mustard seed

Dear Friends and Family,

It was a Saturday morning and my host family had left for a visit to relatives in a nearby village. I was sitting alone in my room, reading and listening to music, enjoying the quiet of a day off. Then the doorbell rang. I assumed it must be my host family returning early from the village, not knowing who else would be coming by on a Saturday morning. I opened the door, and to my surprise, saw a young boy, about 10 years old, with a swollen, black and blue eye looking up at me. He told me that he was sick and asked if I could help him. I asked him what he needed more specifically, and his response was either money or food. I told him to wait outside, rummaged through the refrigerator, picked a handful of tomatoes and brânză, and put them in a plastic grocery bag. I then opened the door again, handed him the food, and asked what his name was. He said Şovan. Then I asked him where he lives. He told me with his grandfather in a nearby neighborhood. Şovan then turned around and began walking down the five floors of our apartment block.

Reflecting on this interaction, I keep wondering what would have happened if I had invited Şovan inside. What was he really crying out for? Sure, the food I gave him would ease the hunger pangs in his stomach for a few hours, but he would wake up the next day with the same problems, the same pain. Many child beggars in Romania either live in abusive homes, where they are forced to beg during the day by their parents in order to bring home a certain amount of money. If they fail, they are often beaten or not allowed to come inside. Many of these children, understandably, run away and begin living on the streets, like many of the boys I’ve recently become friends with at Word Made Flesh.

I am becoming more and more convinced that our response to the poor must happen in the context of relationship, in true community. Şovan has probably received numerous handouts from people, but how many people have shared a meal with him, have listened to his hurts, have cried with him and told him that God loves him? And is this type of communion not a prophetic sign of the Kingdom of God? This is the Kingdom where the rich and poor sit at the table together, where social, ethnic, and racial barriers are torn down, where the sick are healed, and where the outcast are embraced and reminded of God’s love for them. This is the Kingdom that Jesus announced, the Kingdom that He said is among us. Although it may seem like a mustard seed in the midst of our world of hurt, poverty, disease, war, and pollution, it will grow to be bigger than all other kingdoms.

There are days for me in Romania in which I have a hard time believing that the mustard seed will ever grow into a tree (see Luke 13:18-19). Discouragement is easy for me, especially on the days when I see our friends on the street still sniffing glue or when I am reminded of the conditions in which the children who frequent the day center live. Last week we were privileged to have a group of people from Ministering to Jesus (http://www.ministeringtojesus.com/) visit us in Galaţi. They held a four-day series of teachings and worship times for us. During one of the worship segments, there were Scriptures posted about faith, and as images of Şovan and of our most recent soccer game with a group of street boys flashed through my mind, God reminded me to continue to have faith that His Kingdom is at hand (Mark 1:15) and to know that our work is not being done in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58). Since then He has encouraged my faith in several ways. One is with an 8 year old named Renato that I’ve been teaching to read. Several weeks ago I was literally showing him the sound of each letter of the alphabet, and now he is already reading three and four-letter words. Another is in prayer times I’ve had with some of the older kids at the center. I am seeing God work in their hearts as I hear them cry out to Him for guidance and mercy in their lives and in the difficult situations they find themselves in. He is surely with them.

Daily life at the center here has been full as I continue studying Romanian intensely and participating in many different activities with the kids who come daily. Recently I’ve been most involved teaching English, computers, math, and reading. The book we are currently studying with the servant team is The Open Secret by Lesslie Newbigin, which is an introduction to the theology of mission. Our last book will be Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire.

Regarding the future, as many already know, I will be returning home to Columbus, Ohio on December 12. I will then be interviewing for Word Made Flesh field staff in February, where I will present the proposal I’ve been working on for a new Word Made Flesh community in Moldova. Assuming I am accepted as staff, I will attend commissioning in Omaha the first week of May and will then immediately return to Romania. From that point, the future is still unsure, but I will be committing myself to the community in Galaţi and to praying about an expansion into Moldova. We have several ideas of what that expansion could look like, but a time frame is not yet at all set.

PRAYER REQUESTS

1) Please continue to pray for the kids who frequent our day center and for the boys on the street. Ask that God would show them who He is in a powerful way and that He would be bringing them into community.

2) Pray for the relationships among workers at the center. Relational conflict is unavoidable in the close circumstances in which we are living and working, so ask God to give us unity in heart, mind, and purpose as well as love and grace for each other.

3) Pray for my last month of language study. Ask God to help me to absorb as much as possible while I am still around Romanian speakers every day.

4) Please pray for the future of my role at Word Made Flesh. I believe that this is exactly where God is calling me, but ask that I would be obedient to wherever He might have me, especially in regard to the expansion into Moldova. Ask that He would be calling people to this community if it is what He has in store.

5) Finally, pray for my transition to the States next month. I know that there will be culture shock and other issues to deal with as I transition to life in a very different place, so ask God to give me grace, joy, and patience in this time.

Thank you all for your prayers and support.

Har şi pace,

John