Faith expressing itself

This is a totally different journey - because I’m in different place in my faith journey. I am taking it in to see where God leads me - listening and seeing. I am not really sure yet of where I’m being taken but I do have a peace being here.  

Last evening was Ladies night - we shared a time of worship and sharing our stories. I do believe i was sent to share Sophie’s story - to give hope to someone of God starting with the impossible then doing a miracle. A miracle that can only point toward God. Confirmation came that indeed that I have reached someone - without God we are lost but with God we never walk alone - one of the women who came shared with joyful tears - she was given hope. This morning another confirmation came from a prayer partner - thru Galatians 5:6 “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” That is what is happening here with our entire team. 

We have completed day 2 at the medical clinic in Cahul -seeing over 180 patients thus far. I have been acting as a pharmacist and watching. Today we were blessed to have Dr Anastasia with us - a family practice physician. Our translators are Mark, Nikita and Alyssa all of whom I’ve worked with before and this year we’ve also been working with Emma. I like it that we are able to talk and share about our culture and lives. Emma passed her final exams with a 9.5 - how exciting to see her happy face. We are all staying at the transition home - Viji and Olga (from the home in Balti) are the current houseparents. Their daughters Abigail and Sophie have grown so much. Olga has been making us delicious meals - none are going hungry. 

The team went on a short walk to see the town - beautiful. All are sleeping so I will join them - until the dogs bark and roosters crow welcoming morning. Looking forward to what tomorrow will bring. 

The People

Having a wonderful experience in Moldova. This is my second international mission trip and it has surprised me how different it feels. For the first day I was helping people choose reader glasses in our clinic. This gave me an opportunity to speak with and provide care for the Moldovan people. I immediately felt a deep connection and desire to show love to these people. They come dressed up with lipstick and jewels presenting themselves in a dignified manner. That struck me because of the pride that they have despite the oppressive circumstances. My heart to heart connection with most of the people was so intense that I found the language barrier was not a barrier at all. Russian and Romanian languages have some similar words as English so maybe that was it but I really don’t think that was the reason. I felt as if I could read their expressions, intonations and especially their eyes. It sound corny but I felt I saw a glimpse into their soul. I was blessed, hugged, kissed and received gifts all day long. And I thought I was the one here to pray and love on people?!?  This connection continued into Day 2. Somehow I knew the ages of a woman’s children without having met her before. Total God things!! 

The connection with these people continued at the preschool today. I had a blast playing with the kids. They enjoyed hitting me in the head with balloons like whack a mole. Then I lead follow the leader which looked like me herding cats despite the teachers helping. This was a school for 3-5 year olds. The kids are there from 7:30am to 6pm everyday. Wow. That’s a long time without your parents everyday. 

I am so grateful for being able to have this experience and I am eagerly awaiting the rest of the week. 

Oh and by the way our team is AWESOME! We are all growing and supporting each other and laughing all the time. 

Mr. Vitale

Today was beyond touching. I’m sure our days will continue to be even more incredible, but I don’t know how it can get any better than this. 

This morning durning our devotional time Cathy’s prayer partner had sent her the quote, “Life becomes more meaningful when you realize the simple fact that you’ll never get the same moment twice.” It was my goal today to live in the moment, appreciate the tiniest of things, and feel what was happening around me. 

Half of our team went to a preschool this morning, while the nurses stayed back to run the clinic. They are working SO hard! The children this morning melted my heart away. I lived in the moment this morning! I’ve never felt so much love flooding my heart from so many different people. Every child we were there to spend time with was thrilled that we came to love on them and play with them. It was very moving. 

The food bag delivery today was awakening for me. We saw many families that were beyond thankful that we came to help them. One man was telling us about how they don’t make enough money to keep their electric on. His wife had major stomach issues, had surgery, and it didn’t go very well. He doesn’t eat very often so that his wife and son have enough. After we prayed for him, he prayed for us. Telling us how we are no different than Jesus and he is so grateful for our help. It brought me to tears! 

Personally, when I hit hard times, my faith doesn’t always stand as strong as it should. I know I have some pride to let go of, but when tough times hit I tend to drift away from God at first. Then I run back to him and my faith grows stronger, but these people keep their faith! They have nothing, they have been through harder times then we will even know, and no matter how deep of a hole they are buried in, they never loose their faith. These people need powerful prayers of blessings to start flooding their villages! 

This man came back tonight for our men’s group and I believe he got a lot out of the messages that were shared. He smiled, he cried, he danced, and his eyes were so filled with love! When we gave them dinner you could see the hole in his belly as he ate. I wish I could have given him the world because he has completely changed mine.

Day 2 in Moldova

We have been in Moldova for 2 full days. This journey to a place I never knew existed is nothing less than amazing. It is so humbling and at the same time I feel privileged to be here. These past couple of days have been filled with seeing patients. They get in line very early in the morning and wait hours for the clinic to open. Then wait to be seen. Every person I would meet, was looking back at us with eyes of hope. Needing something specific for an illness and we would do our best to help them. At the end of triaging them , I had the opportunity to pray with them. You can see their heart through their weary eyes. Most people we treated have been middle aged to elderly. You can see the years in their faces but after prayer , their eyes would shine and sometimes tears would flow. I know God is in the midst of our time together. There are already so many stories to tell in just a short time. I will be posting much more. I cannot praise God enough for all the great things He has done and will do. All glory goes to the Father!

Sunflowers in Moldova

Moldova’s countryside is beautiful, as are its people. Driving to the transition home from the airport we passed numerous fields of sunflowers, which are grown here for their oil. Their splendor could only be created by a truly awesome God! The Holy Spirit is at work on this journey. It has been inspiring to be able to visit this breathtaking land and to witness the unstoppable power of God. Today our team ministered to the sick (at the medical clinic which saw 93 patients), the poor (during home visits where we delivered food and bibles), children (at a local preschool where we shared a bible lesson), and women (who joined us for a night of praise and testimony). It was a day as splendid as a field of sunflowers, created and unfolded for us by our truly awesome God!

Ladies Night

Today was Day 1 of our medical clinic! We saw 93 people and even more that came to get an eye exam and reading glasses. We also did food bag deliveries to homes, and we put on a ladies nights filled with music, testimonies, and goodies. The women loved it and thanked us over and over again for coming to help their country ❤️ There are some amazing people here who are still filled with lots of love after the hard times they have been through. Us Americans can learn a lot from their lifestyle. We have more to be grateful for than we may ever know. We are so blessed with the lives we live!
Looking forward to day #2 
(Wish I could post some photos here, but having some technical difficulties)

The journey back

Last September I retuned from my 5th mission journey to Moldova. I returned on September 18 never imagining that my world would turn upside down in a matter of days with Sophie’s diagnosis of stage 4 Wilms Tumor on September 29. In that moment - God was and He still is working a miracle. 

I believed God wanted me to return to share Sophie’s story - someone needed to hear it from my lips. Sophie was admitted back to Mott’s in the early morning hours before we left with a high fever. Now here I am having to walk out my faith trusting God has this - and follow what he asked...to GO. And you know, I was sad for a brief moment - there were some tears, but I must and do trust. So GO I did.  

Now hear I am, having arrived back in Moldova. 

We have completed the almost 4 hour van ride to Cahul - which is the south. We are staying at the transition home there. Our team has both returningband new members - the same is true with our New Hope partners. Tomorrow will be a new day. God is Good - thanks for the reminder. Goodnight from Moldova.