Divine Expedition
Lexi said it best as we meandered through the streets of Amsterdam last Saturday. We had spent the week at a conference and with 3 exhausted kids (not to mention their parents) we had several hours before our flight back to Romania. "I want to go home", she said. "Home"......I almost asked her where she meant, but I didn't need to. I knew. It feels strange going "home" to Romania, strange but good. What makes it home for us now, I thought. I suppose it is where all our "stuff" sits which, in part, makes it home. But I think the fact that we are there together, establishing roots of friendship and routine that really make it ok to be home. This is where we are learning to "do life" and for anyone, no matter where, this is part of establishing a feeling of being at home.
What is staff conference? Annually, all the missionaries and affiliates of Christian Associates come together for a week. It's a time when the various teams around Europe can share what God is doing in their community. Some groups already have an established church while others meet in homes, restaurants, even a pub! One team from Brussels, Belgium shared how they organized a "serve the city" campaign. They received a permit from the city (something they were told is literally unheard of) to have a big barbecue in the park and went through the streets inviting the homeless. They gave haircuts, manicures, an "all you can eat" barbecue and made some new friends in the process. Another pastor from Portugal shared how after the tsunami in Asia he had the opportunity to travel to Sri Lanka. He wanted to offer his assistance but was dumbfounded when the nationals, even the children, fled from him when they learned that he was Portuguese. This prompted him to research the history of his country in Sri Lanka. To his horror he read of the oppression and torture his people had inflicted upon the people of what was then Ceylon some 500 years ago. The pain of this brutality had remained with these people and had obviously been passed down from one generation to the next. He felt that perhaps God had placed him there to offer some healing for centuries of pain. The next time he was given an opportunity to speak he asked the people of Sri Lanka to forgive his people for the atrocities they had inflicted. He told them that he had not been sent by his government but that as a Portuguese man he wanted to ask for forgiveness. He said that people in the crowd began to cry and sob. He traveled from one village to the next asking for forgiveness and had the same reaction. Soon the media got a hold of this story and more villages requested his presence. Sri Lanka has a history of civil warfare but in light of the sudden disaster and the cry for forgiveness even some of the opposing parties were embracing. Finally the leading Buddhist monk who is counselor to the Prime Minister agreed to hear this pastor's plea for forgiveness, and it was granted. An amazing story of humility and courage.
Now that we are back "home" we can reflect on these and other reports and are once again grateful to be a small part in this big picture of what God is doing around the world. As we were prayed for and commissioned as ministers of the gospel of Christ we look forward to the individuals God will bring into our sphere to help establish a new church here in Bucharest. Yes, we have set up "home", but this home is with a purpose. Please pray with us that God will raise up a team to join us.
Enjoy the pictures!
Shannon
posted by Catalin & Shannon Popa @ 11:19 PM
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