Update #4 Eastern Europe

Day 6/7/8: A Weekend in Eastern Europe

Buna! Hello!

Esther here. As we continue our outreach, we got to meet others who have been serving at the church. They were grateful that we were there so they could get a break. After serving dinner on Friday, one of them had come up to our team to shake our hands thanking us for our effort and for a good meal. Considering what Mary Ann and Jason cooked up, it was certainly a delicious meal! 

During that meal we got to sit with someone who had been at the church for 20+ years! They told us their testimony and shared that if God was able to forgive their imperfections, they could give others a chance and forgive them too.

The best line for me was, 

“We are the pen in God’s hand.”

It was a simple yet beautiful line. Even though it seems like we were there to relieve the volunteers and give them a break- it felt like they were the ones encouraging and inspiring me instead. It just shows that if you know God and how He loves us, we easily become vessels in which God pours His love through. 

“We love because he first loved us.”

‭‭1 John‬ ‭4‬:‭19‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Over the weekend, the team had an excursion to a nearby castle outside the city! It was fascinating to learn about some of the countries’ rich history, experience some local culture, and admire it’s beauty. We had local food and came back to the city to witness some lively night life. 

[Something I found interesting was the Coat of Arms pictured above which has a motto: Nihil sine Deo, which is Latin for “Nothing without God”.]

Today, we attended Sunday service at the church we are serving at. The entire service was in the local language but we were able to listen in on a zoom meeting where English translation was provided. 

It was an immersive experience of the lovely local language and my favorite part was the worship. Even though I couldn’t speak or understand the local language- there was a familiar song: What A Beautiful Name by Hillsong. It was gorgeously sung and I enjoyed looking around and seeing people I never met worship God… similar to what I’d imagine heaven to be like.

“so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭2‬:‭10‬-‭11‬ ‭ESV‬‬

We did kneel at the pews and prayed by the way, an exception to the typical church  service. It was an interesting experience as some brothers from the congregation prayed and meditated on 1 Peter 2:10.

Then, we took the rest of the day to take care of some chores and prepare for the week ahead.

So, thank you for all the support from back home, please continue to pray for our health and strength as we show God’s love  to the local people and those who seek shelter from the war. Mulțumesc! Thank you!

If you would like to share your prayer support with this team, please feel free to use THIS FORM and we will share your encouragement with them.