1:00 am here – 5:00
pm at home
Today was our last day serving in Moldova and spending
time with the local people. It started
with breakfast and then we drove out to the village. Today’s drive was a little bit better because
I was a little more ready for it!
We were invited back to the preschool where the kids put
on a special program for us. They were
broken up in to various groups, possibly by ages or classes, and the groups
would be preform different songs where they sang and danced for us. It was truly unforgettable! We absolutely loved it.
We followed up their performance with our own version of
Old McDonald (we had sang that for them the previous day) that we called “Old
Man Bryan” – Old man Bryan had a ZOO and each of us had different zoo animals
that we acted out for them.
Once we finished with the songs and passed out some
cookies for the kids, we were able to go outside and play with them. The best part was, we didn’t even need
interpreters because the kids were so willing to play with us. There isn’t a language barrier when it comes
to smiles and laughter! The games tended
to just start up on their own.
We got back to the clinic in time for lunch followed by a
team meeting. It was interesting to see
that the boys from Cismichioi came over early today and sat through our entire
team meeting (which was interpreted because we had a few members on our team
that didn’t speak much English), so they got a little bit more of the
gospel. They started out the meeting a
little bit away from us, but by the end of the meeting, one of the boys had
moved to where he was sitting right behind us.
I think our team, specifically the guys, made quite an impact on that
group of guys!
We didn’t have anything planned for the children’s team
that afternoon, so part of them went with the Rec team to play volleyball in
the gym. I ended up staying where the
clinic was and got to play with each of the kids that came with their parents
who were visiting the doctor. It was fun
to spend time loving on the kids and allowing them to just play (and create)
while they waited.
The afternoon passed quickly and it was time for our final
meal in Etulia – dinner. The cooks had
to drive in the meals, and the first day they actually CARRIED part of the meal
from their home over to the clinic.
Their servant spirit and amazing hospitality is inspirational!
Dinner was followed by a time of worship for the men at
the Evangelistic service and we put on a Ladies Tea for the ladies of the
village. Mrs. Tina shared her emotional
testimony about knowing God had a purpose for her life when he protected her at
the hand of an abusive father. Molly
also shared her testimony about how God is at work in her life right now,
teaching her to put Him before all else.
Prior to starting, Cyndi shared with us that she didn’t
feel like God was calling her to speak at the Tea, so she wasn’t exactly sure
how the night would progress. But God
showed up – After our team introduced ourselves, one by one, we asked the
ladies that were attending to introduce themselves as well. This was very
special, it took up some time (which is what Cyndi was a little worried about),
and it made an impact on the women, making them feel important and like we
wanted them there.
I had been dreading going home all day because I knew it
was our last night with our host family and I didn’t want to say goodbye. It was such a special time, sharing one last
snack (of two home made breads, sour cherries, sweet cherries, and a mulberry)
and lots of more laughs. Once we
finished eating, Tina and I brought out the gifts we had brought for our family
and interpreter, and our family ended up surprising us with a gift as
well. Luba had gotten us a plate with
the villages from the Gagauz region (which Vulcanesti and the other villages
are a part of).
While telling them goodbye, I found an amazing sense of
peace KNOWING that I will see them again, and when I do, we won’t even need an
interpreter. We’ll be able to share
laughter and hugs and all the stories we want in ONE single language.
Luba sent us off with precious blessings for the future
and then prayed over us.
We spent a little time on the Internet – Yes, we
discovered at the tail end of the trip that our home had a computer and Internet!
– setting the 21 year old daughter up with a Facebook account as well as
checking our own. Tina got to talk to
one of her daughters for the first time all week!
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