Hey everyone:) I know it has been a full month since I last blogged, and what a full month it has been! This past month I have been in Alba Iulia, Romania, spent half a week in the city of Cluj-Napoca, and also went to London for a brief 3 days. I am now back in Romania, and am leaving tonight for Africa. It has been another whirlwind of a time. So let’s reflect on this past month.
We started off in the city of Alba Iulia. Our ministry was mainly focused on youth outreach with the church we were partnered with, Biserica Armonia. My teammate Lindsey also made a lot of local connections that led us to helping with the Red Cross, packing items to send into Ukraine; YWAM Cluj, joining them on their base for a few days and getting to support the missionaries there; working with a nonprofit called to sort through donations for refugees; and meeting refugees and spending time with them. (Shout out to Linds for finding all these awesome connections to serve!)
Packed up hundreds of boxes of food to be sent into Ukraine
Sorted through many donations to send into Ukraine
During our time in Alba Iulia, we met these two awesome guys Andrew and Dani who ended up becoming our good friends! They showed us all around their city and took us to some really cool places. We were able to share why we were traveling the world for Jesus, and they got to refresh us with their fun personalities.
Our new Romanian besties!
The rest of our time we spent reaching out to high schoolers and inviting them to different events we hosted, such as game nights, a youth conference, or bible study nights. It was a whirlwind of a time, and we ended up traveling quite a bit around. We ended the month with 3 days in London, and now we are packing up and preparing for our flights to South Africa tonight.
**Prayer for our squad as there has been challenge after challenge hitting us and many of us are barely hanging on. Many of us are on empty, as we are on month 9 and have nothing filling us up. Pray that we cling to the Lord so much that we can participate in the ministries we have been placed in for the last few months of this trip.
The race is draining, ya’ll. I know I said this in my last blog too, but I just don’t have a lot of words to give. I will share pictures with everything that we’ve done recently. I hope that’s okay. I am so thankful for all of your support and messages of encouragement. I could not do this without you guys. And despite how challenging this year has been, I am thankful for where I have been able to serve and reach people and bless different hosts, etc. Just two and a half months left and I’ll be back on American soil. Love yall.
Kids event we served at with our church in Alba Iulia
My shoe fixing hero! Met this girl and casually mentioned how my shoes were breaking. Less than 24 hours later she’s getting them fixed by a professional shoe maker, giving me her shoes for a day while mine are getting fixed, and tells me its her BIRTHDAY that she’s spending doing this for me! So I got her some of her favorite chips and she got my my shoes back all fixed and wonderful.
On our trip to London we got the chance to visit Hillsong Church London, where I got to listen to my first sermon completely in English for the first time in 8 months!
Went to Buckingham palace and saw the changing of the guards. Really cool culture here.
Went to Big Ben. I was so thankful to have these 3 days to step outside of our normal “routine” and process. Back to reality now!
Hi Jess………..I love ya girl! I am so proud to know you. I love that you finish what you started. Sometimes things take a little getting used to, but you do, and you do it with grace. Here’s the first verse of There’s nothing that our God can’t do Kristian Stanfill – with Passion
Oh, just one word, You calm the storm that surrounds me
Just one word, the darkness has to retreat
Oh, just one touch, I feel the presence of heaven
Just one touch, my eyes were opened to see
My heart can’t help but believe
[Chorus]
There’s nothing that our God can’t do
There’s not a mountain that He can’t move
Oh, praise the name that makes a way
There’s nothing that our God can’t do
.
I’ll sign off………read Galatians 3:14-21
Love ya Jess……..
Hi Jess….I put the wrong Scripture…it should be Ephesians 3: 14-21 …..sorry.??
Aloha Jessie!! I’m so haute read your report!! I’ve been praying for you and your team since your last update! Oh my… I can tell you are running on supernatural strength and He will not let you down!! (Praise the Lord for your shoe angel ??)! So glad you had a few days off in London. You’re on the homestretch of the race. Pace yourselves and return home safely when your journey is complete!! ??????
Jessie, I’m proud of you, Lindsey and your team for making those ATL weeks your own. You used your giftings and passions to truly live out Deuteronomy 10:18, “He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner residing among you, giving them food and clothing.” I’m praying for more for you—more of His leading and filling, more opportunities, and more of His joy.
Thanks for the update Jess! Praying for you. Keep trusting, and you will finish the race with God’s sufficient and everlasting grace. Time will fly and before you know it, you will be home. What awesome experiences that will forever affect your future and fill your memories! Looking forward to hug when we meet again. Love you girl!
Hey Jessie,
Still praying that you finish the race like our brother Paul, who fought the good fight as well. When you return home here, you will have another race to finish too. It is all good, though, because God is good.
Sweet to see a little reflection of your time in Northern Romania. Glad to be blessed to be on a team with you now, and how close we now are to the finish line TOGETHER! You’ve got this!