Day 7

May 15, 2011 From 35,000 feet

Personal Reading: Radical by David Platt

"Every saved person this side of heaven owes the gospel to every lost person this side of hell. We owe Christ to the world-to the least person and to the greatest person, to the richest person and to the poorest person, to the best person and to the worst person. We are in debt to the nations." Radical, pg. 74


About three hours from JFK and all I can think about is planning another missions trip and who I'm going to take with me. Mom and Dad have got to do this. Radical is such a good book and it was very timely. It says that one week on a missions trip is 2% your time out of a year but effects the other 98% greatly. How can I jump in there this coming year? I'm excited.

Day 6

Today we slept in and indulged ourselves until about 9. We finished our packing and said goodbye to our One Hope guide and new friend, Dora. It was finally the last of the painful goodbyes (until tomorrow at JFK but we won't talk about that yet). We rode in a van for three and a half hours into Budapest, Hungary, signed into our rooms and got settled in and then hit the metro. We had dinner at TGI Friday's. Not very Hungarian food surprisingly and we all needed comfort food anyway. Afterward we took pictures and some of us exchanged more money. Hannah paid 100 fortines for use of a bathroom at Burger King. (If you keep the receipt from that, you get 100 fortines off your BK purchase as long as its that day). I was too cheap to pay, so I waited until we found a free place. haha We bought souvenirs and Suzanne scouted out the area to get her bearings. We walked along the Danube River, taking pictures of the parliament building and everything else in sight! We crossed the Chain Bridge. We rode a trolley lift up the side of a mountain and saw the city and river we had just traversed. Once we reached the top, before we could reach the parliament building there was a violinist who answered Carly's request for the Chicken Dance. Being the Americans we are, all 8 of us broke out dancing. After paying him 100 fortines (ironically the amount I had refused to pay at BK) we went through the gates to a beautiful palace-the parliament building.
We took pictures and enjoyed gelato-a favorite treat of ours- and then continued on our journey. We walked further across the city to Saint Matthias Cathedral: BEAUTIFUL at night all lit up. After that we grabbed bus 16A instead of 16. We thought we'd just stay on until it brought us to where we started so we could try again. But that's not how the public transit system does it here in Hungary. We got stranded at the bottom of the big hill waiting for what seemed like forever. When 16 finally came everyone got off and before we could get on, the doors snapped shut in our faces! Melissa banged on the door. Thanks to a kind lady who pointed us the right way, we found the bus stop on the other side of the street going the direction we needed. We took the bus all the way back to the metro and rode back to right outside of our hotel. Without knowing a lick of Hungarian we navigated our way through the city. Needless to say us 10 women felt empowered!
When we got back to the hotel we all met for the last time in mine and Julia's room as always. We debriefed about plans for the cab ride in the morning to the airport, what to expect in reverse culture shock and then we affirmed each other. It was a good final meeting. Tomorrow we fly straight from here to New York. From there Hannah flies to Kansas City, Carly flies to Baltimore (I think??) and I fly to Charlotte. Charis, Laura, Julia, Bailey, Jordan, Melissa and Suzanne all fly back to Tampa. So today was our last full day together. Tonight is my last night with Julia, my little snuggle buddy. We're both taking it pretty hard.

Day 5

May 13, 2011

Personal Reading: Primal Chapter 5

"Samuel thinks if he gives me flowers I'll go wherever he wants me to. But I'm not that kind of girl. Gifts are not my love language."-Hannah

Today was a mixture of joy and sadness. There was joy in one more day of seeing Dana and Andrei and the kids and of course, Pastor Caba. But as we left, there was such a godly sorrow among us. One child literally was hanging from the back of the van wanting to come with us. The bus driver, Audi, had to stop halfway out of the village and yell to the boy in Romanian to get off. The kids were running beside the van. Andrei cried and begged us to please keep in touch through facebook. Isaiah 55:5 rang in my head all day "Surely you will summon nations you do not know and nations that do not know you will hasten to you." I'm so thankful for this trip. We helped them but they changed us. As if reflecting the sadness and aching in our hearts, the sky clouded over and the cool wind began to blow. After waving goodbye to Andrei for the last time, and after Pastor Caba told Julia he wished he had a bottle to catch her tears in (making her tears flow all the more), we drove out of Tinca leaving little pieces of our hearts scattered behind.
We will pray for them and share the story of the Roma. And in that, somehow we never will have left them.

Day 4

May 12, 2011
Personal Reading: John 1, Primal Chapter 4

"The longer we journey, the more aware of His presence we become, until we see Him everywhere all the time. Spiritual maturity has nothing to do with circumstances. It has everything to do with consciousness. A relationship with Christ doesn't always change our circumstances, but it does change the way we see ourselves, see others, and see God." Primal, pg. 69

"From the fullness of His grace we have all received one blessing after another." John 1:16

Today I was given more flowers. They taught me how to say I have long hair in Romanian. I told them I love them. We played 'Ratza, Ratza, Go!' (Duck, Duck, Goose), and taught them how to wash their hands and why. They know how to wash their hands but they were so excited at the opportunity to be clean. Some of them washed their hands three times. We had to take the soap bars out of their hands.
We laughed together so hard today. It has been hard because we have to remain so flexible and we're all so tired. But it is so rewarding too. One more day and then we sight see in Budapest. That is definitely once in a lifetime. God, thank you for this opportunity!

Day 3

May 11, 2011
Personal Reading: Matthew 5; Primal Chapter 3

"Sometimes our minds interfere with our hearts. Logical objections get in the way of compassionate actions. It's not my responsibility. I'm not ready. I can't make much of a difference anyway. I'm certainly not suggesting that you shouldn't count the cost. You should. But if God is speaking to your heart, don't let your mind get in the way of what God wants you to do. Sometimes loving God with all your heart simply means listening to your heart instead of your head." Primal, pg. 31

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled." Matthew 5:6

Today has been my favorite day so far. We walked around sight seeing and ate at McDonalds with Pastor Caba and Andrei and his sister Larissa. Then we ate gelato (what is becoming our favorite pastime). But earlier today the kids were so precious and ran to us again. We taught them how to brush their teeth. They were so excited. We sang "Head, shoulders, knees and toes," and "Hokie Pokie" and the "Hello Song." They LOVE "musica." They jump up and down and clap.
Lunch today was also my favorite. Pastor Caba led us in a universal worship song we all knew and understood and sang from the heart: "Allelujah." It was a beautiful moment and Melissa captured it on video! So happy for that.
Today started off rough. We were tired and some of us were grumpy. But then we prayed and it became the best day so far. Melissa prayed "Let heaven come to Earth." And it did. When she prayed that, tears came to my eyes and the Spirit leaped within me and I knew today would be different. Time for devotions. Everyone is in our room for the nightly dealio.

Quotes from today:
"I speak Romanian: STOP!!"-Julia

"First it was pooping. Today it's a shower."-Jada to Julia

"I'm ready for Budapestic shopping."-Julia

"The European men are so good looking...except the old ones."-Charis
"So the moral of the story is European men don't age well."-Jada

"I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you. Julia was growling."-Jada

"I'm about to fall over."-Hannah..."You just fell over." Jada

Day 2

May 9, 2011
Personal Reading: Primal Chapter 2; Hebrews 11

"It's much easier to act like a Christian than it is to react like one. Anyone can put on an act. But your reactions reveal what is really in your heart. And if you love God with all your heart, you won't just act like it. You'll react like it." Primal, pg. 22

Quotes from team devotions:

"Can we praise Jesus for someone other than Ryan?!"-Carly

"Old men like to pick on people."-Laura

"We're not crazy. Well, we are. But the good crazy."-Bailey

"We're the good kind of dumb...like the good kind of crazy."-Julia

"You may not be thankful for it. But you're thankful in it."-Suzanne, aka hip mom

"Anyone know any European languages? I know German."-Melissa
"I know French!"-Hannah
"I'm fluent in tones and inflections."-Jada

"Can I START the story?"
"FINNISH the story??!"-Suzanne

Today as the kids ran to meet our bus, Isaiah 55:5 ran through my mind completing the beautiful picture: "You will summon nations you know not, and nations that do not know you will hasten to you because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, for He has endowed you with splendor."
I found my heart well up. It wasn't even anything I felt like we were doing. It was that knowing that God has us right where he wants us and the reminder that he's with us.
Tonight during our group time in our room there was such a wonderful time of talking, sharing, bonding and prayer. I'm so thankful I was in Romania today.

Day 1

Flight from Finland to Hungary
May 8, 2011 Personal readings: Mark 12:28-44; Primal by Mark Batterson Chapter 1

"I couldn't help but wonder if our generation has conveniently forgotten how inconvenient it is to follow in the footsteps of Christ." Primal, pg. 3

"Does your heart break for the things that break the heart of God? If it doesn't, you need to repent." Primal, pg. 9

The widow (in Mark 12) gave all she had to live on. I'm to give all of my love to the Lord heart, soul, mind and strength. I say I want to be radical for Jesus but I think I'm just now learning what that means. What people consider radical is just doing what Christians are called to do.
Today/yesterday (it all flows together) on our flight from Tampa to Chicago I was seated with a woman named Nicky. She was raised Catholic but just thinks if you're a good person, that's enough. She had so many questions. This woman of fifty years or so was asking me for the answers. Truth is, she's asking anyone. She's the one who brought it up and kept asking questions like "Do you believe some people go to hell?," "Do you believe there's a heaven?," "Why do born again Christians die young?" Not original questions, but things she was grappling with just the same. "Would God have given what was supposed to be my cancer to my friend?" She told me her story about getting high for most of her young adult life, having her son out of wedlock and being afraid he'd die because she broke her "deal" with God and got high a few more times after he was born. We talked about Mary, the mother of Jesus. We talked about sin and why its bad for us. I taught her who the apostle Paul was and the historical context of 1 and 2 Corinthians so that it made sense as to why it is relevant to her. By the end of the flight she agreed to let me pray with her. I told her how to locate an Assemblies of God church and she told me I really provoked a lot of thought. She was definitely open to the gospel. My mission trip started in the Tampa terminal. God is so good! When we want to be used and take the opportunities He presents, He'll use us! Crazy thought, I know. I'm excited for what else God is up to in this trip.
God, -dangerous prayer- break my heart for what breaks yours. Make me like you. Make me aware of a cause greater than myself. Make me others centered.

I'm going to enjoy a nice ham and cheese sandwich and hot tea while Carly contentedly snoozes beside me and Finland quickly passes beneath me. It's so cool that I get to travel. I get to help people and have the desires of my heart. God, thank you. You're so very good.