Moldova Trip 2017

Over the past weeks I, Mike, have been with the FSJ team in Moldova. This is a trip we take every year for a few different reasons. The first would be that we want to expose our young people to another world. Moldova isn't western Germany. The people are financially poor, but rich in other things. Instead of predictability and punctuality we encounter spontaneity and an event oriented culture. It's stretching for all of us. Secondly, Our naïve western kids need to see how good they have it at home and that life doesn't depend on WiFi connections or social media presence. For example, for the first two days of our trip we had electricity and water. Then a giant spring snow storm hit the southern part of the country. I couldn't have planned it. Broken trees knocked out power lines and we were hurled into the dark ages. For a week we cooked with gas. We boiled water over a fire in the backyard to wash clothes. Mud covered everything and we sat in the dining room at the church for two days waiting things out. Through it all the team was united and although annoyed, in a good mood. Thirdly, on these trips we recognize our need of Christ. How do we react in love when everything is difficult? Even if they were sick our young people held each other up in prayer and carried each other along. The answer is staying connected to the Source. Even if the electricity isn't working, we can still connect to the Vine. He fills us with grace and love when we can't carry on on our own. Fourthly, we take our young disciples to the east because we want to be a blessing to the churches of southern Moldova. It's not easy for them to host us there. We don't speak their language, nor do they speak German. Translation is a constant need. The church also invested so much time, energy and love into cooking us meals our stomachs could handle. They set us up in their homes with beds and mattresses. They made us tea in the evening and welcomed us with amazing hospitality. When we come in contact with people with a different culture and language we often see differences. But after a few weeks we see we have lot in common. People all around the world have the same problems. Relationships are broken, people do their best and often fall short, some give up and spiral into destruction. The patterns are all the same all over the world. We all have a deep need for fulfillment, meaningful relationships and I would say, Jesus. Even though we speak different languages and come from completely different cultures, we wanted to build up the churches. We were definitely a burden to the church. But I think we also brought something for them, encouragement, opportunities in their own villages, help with projects and other things I don't even know about. While we were there we prayed a lot, (We had nothing else to do. We were stuck in a snowstorm.) we helped with the churches very first funeral, we threw a "ladies night" to spoil the women a bit, we organized numerous kids programs, but also taught and preached in multiple church services. We received a blessing, but also returned a bit too. In the end, this was my best trip to Moldova. I have been there six times now with as many teams, and this was my favorite trip. I'm so grateful for the amazing team, Feli our co-worker, and the church back home for covering for us. My wonderful wife also deserves a big fat thank you for holding down the fort. I love her so much. We came back tired, but grateful for reliable electricity and warm water. Our time was a stretch, like always, but just when you think you're going to break, we were strengthened by our good, good, Father. I can't describe it other than to use the word 'supernatural'.