[Note: the birthday party and sleepover mentioned in the previous post did not happen yesterday, as was planned…we have tentatively rescheduled the celebration for a couple of weeks from now.] 

Today started off as most other Mondays do – the alarm ringing, coffee pressing, rolled oats eating, and quieting timing. It was gloomy, cold, and the rain was coming down hard as I made my way to the house of my Gypsy team leaders. Before venturing out to the village, we always meet at their house and spend time together singing, praying, asking, waiting, and seeking direction for the day ahead. On Mondays, it is usually just a small group of us ladies heading into the village, however, today the husband (a.k.a. the birthday boy!) was able to join us, which brought our number to five. Interestingly, this past weekend, we received news from the mayor’s wife in the Gypsy village that she was able to locate a copy of the Word and did in fact purchase it – simply incredible, isn’t it? This morning, as we were praying, the reality of God’s Word being living, active and sharper than any two-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12) was really pressed upon my heart and I grabbed unto that truth in a new way. I think I can quickly forget that it is the Word of GOD and therefore holds power, authority, is sufficient, and it will speak for itself. As a team, we prayed that His Word was come alive to our Gypsy friends and that they would believe it as 100% true.

Once arriving in the village, we split up into two smaller groups. Five people are a lot for one family to host, and we find a larger group often draws too much attention. So, the two ladies, who are the most advanced with the language, went off together, and the remaining three of us went out our way to visit the mayor and his wife. They had a small fire burning and there was an unusual peace present in their home. They quickly jumped up to greet us, took our jackets and hung them close to the fire, and brought our boots in from the outside ensuring they would be dry again for our departure. Their hospitality never ceases to amaze me. As always, hot tea was served, food was spread out across the tablecloth on the floor, and we spent some time catching up and discussing a couple medical questions. Then, my team leader turned to the mayor, asking him if he knew the meaning of a particular word, as he had come across it in his reading, but wasn’t sure about its exact meaning. The mayor asked our team leader to use the word in a sentence, which required him pulling out his binder and opening up to Isaiah 53, which he had previously typed out and included the unfamiliar word. He read through a few of the verses and was then able to explain its meaning.   He continued reading, out loud, and with keen interest – asking questions and seeking some clarification. At this point in time, the wife asked the grandson to get the “Jesus book” and bring it for us to see. The excitement on their faces produced an indescribable joy in my heart, and was just a “you had to be there” kind of moment. With pride, she showed us the Word. 

Moments later, the two older daughters came in food they had prepared, which temporarily halted the conversation. However, it was not long before the mayor returned to reading, out loud, the following verses (in the local language, of course):

Who has believed what he has heard from us?
    And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
For he grew up before him like a young plant,
    and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
    and no beauty that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by men;
    a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
    he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Surely he has borne our griefs
    and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
    smitten by God, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions;
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
    and with his wounds we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
    we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
    yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
    and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
    so he opened not his mouth.
By oppression and judgment he was taken away;
    and as for his generation, who considered
that he was cut off out of the land of the living,
    stricken for the transgression of my people?
And they made his grave with the wicked
    and with a rich man in his death,
although he had done no violence,
    and there was no deceit in his mouth. 

Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him;
    he has put him to grief;
when his soul makes an offering for guilt,
    he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;
by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,
    make many to be accounted righteous,
    and he shall bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,
    and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,
because he poured out his soul to death
    and was numbered with the transgressors;
yet he bore the sin of many,
    and makes intercession for the transgressors.

(Isaiah 53)

The crazy thing is – a God thing – was his wife had grabbed her copy of the Word and was also reading it out loud to my teammate, her two daughters, son, one grandchild, and me. While the mayor was reading, out loud, prophesy concerning Jesus’ coming written over 2000 years ago, his wife was simultaneously reading, out loud, scriptures written 500 years after that, which proved the fulfillment of the exact prophesy he was reading from Isaiah. If I did not see it with my own eyes, I’m not sure I would even believe it – I was in awe. Dumbfounded! Then, she continued reading about Jesus’ second coming and repeated said, “it’s true, yes, it’s true…He is returning.” O, what grace! There is power in the Word.

After the mayor had finished reading, he turned to our team leader and said, “Surely there is no one like this that could exist and accomplish such a thing!” He responded by explaining who the Lamb of God is, and pointed him to verses where He is referred to as the Lamb. It was clear that this truth was penetrated his heart and he was beginning to understanding this truth with greater clarity. My words cannot adequately convey the environment of the room, the joy in our hearts, but also the utter awareness that He is the one that unveils eyes and brings understanding.

As the reading and discussion was coming to an end, a religious leader from the village arrived, which essentially ended our conversation. However, if there is ever a time where I am pleading with you to be in prayer for these beautiful people, the time is now. I believe, and have personally experienced, the unmistakable correlation between fervent prayer and God working and changing hearts.

May He be glorified, above all else, for He alone is worthy.