The last week in Romania was a whirlwind. There were 3 different events being held and various other outside ministries being done throughout the week. Needless to say that week went by quickly but it was filled with moments that show how God is moving in this community. One opportunity I had was to pass out posters that recounted the gospel in a local market.
Photos Taken by: John Carothers
During this last week there were three events, a women’s event, a youth event, and a Muslim event. There was an amazing turn out at all three events and there were also ministries opportunities outside of these three events. For example, I was not a part of the youth or Muslim event but, I was able to be involved in serving for the women’s event. Throughout the week I was a part of other ministry opportunities like children’s ministry in Roma villages as well as putting together boxes for families in those communities. While I was not a part of the group that passed them out below are some photos of them being handed out!
Photos Taken by: Claran Collins
I was also able to help with painting a mural on walls at the house my squad was staying at for the month. While I had no part in designing it (that was a combo of Joanne and Emily – they’re awesome) I loved spending time with friends and making this home even more beautiful and welcoming than it already was!
Photo Taken by: Savanah Archer
I also spent part of those days just ministering to my squad and helping others clean the house. When you are sharing one kitchen and two bathrooms with 30+ people it can get messy really quick! So, me and a few others (this was all Kaitlynn Heil’s idea) were able to spend our ministry time that day just cleaning the bathrooms and kitchen so that we weren’t leaving the house in a state of disarray. One thing AIM (Adventure in Missions) taught us at training camp and launch was that we needed to leave places better than we found them.
The women’s event was the end of the week and that truly was an amazing experience. There were many ways we could be involved and serve the women at this event. Some of us were painting nails, others were giving massages. I had the opportunity to help cook dinner with 3 of my squad mates for these amazing women. We were given instructions on how to make the proper pasta dish by one of our ministry hosts, Ana (she is amazing) and then we got busy cooking. After everything was done we thought we would have to make the 20ish minute walk to the ministry location and we were surprised by our other ministry host, Raul (Ana’s husband) and he drove us to the event so that everything arrived on time. We were able to serve the 30+ women there plus all of the women on my squad.
This last week in Romania was chock full of ministry opportunities and all of them stretched me in various ways. There were some opportunities that felt so natural to me and others that shoved into new territories and I had to rely more on the Lord for confidence in those areas. I am so grateful to everyone I got to share these moments with and I can’t wait to see what the Lord does with me in the next country!
God bless you and keep you. ??
Katie, I didn’t know that you are artistic. This is the first picture I have seen of the mural though I have heard about it. It is lovely! I am so impressed with both you cleaning the house (such a servant’s heart) and cooking for so many ladies. What a treat for people who usually serve their family and others to be on the receiving end of a meal and pampering. I truly enjoyed your blog.
So much Kingdom work in such little time!! Y’all are making RIPPLES for the Kingdom and it’s a JOY to have a front-row seat to it all!!