Our day started with church in the balcony at First Baptist Church. They provide the "Americanos" with headsets and a translator so we can understand the message. We sang a couple of songs...well, we listened...they are all in Romanian. Sometimes we can pick out the song when we here the music but today, we have no idea what songs we were hearing. There was also another small group of missionaries from the states at church. Bruce made a short introduction and Pablo gave a short statement of who we are and why we're here. The translator was excited because she thought would get a short rest since Pablo would no doubt say his piece in English and Bruce would translate in English. But no, this IS Pablo and he did it in Romanian and she still had to translate for us!! The Scripture for today's message began with Matthew 13:44-50. So, I have to admit, it was hot as ever in the balcony and the speaker was not very dynamic; however, Bruce later told us that in his day, this man was a great speaker. The 3rd or so point of his message was from Matthew 13:45-46 focusing on PEARLS:
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.
A few of his points about pearls:
- Pearls were considered one of the most valuable of all gems.
- The formation of a pearl happens because an oyster has gone through great pain.
- The sharper the edge of the irritant means more pain for the oyster which creates a more beautiful and priceless the pearl.
Last year LeAnn wanted to rename Meghan's Ministry to something that included both Meghan and Lauren. After some discussion, Stacey and LeAnn chose Pearls of Prayer. The meaning of Meghan, specifically with an "h", is Pearl. In short, one of the most valuable of all gems, formed out of great pain, the sharper the pain...the more beautiful the pearl. I'm pretty sure most of you get where this is going...out of intense pain came the creation of an amazing ministry that has covered so many with prayer and love. A God wink...when we're not sure how close He is, He lets us know He's still right beside us through everything...good and bad!
After that, we had a pizza lunch, finished up some orientation and then met our translators for the upcoming camp. We did a couple of "get to know you" games, did a little more training and practiced our Romanian. I stink at Romanian, by the way...even if I get the correct sounds, I still sound stupid...Romanian with a southern accent...doesn't really work.
We finished up our orientation, said goodbye to our interns and translators until tomorrow and headed to the group homes. The guys played soccer (our girls had dresses on), we looked at drawings done by one of the kids and had some makeovers...the beauty of Tabitha (the most beautiful), LeAnn (close tie to Tabitha), Stacey, Avis, Kathleen and me is indescribable.
Following our makeovers, we played one of my most favorite group games..."the slap game." That's my name for the game where everyone places their forearms and hands on the table...cross your left arm over the right arm of the person sitting next to you. Someone starts by slapping their hand on the table and going clockwise, each person slaps their hand on the table. Anyone who slaps out of order or waits too long, they lose that hand in the game. A double slap changes the direction. Kathleen's first time playing and that trick beat us all...about 15 or so of us!!
Then it was on to Tip Top for dinner...goulash for most of us!! Back at the hotel, we did our devotion which tonight was about who our neighbors are and how different languages keep us from reaching out. Rachel shared a small piece of her testimony about being in a situation she couldn't get out of by herself. It was quite moving and personal! Gotta love "The Rach." We and went for a walk but it started raining so we turned around, came back and went to the hotel for dessert! Thankfully, the rain cooled it off today but we should be back up to the high 80s tomorrow.
Tomorrow is our first day of camp. I'm a bit nervous since I did the baby hospital last year and only know what everyone else has described. But I'm convinced it will be a great week with my work team...Pablo and Mary Bills, our intern, Sam and Andre, the translator and hopefully not the only one...from what I understand, we'll need more.!!
Need to say good night now...it's 1 am here and I've got to be up early so LeAnn and I can meet up with Remi (translator) to go buy material for the gypsy skirts Remi's mom is going to make us! Can't wait!!
We ask for your continued prayers as we begin the week...prayers not just for us but also for the children, the interns and the translators. I believe most of the translators are new and some are not Christians. I can't wait to see what God has in store for all of us!!
Final comment...it takes each and everyone of us to make up the body of Christ. What would the body look like if it were all hands or all eyes? What would it look like if everyone had the same personality? The body of Christ would not be effective if we all had the same gifts? We certainly wouldn't be capable of sharing God's love to everyone! Love to all!
Love God...Love People!!
Paige
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