Stairs in each country are very different.
In Taiwan, stairs are an ignored and simple part of the house. Not much thought goes into making them special. Sharp, tiled, and against the wall. Sometimes used as shelves for storage, a perch for the cat to observe from, or more seating for the family gatherings.
In a house I used to stay at in Oregon, there was a very steep staircase covered in carpet on the way to the second floor. The thick type of carpet so there are not jagged edges. Perfect for sliding down when I was in elementary school. The rubbing of carpet on my pants probably didn’t do good things to the fabric, but it got me down to the first floor very quickly!
The staircases in Romania are different than ones in Taiwan and the pacific northwest. Here they are tiled or metal and also usually spiral. Spiral staircases are EVERYWHERE. In the mission house we stayed at for a month, bookstores, apartment complexes, and coffee shops. Sometimes there are no hand rails, some of us had the fear of falling down the hole in the middle.
Our first night in Romania I had a dream where one of the men on our squad fell down part of the staircase in the mission house and received a head injury. That first night in Craiova was the start of many bad dreams for me and almost everyone on the squad. It was an all squad month, so all 27 of us were living in one building and serving at one ministry.
The mission house staircase was also where we held one of our daily times of prayer. Our host (Hope Church) gave us time each morning from 9-10 for worship and prayer. In addition to this, Banks (a squad member) was encouraged by the Lord to lead a nightly time of prayer. Banks was obedient to the Lord and gathered the squad every single night we were at the mission house.
(a group and single picture of the Mission House staircase)
Those who were available gathered around the staircase on the second floor to pray over our ministry, beds we slept in, our hosts, shoes we would wear the next day, sleep, family back home, lost cats, physical health of sick squad members, the darkness of Craiova, and the armor of God.
It was such a sweet time to learn as a community what prayer is supposed to look like. We saw many answers to prayer, specifically our petitions, like physical healing from sickness, rebuking bad dreams and replacing them with dreams from God, friends coming into the Lord’s Kingdom, and boldness in sharing the gospel.
Prayers helps us hear from the Lord, and align our will with His.
Because we didn’t have a living room or common space, the mission house stairs also was where a lot of conversations happened. Rarely would I walk up to my third floor room and not walk past my squad mates. We would use the staircase for personal bible studies, 1:1 chats or prayers, sitting in the sun that came out four times a month, or a spot to sit and gather before leaving for ministry.
I’m curious to see what stairs are like in other countries! Next is Albania. Then we have Turkey, Jordan, and Thailand. God is faithful, compassionate, loving, just, and SO good. I’m learning so much about His character, how He has created me, and how much He wants to teach me. Even through stairs haha.
Not my will, but His,
Sarah
