Saturday, June 5, 2010

Until the Cows Come Home...





Location: My "kitchen" table in C., Romania (9am on Saturday the fifth of June)

I have come to realize that very likely I will have almost no internet access on a regular basis. If you have emailed me, thank you, but I do not know it. (I now have a working cell phone; email me if you want the number, and when I finally see my email, I will try to send it to you.) I also learned that someone sent me a package, but I have to figure out how to be in town on Thursday morning between 10am and 12pm with my passport to pick it up--that is how it works here. I do know, however, that you have been praying for me, because everything is going swimmingly! May God get the praise and glory, and may you not become weary of praying! I am praying for you, too!

Today, I am hoping to make it in to town for the first time on my own, though whether by bike (20 km) or by hitchhiking and train I do not yet know (by bike, it was!). So far, I have been in town briefly twice, both times with the W. family for choir, but I have not been free to visit friends or run errands. Instead, I have been assimilating to village life (about 700 people live in C.). Can I tell you how much I love it?

For instance, I am now buying milk directly from the cow two or three times per week. By directly, I mean that when I go to get milk, the man is still milking the cow in the yard while the lady in the kitchen pours milk from the first pail into the bottle I bring. It is such a treat, almost as good as a milkshake! I do not have a refrigerator, so I enjoy it quickly and savor it until I can go again. I have to go between 8:15 and 8:30 in the evening, after the cow walks home down the street to get milked.

In addition to milk, I bought some honey from another neighbor, bringing her my empty zacousca jar. Romanian friends, is my spelling correct? Zacousca is a favorite food of mine here, made from red bell peppers and eggplant and I do not know what else, eaten as a spread on bread. The honey was a bit more expensive than the milk, so I am rationing it carefully. I have also been in touch with another neighbor about purchasing homemade cheese, though again I will have to do so in small quantities due to my lack of refrigeration.

Fellow Americans, remember the tales of the Old West and the general stores that stocked everything one might need? I go to the general store virtually everyday, and the clerk knows me. They have everything from ice cream to meat to fruit to toys to school supplies to tools to detergents to shoes to pre-pay phone credit to picnic tables outside so you can enjoy a drink on the spot! I love it!

I am now set up in my house to wash dishes more easily, and soon I will tackle washing clothes by hand. This time with the W. family is great practice for soon living on my own in another village. I am functioning well without plumbing or refrigeration, and I enjoy the challenge. In addition, I am learning a lot about gardening, construction and carpentry, and village life in general. My typical day begins with devotions with my boss and a couple of his children at 6:30am, even on the weekends. Then I work an eight-to-five day, taking an hour for lunch with the family. The evenings are mine in theory, though normally I eat dinner and then get ready for bed. Usually I read a little, and then I turn in early. I have enjoyed early bedtimes, early mornings, and increased prayer time in this peaceful routine.

I also have a new best friend: my violin! I brought it from the States, with a lot of other luggage that I mostly regret carrying. I knew better! Why did I decide I needed so much extra baggage? Do you ever carry baggage that you do not really need, but for whatever reason you are unwilling to leave it behind, even though you know it would allow you to move forward freely?

Nevertheless, I do not regret bringing my violin. Rarely have I played it in the past several years, but now I am eager to play it nearly daily! It survived the trip in the belly of the plan, except for the sound-post becoming dislodged. However, I do not know what the sound-post really does, and it seems to work fine without it.

Work-wise, we just finished the facade of a one-hundred-two-year-old house we have been working on; I think we are done with the other house in the same street we were painting. Most of this week was painting for me, though I spent a fair amount of time in the garden, too. Already we ate a dessert with strawberries from the garden, and some of the lettuce was harvested, too.

Adventure-wise, I told you about the horseback-riding. Sheepishly, I must admit that another adventure involved spilling half a bucket of paint down the side of the house when the handle detached itself from the pail. I am more proud of the night when I came out of my house to see a neighborhood dog bare its fangs and begin to bark at me; I took a step toward it and barked back, and it ran away! Finally, on our way into town for choir last Wednesday, we found a man lying in the rode on a fallen bike, apparently hit by a car. After stopping traffic and calling the ambulance and talking with the police, it turned out he had fallen after drinking and "driving."

So, that is a brief snapshot of life with Jesus in Romania right now. I wish you could enjoy it with me. As this may be my last blog post for a while, I will do my best to post some photos, but no promises. I miss being in contact with all of you; I look forward to when I can host you for a visit! But I also am loving this simple village life, with hard work during the days, violin in the evening, and to bed, often before 9:30! I am far from loney; instead, I am richly blessed! If you have not read the two prior posts, make sure to enjoy them, too! Thanks for your prayers! Please pray for the Church in Romania, too. Grace and peace to you in the Name of Jesus the Christ!
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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?