Kayla Balangue

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.

Days 3 and 4 

The last two days have been filled with joy serving the Ukrainian refugees and the people in this country. Our first full day at the church consisted of deep cleaning the chairs that were in the Meal room and the Devotional room. Another task was cutting up different vegetables for meal preps. During both of these task we were able to interact and get to know the refugees. 

We learned about their background and how they have been doing since having to move away from home. Some even expressed that they either have family that moved to another country and others who still have family back in their home country. It has been a lot for them but they are so grateful to have this ministry to open up and embrace them with warm hugs. 

Our second full day consisted of making lunch and dinner. For lunch we were able to serve leftovers of Chicken, potatoes, and soup which is a very common easy dish to have. For dinner we made a baked pasta, with homemade marinara, veggies, and baked cheese. We also made powdered sugar brownies. The pasta ended up being a top favorite, with people going back for seconds and thanking us for making the dinner for them. 

Seeing the smiles on each persons face has brought this team so much joy. We are so happy to be here, helping and loving on everyone. We can’t wait for each day to begin! 

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.

Our team began the first day by prayer walking through the city. Our team hosts guided us to various locations where we stopped to pray for specific topics. These included praying for the country’s leaders, and the next generation, and for pastors and local churches to unite in their mission to reach the lost in the city. It was neat to learn about the history of this country and how far they have come. Considering the country’s challenging past, it is important to have a basic understanding of its culture, especially when engaging in ministry. This prayer time not only allowed our team to bond and learn more about each other and our hosts, but it also provided us with a sense of the city and the people we will be serving during our time here.

After lunch, we had the opportunity to meet the pastor and leaders of the ministry we are serving with. They gave us a tour of the church and community center, where we saw the facilities that house and care for refugees from Ukraine. This church serves as a registered refugee location in the country. One of the attached photos shows the church sanctuary. This room had been converted into a bedroom for several refugees and their families. They have utilized every inch of this church to help serve refugees. Over the past 2 years, this church has assisted hundreds of refugees. Some church members even travel to the border of Ukraine and into the country to provide aid and support to those seeking shelter. Refugees who seek help from this church are welcome to stay for a while. During their time here, the ministry helps them find housing, and employment and assists college-age students in enrolling in the local university. It was encouraging to see many of the refugees actively serving at the church, engaging in tasks such as construction, cleaning, cooking, and assisting other refugees. We are excited to start serving alongside these dedicated volunteers and leaders today. Although our time here is short, our goal for these next two weeks is to be flexible, serve in any capacity possible, and be a source of encouragement to those we are serving.

Prayer Requests

– Pray for the refugees and leaders that we are serving. The word “exhausted” has been used a lot when describing their experiences coming here to this country for help. For those serving, they haven’t had a break in 2 years. They are thankful for teams like ours that come here to serve.

– We are doing well as a team. We are small but mighty! Pray that we continue to work well together and that the Lord will allow our unique gifts to be used during this time.