This post has been milling about in my head for a number of days now, and I have finally disciplined myself long enough to sit down and type out some of these thoughts.  Each day, it seems, I am encouraged by seeing God at work in the hearts of the people around me, and consider it a genuine privilege watching their hearts soften before my very eyes. Although, in recent days, I have heard various stories and about situations proving the Enemy is at work here, there have been just as many, if not more, stories of God moving in the lives of these beautiful people.

As mentioned in a previous post, toward the beginning of this month, two other ladies and myself were scheduled to sleep over in the nearby Gypsy village we frequently visit. As planned, we arrived on the Sunday morning, and spent the majority of the day providing medical treatment and following up on various cases of sick children throughout the village. In the last home we visited, I had the opportunity to tell/read a parable to the family and watch as one of my teammates then lead a discussion with the grandmother, daughter, and grandchildren. I loved hearing them retell the story ensuring they got all the details correct, sharing what they liked about the story, and describing various things/truths they had learned. Afterward, two of the young girls proudly showed us their schoolbooks and what they had to complete for homework that evening. I captured a few of these moments with my camera, as it is not very often you come across families in the Gypsy village that send their children to school.  Flickr will be updated shortly with these pictures.

Upon returning to the mayor’s home that evening for dinner (also the place where we were spending the night!), him and his wife informed us that one of the young girls in their family had given birth two months premature and the had baby passed away that day. The baby had been born the day before, in the village, but he was experiencing breathing problems so he was quickly taken to the hospital. Although the baby did make it through the night, he sadly but passed away the following day (Sunday). That same Sunday, the family also received news that the grandfather (of the young lady who had just given birth) had passed away that day, too. So, as you can imagine, there was both shock and sadness throughout the homes of these families. Nevertheless, their doors were still wide open and they were very thankful we had come to spend the night with them.   With the food we brought, they prepared a nice dinner for us, and we were joined by about 10 others, enjoying a few laughs and some great discussion. The evening began quieting down, resulting in us mentioning to them that we had brought the Gospel of John film (in the local language), which they had previously mentioned wanting to watch. After starting the film, it became increasingly clear that we probably would not get through all 3 hours of the movie as the power/electricity goes off in the village at 10pm (a.k.a. forced bedtime).  However, it was an incredible experience watching both the mayor and his wife have their eyes glued to the screen for the portion of the film that we were able to watch. We had been praying specifically that both of them would want to watch the movie together, so it was particularly exciting seeing God answering that prayer, too. Just after stopping the film to prepare for going to bed, the Mayor said, in light of recent events, that he “wished Jesus was still around today so that He could perform some of those same miracles and heal the many sick people.” Needless to say, our team is looking forward to finishing this film in the days ahead. I know many of you were praying specifically during that time, so, thank you. With minimal distractions, no known opposition from other members in the village/family, and softening hearts seeking truth, I firmly believe God was and is at work.

As I often do, I spent this past Sunday in my language helper’s village, just outside of the city, surrounded by beautiful snow-covered mountains. Over last few weeks, the majority of our time together was spent helping her with the English language, as she was enrolled in a four-week English course at a local university. However, now that her course is done, we are back to our usual routine of mutual language practice. I love spending time with her and the hours seem to fly by when I am at her house – the setting sun is what usually reminds us that I should be on my way back home. She is an intelligent lady, a great mother, a hard worker, and has soft, kind, inquisitive heart. On Sunday, she was asking me about what we do in Canada with respect to circumcision, as she had read about it in the Old Testament and did not know if it was still something practiced in North America. From there, the conversation quickly turned spiritual, and we discussed the old covenant and the new covenant, with the birth of Jesus being the turning point in history. And thanks be to Jesus, who has perfectly fulfilled the requirements of the law and the all the Old Testament prophesies pointing the coming of a Messiah. She brought me her Bible from the adjacent room, and she showed me that she had started reading from the very beginning – Genesis. Over the next couple of weeks she is going to spend some time reading through the Gospel of John (sticky-noted in her Bible!), and then she wants to discuss some of the things she has learned. Lord-willing, I will spend the night at her home after she has read through John and we will watch the film together. You can pray that the 3 others who live with her will also be present when watching the film.

The following day, Monday, only myself and the one other lady from our “Gypsy Team” headed to visit our friends in the village, as the team leaders were out of the country for the week. Initially, I was hesitant going, as both of us are still very much learning the language, but I knew it would be a great opportunity being forced into practicing the language and not rely on any translation. It is easy for me to default into speaking English when there is someone with me who is able to translate, or even at times, just not say anything at all. However, this particular Monday was a blessing, as I noticed my language is slowly improving (thanks for praying!), and by God’s grace, I was actually able to share the “Feeding the 5000” parable in two separate homes. The lady I was with was then able to lead a small discussion about the story. It is one of my favourites to tell, as there are always large pieces of na’an on the floor in front of us, which are perfect “props” for this specific parable.

This coming Sunday we have invited our gypsy friends over to celebrate our team leader’s birthday, followed by a sleepover. I still have not gotten use to this whole sleepover thing, but I know it is significant to them, so it is important that we honour them in that way. Apart from enjoying a nice dinner together, there is no particular agenda set for the evening, but I am looking forward to what He has in store for our time together.