I Need Prayer….BADLY!

Hello everyone!  I wanted to write this week’s blog a couple days early, as I would like to extend an invitation to you all about what’s to come. 

I have been asked by Adventures in Missions to lead a short-term trip with 3 participants this upcoming week.  These participants are coming to Draganesti and other communities to assist in ministry.  There’s much work going into this trip, but I’m excited.  God’s about to do some pretty big things!

 

I was asking participants who had their testimonies ready to share and God really convicted my heart that I have something to share.   Last night (Thursday night), I was working on my testimony for 3 hours as I know the Lord has been burdening my heart with encouragment for this church with the word “perseverance.” There are so many things here that can distract. Even as I read what is written below, I get excited.  My passion for these people is re-lit.   Please pray for me as I present my testimony on Sunday night.  As well, please pray for the testimonies of Grace, Diana and Jim. Pray that they would be encouraging words to those who would hear “their” words. 

Here is the testimony I would like to share:

What does perseverance mean? I looked up the definition on Google and this is what I found: persistence in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success. Just a quick poll: how many have felt like giving up in the past? On anything…you simply felt that the task was way too hard for you to accomplish. Perhaps this was your job, school, etc? I want to share a story with you about a couple times I did not want to persevere in life. I wanted to give up, because I saw no solution or way out of my conflict.

A couple months before I went to training camp for the World Race, I became really anxious. My favorite person was my great great aunt and she was starting to have major health issues. I had such a strong fear that she would pass away while I was on the Race. One thing I remembered her saying before I left was “Rachel, at this current moment, do you know deep deep down know you are called to this (World Race)?” Since the day I had signed up for the Race, I knew God was calling me to this adventure knowing He would show me where I was to go next. This simple statement was something that God used all throughout my race.

Beginning in Month 1 until Month 5, I had many moments of questioning whether I was where I was supposed to be. I became frantic that my heart would be broken for all of the countries on my Race and wouldn’t be able to decide where I was supposed to end up. God was also purifying my heart from anger and hurt that had happened years before. I remember looking up flights back to America from South Africa, which was month 3. The only thing standing in my way was what Aunt Lucille had said. If I knew I was called to this…it was one of those times that I felt my aunt was in the room with me. God had used her voice to keep me on the Race. Again, I kept on questioning and kept on persevering as I had the reassurance I would find out what was next.

 

Something drastic happened Month 6. The moment I touched down into that country’s capital on the airplane my heart was at peace. No anxiety, no nervousness, simply joy. I can’t even begin to tell you the amount of good emotion I had when I entered…Bucharest. I remember telling a teammate: “I feel like I am home,” as I was crying. This was the moment I flew into Bucharest, let me remind you. The snow was beautiful, the cold temperatures were great, it felt so similar to where I grew up in Wisconsin. The most amazing thing I saw in Romania though was the faithful gathered weekly to worship our God. I don’t know if you remember or not, but I was here on my World Race Month 6. I was in Draganesti-Olt and God completely removed the anxiety from my life. He give me peace in place of fear. He restored so much in my life during this month. Even though Raul had described to my team in our initial debrief that Draganesti-Olt and Oltenia had less than 0.02% believers and that Olt County was known to be “the graveyard for missionaries and pastors,” I had no regrets for staying on the Race. I persevered and because of this perseverance, God showed me where I was called….just like He said He was going to do.

Hebrews 12:1-2 says “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” 

Towards the end, the verses say “Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” When we run, nothing is stopping us. Even when we fall, we get back up and run towards the finish line. We are in a marathon and the end goal is Jesus. Let’s not get distracted by the crowds of people watching our every action. We do not need to fear them, as we have a Savior who is so much greater and stronger. Dragilor, we are surrounded by so many lost people who have no idea who Jesus really is. They will be witnesses of how God moves and works in our lives through our actions and our words. Let’s go share and run with perseverance and joy not letting the comments they have affect us. This has been my prayer for the last couple months as we all have this joy deep down. Keep on seeking Him as it is He who will help us persevere.