love

“Jesus promises a life in which we increasingly have to stretch our hands and be lead into places where we would rather not go.”
--Henre Nouwen, In the Name of Jesus

I received a DVD from a fellow missionary about Romania. This group ministers in a different part of Romania than we will be going and they mainly minister to the children’s Hospital.

I struggled watching the video. The pictures that I saw were similar to those we have all seen on TV. However, seeing those pictures flash before my eyes stuck a different cord with me….those are a picture of the precious Romanian children I am going to see in less than 7 days.

The orphanages we are going to have been described to us as ‘survival of the fittest.’ I honestly don’t know what to expect to see or hear or touch, but I know that it will be a life I have never seen firsthand before.

Jenn and I are both extremely excited about going to Romania—honestly we are both about to jump out of our skin. But at the same time I know that this is a place where I would ‘rather not go’. I would rather not see children hungry, homeless, without family, angry, sick, and scared from this world…but we ARE going to see this. I can’t wrap my mind around that right now but ask us when we get back and I’m sure we will have been enlightened…

My prayer is that the Lord will give us strength and most of all will shower us so much with his love that it will pour out of us onto the workers and the children. I am asking the Lord to strip away the preconceived thoughts and ideas I have---I want to stretch out my hand, I want to love sincerely.

For the past three days this scripture has been echoing over and over again in my head…

“Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy that is, readiness to help those in trouble and not sacrifice and sacrificial victims. For I came not to call and invite to repentance the righteous those who are upright and in right standing with God, but sinners the erring ones and all those not free from sin.”

I honestly don’t think I know what this means. But I pray God reveals it to me. And I desire to ‘go and learn’ what it means. I feel like this Romania trip is a step to my learning…

I want to be full of mercy, full of compassion.

That is our prayer, to not think like our carnal minds tend to, but to act in the spirit—letting the love of God infiltrate us and thus respond and act differently.

Thank you for your prayers!