It's Not Goodbye, Just See You Later!

 Recaps from Jamie, Sydney & Molli!

Our week in Romania was incredible.  I'm so grateful that I had the opportunity to go back a second time and see some familiar faces - people I call friends. We arrived on Saturday, June 29th and had dinner with the week one team. We were exhausted from travel, but it was really great to hear about their experiences and have a few hours to talk and laugh together before they had to go back home. Sunday, June 30th we attended Emil's church, and again, it felt so good to be back in a familiar setting with friends from across the world. Wilson gave the sermon, with Emil translating.  The songs we sang and the prayers we prayed were all in Romanian, but we were all worshiping the same God. To me that's an image of what heaven will look like - every nation, tribe and tongue bowing before the King of Kings.

We started our week at Deborah House on Monday, July 1st. The week consisted of eight sessions of Bible study and crafts, where we taught the girls about the Names of God - who He is and who they are in Him.  We had the joy of taking the girls to a local water park, and I delighted in watching them play together.  Tuesday morning we were with Doru and Rodica to speak with the prisoners and hear them sing, and to deliver food to some local families. We spent our last day touring the beautiful city of Timisoara.

I'm grateful to have seen the Lord move this week - among the girls, among the translators, among the staff, and among our team. He is weaving His beautiful story in the lives of these girls in Romania, and in ours as well. - Jamie Christian

One thing that seemed to resound over and over all week was how God looks different to us when we draw near to Him. We learn to see Him as Most High, Outstanding, All Sufficient, Sovereign, & Master. We learn to see ourselves as He sees us. We trust in a Father who knows our bad, knows our dark places, and seeks us out, draws us near in the quiet places, shows us just how big He is compared to our circumstances. Our time in Romania, with MLI and at Deborah, will forever leave an imprint on my life, on our team. We saw girls that are walking their own stories of trauma and confusion and hurt, embrace us, embrace and lean into God’s Word and truths. We saw them smile and laugh and play and sing and dance. We saw them eager to read their Bibles, ask questions, and pray. This wasn’t because of us. Their support is huge. They are loved and cared for and supported in so many avenues. But the biggest thing evident was this -- the Holy Spirit. The girls are reminded of God and His plans and purposes and truths in their lives by all of those so closely around them. God is moving at DH. He is moving through the hard work of MLI staff and partners. They are devoted to a work that can only be done in love and obedience to what the Lord has called them to. It was such a privilege to get to be a part of that work this week. -Sydney Sisson

What an amazing week it was for team 2 in Romania as we teamed up with MLI to spend several days with the girls at Deborah House. In the weeks leading up to the trip I began having some anxiousness about the potential challenges we might face, one being how we would connect with these precious souls despite cultural and language barriers. We were reminded by a team member as we sat in church in Timisoara that our commonality is Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit has the power to cross cultural difference and any type of barrier that we may think may stand in the way. I was thoroughly surprised and amazed at how quickly the young ladies we were there to share the gospel with opened up and embraced us with their spirits and physical hugs. I’m in awe of how quickly they wanted to converse and emerge us in their lives. Through Bible study the girls learned some of the names of God so their heart could love the God they know in their minds. To love God is to also know him intimately. Through crafts and games we got the opportunity to continue finding common ground through artistic abilities and friendly competition. As our time ended, goodbyes were filled with many hugs and misty eyes. We told the girls “it’s not goodbye, just see you later”. For some of us we will see them on the next trip to Romania. For some of us, our prayer is that we will see each other in heaven, where we never have to say goodbye and we rest in the presence of our Almighty God. -Molli Sorrels

Keep your eyes open for one more recap to wrap up our entire team's experience in Romania!