Jesus for the first time.
I am so proud of my squad for the people we met and the impact we have had on the community here in Romania. When people ask how Romania was, I won’t talk on about the work we did, but I will talk about the incredible work that Jesus did in my life. I will talk about the people He placed near me so I could have deep conversations about Jesus and his love for them; about the ministry hosts here and there determination that has inspired a different level of urgency I see in proclaiming the gospel. The more I reflect the more evident it is why he placed me here. My heart is sad to say goodbye, but ever so excited to say hello to my new chapter in the Dominican Republic.
