Home.  When you hear this word, I know that many of you think of the house you grew up in or your hometown.  Maybe your mom's home cooking or the smell of your dad grilling hamburgers in the summer comes to mind.  It's possible that you think of running through the sprinkler, jumping on the trampoline, or building a fort with your brothers and sisters when you were a kid.  Fourth of July fireworks, Thanksgiving dinners, or Christmas mornings are also things that might come to mind when you think of "home".

"Those who sow in tears will reap with shouts of joy!" - Psalm 126:5

This morning I went for a run completely alone (except for the cows, geese, horses, and two people that I saw from a long way away).  While I was on my 20-minute run that turned into 40 minutes...God gave me this realization.

For the last 2 weeks, which have been our last two weeks of our World Race, we have been helping till gardens.  We are helping everyone get ready for the "first frost" of winter.  We have tilled a few elderly couples gardens because they couldn't do it themselves.  In our 1^st village in Moldova, we helped till our host family's garden (although after the 7 women tilled a rather small portion in 50 minutes, grandpa tilled 5 times that much in about 2 hours.)  As we got to our 2^nd village in Moldova, we began helping them till their garden behind the church.  They will use this garden to feed the children of this village whose families cannot afford to do so.

Then, yesterday our team got to help pick apples ALL day in an apple orchard!  We worked hard, trying our best to keep up with the "professional" locals that do this all the time. 

As I ran, God revealed to me that both of these manual labor tasks have actually been very symbolic to our year around the world.

TILLING: It is very hard for us to pack up and leave a country each month feeling like we are just getting to know the people and the area.  To us it feels like we are just beginning to build friendships and then its time to move on.  However, today God showed me that we have just been tilling the land.  It has been our job to soften up the land and get it ready to plant seeds and eventually to reap a harvest!  We have never been involved in a ministry this year without a contact to connect the people that we minister to.  When we leave, the contact is there to pick up where we left off.  They know the people, the area, the language, and they are right there working alongside us each month.  It is THEIR job to sow the seeds, or continuing to help them grow (whatever is needed for the situation).  It is their job, when it's time, to "reap the harvest".

APPLE ORCHARD:  Since we have not really gotten to see the "fruits of our labor," this was God blessing us.  We have desired to see lives changed, people saved, etc...and we have.  However, a good majority of things have taken place after we left a country.  We have missed out on the "harvest" in a lot of ways.  For us, picking these apples was like God saying, "This is the fruit of your labor! You work was not in vain."

"Open your eyes and look at the fields, for they are ready for harvest.  The reaper is already receiving pay and gathering fruit for eternal life, so the sower and reaper can rejoice together.  For in this case the saying is true: 'One sows and another reaps.'  I sent you to reap what you didn't labor for; others have labored, and you have benefited from their labor." - John 4: 35b-38

I cannot believe that I ONLY have 15 days left on the Race! It has been a whirlwind of ministries, people, really incredible God moments, and even a few touristy, fun days thrown into the mix! 

We are in our final country, which is Moldova.  Moldova is a small country situated between the Ukraine and Romania in Eastern Europe.  As my team and I were talking the other night, we came to the conclusion that none of us had ever heard of Moldova before we began the World Race.  However, it is known as the poorest country in Eastern Europe.  There is such an incredible mission field here, and our contacts in Romania told us that we could “do a lot of damage” in a country as small as Moldova with a squad of 50 people!  This is exactly what we are planning to do in the next week and a half.

Our first 4 days of ministry were in a small village about an hour south of Chisinau (which is the capital city of Moldova).  We stayed in the cutest farmhouse you could ever imagine with a beautiful, Moldovan family.  The family included: Grandma, grandpa, Sergio, Rodika, Paul, and Sammy.  Sergio and Rodika were our contacts for this village and have such an incredible heart for this area!  They are actually missionaries in a couple of other countries for most of the time, but in the few months of the year that they are in Moldova they busy themselves with Christian camps and ministering to the people in their parent's home village.  These camps teach in what they call the inductive method, which teaches the Bible through Taekwondo, typing, and English classes.

This couple is always talking about the disciples that they have from this village and how they have known them for many years!  It is not just about sharing the gospel to Sergio and Rodika, but they really are living out the “Great Commission.”  Everywhere they go, they are making DISCIPLES.

Matthew 28:19-20 says, “God, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you.”

In the last few days that we've been helping with Sergio and Rodika's camp, we have led games, helped teach English, led fun worship songs in English, taught origami, given testimonies, and put on a skit for the kids!  After our camp days, we have gone to help two elderly couples that couldn't weed/till their garden by themselves.  These are couples whom Sergio and Rodika really wanted us to share the gospel with, and providing this help for them was a great way to show them love!

We have thoroughly enjoyed our time here. They have kept us on our toes with a packed schedule of ministry, which we LOVE!  It has also been an incredible blessing to hear them encourage, teach, and share their hearts with us in the few days that we've been here.

Please keep Sergio, Rodika, Paul, and Sammy in your prayers as they continue in ministry in whatever capacity the Lord calls them.

One lesson that I've learned this year is that we are ALL so broken.  There are things in each one of us that are not good, and each one of us needs the “Great Counselor” to come in and speak to us…even while we sleep (Psalm 16)…and heal the things that are broken (Hosea 6).

This year I've seen the pain in girls' eyes when they talk about how their Daddy abused them or just doesn't care enough to be around…

My heart has been shattered when my friend in Thailand is to drunk to comprehend what I'm saying.  She sells her body at a bar in order to support her son.  I'm sure she was trying to escape the thoughts of the man who might buy her next…

I can still see so clearly the little boy in Tanzania who was too high on glue to feel hungry.  His eyes were glazed over, but I could still see the joy and innocence in his them.  He held my hand until we had to part ways…

My heart rejoices, but also saddens a little when I think about the woman lying on the wooden cot, her body wasting away.  She was ridden with disease as she weakly prayed, accepting salvation.  She died about 2 weeks later, receiving the ultimate healing…

I have wept with my teammates as they've told about their broken lives, their broken hearts…and then rejoiced as they've shared how God has redeemed them.

This year, I have seen the brokenness of the world.  I've also seen how God has redeemed those things.

Maybe your parents are getting a divorce, the man you call your Dad abuses you, or you feel like you are never good enough.

Maybe you are sleeping around and you know you shouldn't be.

Maybe you are struggling with addictions to porn, alcohol, or drugs.

Maybe you gossip too much or let too many curse words fly out of your mouth.

I don't know what your “brokenness” is…I just know we all are, in fact, broken.

I also KNOW that, like I said before, God can and will redeem ALL of it.

Will you let Him?

The last two weeks in the Ukraine we stayed in Krasnoarmeysk, a small town near Donetsk, Ukraine.  Our contacts, Marina and Vika, have only been missionaries for about as long as we have!  They graduated from a missionary training school in Odessa, Ukraine and started their ministry in January building relationships with people in Krasnoarmeysk through English Club and Bible Study.  Almost every time we would show up at their apartment somebody would be there for tutoring in English or needing some help, or asking a question about the Bible.  These two women share their lives with everybody that walks through their door.

It was such an honor to be a part of their ministry for the last two weeks.  We got to know those who were a part of their house church, those who had already become believers or those who were asking a lot of questions about becoming believers!  We had the opportunity to do outreach with them as well, telling people about Jesus but also getting the word out about English Club in order for Marina and Vika to build relationships with them first.  English Club was one of our favorite times, as we got to help people (mainly teenagers) with their English, but we also got many opportunities to share our faith or at least tell them why we were in the Ukraine!

Please continue to pray for Marina and Vika.  New opportunities are opening up to do other English Clubs in the next town and many people are continuing to join their Bible studies.  Pray for wisdom in sharing with newcomers and in shepherding their flock of new believers.

Romans 11:33 says, “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God!  How unsearchable His judgments and untraceable His ways!”

Forum Question (looking for a response): Jesus was fully man and fully God. Did He use his “God-power” during His lifetime on earth? Did He have to learn the same way that we do?

I realize that I have been in the Ukraine for almost 3 weeks and this is the first blog that I've written! Sorry.

Here is what I am planning to write in my next few blogs. There will be a story and then I am going to ask a question about the Christian faith that has come up in conversation over the last several months. I would LOVE some feedback on these questions.

Story: We have been traveling over the last 3 weeks to several different villages in the Ukraine. In one particular village, which in English the village name was translated to “Red Flag,” we met a guy named Slovik. Slovik spoke little to no English, but through hand motions and later through a translator we had the privilege of hearing his testimony.

One day we were going door-to-door sharing the gospel with people and seeing what they thought about a church being planted in the village. After several hours and tons of conversations with house owners, we were exhausted. We asked Slovik if we should call the guy who was going to pick us up. Instead of getting upset at our grumpiness he said, “We only have four more houses on this road…what if the owner of that last house really needs to hear about Jesus today?” As you can probably already guess, we continued our door-to-door with a little better attitude.

During one of those house visits with Slovik, a lady really had a bone to pick with God about punishment. This struck up a later conversation within our team.

Here are a couple of verses that we found that could possibly support both sides of this discussion.

“My son, do not take the Lord's discipline lightly, or faint when you are reproved by Him; for the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and punishes every son whom He receives. Endure it as discipline: God is dealing with you as sons. For what son is there whom a father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline�"which all receive�"then you are illegitimate children and not sons.” Hebrews 12:5b-8

Well, as many of you know I am now on month 9 of the WR.  I have learned soooo many incredible things about God, His character, and how different people respond to the leading of the Holy Spirit.  I've learned that people legitimately speak in tongues, there really are those who have the gift of interpretation as it is explained in the Bible, and casting out demons is not something that only happens in scary movies.

When the Spirit moves inside of us, there is a reaction that happens naturally.  The "groaning" that Paul talks about in Romans 8 is our deep, natural desire to worship God that is suppressed so much of the time.  Some of you have experienced this reaction.  Others of you may be getting a little crazy if you raise a hand during the songs at church.  Either way, we have to start somewhere!

A few weeks ago, I was thinking about how differently God shows Himself in each of my teammates specifically.  One sees visions and is an intercessor for people and even whole nations in her sleep.  Another gets so pumped up when she hears a tribal drum and when she thinks about the tribe of Israel.  She roars (literally) and genuinely desires to fight and inspire those around her to want to worship God.  Even another one LOVES to dance when He is worshipping His creator!  I LOVE my team and the way that the Spirit moves them.

For myself, I realized that anytime God really impresses something on my heart, I HAVE to write it down!  When I write, things become more real in my mind and more concrete in my Spirit.  Even in times when I was really struggling with some fundamental truths of the Bible as well as believing people when they said they were "healed" of an issue or internal battle, I wrote.  I NEEDED to work those things out on paper, in my heart before I could do other things in worship to the Lord.

I can think of a few times in a worship session or even laying on my bed when God hit me with something and I began to write in my journal.  However, when I had finished writing it, I knew that it had been completely inspired by God.  It didn't even seem like my hands hitting the keys or holding the pen, but that I was merely the vessel.  I LOVE those moments. 

So, I am putting out a challenge to all of you to find out how God moves you.  Maybe it is sitting still and singing.  Maybe in order to worship God, you need to ballet dance around the room, get on your face before the Lord, or play guitar.  Maybe it is something completely different from any of those...like spinning in circles or standing on your head! The great thing is that it doesn't have to be the same every time and God is excited to see us worship Him sincerely no matter what crazy thing we're doing!