Romania was my first overseas missions trip. I went out of sheer obedience. I left the USA feeling like I had jumped off a cliff blindfolded with no idea whatsoever what I was doing or what I was getting myself into. My first lesson was that of obedience and faith. Trusting that God was in control and I was not to worry over details. The travel was exhausting. Our bodies were pushed to the limit and we had not even arrived yet! But in the 8 hr bus ride from Budapest to Cluj, Romania I fell in love with the country. It was beautiful. I saw God's hand of protection in action as we encountered Hungarian Police and crossed the Romanian border. I began to anticipate with excitement the many ways I would see God move during this trip. I began to sense that this trip was bigger than myself or this team. An urge to be used by God in whatever way He saw fit engulfed my entire being.
During the week I experienced worship in a way new and completely foreign to me. I experienced a worship service where voices were lifted in prayer and praise out-loud in both English and Romanian. Even though I could not understand what was being said I knew this: God was in that place. It was a humbling experience. I saw revival take place in a youth rally. I listened to a testimony given by a young man in his language and I was moved to tears. The Holy Spirit transcends language barriers. I had been nervous about interacting with many whose language I did not know. Again, I did not need to fear. These kids were starved for human touch and a love that is universal. We laughed, we played games, and told them that not only did we love them, but God loved them more than we did. We visited their villages and their homes. I saw poverty and despair. I saw living conditions that I could have not even imagined. I saw a people desperate for a hope they could believe in. God used our team in ways we had not anticipated. He put us in situations and places that allowed our talents to be used to bring the gospel to those who had been told they had no soul. They lived among a country that hated them. We brought the news of a God who loved them. The Holy Spirit transcended cultural barriers. Our God is mighty to save.
I stood on a hillside overlooking a village where the gospel had never been shared. My heart was broken. To imagine that the love I have through Jesus was not known to them brought me to my knees. All around me were wooden signs with Jesus on the Cross. They were at the entrance to every corn field and village. Turns out they are shrines to ward off evil spirits. These people did not know the Jesus on that cross. They did not know that He wasn't on that cross any longer. They did not know that He had purchased a place for them in heaven. They did not know that they could possess a Holy Spirit that was more powerful than any shrine built. How could they know? No one had told them. You must go. You must experience missions for yourself. You must be obedient to the command to go and share the gospel to the very ends of the earth. I don't know how God will choose to use you. It may be to impress upon your heart to give more generously to missions It may be a call to the mission field. He may open your eyes to the needs around you every day. But you owe it to yourself to go and see. Even if you do not understand now, go anyway, serve anyway, praise Him anyway.
I now understand more the scripture about how it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. We are rich. By Roma standards we are kings. We live in palaces. Our every need is met. We lack very little if any. Our richness has made us less desperate. We can walk into any church we please and worship God. Roma Gypsies cannot. We come to depend upon that which we have and depend less on God. It is an inconvenience to us to go without power or water. It is a lifestyle to them. We run through a drive-thru when we are hungry and throw out clothes they would clamor to wear.
The needs are great. There is 1 missionary to minister to 2.5 million gypsies. Let us use the riches that God has blessed us with to His glory and to enlarge His kingdom.
Luke 10: 2 "The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask Him to bring more workers into His fields. "
-Kathy Collins
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