Saturday, September 12, 2009

Welcome to Sighisoara!






Location: In my bedicle on the fourth floor of the building where I live and work in Sighisoara, Romania; it is approximately 10:00am on the 12th of September.

(The photos are of the cookout at camp in France when I said goodbye, the top of the bus (far right) during a stop in Austria, my bedroom and cleaning tarps in Sighisoara, and my view from the roof of our building in Sighisoara. Look above for a picture of me with R., as well as photos of a Hungarian sunrise!)

Thank you for your prayers! Today is a new day, and a beautiful one I might add. As the Bible says, "Let us rejoice and be glad in it!" What a privilege is was to spend time in prayer with the Lord this morning as the sun began to rise over the medieval town of Sighisoara.

Let me catch you up. You know about my bus trip to Romania. We ended up arriving two hours early! I am glad I took the bus--it was a neat way to see this part of the world, and I got to meet some nice folks, too. Everywhere I have gone, I have met neat folks, and I plan to blog about that soon. For now though, I have been thinking about the friends I left behind in France. For one, in particular, I request your prayers. (I hope to post his picture above.) Monsieur R., soon to turn eighty, was one of my good friends while I was at the camp. Except for the camp and an occasional vacationers, he is the village where we lived (no one else lives there). I used to tease him about being the mayor, the sheriff, the gardener, you name it! Joking aside, he has had a tough life, and I have watched the Lord working on him. However, he does not yet know the Lord, though he is thirsty to be able to believe the truth he has heard about such a wonderful God. When He meets Jesus, I believe it will impact the entire valley, because he is a pivotal character in the community. I felt as though he and I were especially close, but I believe many people feel that about R. Please pray for him, and if you ever have the opportunity to meet him, you know you will be meeting a true Frenchman pursued in love by the Lord.

Yes, R. has had a difficult life, and I mentioned in my post yesterday that my living situation is a bit rough. Let me tell you about it. (I always have to be careful with my words, though, for I seek not to offend any of my hosts in any place I am, though I like to describe accurately the life I am living, for your benefit. In addition, if I am careless, you may worry about me, and as I wrote last night, I am well. In fact, I am happy and healthy and in the love of the Lord--there is no better place to be!))

So I am in Sighisoara, Romania, where I plan to be for four months. It is pretty here as summer drifts into autumn. I am working with a neat group of people (mostly Romanians, a couple of French, a Swiss, etc.) who have a heart for the local community, especially the children who do not have a lot of hope because of the life they know.

We live among them, which means this is not the nicest neighborhood, though we are only a few-minutes' walk from the center of this touristy town. The man behind the Dracula legend was supposedly born here, and there is a castle-type building on a hill overlooking the town, which itself lies in a valley surrounded by low hills (at least, they are low to me after my time in the Alps!). From the skylight in my room, or from the dining room two stories below, I can see the whole town spread out below us. There is a porch on the level below me that is actually the roof of the dining room, so it feels like I spend time enjoying the cool breezes up there as Jesus probably did in Biblical Israel's culture; that porch has an amazing view of the town, as well as a nearby cemetery.

For those of you who are not native English speakers, "bedicle" is not a real word. However, like the office cubicles that imprision so many professionals in our modern age, my bed is in a large portion of the attic that has been partitioned off to offer several persons relative privacy. Two of us share this room currently, though others may share it when they visit. Down a rickety half-spiral staircase is the meeting room below me, which might get loud the more often we have children around. Yesterday, I had the privilege of leading worship (with two teammates) for our team of ten. The rest of the building houses the missionary family that lives here, a kitchen, a guest room, an office, and a local Romanian family. In the basement are some restrooms with a couple of showers.

I have not yet had time to explore Sighisoara. We grabbed a bite of pizza in town my first night, and I ran an errand for the missionary, but other than that I have been busy here. I have helped clean tarps, work on plastering walls and ceiling, fixing drawers to a large cabinet, and I even made the trip into Cluj (within less than twenty-four hours of my arrival!) to pick up one of our French team members from the airport. I know the Cluj airport better than anywhere else in Romania--I have been there six times this summer! It was a blessing to go, though, because I got to see my Romanian friend M. as she helped us navigate to the airport. While waiting, we also saw a Romanian actor in the airport (I did not know him, but the Romanians recognized him!) Furthermore, since I have my Romanian cell number again, I have been catching up with some of my friends in Romania, which is also fun.

So you see, life is good. But I was reading Matthew 20 this morning, and Jesus was talking about the workers in the vineyard who worked hard throughout the heat of the day only to be paid the same as those who only worked one hour. You see, this is my privilege. I have the privilege of working and living a hard life so that someone who does not know my Lord Jesus may have the opportunity to meet Him before the end of the day. What does that mean?

That means that I have surrendered everything to God, and I am content with little or with plenty, with discomfort or with ease, with work or repose. Though it has not always been this way, nor will it be necessarily always this way, this summer has been an invigorating challenge. Often the challenge has been to sleep with my feet pushing through metal bars at the end of whatever bed I have been offered, normally a bed two small for my tall frame. But sometimes I have not even had a bed, so I will boast in the Lord as He provides for me!

Sometimes the challenge looks like me hitting my head more often this summer than any other time in my life, because European construction so often has low ceilings and doorways, especially in old buildings. Or it is using toilets that cannot have paper flushed down them, often toilets that are pay-per-use. Sometimes it is eating food that does not look or taste appeasing, or that does not fill a hungry boy. Sometimes it is wearing the same clothes over and over, or using the same outfits as "nice" clothes for church and outings as well as for construction projects. Sometimes it looks like not being able to communicate across language barriers, or not having any privacy to get away from noise and activity on all sides. Sometimes it looks like trying to complete projects without the needed tools or resources, or without the "know-how." Sometimes it looks like having to do laundry in the bathroom sink and letting it dry from a rope suspended over the bedroom. Sometimes it looks like having to live out of a bag and not having the same place to sleep in any two nights in a row. Sometimes it looks like being out of touch with friends and loved ones, or maybe trying to define carefully or repair relationships that try to grow across cultural differences and even misunderstandings. Sometimes it looks like not knowing how to get somewhere, or how to carry groceries if you forgot to bring a sack, or buying water because you should not drink from the tap. Sometimes it looks like going for days without sufficient rest, or working for very long hours day after day. Sometimes it looks like using what seems like precious little money to pay large sums for the privilege of cleaning toilets, washing dishes, and working with children.

But think of it this way: Imagine you have a family member in agony, near death but afraid of death, wanting to live, but writhing in pain every moment life continues. Imagine this family member is the person you love more than anyone else in the world, maybe your spouse, a child, a parent... Would you not do anything you could to either ease the pain or allay the fears of death? Would you not be willing to pay large sums of money to doctors offering a cure, or to a holy man who could assure your loved one of eternal, wonderful life?

I do not have a family member in this situation, but there are hundreds of people all around me who are living in pain or fear of death. And I am willing to pay large sums of money or to donate the hours of my life several times over so that even one of them might see the Jesus who carries me through and who offers them the same. Maybe it will be R. Maybe it will be someone in Romania. Maybe it will be you. I assure you that all the money and back-breaking energy I have spent this summer, or even my whole life, will have been well-invested if it gives you the opportunity to receive the love of Jesus Christ. That is why He died--He was offering each of us His very life, saving us out of our rough situations. I have determined to live like Him; I offer my life that someone, maybe you, may be redeemed from your rough situation, turning despair into hope.

You see, in all this I am blessed. Much of my "rough" life might sound all too familiar to you. Many people would love to have a "rough" life like this, for theirs is even harder. As for me, everywhere I have gone, I have been thoroughly loved and welcomed, and you know that is not normal. I attribute it to my loving, leading God who is blessing me through your prayers; thank you. I have had a roof over my head, food in my belly, and often luxuries like hot water and Wi-Fi. How can I complain of a rough life? I cannot! My careful packing paid off, and usually I have had the clothes I needed, and I did not bring things I did not need. I have been healthy and safe. I have had the opportunity to see new places and meet new people. I will not complain, for this is the life I have chosen. I laid it all down before the Lord, that He might live through me. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. So I expect the rough things, and I boast in Christ as I endure them, that He might be glorified. I am weak, but His strength carries me through! The blessings are an added bonus; every good and perfect gift comes from above, from the Father of Lights who delights in His children!

Have you ever been blessed? Even once? I am thankful beyond expression to have a God who delights in us, His children! And if you have never been blessed, if your life has been hellish, then I bless you right now, in the name of this Jesus who is Lord, that you might know His peace and joy in the midst of this rough life! Let me know, and I will pray for you. I can tell you from grateful experience how much prayers make a difference, and you will see for yourself!

Thank you for your prayers for me. This moment's pause will soon end and off we go! We have a meeting and some work this afternoon, and except for church, I do not know tomorrow's schedule. I do know that I will begin Romanian language courses on Monday, and soon we will be hosting a construction team here to help with work on the facilities. I learned that a friend of mine from the States is only hours away, so I am hoping we can cross paths some time, and I hope to see my friends in Oradea and Cluj before too long, also, though I do not think I will be free to do much traveling anytime soon (I have not even seen the city I live in yet!).

May you and I live today knowing that we are thoroughly loved by the very God who crafted us cell by cell, thought by thought, breath by breath.
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A Rose From Home

A Rose From Home

My Story (As prepared for my church congregation this spring--2009)


I have a story to tell you. I am the main character, but the story is not about me. I have traveled several parts of the world, but my adventure has been closer to home. I am twenty-six years old. My story begins like many of yours…

I grew up going to church. I had been born into a family who labeled themselves “Christian,” in a country that labels itself “Christian.” Every Sunday found me attending a worship service and Sunday school in a mainline denomination church. I served as an acolyte, attended Vacation Bible School, helped my dad count and record the offering money, sang in the youth choir, was a leader in the youth group, and occasionally served as liturgist. Baptized as an infant, I was confirmed at the age of twelve, thus becoming an “official” member of the church. Then, hurt by the church, my family left to find another.

Have you ever been hurt by the Church?

After months of searching, we settled into a very large independent church. Things were different there, and I was quickly welcomed and at home among new friends that truly had a passion for Jesus. The Word of God was taught boldly from the pulpit, and I was introduced to a missions-aware lifestyle. So it was with regret that I said goodbye only a couple of years later to move with my family to another church. I purposely remained aloof, not wanting to make new friendships before I left for college a year later. Besides, I was loosing my faith—or so I thought—and I didn’t want anyone to know. I was asking scary questions like “Is there really a God?” and, if so, “Is He the Christian God?” and “Would I be Christian if I had been born in another part of the world?”

Have you ever asked yourself unsettling questions about what you believe?

So I headed into college under a cloud of confusion that only worsened for the next two years. Though I didn’t know what I believed anymore, I continued to go to church every Sunday, and to help lead worship in chapel. Most importantly, even during this questioning, I continued my morning habit of daily study of the Bible. I had begun at age twelve, reading at first a chapter per day, then ten minutes each morning, then an half-hour, and so on. So, only by the grace of the very God I doubted, I remained anchored in His Word and in His community, though I felt like a fake most of the time. Since then I have learned that “fake” is the worst insult the world can give us; that is why the label of “hypocrite” is so offensive.

Have you ever felt like a fake?

Six weeks with missionaries in South Africa followed by a year in France began to teach me what life with God is all about. I began rebuilding my faith, this time it belonged to me, in contrast to me borrowing the faith of my parents, church, or anyone else. In my parent’s basement in 2003, on either Christmas Eve or New Year’s Eve, I invited Jesus to live in me; perhaps I had done so before, but I didn’t recall—but since 2003, I have never forgotten that moment. Unfortunately, nothing changed. I continued to do my best to act like a Christian, as I had done for so long.

Have you ever found yourself “doing your best” to be a good person, or to act like a Christian?

Though I did not realize it at the time, I was quenching the Spirit, even though I had welcomed Him into my life. During the next few years, the LORD continued to nurture me, and slowly things began to change. Several tough months in Idaho birthed my prayer-life. I spent three years being humbled in a job that was my informal seminary training. In 2007, a short stint in Mexico helped me to see things as they were, and not long afterward, I was baptized by immersion. No baptism of any kind can save a lost soul—only Jesus can do that. However, this baptism was an important covenant between me and God, symbolizing not only my death and resurrection with Jesus and my public profession of faith, but it also my life change, the beginning of my bearing fruit. “For each tree is known by its own fruit…”according to Luke 6:44. During the past year and a half, the LORD has provided me with an informal pastoral internship in my church, teaching me every aspect of discipleship. Simultaneously, I have been studying unceasing prayer and worship. I am now very different than I was five years ago.

In the Book of Acts (which tells the story of the earliest years of the Church) every time a person decided to follow Christ, two things took place—though not always in the same order. Each person experienced a life change, which I call the “baptism of repentance,” as well as the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, which I call the “baptism of the Spirit.” Looking back, I realize that the Holy Spirit was living in me in 2003, but it wasn’t until I surrendered everything to God, as represented by my immersion, that I allowed the Spirit to have His way in me and transform my life. “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now life in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. (Galatians 2:20)”

Have you invited Jesus to live in you? Have you allowed the Spirit to transform your life?

I tell you this story for two reasons. First, I tell this story in order to boast in the LORD! May God our Father get all praise and glory forever! Second, I tell this story because it is relevant to you. Likely you have heard that I am leaving the country: I have let my light shine before you; please let your light shine within the Church, too! This congregation is in revival, and as each of you allows the Spirit to revive you, the entire Church will be revived and utterly transformed, to the glory of the Most High God. And for His glory is the reason He created us; the reason He sent His only Son to reveal Himself to us; the reason He became Sin for us and died for us on the cross—while we were still sinners; and the reason that He conquered death and offered us eternal life with Him.

It will cost you a lot—in fact, it will cost you everything, your very life. But if you have never surrendered your life to Christ Jesus, if you have never invited Him to send His Spirit into you and to transform your life, then do it right now. Just let go of everything to which you are desperately clinging; stop trying to do it yourself! This is the very reason you are still breathing in this physical life—God has been delaying His judgment of this sinful world because He is waiting for you—2 Peter 3:9 says He wants none to perish!

If you have already invited the Spirit into your life, then live like it! Bear fruit! Anyone and everyone who meets you or knows you or sees you or hears you should know immediately and clearly that Jesus the Christ lives in you and loves them! That is how stark the contrast should be between your life and the world around you!

Have you immersed yourself in God’s Word and in prayer in the last twenty-four hours?

If you call yourself a follower of Christ, then there is no excuse for not communing with Him daily! Anchor yourself in the Word! God has revealed Himself to us through His Son, Jesus Christ, and the Bible is a complete and accurate record of that revelation. And prayer is humbly letting Him love us. Let Him love you! God doesn’t need us, but He wants us! God doesn’t need us to live for Him—He wants to live in and through us! Let us love and fellowship with one another, even when you disagree! Pray for each other—the names in the church directory are a great place to start! Church, we are not only the Body of Christ, but we are the Bride of Christ. We have allowed ourselves to get bedraggled and stained—now let us stand to the glory of God! Let’s let Him purify us, restore us, and love us!

My dear Brothers and Sisters, if you have ever once been blessed by God our Father at work in me, then I urge you, please, take seriously His desire to love and work in you, beyond anything you can ask or imagine! I have told you the beginning of my story—may it end in glory to the Father, in the Name of Jesus, by way of His Spirit.

Now, what is your story?