Stubborn Faith

There have been so many answered prayers while we have been in Romania.

Our last two weeks in Guatemala were with the entire squad at a hostel for debrief. We asked the Lord what He had for us in Romania, and wrote it down on three papers. 

Sooo many of these have been answered.

The Romanians are stuck in their traditions, and don’t want to receive the new life and freedom that Jesus provides. Despite this, we still go out every day and reach out to people with the gospel in our hand (Acts 20:24; Heb 10:23). We have stubborn faith. 

We are fighting. We use prayer as our weapon. The war here is strong. We fight every night to put on the armor in order to sleep through the night in the midst of the war. We fight by putting on the shoes of peace every morning before we walk out of the house to the dark city. The darkness keeps coming, but it does not win.

I’ve seen humility and peace fill me. There has been a constant battle in me with pride. (In wanting to be correct, heard, recognized, or to hold some type of power). It’s not over, but I’ve seen myself grow to be more humble in how I see and interact with my squad mates, leadership, strangers, and ministry partners. I ask the Lord to give me His perspective, to fill me with His love, and to use people to teach me about Him. I’ve learned how to be more obedient to the Lord and my leaders. I put my own thoughts aside and follow their guidance. Despite the spiritual fighting, there has also been so much peace. The heaviness of this city and Kingdom work pushes me to the secret place. I seek the Lord so I know better how to walk the day with Him. 

I’ve felt weight lifted off my shoulders as I sit down with sisters in Christ to ask for forgiveness and seek redemption. My relationship with squad mates are getting better as we practice loving each other as Christ loves the church.

I’ve seen the generosity within my squad and also the Romanians. We pay for each other and sacrifice time for one another. Romanians have given us tea or coffee as we stand outside in the cold and share the good news. I know my money is not mine, so why keep it to myself instead of blessing others?

One image I received from God was white sheets blowing in the wind. Along with this came the words “set free”. Our very first event with our partnering church was a baptism. They used white sheets to cover the plastic blue sides of the swimming pool set up in the church. They also wrapped each of the new christians in a white sheet or towel as they came up from the water. How awesome is that!? God showed me that I would have the chance to celebrate new life in Christ with some of the people here. 

God highlighted Rovine on the Romanian map as I was praying over it. It is a small village 20 minutes outside of Craiova. Only one main road going through it. Today, my team went out there to be obedient to the Lord. It was cold, empty, and the road was very muddy. But it was also sunny! The uber driver was hesitant dropping us off in the middle of nowhere. This adventure with the Lord quickly became a core memory. We found joy in walking across empty fields, commenting on the strange houses, seeing people’s questionable gazes, and having the dogs follow us. We came. We saw. We kind of conquered. I am still asking the Lord why He took us there today, but I know it was not a waste of time. I have to be obedient to the Lord.

God is working in hearts here. People are seeing God’s holy light in us. In this cold city, they see God’s warmth. My squad is privileged to fight for the one true King, for His honor, and His name. We rejoice in Him.

prayer requests:

• for us all to understand God’s grace more!!

Not my will, but His,

Sarah