The end has come

I can't believe that it is the last day that we are in Moldova.  Today has been one of the best days; I realize that same phrase was said about yesterday, so maybe it is just the love that has been shared all culminating to this point.  Today has been a celebration day for our team.  We are celebrating the work that has been done this week, but more than that we are celebrating the work that is being done here in Moldova.  This is an incredible country with a beautiful hope.  As one of our team members put it, Moldova is a masterpiece in progress.  We are celebrating what has happened.  Today we have spent a lot of time reflecting on what we have done this week and what we have encountered.  We have been using this day to soak in the best of Moldova.  Tonight we will celebrate with the whole JMI team, Boys 2 Leaders guys and Grace House girls over a traditional Moldovan meal.  But I can't ignore the celebration that has been taking place before what will happen tonight.  I also can't put into words what we have experienced better than what our JMI team leader, Brian, has crafted in his blog.  Therefore, I want to share what he said.

God came near. Well, it happened. We didn’t feel it when it happened, or else we would have exploded. But that tug you just felt was the hem of Jesus’ garment leaving your fingertips. That shove was the hand of God hiding you in the cleft of the rock as He passed by. Perhaps it was the litle girl in the green dress at the orphanage…perhaps the monk who lives in and tends the altar fire of a 600-year-old cave chapel. Perhaps it was the breakthrough of the Holy Spirit in one of our team-sisters.

Our devotional this morning brought it all home. A Lipscomb student from a religious background opened with saying “well, I was stuck. I felt different from the rest of you. I’ve never experienced this kind of community. I’ve never felt the scriptures actually ‘speak’ to me. So I stayed up all night reading and praying and asking God to move my heart.”

God comes near…not because we came across the ocean to work with orphans and vulnerable women. But because we have lived in community for a week. We have served with all our energy from breakfast till dinner. We have played and laughed and cried till late into the night.

Jesus came to establish His Kingdom on earth. He did it by gathering a diverse group of friends, by living in community with them, by serving tirelessly, and by hanging out out on the shores of the lake nightly around the fire. The unwritten parts of the timeline of the ministry of Jesus are myriad. Those are the times that you tap into on a mission trip.

This is the core spirituality that Jesus came to teach us to walk in. It doesn’t take coming on a mission trip. It can be accessed locally if you seek it first. But sometimes it takes the ‘retreat’ event for God to break through. Be assured…God will come near. Avail yourself to God in a local ministry or through a mission trip and you will surely fell the hem of Jesus’ garment slip through your fingertips.

God has blessed us all by being here.  Throughout today I have had the opportunity to have several conversations with people and realize how purposful this trip has been.  Thank you for all of your prayers and encouragement; your love and companionship.  You have all helped influence us and have therefore blessed Moldova.  See you state-side. 

Tuesday

Yesterday was a beautiful day.  The weather was very hot, but we survived.  In the morning we went to a small village about an hour away from Chisinau.  Only about 400 people live in this small community and they are pretty much the poorest of the poor.  It was jaw dropping to walk into their community.  It looked like a third-world country; being out in the countryside, on dirt roads, it reminded me of being in remote places in Mexico.  We met with the pastor of the local church and he told us the story of how he and his wife began their church.  At the start of their ministry they endured persecution from the Orthodox church and priest.  At one point they even wanted to burn down the church.  Unlike other churches, this small church only has a few people that show up at the meeting times.  Sometimes they don't even have anyone show up, but the minister and his wife always meet and pray for the village or visit the neighbors.  While we were there we helped with food ministry.  We passed out 12 different food bags to different people in the village.  They all contained non-perishable food items such as: sugar, rice, flour, tea, oil, etc.  All of the people welcomed us into their small, dirty homes and were very grateful for the supplies.  They told us their different stories and let us pray over all of them.  Several of them asked us to pray for rain for their farms.  The dirt was very dry and their gardens are what provides them with their food for the year, so they were in desperate need of the rain.

After we delivered food we got to visit the art market again.  Then we got to meet one of the Moldovan members of Parliament!  This was such an honorable experience. When talking to the member, Valeriu Ghiletchi, we found out that he has two sons who go to Belmont! It is such a small world!  We met with Valeriu in a meeting room and got to ask him all the questions we wanted to.  He told us all about the Moldovan political fiasco.  It was astounding to find out about the Moldovan politics and government.  Moldova has currently been without a president for 2 years; it sits in the midst of a political gridlock with 46 Communist members and 54 Democratic members of Parliament.  Because of this difference, the democratic members cannot vote to have a President elected because they don't have two-thirds of the Parliament vote.  In the last two years Moldova has had 3 Parliamentary elections in an effort to try and change the system but to no avail.  The brokenness left from the Soviet influence is devastating in this country.  It was fascinating to find out about the way the history has formed the current situation.  We also found out a lot about the lack of economy here in Moldova, and how the country desires to be in the EU.  I loved being able to meet with him and find out more about Moldova.  It was also intriguing because Valeriu is one of three evangelical members of Parliament.

After meeting with him we had the night with the Grace House girls.  Last night was by far my favorite night until this point.  We set up a spa for the girls complete with feet washing, manicures and pedicures, massages and face masks.  At first the girls were hesitant to let us wash their feet.  They felt really uncomfortable, but after some encouragement they jumped right in.  It was so much fun to be able to serve them in such a unique way.  By the end of the night they kept telling us about how they felt like princesses.  We also got to serve Elena (Grace House psychologist and house Mom) and our cook for the week, Orica.  Both of these women loved the salon treatment.  As the girls finished their spa nights we had goodie bags for them to take home and we just got to sit around and talk to the girls.

It has been such a blessing to be here and celebrate God's love with these women.  They have been such an encouragement and inspiration.

Without words

"All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God's grace in all its truth." -Colossians 1:6

Brothers and sisters,
I write to you today with encouragement.  Today we saw the beauty of Moldova's brokenness.  Throughout this week we have constantly been reminded of what a broken country Moldova is.  A young country and former Soviet property, Moldova gained independence in 1991.  Since then the country has been in turbulence.  The Communist party still remains one of the most popular parties and the economy is horrible.  The government does not produce any jobs and is therefore broke, so Moldovan people must find work in other countries to send back from to their families.  This creates broken homes and families, not to mention being detrimental to the economy of Moldova.  The small country (only the size of Maryland) has the largest human trafficking problems in Eastern Europe; women are often beaten in the household.  They have an unbelievable amount of orphans (due to the lack of economy and because so many parents travel abroad to work) and they all want out of Moldova.  In a nutshell, that is Moldova.  However, this week we have seen glimpses of the beauty within all the brokenness- today specifically, but more on that later.

Throughout this trip our team has truly become best friends.  We are constantly laughing, sharing wisdom, speaking truth, singing and loving each other.  I mentioned last time that we are the 12 best friends that anyone could have and that is the truth!  It has been more than a God-sent blessing to be able to fellowship and serve with my sisters.  These ladies (and Uncle Brian, of course) are radiating God's beauty and teaching me about God's continual love, grace, service, strength and endurance.  Never have I been with so many beautiful girls and been able to stand it for such an extended amount of time.  I truly thank God for all of them daily.  As I mentioned we have fun with each other and one thing that we have loved doing has been singing with each other.  Since we have loved singing with each other (and making Brian, Borris, and the our other traveling companions endure all of our singing on the bus) we have noticed that we don't sound half bad.  We have also dubbed ourselves as the Vontrapp's.  Today the Vontrapp family singers busted out another concert.  Our manager, Brian, and groupie, Borris, asked us to sing some songs while in the Orthodox monastery that we visited.  This monastery was built in 1429 and is gorgeous.  The interior is stunning with traditional icons covering every part.  Towards the front of the small cathedral the ceilings jutted upward into a dome-like ceiling to showcase Christ the pantocrotor.  This architectural design creates a stunning acoustic atmosphere.  Standing at the front of this Orthodox cathedral, the Vontrapp family singers began our set list with Holy, Holy, Holy.  It was honestly one of the holiest experiences I have had; the walls echoed our harmonies, as our predominantly Church of Christ background team members belted out the hymnal.  We busted out a few more songs and ended up gathering a small audience before moving up to the balcony to sing a couple more.  The sound was chillingly beautiful.

After visiting the monastery we ate at a Piccadilly-esque Moldovan place called Yellow Box.  It was about like Piccadilly.  We then visited Beginning of Life.  Beginning of Life is an organization here in Moldova that is God's hands and feet.  It is a beautiful and powerful ministry.  In a culture where women are treated as less superior, the Beginning of Life is the product of one woman's dream.  Beginning of Life has a lot of ministries for several different things.  They started as a program that helped women who were wanting abortions to seek other ways of help- they informed women of their options, as well as telling them about what abortion actually is.  The ministry then began morphing into a rehabilitation program for women who have been abused.  Since then the ministry has adopted programs for schools and for children to learn about life.  But the program that we were the most interested in was in their rehabilitation program for women who have been trafficked.  Our entire team was able to meet with three of the staff members as they told us all about their ministry.  They informed us of their preventative measures through school lectures and summer camps that kids attend.  They also enlightened us with some of their hopes and dreams for the program (more staff members, more consistent sponsors, bigger facilities, etc.).  However, the biggest aspect of their program is the in-house rehabilitation that they offer.  Due to building size they are only able to have 8 women living in the center at a time, but they also have an off-site program that helps them reintegrate into society.  In the in-house rehab the women have three counselors that are working 24/7 to provide help and security for these women.  Talking to the lady who came up with the Beginning of Life was moving.  Hearing her passion and story for how she envisioned the program and how she, like us, wanted to be able to empower the women of Moldova, and she wants to help them.  I know that these simple words don't give the organization the credit that it deserves, but I can honestly say that I felt the Spirit of God alive and moving in that place.  After we talked and prayed over the staff a few of us were able to visit the rehab house.  We got to see their prayer room and where the girls lived.  We also got to meet some of the women who were living there.  Before going inside I was prepared to walk into a place where the women were obviously hurting; I envisioned them to almost look like the girls in the movie Taken.  But, alas, I was wrong.  Immediately when we walked into the house we were greeted by two girls who were overflowing with joy; you could see it coming out of their eyes.  Their smiles were pure.  They were excited to meet us and show us their home.  Later we did meet a few other women that were not as joyful as the first two, but they were all grateful to meet us and showed us sincere smiles.  We got to pray blessings over the girls and tell them how much we love them and want to help them.  It was an experience like non other.

Tonight we had a gathering with the Boys2Leaders and the Grace House girls.  We started off the night worshipping; half of us sang in English while the other half sang in Romanian.  At one point they gave us some lyrics and we all got to sing in Romanian.  The rest of the night some people sat around and sang/played guitar while the other half of us played.  We started off by playing a simple game of volleyball.  By the end of the night we were playing keep-away Moldovans vs. Americans.  It was so much fun!  We played for hours, but finally had to stop when it was getting too dark to see the ball.  Through this simple game we got to bond with the girls in a very different way.

I am thankful for God's plan that has allowed us to experience Moldova and the life here.  We are all sad that we only have three more days in this wonderful place.

Sunday in the sun

Pace (peace to believers).

Today has been a gift from God.  We started very early this morning with a breakfast at our team house in Belti.  It was our last day to be away from Chisinau.  After breakfast we drove about an hour to a church in a very small town.  The church was wonderful.  They were so grateful to have us, and we could not be more delighted to be there.  At church we were given seats of honor.  Another American mission team was also visiting the church.  They took on the responsibility of leading some of our worship.  It was a neat experience because we got to have bilingual worship.  Several of the songs we sang were songs that the church knew in Romanian as well.  As we sang, both in Romanian and English, I couldn't help but think about how much of a joy and blessing it was to be celebrating the love and salvation of Christ with people across the world. It was beautiful to be in God's presence with people across the world from where I normally am and to know that they are truly in love with God.  Several times I noticed our whole team taking in the beauty of the service.  I also got to introduce our team to the congregation and to send blessings to them from Lipscomb University.  I also got to thank them for their hospitality and service to the country.  They then wanted us to sing a song to them, so our whole team got up in front of the congregation and sang A Shield About Me a cappella style.  In a culture that is known for never smiling, as we sang to our brothers and our sisters all we could see were beautiful smiles staring back at us.  They loved hearing our voices and hearing us rejoice.  After church we were invited to the preacher's apartment for a home cooked Moldovan meal.  We actually found out after we arrived there that the pastor didn't know we were going to be there, so when he got to church he called his wife to tell her to prepare a meal for another mission team that was visiting.  So all during church she cooked all 15 of us a traditional, delicious meal.

After lunch we visited our last orphanage to deliver a wheel chair to a little girl who had to constantly be carried around.  She was ecstatic to receive her wheel chair.  All the kids loved it.  I played a few little hand games with our new little friends, and then we left right as the rain was beginning to come down.  We spent the rest of the day driving back to Chisinau.  There was one point when I woke up from trying to take a nap and just became angry at the roads because they were so bumpy.  It was crazy.  Driving through those roads reminded me a lot of when we were trying to drive to the Czech Republic and were just bumping all around.  But we finally made it back.

Tonight we spent some more time with the Grace House girls.  We all sat around and made bracelets and ate some delicious ice cream and just listened to music together.  We just got to be girls together and it was so nice!  We adore all the girls.

Check out the new photo gallery!

Saturday

Saturday we got to go to a different orphanage near Belti.  This orphanage was much smaller and the kids were precious.  Before going to this orphanage we got to go to METRO (like COSTCO) and bought a bunch of games and toys for the kids.  We played the entire day with the kids.  Some of us played volleyball while others played soccer and others played tag or made bracelets.  Much like last time other people interviewed the kids at this orphanage.   These kids were absolutely precious.  They loved playing with us and we loved playing and laughing with them.  Being out in such a small village was really different.  These kids were starving for our attention and love.  It was heartbreaking to see them wanting so badly for us to love on them and play with them.  Many of these kids had developmental problems and some could hardly read or write.  It was a very different experience than compared to the other kids we have visited. 

The night was very different as well.  We simply got to spend good quality time with each other.  It is just such a blessing to be surrounded by beautiful women of God that are capable of speaking truth into your life.  I am thankful for the team that surrounds and uplifts me.  We truly are the 12 best friends that anyone could have!  I thank God for these women of God who have joined me in a mission to empower the women of Moldova and are willing to humble themselves to serve one another.  

Thursday: To Belti and Beyond

Thursday we traveled to Belti.  It is about 2 hours North of Chisinau.  It is another town here in Moldova where JMI has a few orphanages.  After arriving in Belti our team set out for our first true adventure in a Moldovan orphanage.  We got off the bus at the small, country orphanage and immediately began playing with the kids.  This orphanage is my favorite one that we have visited.  It is ran by a woman who is really sweet and caring.  When we arrived to the orphanage I was invited to go into the office to meet the director with Brian and Alina.  It was a huge honor for me to be able to go with them.  While in the meeting with the director we learned about this orphanage.  It had about 170 kids.  Unlike many of the other orphanages it provided psychological and physical health help.  Many of the children here had some kind of mental disorders or would be what we considered ADD or ADHD.  Several of them came from families from alcoholics and had Fetal Alcohol Syndrome or came from families with drug problems.  It was heartbreaking to see these kids and some of their disabilities that were obviously psychological.  Some had problems with bladder control, yet they were all from about 6-13 years-old.  Despite some of these difficulties, we had a blast playing with the kids.  While some of us played with the kids, others began interviewing some of the kids who don’t have sponsors from other organizations.  This orphanage is one that JMI is beginning a relationship with so that they can offer some people in the U.S. the ability to sponsor and build relationships with these kids.  To make this happen some kids needed to be interviewed so we would know a little bit about them.  The ones of us that got to play played hard.  We played a lot of volleyball/soccer (not both individually, but a game that mixed both sports).  We also got to sing songs and play some catch and other games with some of the other kids.  There was one kid who was one of my favorites.  He was absolutely precious.  He was just a little boy, maybe 8 or 9 years-old.  He had the most beautiful blue eyes and precious smile.  His name was Victor and he was very shy; he hardly spoke but was beautiful.  Later I found out that he had been at the orphanage longer than he could remember and that he didn’t even know his birthday.  Those kind of stories make up the Moldovan orphanages. 

            When we came back from the orphanage we had a delicious dinner (Moldova food is GREAT!) and went out with Andres (a Moldovan boy who is 21 and speaks perfect English) and some of his friends to a carnival type park.  The park was so much fun!  It reminded me a lot of the Prater in Vienna.  At the park we rode one of those huge swing rides.  As we were riding we noticed that all kinds of Moldovan people were gathering below us watching and even videoing the ridiculous Americans; we were having a blast, though.  The next ride we rode was really fun.  I sat next to Brian and got an ab workout from laughing so hard; again people were watching us and laughing at us riding the rides.  After those two rides we transitioned to another park close by that had some more rides.  On our way we saw some of the Moldovan national soccer team players.  Some of the girls got a picture with them later (they didn’t actually like it very much… ha!).  At that park we rode a really rickety ferris wheel.  I got a little scared riding it.  Then we rode this centrifugal ride that uses centrifugal motion and G-forces to push you against a wall.  It was really fun and we all felt like astronauts, but after the ride we were all a little nauseous.  Again, we laughed the entire time.  The whole day was so much fun.  It was different, but we loved it.  

Wednesday in Chisinau

Wednesday was an incredible day for our team in Chisinau.  In the morning we simply went all around the city running some errands.  We also got to visit our first orphanage.  Internat 2 was the first orphanage that JMI partnered with.  Instead of being strictly an orphanage it is more like a boarding house where some of the kids are orphans.  Visiting Internat was eye opening.  While there the kids were a little standoffish and bashful.  A few of them came to us to talk, but most kept their distance as we were waiting while Brian and Alina talked to the director of the orphanage.  However, we did have Elijah and Antonina there with us that helped us to communicate with the few kids that were gathered around. 

            Elijah is a 17 year-old Moldavian boy that grew up at Internat.  He is currently sponsored by an American family and is in the Boys to Leaders program (boys component of the Grace House created by JMI).  He is completely fluent in English and has had the chance to visit America once before.  Eli is hilarious and has caught on to American sarcastic humor.  He loves photography and is very talented.  Through talking with him we learned that he is also studying Bible in school.  It was amazing to watch him interact with all the kids at Internat.  Because he grew up there you could tell that he was a big deal and role model to the kids.

            Antonina is amazing.  She is studying foreign languages and wants to eventually be able to teach foreign languages.  She is already fluent in Romanian, Russian, English and Spanish.  Her sweet heart is evident through her continual joy and smile.  She is only 22 and is absolutely beautiful.  Antonina is incredible.  During her off time she helps translate for JMI; she is in charge of translating all the sponsor/orphan letters, as well as helping whenever a mission team is in the country.  We all fell in love with sweet Antonina and her loving and fun spirit.

            We also got to tour Internat.  That is eye opening for sure.  The place was pretty gross to be honest.  Most of the campus smelled like urine.  The halls were dark and cold, yet, the classrooms were warm and damp.  While on our tour it was crazy to watch the chaos in the school.  Kids would come and go from classrooms as they pleased.  It hurt my heart to see the kind of conditions that the children lived and grew up in. 

            After the orphanage we got to visit with the Owens family.  The Owens are an American missionary family that have lived in Moldova for 8 years.  It was fun to find out that the husband, Jeff Owens, was originally from Johnson City (only 20 min. away from where I am from).  The heart of this family is incredible.  As mentioned before they have lived in Moldova as missionaries for the past eight years with their daughter, Paulina.  Their ministry is a church-planting ministry where they empower Moldavians to build evangelical churches within their country.  Hearing their testimonies was great for our team.  They told us the truth about Moldovan churches and the conflict that exists between the evangelical Moldovan churches and the Russian Orthodox churches in Moldova.  Their ministry encourages and influences peace between the two churches and encourages grace.  Mr. and Mrs. Owens helped us to understand the general culture and shared with us some of the encounters they have had with the Moldovan people.  They also told us how the church in Moldova wants its people to be perfect before being involved in the church; a concept that horrified me.  It was a blessing for us to be welcomed into their home and to be able to learn about their experiences.

            Later that night we got to do some more of our ministry.  We celebrated our stories with the Grace House girls.  I can’t even begin to explain how powerful this night was.  It was humbling for me to sit and hear some of our team’s testimonies and watch the girls receive us and our hearts.  We started the night by having Olivia, Jill, Lexi and Amy Mc. giving their testimonies.  I have seen people share their testimonies several times before, but nothing has been quite as holy as this experience.  Watching our girls humble themselves and become completely vulnerable to everyone was beautiful.  We were able to mourn and rejoice with our sisters and their stories.  It was truly holy to sit back and watch our girls be transparent then to see their English transparency be translated to Romanian transparency and then to see the Grace House girls receive so openly the brokenness of some of us American girls.  Antonita was translating for us and there was even one point during the night were she began to cry as she was translating; she said that it was hurting her because she could relate to our stories.  The simple beauty of being vulnerable before one another is comparable to non other.  At the end of our testimonies the Grace House girls graciously thanked us.  They were obviously moved and let us know it.  At one point one of the girls from the house said just how important it was for us to share so openly.  She said that they had always imagined that they were the only ones with problems so severe; they had an image of Americans as always smiling and living a luxurious life; that Moldova was as low as they could go.  After hearing our testimonies they understood the fallacy in those perceptions; they saw how broken we are.  Another girl, Alina told us that she thinks that God brought us here to share our testimonies with them.  This simple thought brought tears to my eyes.  It was the fist real night that we got to spend with them and they already felt like God brought us to them.  I was/am amazed by their love and devotion to each other and God.  After we shared and had our sappy moments the Grace House girls’ love languages were prevalent.  We were able to laugh and play together.  We spent the rest of the night making some pretty sweet t-shirt headbands.  Before we left we got to have another holy moment.  Throughout the night we had all been joking around and silly singing.  The girls had heard us and wanted to hear us really sing.  Jabesk, one of the GH girls brought down her guitar and we had Amy Mc. lead us in a few songs.  We started out by singing some American Christian songs.  But a few songs in we got to all sing together.  We found out that the GH girls knew the song Here I Am to Worship.  We started by the Americans singing a verse then let them sing a verse in Romanian as we sat and listened then finished by both singing.  There is hardly anything more beautiful than multi-lingual worship. Their beautiful Romanian voices filled my heart with joy.

            The trip has just started and our love is constantly growing and building.  I can’t wait to see what else God has in store for us.

The team has arrived

After 24 hours of traveling, our team finally made it to Chisinau.  Thankfully we had no problems on our travels.  The flight from New York to Milan wasn't even that bad! However, it was very strange that for such a long flight we didn't have our own screens behind the seats.  But to make up for it the airline showed us some great movies on the big screens and aisle screens.  The food wasn't that bad either; we had a choice between pasta and chicken- both were great.  After our long flight came the hardest part of our journey; we had a six hour layover in Milan.  We arrived in the airport long before our flight even had a designated gate so we found some chairs in a general area and sprawled out.  It was obvious to all around us that we were Americans.  Needless to say, we were all exhausted.  Several of the girls laid down on the floor to take naps while others slept in their chairs, or just stayed awake.  It was entertaining to watch all of the people passing by us staring at "the crazy Americans laying of the floor."  They just couldn't understand why we weren't in chairs.  Some of the stairs may have been due to the way that Ellie and Jill were laying (both are basically contortionists, as we found out today). During our short stint in Italy we were able to taste some of the local cuisine including some Italian coffee (espresso) and delicious gelato!  We finally got off the ground in Italy and made it safely to Moldova.  Going through customs was a breeze.

Alina (JMI national coordinator), Vlad (Alina's wife) and Borris (our funny driver)  picked us up at the airport and escorted us back to where we are staying.  Once here we got settled in and waited on dinner.  Our first Moldovian dinner was excellent, complete with fresh veggies, bread, chicken and ice cream for dessert.  Shortly after dinner we got to meet the Grace House girls for the first time.  Meeting the girls was amazing.  I can tell that the language barrier will be difficult at first, but I know that God will provide us with many laughs and bonding experiences.  It will be beautiful to watch us grow and serve together.  Tonight we just went around and introduced ourselves.  Our team got to tell a little about ourselves along with the Grace House girls.  Using Alina as a translator we discovered a little bit about everyone.  The girls here are absolutely beautiful.  We can't wait to serve them and love on them through the love that our God offers us.  Tomorrow will be a busy day, but we can't wait to share some of our stories as well as create things with our new friends.