The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say.
-J.R.R Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings
Dear Friends and Family,
I am currently reading The Lord of the Rings for pleasure, among many other books for my formation requirements with Word Made Flesh and for my continuing education as a social worker. How eager I was to leave school, only to find that I will never cease to be a student, always learning on the Road. I am seeking to follow Jesus where he leads me, and he leads me into foreign places unknown to me that I never thought I’d find. I’ll share another quote from The Lord of the Rings: “It’s a dangerous business, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.” This is a beautiful thing if you allow it to happen.
I never quite know how to start these letters to you, if I’m honest. So I shared with you what is on my heart and mind, and now I will share with you also what John and I are up to here in Moldova.
I am continuing my Romanian lessons with Adriana, our Moldovan staff member, three days a week for two hours each. I have made strides in learning, but it is also harder as we get deeper into the language. We moved into our new office and love the separate chapel space, our own desks to get work done and a separate kitchen that fits all of us in it where we share a meal each day and then play a game together. Playing a game during the work day? It sounds crazy but has done beautiful things for the unity in our community. We visit the kids on Fridays while they are at the state-run camp. Being with them is so precious, and we are looking forward to the camp we will host for them in August that will allow us to be with them every day for a couple of weeks.
John and I are also considering what church looks like for us here in Moldova. Church for us in the States meant going to a place of worship on Sundays to hear a teaching that feeds us and challenges us. It was a place to meet with people who are followers of Jesus who encourage us in our journey, spend time with us on the weekends and know our hearts. Here in Moldova, we have a lovely team with whom we share daily chapel times and that knows us and walks alongside us on this journey. We quench our thirst for good teaching in our heart language by listening to online sermons of some pastors we love from the States. But John and I also long to know and love our neighbors well. We want to be friends with people who are different from us and to really dig into and learn from this culture.
We attended an Orthodox church service in our neighborhood last weekend that was conducted in Romanian (the language we are learning), something that is hard to find since we live in a largely Russian-speaking neighborhood. We saw older women and plenty of young families listening to the sermon, walking in and out with their crying children and feeding them while we were in church. We loved knowing that our neighbors attend this church, speak Romanian, and that we are able learn more about the culture of Moldova by attending a church that speaks to the history of this culture. We also long to see the Orthodox Church reconciled with the poor in their own country. We do not know what that looks like but feel that this is a place we can start. We do not intend to become Orthodox, but open opportunities to know our neighbors, understand this culture and become more a part of it. Pray for us as we continue in this process, that Jesus would lead us and that we’d follow closely with him.
Thank you for your prayers and love. We love hearing from you, by notes or email; it is more encouraging than you know.
Love,
Rachel & John