Distance Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

It has truly been a time, to serve in Craiova, and now that we have left Romania and find ourselves in Albania, I find myself fondly looking back at the ministry that defined the latter half of our time: shoebox ministry. Hope Church received thousands of shoeboxes to distribute to kids in the communities that it serves, and we have the blessing to partake in blessing various communities with these shoeboxes full of Christmas gifts and sweets for those who might not be expecting anything under the tree this year.
The first community that we were blessed to serve was the Roma, on the outskirts of town. We all crowded into a small church space together and pressed into a small sort of Christmas service. We shared the Christmas story which was an amazing opportunity given that many who have been locked in tradition haven’t actually had a chance to hear what they were celebrating and observing. We then followed that with some carols, lauding Hope made incarnate, and passed out shoeboxes to the kids. Now, I should mention that the World Race is really making me love kids (note: Mom, Dad, do not take this as an invitation to ask for grandkids right now). And, when I saw the smiles on these kids’ faces, I tell ya it melted my heart and made the bitter cold tolerable (it was still cold though).
The next chance we had was to invite kids from schools in Craiova to come in for much the same deal. The first night we held the event, nobody came which actually gave us the chance to just abide and God together and have fun. But the night I really want to talk about was our last night. We were in danger of the same turnout, until Victoria invited two large groups of teens at the last minute, one being a band and the other being not a band. We had a silly skit with sheep that I will never forget, and after the whole rigmarole, we got into conversation. We asked them if they had heard the story before and what discussed aspects of God and Christ were mentioned that they maybe didn’t understand or agree with. From there we all broke out into intense discussions from Calvinism to the existence of evil, various topics that all had the questioning theme, ‘What do you mean God loves.’ In this kiln, God blessed us with the opportunity to witness the miracle of a heart reborn, as someone came to Christ and accepted Him into their heart. What a moment of profound joy we all felt when LCC’s very own Sarah Dodds shared the news after spending much time in prayer with this born-again young woman.
So many times as a kid, I’ve been told the altruistic focus of Christmas, that it is a time for giving, not receiving. Recent holiday seasons have left me feeling like I did great, like I really knocked it out of the park with the gifts I gave; but the Lord has uprooted that completely. Nothing compares, no gift, no matter how grand or extravagant, or how thoughtful and personal, can compare with the gift of Christ. We witnessed the gift of an eternal inheritance given and no orchestra or band can compete with the fanfare heard in heaven that night. As we move on from Christmas to the New Year, I consider the blessings of Christ, they are new each morning, and each day (Lamentations 3:22-24), and I am excited to lavish them upon strangers and compatriots alike.
In your prayers I ask that y’all would provide for eyes to see and ears to hear in my squad as we persevere in a time of obedient submission to the Lord. Please pray healthy bodies and team unity. Please pray for Ukrainian refugees that are still far from home and wish so dearly to be able to return. Please also pray for complete funding as I still persevere to fully fundraise my World Race! So thankful and see y’all soon as I now know how to use our new blog spot.