Romania Update 2022

Hello everyone! This blog was supposed to be out about trust. I am going to write that one soon enough. 

 

It’s Lee here. As I write this blog it is June 6th. I am in a familiar place this month. I am in Craiova, Romania. For those who don’t know, I started my time overseas here in Craiova. We arrived here on August 13th, 2021. 3 out of the 4 weeks of my time here were spent inside a house where I could not leave because of the wonderful word we all love: “Quarantine.”  That was almost a year ago. So much has happened since then. 

 

Today, it’s quite the opposite. COVID restrictions have been lifted. Life is different. People are walking down the street and it’s almost as if It’s a different place. Different in a weird but better way. I left this place walking down the street for a week after my time in quarantine was over back in August. In the present day I am with Ukrainian Refugees. The many I have come to know are like my family. I have become so close with them. I am working with what we refer to as the transit house. Otherwise known as “House 8.” Each house has a number associated with it. It’s helpful for logistical reasons. The transit house is the “short-term” house. People usually stay there for a few days and are transported to different locations throughout Europe. There they will start their new lives. 

 

We have less than a month to go until I am back in the United States. I definitely plan to post a blog sometime down the road. I know this will not be my last time overseas. I know God is always with me. God has broken me for the church overseas. He has broken me for the lost. He has broken me for those that are hurting. There is a God that is bigger than we can fathom. I know this will not be my last season overseas. 

 

I’ve seen people physically healed . I’ve seen people all across the world that grew up in Marietta, GA (I grew up most of my life in Marietta). I’ve met someone who knows my family from West Virginia. I’ve met so many people that I have mutual connections with, and I would never have fathomed that being a reality. I have seen SO much! God has placed an unthinkable amount of people in my path in each place I have gone. I look back at these past 11 months. What is it that stands out the most for me? The answer is People! I tear up thinking about all the people I have met. It’s truly a gift from God to get to show his love and his glory to each person I come across. 

 

There are seasons where you are tired. Sometimes you may feel like you are going through the motions Jesus says: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.””

??Matthew? ?11:28-30? ?ESV??

 

This verse above is a good one to meditate on!

 

There are also times full of joy and ones that are bittersweet. Goodbye’s are always the hardest for me. Relationships are important to me in my life. God gives me strength to leave these places. There is a bit of a grieving process. 

 

At the end of the day, as Apostle Paul said: “For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.”

??Colossians? ?2:5? ?ESV??

 

We are connected through The Holy Spirit. And for those that are lost and have not yet been found, to remember that God is in control. To pray for those that are lost and leave each of them to the one who holds the whole world in his hands. There is a Holy God, my best friend. Who we can cry to. The one we can tell everything to. Sometimes it may feel like He’s not listening. Oh, but let me tell you!! HE IS. HE ALWAYS IS.

 

June 6th: 3 People from Ukraine gave their lives to JESUS TODAY. PRAISE GOD!!!!

 

“I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, and he will hear me. In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord; in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying; my soul refuses to be comforted. When I remember God, I moan; when I meditate, my spirit faints. Selah.

You hold my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak. I consider the days of old, the years long ago. I said, “Let me remember my song in the night; let me meditate in my heart.” Then my spirit made a diligent search: “Will the Lord spurn forever, and never again be favorable? Has his steadfast love forever ceased? Are his promises at an end for all time? Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he in anger shut up his compassion?” Selah. Then I said, “I will appeal to this, to the years of the right hand of the Most High.” I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds. Your way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God? You are the God who works wonders; you have made known your might among the peoples.”

??Psalm? ?77:1-14? ?ESV??

 

Prayer Requests: 

 

1. Pray for our remaining time overseas. Pray for God to give us strength and energy. 

2. Pray for God to continue to help me love those around me each day so deeply. To see them as close as I possibly can to the way he does.  “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” ??1 Corinthians? ?13:4-7? ?ESV??

3. Pray for the Ukrainian people that are going through the house I am in. I am in the short term house. I help with people preparing to move on to their next place in life. This is a translation in place for them

4. Pray for the Ukrainians that are staying here long term. 

5. Pray for people in Ukraine and Russia. The reality is that many people are still fleeing Ukraine AND Russia. There have been people who have fled Russia because they do not support the war. 

6. On Friday June 10th marked the surpassing of 100 days of war. There are still people in need of help and prayer. 

7. Pray for us as we transition back to the states again. God’s guidance and provision in all things.