Friends and Family:
And so, I am here. I arrived in Galati just over a month ago and the time has gone so quickly. It must be the newness of everything that causes the days to fly. I am finding my way around, learning Romanian, making friends, and so thankful to be here.
I’m living with a widow who is so hospitable and gracious, nothing but kindness. We are getting along well. She lives fairly close to the drop-in center, Casa Vale, so most mornings I walk to the center where I join the rest of our community in an hour of prayer and worship before beginning the day. Right now the hours of a day are mostly spent in learning the language, getting a ‘feel’ for how things go at Casa Vale and acquainting myself with the kids and staff. So, the days are pretty simple, but as I said, they go so quickly and I’m amazed at the great expense of energy it takes to learn a new language, culture, and city, not to mention people.
Still, I have peace such as I’ve never known. And while it may take great energy to learn a place and people, in the midst of me is this center of stillness and knowing that can only be described as the kindness of God towards me as I transition and learn.
And each day I’m learning what it is to love these kids who come to Casa Vale from such brokenness and humble circumstances. I was recently reminded of a moment in India when I was at a train station. We were waiting for our train, eating our lunch, when some young, dirty kids came up to beg. Their hair was light from malnourishment and one girl in particular struck me because of the baby she was carrying. It was most likely her baby sister as this young girl couldn’t have been more than 10, but the baby she held was so lethargic in her arms, so lifeless. And I remember wanting to hold that baby, and then steal her. It was this really strong compulsion in me to just grab that baby and run. I wish I could adequately explain it, because I feel like there aren’t words. But it was this heavy, heavy burden I carried for days. Not necessarily the burden of the reality that I’d wanted to steal another person’s child, which is a crime, but the heaviness of love, of real love that pierces and is pure and causes people to do crazy things like lay down their lives for one another. Did a crime occur when Jesus laid down His life for us? On one hand, yes, and, it was our redemption.
And maybe that whole metaphor breaks down, but it’s the only way I can find to describe how deeply my willingness to kidnap a baby went. And how I feel that willingness even now…to slip into an overcrowded apartment and take a neglected child, whisking him away to safety.
I’m not losing my mind. I’m not going to commit a crime. And I realize how even saying that I can create a place of safety for a child better than his own parents smacks with pride and self-righteousness. But I want to put my life on the line, even if it looks like learning a new language, a new culture, a new city, new people, in order to commit the greatest crime of all, to love like Jesus did.
Please pray for me in this as learning to love in such a way also means learning to die to myself and that is not easy. Also, please pray for me as I continue to learn Romanian that I would have a brain that absorbs what I need to learn, quick recall, and energy to continue even when I’m tired and discouraged. Please pray for the Word Made Flesh community who serve here in Galati, that we would have wisdom and know what it is to love.
And may you know how deeply you are loved, more than you know, by me, and even better, by Him.
April
O.P. 6 C.P. 256
Galati, Romania
800.760