Humbled and Amazed...

Hello!!

I got back from Romania Sunday evening and was swept away in the current of the working world before I had time to decompress (let alone unpack!). I've put in close to 60 hours this week which, on top of difficulty sleeping through the night for the first few days, left me little time to process everything I experienced in Iasi (YAhsh). Thankfully, I had the chance to relive each day through journaling on the international flight home!



As we drove each day to our villages where we would hold our medical clinics, we were delighted by the beauty of the surrounding countryside. Rows on end of happy sunflowers and corn fields! There are rolling hills very similar to Birmingham, and the weather was similar all week as well...hot!

I started this trip more out of obedience than desire. I didn't know my teammates, we didn't find a doctor until the last minute...and I was worried about communications issues because they were going to be Romanian. Doing medical screenings is out of my comfort zone as a surgery PA, and on and on... I really just gave up all expectations, and trusted the Lord to do whatever He wanted. I was going to go. And I prayed it would go okay.

HAHAHA. Wow, talk about how stupid I can be! From day one, the Lord made it quite clear that this trip was going to show His glory and put me in my place.



Our team headed to First Baptist Church Iasi on Sunday morning, where we were ushered to the front rows of the sanctuary. They were finishing up bible study so we inturrupted, and couldn't understand a thing. In just a few minutes, a girl my age came from the other side of the church, sat behind me and tapped my shoulder, asking if I would like her to translate the service! We were introduced as a team and invited to sing a song up on stage (I was warned the night before and had brought my guitar. I picked "Here I Am to Worship" because everyone on my team knew it). The youth were in the choir loft behind us because they had just come from traveling on a choir tour, and as I began playing and we started to sing, they immediately joined in behind us ...in Romanian. Someone jumped on the piano and started accompanying as well. All together, in English and Romanian, with a guitar and piano, we sang praise and worship to the Lord...it was quite the moment.

As if that wasn't enough to put me in my place, the girl who sat behind me (her name is Miha) was also introduced as a visitor and got up to give a slideshow presentation of the people she is reaching in E. Asia. As I watched, it was all too familiar. When she sat down, I told her I had a friend working with the same people and mentioned her city that I had visited last summer. Miha's eyes got big and she said, "That is my city, what is her name???" I told her my friends' name and she not only knows her, they are very dear friends! Incredible. She just so 'happened' to be visiting the church on this day (she is Romanian and actually lives two hours away but came back to visit this church because she became a believer there in college), 'happened' to sit behind me, and 'happened' to live in the same city in E. Asia where my good friend lives that I went to visit last summer. Only God....

She was able to come back to our hotel with the Pastor and his family for lunch. We were able to share more of our stories and our mutual friendship. And I now have a new friend!


And this was just the first half of the first day...

K