As I go through these months on the World Race…I think about the stories I’m going to tell my kids some day, but most importantly (as I have discussed with a few of my friends here) I have a running list of things I’m going to tell my kids when they start complaining.  It is a running joke that I have with some people around here that when I do have kids the old… I had to walk uphill both ways to get to school story is going to change to…mommy lived out of a backpack for a year. So for your humor I have compiled a list of things to rebuke complaints made by my children someday…ENJOY.

I just wanted to share with you a sermon I had prepared for our time in Moldova but didn't actually get to share... The Lord is just speaking to me through so many avenues this month and I wanted to share what was on my mind as I was going to present this to the people here...

Ephesians 6:10-17

How many of you believe fully in the power of God?
Now, how many of you believe that the devil has power as well?

After 4 months of being sick constantly and not knowing if I was going to be able to continue the race...missing ministry and just being physically miserable more than I have been healthy ...I started to question my purpose and part on this race. If I'm not able to participate in ministry and I'm miserable physically 75% of the time what is the point of me being here....God why have you let me go through all this pain on top of trying to process the things you gave me in the beginning. I'm trying to process who my identity in Christ is...working on patience... cultivating a mature relationship with God and then I'll do all that through being sick the entire time. I was majorly confused. Then the more my teammates kept telling me how strong I was... saying they were proud of me for fighting because they might have thought about going home in the beginning ...I thought...Satan is totally trying to take this from me... Satan is trying to steal my joy on this race and my purpose here. Satan doesn't want me to grow and change for Christ.

I’ve had to remind myself lately with the verses in Ephesians 6… my struggle is not against these things that I think are hindering me from doing ministry…it is against the devil…the devil knows what kind of powerful work is going on by the fellowship and love that we all share for one another.
I constantly remind myself, when I am not seeking the Lord in prayer and quiet time with him, Satan creeps in and puts thoughts in my head…lies saying I can’t fight anymore.
The power of darkness is just that…darkness…we do not belong in the darkness. We are children of the light. We are called to live in the light, full of love and faith.  We are called to freedom and called to a life greater than fighting against the physical things of this life.  We have freedom to share in faults but fight against the world’s dark and false hopes.  Satan wants to seem invisible to us and because we don’t acknowledge his existence, we have given him an opportunity to enter our lives.
Many times Satan tries to rob us of our identity in Christ. The very thing Christ died for- our freedom and having an intimate relationship with God. Satan wants us to feel hopeless…
I want everyone to close their eyes for a second and imagine with me…
Imagine you are a gladiator and you are thrown into an arena with lions, other armed gladiators, and hidden traps beneath your feet...You are given no armor and no weapons and told you must come out alive. Satan wants us to feel this way...Feel as if we have nothing to fight him with.
Now imagine this... Before you are thrown into the arena the Emperor supplies you with the best armor and weapons he has, then sends you in to fight...you would have a little bit more confidence in winning right?

We have been given all these things to fight against the darkness. Seeking after the Lord and being intentional with the relationship we have with God only strengthens this armor.
Constant prayer and seeking answers and rest in the Lord allows no room for the enemy to take up room in our souls.

I want to leave you with one last encouraging set of verses.
Lametations 3:22-25
Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him

The Lord is really showing me how much I need to rely on Him...seek Him...trust that His will and everything I'm going through has a purpose and I will make it out in the end with something to look back on and thank Him. 
 

How hard is it for you to serve people you love without having to choose that attitude? EASY
How hard is it for you to serve people you have to choose daily/hourly to love?
A little bit harder right?

This is something I am struggling with at this point in my race…or life in general. Choosing to have a loving attitude towards those who we wouldn’t always choose to be around or have conversations with on a daily basis. 
As I sat in my quiet time the other morning, I was journaling about how much I was struggling with this and in that moment my IPod changed over to a sermon I had downloaded from my pastor back home. The sermon was titled- First Things First. I thought nothing about it as I continued to journal and just have his voice as background noise while I wrote down all my thoughts.
First things first… “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:30-31) The subtitle of this section in Mark is called ‘The Greatest Commandment’.  Sure we all recognize this is normally called ‘The Greatest Commandment’ but for what reason?
The reason is not because this is more important than any others and this is the only one to really pay attention to…simply…if you get these two commandments right, the rest will follow suit and be easy as we walk with Christ. Loving God with all of your being makes loving others easy and a part of everyday life…if we TRULY love God and have a relationship with him as a daughter or son of him, everything else that he commands will be so easy to do in everyday life.
My pastor gave the example of having a boss who you respect and just enjoy being around. If that boss asked you to do something outside of the realm of your job description, most people wouldn’t hesitate because you respect and love this person. On the other hand, let’s say you have a boss or coworker who you struggle to be around at work day in and day out. This person asks you to help them with something (possibly well within your job description)… we can admit it’s very hard to swallow our pride and say we will help this person…we may agree to help but we definitely do it while we complain and grumble about how everything they do gets on our nerves.
What if we took time each day …not to pray for our patience with this person…but pray FOR that person and pray that God would give us ways to show love to these people.  Yes…I know… it’s difficult to swallow our pride and get out of the way of ourselves…but it is a decision to be made on our parts. Make a decision everyday to love that person more and to show respect to that person more… Seek the Lord more and seek God’s heart more.  By seeking the Lord’s heart and asking to love as he loves…we will see change in our own hearts. No…not see that person change to fit our mold or change what aggravates us about them…but OUR hearts will change.  God loves everyone so much…pursues them beyond all comprehension, so by praying to love as God loves, things that we think are impossible to do (because we can’t get past ourselves) will be happening.
The last verse I want to share with you is a verse that was brought to my attention (also by another sermon my pastor preached)…Ephesians 4:1-6.  I remember it so clearly…it was about 2-3 weeks before I was leaving for the World Race and he spoke on answering the call and how go about serving those around us.  If you were to open up my Bible and look at this verse it has in bold letters WR (which is World Race). Keeping the unity was something my pastor talked about…KEEPING it…not trying to begin this…we are one body…God has already given us a unity because we are fighting for the same cause…because we are serving the Lord we are called together.  We have received a calling greater than anything on earth…hold each other up and push each other to be the person God created us to be…Free and a son or daughter of the KING.
 
“As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit-just as you were called to one hope when you were called- one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” 
Ephesians 4:1-6

To begin this blog I want to give my sincere thanks to our translator Peter. Without Peter being here the past week and helping out with all these health issues I have had, I’m not sure things would have gone as well as they had gone. Granted things went crazy for a bit…they could have gone much worse if here weren’t there translating everything that was being said to me at the first hospital we visited.
After 5 second consideration at the first hospital, we decided to cross the border back to Moldova, and visit an international hospital in Chisinau.  Our contact for the month (who is American) suggested this hospital because his family and all the other people he works with take advantage of everything they have to offer.  The decision was made but things got a little tricky with crossing back into Moldova.  Upon arriving in Transnistria we had to register to stay here for the month and what we didn’t know was when we came back from Moldova this time, we would have to register all over again (which kinda takes up a few hours of a day to travel to the central office)… and those who were going with me…we were all registered under different addresses so this just made things a bit more difficult. BUT…God has this under control from the very beginning and made it a smooth transition. Upon arriving at the border between the two countries, the guard at the border told Peter, even though he could get in major trouble, he was going to let us keep our papers so that we didn’t have to register all over again when we came back. I laughed to myself because I pictured the Jedi mind trick…’you will let us keep our papers’…and I guess God can use some kind of mind trick such as this.
Our contact Richard, met us at the border and took Holli, Sam and I to an appointment he had already set up with a doctor at the hospital earlier that day. When we arrived at the hospital the receptionist checked us in and then come to find out…she could also translate for us (Peter was not able to come with us to the hospital).  Natasha was her name and her English was beyond excellent.  The first doctor we went to was beyond professional and super caring…she made me feel very at ease.  After an ultrasound and a few other small check-ups, we still didn’t have a final answer and her solution was to have a Gastroscopy. For those of you who aren’t sure what that is…it’s a procedure where they numb your throat and stick a camera down into your stomach and see what is going on. Even in America something like this would freak me out (my mother can attest to this, I hate hospitals) so as you can imagine I was not thrilled to have this mentioned.
The three of us decided to stay at a local hotel that night in case of another attack we could easily access a hospital that was capable of taking care of the pain.  At almost 6am on the dot…I woke up with excruciating pain again and for fear of another “excellent” ambulance service we just decided to call a taxi. As Holli was at the front desk trying to call a cab, I was screaming in pain on the couch…so what does the receptionist decide to do? She pulls out a syringe and a small bottle of some kind of liquid and flicked it with her fingers. For all of you who are familiar with giving or getting shots…you can picture this image in your head (yes it is okay to laugh because this is just plain ridiculous).  After kindly declining the random needle and mysterious liquid…we climbed into the cab and went to the hospital.
Same routine again…except it was early in the morning and we did not have a translator. The doctor spoke a small amount of English…just enough to know he was trying. I am not sure if any of you have ever talked to anyone who is trying to learn English, but for me… even if I am aware this person has intelligence beyond anything I can comprehend for myself…when they struggle to find the words in English it still puts doubt in my head they know what they are talking about…so as 2 nurses are trying to get an IV in my arm (missed twice) and trying to give me a pain shot…this doctor is trying to communicate to me what they are wanting to do…finally we call Peter on the phone and let him speak with him about what is going on (once again Peter to the rescue!!!).
I’m going to attempt to wrap this up… Eventually we decide to the Gastroscopy and communicate that I would like to be sedated. As you can see the procedure went well …thanks to Natasha who finally came to the hospital and communicated everything I wanted to tell the doctor and all my fears. I can’t help but think (and HOPE) that Holli and I witnessed to her in some small way.
Everything that happened that day was so fast paced and if I hadn’t been able to Skype with our contact’s doctor back in the States…I’m not sure I would have been comfortable with making the decisions I made. I would also like to give a bit thank you to Andrew (the doctor in the states) for taking time to Skype with me and walk me through everything that should be going on and what decisions to make.  His bedside manner was so comforting and he explained everything so that I could understand what was going on and what we should be looking for on my blood work results. THANK YOU DR. ANDREW! He even asked for my mother’s phone # so that he could call and get things communicated to her and squared away.
All this to say…I have 3 kidney stones and Gastritis.
A friend sent me a message with this following verse in the message… it can be applied to many situations I feel but for me at this point it made me feel comforted. Besides all the pain and health issues…it was all I could not to want to call it quits and catch the next flight home. I voiced my fears to the Lord(and honestly at times the fear was more painful to me than the actual pain itself)…but all I had to was cry to the Lord and he would bring my heart to a place of peace and rest… saving me from spiritual death in times of great fear and pain.
Thank you for all the prayers back home…I am on the mend and doing well!!
I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live. The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came upon me; I was overcome by trouble and sorrow. Then I called on the name of the Lord: “O Lord, save!” The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. The Lord protects the simple-hearted; when I was in great need, he saved me.  Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the Lord has been good to you. –Psalm 116:1-7

Picture this…you are watching Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom…and suddenly you realize you are the man having his heart ripped out through his chest…this was me at 6am this morning but instead of my heart, my intestines felt as though they were being pulled from the center of my body.
As I made my way into the hallway of our residence, my body collapsed to the floor and the only help in reach was a teammate’s door that I tried to bang on as I fought through the pain.  Because it was so early in the morning I tried to muffle the agony I was in, but before long everyone in the house was awake.  There was nothing else I could do but stay, curled up in the floor, gripping the rug and scream as I prayed not to die. About 7 people were surrounded around me at this point, laying hands on me and praying for relief and peace over my body and mind. I cannot thank my teammates enough for their diligence in prayer during this time.
I hope you are ready for the really interesting and funny (at the time NOT funny at all) part of the story from this morning’s events. Because Transnistria is not recognized as a “real” country and is a communist country, upon entering the border all of us were registered under different addresses within the country for legalistic purposes.  The government does not sit very well with a bunch of missionaries being registered to live at a church for a month, so technically we were not living in our actual residence. As the ambulance is on its way, all I remember hearing from our translator and the pastor is, ‘everyone except her and 2 other people needs to go be hidden and not seen at this time.’ All that was going through my mind (besides the pain) was how much I felt like we were in World War II and we needed to hide people from the Gustoppo.
At this point the doctor arrives, walks in carrying what seems to be a tackle box of medical supplies with a medical sticker on it, and is telling me to get up off the floor so she can look at me.  After she realizes I am unable to move at all, I am allowed a few moments to collect enough energy to walk outside to the waiting ambulance. As we open the gate and I peer around the corner, I see it…the “ambulance”. I am immediately taken into the TV show M.A.S.H as I look at this green army medical van with a red cross sticker slapped onto the side. The van looks as if it had to go through a bombing zone just to arrive at the church and the seat I sat on in the van is an army cot suspended from the ceiling with bungee straps.  My squad leader just kept repeating to me over and over…breathe it’s going to be okay…just breathe.
On the way to the hospital, the ambulance driver notices that one of his friends is standing on the side of the road waiting for a bus at the bus stop…so naturally we pull over and pick him up on the way to the hospital. Finally upon arriving at the hospital, I am taken swiftly into a room and quickly notice that it is a “woman doctor” room. At this point I come to the realization that they have no clue where to even start or what is going on within my body. As two nurses are pawing at my clothes trying to rip them off my body, I am screaming from fear and also frustration because I obviously cannot speak or understand Russian and my translator has no idea why they are doing these things to me. After several minutes of refusing to do anything they are saying, we are taken to another “department” 5 minutes away in another building. (Later on in the day, our translator informed us that in Transnistria, it is a LAW that any woman needing to go the hospital is required to see a gynecologist before any further treatment will be given...no matter what is wrong).
When we arrived at the next hospital I was quickly shown to the XRay area and pushed to the front of the line because of my American nationality. The Transnistrians were terrified that something would happen to me while I was in their country and America would not sit very well with this outcome. Even though they were worried about anything happening to me, this could not change the quality of any XRay equipment they had at their disposal…and for the record…I am almost certain I was XRayed with the very first XRay machine ever made. For those of you who are fans of the show LOST, you will understand my next comparison as your journey through this experience with me. As we were waiting for all the test results to come back…I took a moment to take in my surroundings from the office and that’s when I saw it…a small black and white television in the corner of the room. At this point, I was expecting a Korean scientist to appear on the screen and tell me not to push any button and then tell me a sequence of meaningless numbers. I definitely felt as if I were being taken care of in the Dharma Initiative.
When I look back on all these events the only thing I can say about this day is that God was in control. He was in control of all the small details that got me through the day… he listened to the prayers and worship of my teammates as I was going through every step of the day… He was just in complete control. The first time in my life I had a fear of dying, the Lord’s peace overcame me in scary moments and my fear just went away. How wonderful to rest in the peace of my Father.
To Be Continued…

"You were made by God and for God and until you understand that, life will never make sense."
-Rick Warren

Recently I have been blessed to have a conversation with a friend back home who I care about very much.  When I first started talking with this person, I was quite shocked at how the conversation was turning to God because from past conversations...he would quickly dismiss any thoughts or opinions I had on Christianity and God as our creator.
We always got along but it was understood that he did not believe in God and was never in any frame of mind to be open to the possibilities that a higher being created every part of his inner workings and has control over life itself.

Our conversation took off quite fast and he dove right into the reason for contacting me (for me at 8am here in Romania). He began to tell me that he knew he was missing something...something vital was missing from his life and he was ready to explore what that might be. Even though he didn't come out and say it immediately...I knew what he was referring to, but even so played it off as I didn't...I wanted him to express outwardly what it was he thought he was missing.
I asked him if he was afraid that if he said it out-loud he would have to come to a realization that what he had been refusing for so many years was exactly what was missing out of his life... shutting out the person who created you with his hands is what many people are missing.

He proceeded to tell me he knew he had found his calling... as I asked him what that was, I realized he wasn't using this phrase in the normal sense (jobs, things we are good at,etc) ...when I asked him what his calling was specifically all he said was...
"My calling is who I am and not who I have been, and Im proud of it."

At this point of the conversation I was tearing up quite a bit because from knowing this person for a few years now...nothing he is saying would have come out of his mouth or even entered his mind before. I told him being you is a great thing to come into and being that person God created you to be ...but he also gives us things we are excellent at ..and its when we trust in him to show us those ways...we feel at peace and feel proud..so maybe God is showing you what he created you to be for the world.

As soon as I hit enter...I held my breath...I was afraid of what he was going to say in response to those few sentences...I knew better in the past to test the waters with phrases like that... and to my surprise he said
"That's what I'm saying. When you first met me I would have said bull-shit, but now I'm ready." 

I am so blessed that the Lord is/has convicted me in my thoughts of some people are just too lost to be saved. I use to think...I can't change this person...Everything I say is falling on deaf ears and this person will never come to know Christ.
THAT"S JUST IT...We don't change anyone...we shouldn't be the ones speaking.
God changes people's hearts...God speaks through us so that our voices are not heard.
Praise be to God that he NEVER gives up on those who need him the most and are grasping for the things of this world for comfort and affirmation. 
In Jeremiah 29:11 it tells us The Lord has nothing but good planned for us...he has a hope and a future for us and all we need to do is call on him and he will answer us. If we seek him we will find him.

Please pray with me for my friend and his new found freedom!

"Birthdays are good for you. Statistics show that the people who have the most, live the longest."
-Larry Lorenzoni 

Usually every year people say 'this year is the best birthday ever', but I can honestly say that my birthday this year was THE BEST EVER!
I woke up with 12 people telling me happy birthday in the most loving way..along with hugs (which I was honestly happy to receive on this day only haha).

I spent the morning with our contacts Michelle and Kevin where Michelle made the best homemade muffins and an excellent cup of coffee. Before breakfast she asked to pray for me (I thought to myself, what for?) but of course I agreed...as she began to pray (I only knew her a week at this point) began to thank God for my having a birthday and what a joy it was to spend the day with me. I honesty had never had anybody pray like this over me and it touched my heart more than I expected. 
My birthdays are not normally super extravagant and compared to my birthday last year...having somebody pray over me with such love already set the tone for the day = AWESOMENESS

  After helping Kevin in his backyard, Michelle fixed us a lunch that was absolutely spectacular and made me just a bit homesick...meatloaf,mashed potatoes, steamed broccoli and homemade bread..WOW!!(and might I add there was barbeque sauce and texas pete on the table) 

The best part of the whole day came when Leah confined me to the kitchen until further notice. Little did I know, my team had planned an awesome surprise and mini-party for me. 
I was told to stand in a chair...dress up in all kinds of crazy clothes...and my team proceeded to read a "poem" that they had written for me.

26 reasons why we think you are special... even though majority of these reasons were beyond goofy (true) but goofy..it meant a lot to me that they noticed so much about my personality. 
The party was then redirected into the next room where we had a
TWISTER PARTY!!

With dance music in the background...we had a crazy, goofy, and just ridiculous time playing twister and enjoying our time together. 


The very last thing of the night was a SPECTACULAR birthday cake. A Chocolate cake with some kind of Nutella icing and candles for me to blow out...I can honestly say I don't think I've blown out candles on a cake since I was 5 years old and I loved every minute of it.

Thank you to the two teams (and squad leaders) who made this birthday a beyond special memory. I love you all more than you all know!!
 

Preach the gospel at all times, when necessary use words. 
-St Francis of Assisi 



I love the quote above so much because it is a great summary of what living like Christ is all about. My life as a Christian should be based on my actions first and foremost and if need be I can back up my love for Christ with words. 
I recently began reading the Gospels again and studying on things that I do not normally associate with the arrest, trial, persecution, and death of Jesus. 
The past two months God has been teaching me to be his vessel...to speak only when necessary, and to really use my actions of love to show his people (in the Dominican, Haiti and now Romania) that my love for them comes from Christ. 

I know you are wondering how this ties into Jesus and his trials...here's how...
If you begin reading in John 19: 8..Jesus is being sentenced to be crucified. He is before Pilate and Jesus is being asked a serious of questions...in which most he chooses to ignore. Finally Pilate says "Do you refuse to speak to me? Don't you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?" The only times Jesus ever opens his mouth is to confirm what the prophesy has already said...he chooses his words wisely and (I can imagine his tone as well). 
Jesus' actions are humbling...confirming...and louder than words.
I have been in situations in my life..even on the World Race..where I felt the need to defend myself...somehow change the situation...or fight back..but can you imagine sitting before a man of power, who could save your life and yet you speak only to glorify God..you don't speak to save your own life..you don't speak to prove your innocence..you speak to glorify GOD!

The Lord is teaching me to choose my words wisely...to make my actions praise him and to finally rely on him...God has things planned out to the ends of time.

The picture below is of me and a little boy Yuli who is from one of the poor families here in Draganesti Olt. He desires attention and love that he may not otherwise receive at home. He slowly would put his hand on my knee..and quietly look up to make sure this was okay...then slowly and awkwardly put his head on my shoulder...but then again check to see if I was okay with this. 

I wanted to say a lot to Yuli but the fact I speak very little Romanian other than a few words..makes this very hard...the only thing I could do was hold his hand and smile as much as I could. He knew I was there to just love on him and show him affection. 


THEY WILL KNOW US BY OUR LOVE. 

Here we are in month 3 already of The World Race!!!
My team, along with 2 other teams, are in Dragnasti, Romania for the month. We will be working with a local church on a few different outreach ministries that they participate it..but before we get into those details..I'd like to take just a minute and fill you in on how we arrived in Romania.

We started traveling on Sunday (March 11) around 7:30am Eastern Time from Haiti. Once arriving at the airport we discovered that our plane was delayed about 5 hours.  We quickly took this time to relax and grab a few bites to eat and gather ourselves for the upcoming flight. As time passed our departure time kept getting delayed further and further. FInally after an 8 hour delay, we boarded the plane and headed for NYC. At this point we were told (and thought ourselves) that we were certainly not making the plane in NYC because we only originally had a 7 hour layover in New York.  We had already discussed catching the next flight out of New York for Istanbul 18 hours later. Upon arriving to New York...we quickly realized that YES we were going to pull a Home Alone and RACE towards the checkin counters and baggage check.  With 30 minutes allotted to get off our plane, grab our luggage, carry all of our bags to a bus, catch a bus tram to the other terminal, and finally check in and race to the plane... WE MADE IT!! 

We were all relieved we had made the flight and once we were on the plane it was comforting to find that this was probably the nicest plane any of us had ever flown on in our lives. Personal touch screen tvs with every chair...a chef aboard the plane for 2 meals and a snack...an abundance of movies, music, and games to choose from while flying, and finally...a goodie bag fully of socks, eye mask, tooth-brush, lip balm, and toothpaste. Now for those of you who are back home shopping at Wal Mart..this may not seem awesome...but to a World Racer...getting this goodie bag meant we just hit the JACKPOT!!!
On the plane I sat next to a young man from Sudan named Muhammed. I wasn't sure at the beginning because he wouldn't speak to me and I thought to myself....I am stuck in the middle of two people who don't speak English..this is going to be a boring 10 hour flight. Upon overhearing me ask to switch seats with somebody..Muhammed said...'Ya know..this is going to be a long flight..maybe we can chat and get to know each other and I'm not that bad of a person'.  He called me out for sure when he said this..and we both started laughing at the thought of the situation. The whole 10 hours I sat next to him talking about our lives, where we came from, our passions, why I am on this thing called The World Race, and many other things. No doubt about it..that was the best plane ride I have ever taken. 
We parted ways when we arrived in Istanbul and in which we had about 15 minutes to reach our other flight...the final flight to Bucharest. With only an hour flight ahead of us we were all looking forward to setting foot in the country we would spend the next month. 

FINALLY...arriving in Bucharest was a relief and a joy all in one...then that was quickly squished when we realized that our luggage was not coming for another 2 days possibly (100% because of barely catching our flight in NYC).  So after a few minutes of deciding what to do from there..we reported our bags to the lost and found and were told they would be dropped off at our addresses in Romania as soon as they arrived.

With no luggage...and only the clothes on our backs (most in flip flops and chacos) we stepped out into 30 degree weather (still with snow on some of the ground) and caught a tram to the train station.  I'll be honest...it was nice traveling through all these places without our big packs..but a new pair of underwear would be nice about right now.

Once we walked onto the platform at the train station...Rebekah,Meagan, and I immediately started quoting Harry Potter because we are geeks and that's what happens...and then we became even more excited once we realized that they had small rooms just like on Harry Potter..no we did not have chocolate frogs for treats but we did have Pringles.

Finally after so many hours of traveling and not changing clothes or brushing our teeth in 2 days..we arrived at our house in Romania and met with our contacts. I can already tell this month is going to be starting off with a good pace and a good attitude. God has been so good to us by getting us here safely and our teams are so excited to spend a month together and begin to dig into the word as friends.

I say all this to say...with no extra luggage..I should have jacked that extra pair of socks in first class. 

Dumnezeu să vă binecuvânteze şi vă mulţumesc pentru tot sprijinul acordat!

Ahh…the game of Silent Football…Takes me back to the days at church camp when all the team leaders would sneak out after the kids went to bed, and circle up to play this epic game. Hours upon hours of endless laughs, excitement, and goofing off bonded all of us together each summer we were together up on that mountain.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the game of Silent Football...let me take a minute to explain the basic rules.  Silent Football should be played with 5 or more players at a time. The object of the game is simple DON”T LOSE.  A player loses (only that round) by gaining 3 points. The game does not involve a football and is only silent when the “master” isn’t speaking or allowing someone to speak. The master of the game is in charge of how the game flows, who gets points, and also regulates the atmosphere and humor of the game. Generally each master of the game has a demeanor of sarcasm and tends to be a tough one to grasp. The rules of the game are simple…no laughing, no showing of teeth, no smiling, no talking, no pointing, and make sure you are doing all the moves correctly (otherwise another player will call you out in hopes that you will receive a point for your actions.)  I won’t go into detail on the moves of the game but there are 4 simple moves that move the imaginary ball around the circle…a knee tap which moves the ball in the direction you tapped, a zoom which sends the ball across the circle, and a shrug (shrugging sends the ball back) and a shrodem…which is difficult to explain just imagine that this is probably the most difficult move of all.

Once a player has received 3 points from the “master” of the game, he or she must perform a task/dare to be accepted back into the circle and resume playing of the game. Many times (depending on the group of people playing the game) these tasks/dares are embarrassing, gross, and even sometimes refused by the player.

I can imagine you are thinking…what does this have to do with the World Race or even living life as a vessel for Christ…here comes the good part.
Many times as Christians or even those on the outside wanting to peer in…see God and our relationships we have with God, to be very similar to the rules of Silent Football. We see God as the Master of all, who governs the flow, and regulates all within our life (the game).  Yes God is the Master of all but this is where the game looks very different to life as a Christian. We are always messing up and we always have people watching our actions and waiting to “tell” on us or confront us on how to appear to be or when we mess up. But when we do mess up and have the world around us raising their hands to tattle…God’s grace is overflowing with forgiveness and love. He never awards points against us and we are never asked to perform tasks to get back in his good graces. We have the freedom to be individuals and rest in that freedom that Christ has so died for. I am never waiting with my hand raised for God to call on me and ask what I need…he is always willing to listen and has the patience and forgiveness that the world does not offer.
This subject has been something I have struggled with for so long and it took me examining the silly game of Silent Football to make the connection.  Living in this world does mean I am of this world and I serve a God bigger than any earthly master. My God has grace so abundant that I do not deserve to be forgiven but I am anyway…
I am free… I am forgiven…I am His.