Dear Friends and family. First of all I want to thank you all for praying for me and the team! As the days went by and as I saw God work, I knew that your prayers were being answered, thank you! Also thank you for the financial support! At the beginning of our team meetings weeks before the trip, I knew that God would provide, and that if He wanted me to go that he would open or close the door, I was ready for whatever He wanted to do. Thank you once more! On Wednesday the 8th of April, we set out our journey in the afternoon towards Chicago’s International Airport. Even though every seat in the 15 passenger van was taken, we sang, prayed, played, and bonded which made the 3 hour trip seem like 1 hour. After a few hours of walking and waiting we were off to Munich Germany for our first stop, which to be honest, I was kind of sad that it was only 1 hour layover to the final stop in Bucharest Romania, because just 27 minutes shy from the airport in Munich there was the famous and only BMW museum, sad and lonely from my excitement in German engineering. Wednesday was one of the longest days, but even though the trip was long, I was grateful that we were able to enjoy it with company and getting to know each other more. The first couple of days we spent traveling from Bucharest to Oradea which has the span of roughly 10 hours apart from each other. But on the trip to Oradea we stopped and saw castles and rather old towns. We arrived in Oradea that weekend. On Sunday we went to Church and for the first time in my life, I’d gone to a church where I had no idea what the pastor was saying. As we sang with the congregation presenting a couple of songs that we memorized in Romanian, We could feel the bonding and the same spirit, to Praise God! And That He was risen indeed. (note: it was easier for me to remember and say, “He is risen” in Romanian than, “He is risen indeed” so when I met people I was sure to be the first to greet and say, “He is risen” ) Oh, I forgot to mention that that weekend was their Easter Sunday--Such an awesome feeling to have two Easter Sundays in one year, and in two different Countries. As the week started, we were given 3 hours in the afternoon with the orphans. The team of 16 was divided between the two locations. I was put in charge of the smaller location, with four other members. In total with the interpreters we were 8. Every day we met and prayed asking God to speak through us, and be the one that leads us as we reach out and give truth to the orphan kids. The kids we reached were ages from 12 to 21, but all in the ranges of 12-15 years old. As the “Journey to the heart” started we talked about different heart conditions, Murmuring, being fearful, lies that we believe, and the importance of meditation on God’s word. As we went through these “Hearts” as a team, we also shared truth and what God had to say in the matter. The day started meeting in a large meeting area where we sang and played games. Then we separated and went into 2 small groups, a girls group and guys group. The first day we talked about being grateful. As we explained that God sees ungratefulness as murmuring towards Him, one of the kids talked about how he really wanted a bike one of his friends had, and how instead of “Lusting” after that bike he needed to be grateful for his old bike, and the fact that it still worked. A couple days later we talked about the lies that we believed. Many of them believed that they were a mistake, or that they were not good enough, as we shared scripture and from our own experience and testimonies, God was able to use that and with His word install truth into their hearts. I really wish I could explain to detail what the Lord did on this trip, even though some of us got sick during that week. As we prayed for each other and encouraged each other we all saw God work in many ways. When I shared in the large group meetings with the kids I knew that God was the one speaking, because through my own strength I could not do it. And being a part of God’s work in the kid’s life is way more exciting than going to a car museum. During this trip I was reminded that we become what we meditate on, and even though it is hard, I need to keep meditating on his Word and keep it in my heart day and night just it is stated in Psalm 1. Thank you again so much for your support in prayer! Love in Christ, Ernesto Gomez |
|