Ok, I promised a report on my Seven fast, so here goes! First let me say that this endeavor was well worth it....I'm kind of sad it's over. So, basically, I chose to spend 21 days making space in my life to hunger for God. At the beginning of this journey, I was feeling totally unfulfilled and frustrated in my spiritual life. The enemy had me in a state of focus on my huge lack. The first week was super rough. Sometimes in our lives, things get worse before they get better. That's what happened with this fast. I'm going to give you some glimpses into my journalings through Seven, and maybe share a little more about what came out of it.
Day 3.....My fears and questionings and frustrations have only gotten worse since I began this feeble attempt to create God-hunger. Today was better. I'm clinging to God as the Unchanging One. He is faithful and remains the same regardless of my changing emotions, beliefs, and unfaithfulness. I am already beginning to feel the void without my usual entertainment and chocolate stimulation....especially with the weekend approaching! These things are more of an addiction than I'd like to think. It's scary how much I crave the least important stuff, the self-indulgent stuff. Oh, that I would crave God this way!
Day 4....Today Melody (my sister) and I talked....huge encouragement! God impressed me yesterday morning with the words of a song...."Sun and rain, joy and pain, you're the same, You never let go." I meditated on His unchanging nature. The same God who parted the sea, conquered armies, calmed the storm and raised the dead....is alive in me now! He is holding me; He won't let go.
Day 6....My prayer today from the message in church. Jeremiah 33:3 "Call to me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things that you do not know."
Day 8....I've been slowly working through the Gospels chronologically. I just read the parable of the sower three or four times! I usually identify most with the thorny soil. Since I'm fasting from media entertainment, it is clearer to me that all this tantalizing, flashing stuff constantly calling for our attention in this American luxury has become a huge weed problem. It so quickly becomes addictive and chokes out our hunger for the Word of God, which is living water to our souls. Our spirits gasp and choke through each day as we continually give more time and attention to things that please and sparkle rather than feeding on the life-giving Word of the Life Giver. I want to make excuses for these things, even to say that I need them sometimes to give me a rest from reality and pressure. But every time I give an inch, the flesh takes a mile. And I'm actually ignoring the Fountain of Life who promises real rest to every soul who comes to Him.
It's amazing how many things throughout the day remind me of a movie, or a quote pops into my head. And how hard it is to know what to do with my free time!
Day 11...It takes awhile, but the light is breaking through. Now that I've time to clear the cobwebs from my empty spaces, I'm getting more hungry and thirsty for God. I know my Father is calling me into the land of promise. Now is the time to go in and take the land! How can I go back to where I've been? There is so much more to God. He is wilder than our wildest dreams. A disciple is disciplined. I can't stop with 21 days....I must have a plan for continued discipline, to keep making space for God hunger.
Day 15...I definitely want to keep the morning prayer pause a daily thing. I'm thinking of disciplining myself to only do extra computer time every other day, and keep the off evenings free for God space. And limiting myself to one movie a week, if even that. I have so many better ways to spend the time. I've been reading more of Radical, which continues to challenge me. I've started asking God to make me a true follower.
Day 18...Father is providing a place to live and a job for the next season. But I don't know what to decide about the ranch now anymore than I did last year at this time. And the message of Radical is messing everything up. I wonder if following Jesus looks like throwing away the few shreds of security I have now and going into full-time missions overseas to take the Gospel to people who have never heard, or to pour my life into serving the poorest people on earth. Could it also look like living simply in America and pouring my life into kids at His Ranch and meeting needs in the surrounding community? Or (insert dream that I'm not writing yet because nothing is moving at this point). Or investing in ladies at Margaret House and reaching out in the community in Medina along with a group of other God-desperate souls? (referring to the halfway house where I'll be staying this winter and a small group of Christian friends) It could probably look like any or all of those things at some point, and even more. How do I know the best way to obey God's call and live in His kingdom? How do I get His heart and perspective into me and turn right-side-up while most of the world is upside-down? How do I fully embrace death as the ultimate gain and reward and extravagantly "waste" my entire life on Christ? How do I live as one who is already dead in this world and whose only aim is the glory of God? So many questions. Seven is giving me a hunger boost, but is it enough? Radical offers a one-year challenge, and I am scared to go for it! But I have to keep climbing.
Day 20...I went to jail ministry this morning. What a God-thing! I thought I was supposed to go next week, and found out that it was today. I was feeling lousy with a cold yesterday, so didn't know if I'd even feel up to going, and I didn't look over my study that I had prepared a week earlier in case I needed something to share. When I told my friend Lori that I sort of had something prepared, she said to go ahead with it. So I shared my study on Caleb. My partners had a lot of great insights to add and we got lots of discussion with the ladies. It was awesome! The best time I ever had at jail ministry!
Day 21...Part of me doesn't want this fast to be over. In a way, it is easier to completely abstain from something for awhile than to discipline yourself while you have freedom. This fast has created a space for God hunger that I want to continue. I will continue to set limits on myself....I think the next step to being a God-chaser is to take the Radical Experiment challenge.
So, there you have it! Once I got past the first week or so, I didn't miss the entertainment, or even the chocolate, nearly as much as I thought I would. Seven provided a badly needed push into stronger desire for God. I know it would be easy to slip back into my old cravings if I go to stuffing myself with the "junk food" again. Thus the plan for continuing discipline. Any results worth their salt take hard training, and sometimes blood, sweat, and tears.
"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only run receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it." 1 Cor. 9:24
"But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." Heb. 11:6
I want to be a God chaser.
Thursday, October 24, 2013
Sunday, September 29, 2013
God Spaces
For the next three weeks, I am doing an experiment to create more space for God-hunger in my life. This is inspired by the book Seven, written by Jen Hatmaker. Over a total of seven months, she did fasts in seven different areas of her life where she has the biggest battle with excess. Some of her focus areas were food, clothing, entertainment, possessions, and stress. In the book, Jen shares her raw journalings as she walked through each day of these fasts....the good, the bad, and the ugly....and some revolutionary things God taught her.
So I went through this book a couple months ago with some friends, and it gave us a lot to think about and discuss. But just reading about someone else's experience doesn't bring change in your life. We have to find a way to apply it. I wanted to do some form of Seven for myself, but I kept putting off committing to it for various reasons, and the trip to Romania kind of overshadowed everything else....but then I found out that a teenage friend who volunteers on the ranch during the summer did her own version of Seven while I was away, and she has inspired me to stop thinking about doing something and JUST DO IT!
I am not focusing on excess for this fast as much as on the distractions that fill up the empty spaces in my life and dull my hunger for God's presence. So rather than seven areas, I've chosen just a few things I need to put off in order to set the stage for seeking wholeheartedly after God. I'm sharing this with whoever reads my blog for a healthy dose of accountability, and so I can also share what comes out of the experiment. Three weeks is small, but it's a start. Sometimes we never start something because we think we have to do it big or not at all.
Most of my fast is going to involve entertainment, because that is my biggest space filler. So no movies, no Facebook, Youtube, blogs, or websurfing/shopping/etc. My computer time will be strictly for email communication, worship music, and writing.
Since giving up something you regularly crave with the physical body is a way of humbling yourself to recognize your spiritual weakness and need before God, I'm going chocolate free. Yeah. Not going to be easy. I rarely go without chocolate for more than a few days. But I believe it is worth the sacrifice to gain stronger desire for God.
The other part of this fast is actually adding something to my daily priorities to be more intentional in seeking God. I'm setting a prayer pause for 7 AM and 7 PM every day. This is the time to bring everything back to center. And I have a lot to pray about! The close of the ranch season is coming up quickly and I have decisions to make about where to go and what to do next. God has planted a crazy God-sized dream in my heart in the last few days and I need to prayerfully put my faith on my feet and take the first step to find out where He wants to go with it. And most importantly, I need to fix my eyes on God and my heart on believing Him....who He says He is, what He says He will do, who He says I am, and the obedient response that His Word is calling for.
I don't know if you'll hear from me until the end of the Seven fast. I plan to share what comes out of it, even if it's not spectacular. If you took the time to read this, would you stop and pray for me? Ask God to wreck whatever He needs to wreck in me so I can follow Him fully. And ask that He will get glory from this experience and use it to bring change in other people's lives, not just mine.
May you hunger and thirst more deeply for God and His righteousness today!
So I went through this book a couple months ago with some friends, and it gave us a lot to think about and discuss. But just reading about someone else's experience doesn't bring change in your life. We have to find a way to apply it. I wanted to do some form of Seven for myself, but I kept putting off committing to it for various reasons, and the trip to Romania kind of overshadowed everything else....but then I found out that a teenage friend who volunteers on the ranch during the summer did her own version of Seven while I was away, and she has inspired me to stop thinking about doing something and JUST DO IT!
I am not focusing on excess for this fast as much as on the distractions that fill up the empty spaces in my life and dull my hunger for God's presence. So rather than seven areas, I've chosen just a few things I need to put off in order to set the stage for seeking wholeheartedly after God. I'm sharing this with whoever reads my blog for a healthy dose of accountability, and so I can also share what comes out of the experiment. Three weeks is small, but it's a start. Sometimes we never start something because we think we have to do it big or not at all.
Most of my fast is going to involve entertainment, because that is my biggest space filler. So no movies, no Facebook, Youtube, blogs, or websurfing/shopping/etc. My computer time will be strictly for email communication, worship music, and writing.
Since giving up something you regularly crave with the physical body is a way of humbling yourself to recognize your spiritual weakness and need before God, I'm going chocolate free. Yeah. Not going to be easy. I rarely go without chocolate for more than a few days. But I believe it is worth the sacrifice to gain stronger desire for God.
The other part of this fast is actually adding something to my daily priorities to be more intentional in seeking God. I'm setting a prayer pause for 7 AM and 7 PM every day. This is the time to bring everything back to center. And I have a lot to pray about! The close of the ranch season is coming up quickly and I have decisions to make about where to go and what to do next. God has planted a crazy God-sized dream in my heart in the last few days and I need to prayerfully put my faith on my feet and take the first step to find out where He wants to go with it. And most importantly, I need to fix my eyes on God and my heart on believing Him....who He says He is, what He says He will do, who He says I am, and the obedient response that His Word is calling for.
I don't know if you'll hear from me until the end of the Seven fast. I plan to share what comes out of it, even if it's not spectacular. If you took the time to read this, would you stop and pray for me? Ask God to wreck whatever He needs to wreck in me so I can follow Him fully. And ask that He will get glory from this experience and use it to bring change in other people's lives, not just mine.
May you hunger and thirst more deeply for God and His righteousness today!
Saturday, August 31, 2013
Missing Pieces
During my three weeks in Romania, I tackled a 1,000 piece puzzle. It was a great time filler on slow days and evenings. Normally I start a puzzle by putting the frame together. But this is one of those uniquely cut puzzles where you can't easily pick out the edge pieces. So I worked by sections without the border.
About halfway through, I began to suspect that I was missing a few pieces. I had a few completed sections with holes in them, and no matter how much I searched, those distinctive pieces did not turn up. It took a long time to finish the frame, and I was afraid there would be a chunk of it missing. The closer I got to finishing, the more empty spots popped up! But I am a die-hard puzzler once I get in the mood, and I hate to quit on an unfinished picture, especially so far into the game. So I determined to finish this one before I left, no matter how many pieces were missing!
In the end, I counted at least 30 holes in my puzzle! They were scattered all over, so you could still basically get the whole picture. Of course it's disappointing to have a puzzle full of holes, but in the larger scheme of things, 30 out of 1,000 isn't a huge number, and it's still a beautiful picture. It's just broken.
That puzzle is a picture of us. I think of Scott and Carolyn's girls. They have been through rough places in their young lives. They are broken and damaged. But they are beautiful young women with incredible potential, deeply loved by God.
Their missing pieces make them rough around the edges. It makes successful living very difficult for them at times. It makes life difficult for those love them and are helping them. But does that make them any less worth it? Should we cast them aside because they are missing 30 pieces? Should they resign themselves to living in defeat as victims of circumstance for the rest of their lives? Sometimes that is what they want to do, because that mindset has been deeply etched into them through the pain of rejection, abandonment, and abuse. They often revert back to this thinking when things get hard, and it requires a great deal of patience to walk through it with them.
But God says they are worth it. He says you are worth it too. He sees the whole picture. You are His masterpiece, holes and all. Jesus Christ wants to come in to your broken, empty spaces and make you a whole person. Don't get me wrong, it's not an instant removal of suffering. This is a process. We will still experience some of the pain and dissatisfaction of holes in this earthly life. It is the God-built longing for our true home and our final state of wholeness in Heaven. God knows what we will be then. It is the beautiful, priceless work of art that He set out to create from the beginning of our lives! And He is willing to walk with us through all the broken places and missing pieces until the day we see the face of Christ and become like Him!
"Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when He appears we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is." 1 John 3:2
Just think how glorious that will be! And you know, I like to imagine that when God finally fills in our holes, it's going to be with precious jewels! Because He gives beauty for ashes and joy for mourning. What a beautiful Savior!
About halfway through, I began to suspect that I was missing a few pieces. I had a few completed sections with holes in them, and no matter how much I searched, those distinctive pieces did not turn up. It took a long time to finish the frame, and I was afraid there would be a chunk of it missing. The closer I got to finishing, the more empty spots popped up! But I am a die-hard puzzler once I get in the mood, and I hate to quit on an unfinished picture, especially so far into the game. So I determined to finish this one before I left, no matter how many pieces were missing!
In the end, I counted at least 30 holes in my puzzle! They were scattered all over, so you could still basically get the whole picture. Of course it's disappointing to have a puzzle full of holes, but in the larger scheme of things, 30 out of 1,000 isn't a huge number, and it's still a beautiful picture. It's just broken.
That puzzle is a picture of us. I think of Scott and Carolyn's girls. They have been through rough places in their young lives. They are broken and damaged. But they are beautiful young women with incredible potential, deeply loved by God.
Their missing pieces make them rough around the edges. It makes successful living very difficult for them at times. It makes life difficult for those love them and are helping them. But does that make them any less worth it? Should we cast them aside because they are missing 30 pieces? Should they resign themselves to living in defeat as victims of circumstance for the rest of their lives? Sometimes that is what they want to do, because that mindset has been deeply etched into them through the pain of rejection, abandonment, and abuse. They often revert back to this thinking when things get hard, and it requires a great deal of patience to walk through it with them.
But God says they are worth it. He says you are worth it too. He sees the whole picture. You are His masterpiece, holes and all. Jesus Christ wants to come in to your broken, empty spaces and make you a whole person. Don't get me wrong, it's not an instant removal of suffering. This is a process. We will still experience some of the pain and dissatisfaction of holes in this earthly life. It is the God-built longing for our true home and our final state of wholeness in Heaven. God knows what we will be then. It is the beautiful, priceless work of art that He set out to create from the beginning of our lives! And He is willing to walk with us through all the broken places and missing pieces until the day we see the face of Christ and become like Him!
"Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when He appears we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is." 1 John 3:2
Just think how glorious that will be! And you know, I like to imagine that when God finally fills in our holes, it's going to be with precious jewels! Because He gives beauty for ashes and joy for mourning. What a beautiful Savior!
Sunday, August 25, 2013
God's Heart
Today I want to tell you about a few more friends I have met here and the work they are doing. Jackie has been living in Romania for a long time. She is the pastor of a Gypsy church, and God has given her a lot of other assignments over the years. One thing He called her to is taking care of widows in this country. She has a friend, Irene, who helps her in this ministry. Irene is from Wales. She spends a lot of time there advocating for the widows' ministry, and she tries to visit Romania a few times a year. She likes to spend time with these ladies, listen to their stories, and see how they are getting along. This program is to help widows in the most desperate situations, to give them a better chance of survival. Some of these women receive pensions, but it's a pitiful amount. A few of them are still able to work and earn a little extra money, but many are in poor health and can't work. Some of them can't get a pension, for one reason or another.
When Jackie and Irene hear about a widow in dire need, they visit her and assess the situation to determine what she needs most. The majority of these widows are given a pack of food essentials each month and wood to keep them warm in the winter. Often they are more concerned about the cold than about food. Imagine yourself barely able to get around, living alone in a rundown house in a village. You have no way to get wood for yourself. Freezing would be a very real fear. Others need medication and can't afford it. Some have a family member to take care of them, and all they need from the program is medicine.
Irene was visiting while I was here, so I got to meet her and learn a lot about the ministry. She told me the stories of some of the people in the program. She tries to visit as many as she can while she is in the country. Some of them live in far away areas, and she can't always get there. Last week, after we spent time at the mental hospital in Mochria, we went to visit two of the people they care for in a nearby village, and I got to see a little bit of what they see.
Elena lives alone. She broke her leg at some point, and it wasn't set right, so she walks crookedly. She suffers from arthritis. She has a flock of chickens that she cares for. Their hutches are practically falling down. She also keeps a good-sized garden, although I don't know how she keeps it up. But most older Romanians are extremely hard workers. They just keep going until they have nothing left. And they don't want help with their work. We brought Elena food and sat with her for awhile to talk. Irene said that she does not seem as well as before and is losing some of her memory.
Then we went to visit Geeta. The program includes mostly women, but Geeta is a widower. They found him last year, I believe. He was living in deplorable conditions. He has a hernia the size of a melon. When his wife died, he was barely able to care for himself, let alone the house. There had been a fire in the house at some point. He was living in trash and filth. No one in his village would help him. They said he was mean to everyone, so they didn't care what happened to him. Then the missionaries came in with a work team that was visiting from the States, and they set out to show love to Geeta. They spent a whole day taking everything out of his house, and they had to burn all of it. They repaired the fire damage as best they could, cleaned, and painted. They brought clothes and food. People in the village would come by and ask why they were helping Geeta, when no one else cared. Now someone goes to his house once, sometimes twice a month, to clean, change the bedding, and bring clean clothes. He also gets canned food that is easy for him to manage. To me, his living conditions are still very crude, but it is much better than what it was. The young man who usually goes there to clean was with us, and he said that Geeta is always happy to see him. I don't know what kind of life Geeta led, or if he was really as mean as people say. But I wonder how these acts of Christlike love are affecting him, perhaps changing a hard heart. Not many people would stop for Geeta, especially if he did act nasty and they had known him a long time. Not even many who call themselves Christians would stop. But Jesus would.
These people have often led very hard lives, and they are mostly alone in the world. But God has heard their cries and sent His servants to care for them. If only all His people would care like He does; I think there would be no more desperate needs. But I am preaching to myself too. We know how God feels about these things. James tells us, "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this; to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world."
But do we listen? How often have you and I turned a deaf ear and a blind eye to the brokenness in our world? How often do we stop caring about what might happen to us if we stop to help, and start caring about what will happen to that person if we don't do anything? Convicting? YES. All I can think about is how uncomfortable and overwhelming it would be to step into a situation like that and try to do something to change it.
I think the first step is to acknowledge how spiritually destitute we are: destitute of true love, forgiveness, mercy, patience, kindness....apart from the life of Christ in us. Jesus had a big problem with the church of Laodicea in the letters of Revelations. He tells them they are poor, blind, naked, and wretched....but they are deceiving themselves. They think they need nothing. And because of this, they are in dangerous territory. The cure is to repent and come to Jesus to supply what is lacking in our souls. We have to become desperate to have hearts that are desperate for Him! If we desire to see the kingdom of God come to earth, we need God's heart beating within us. If you are not there today, don't despair. Take the hardness of your heart to Him. He knows what to do with it. Ask Him to make you willing to receive His heart, no matter what it costs.
When Jackie and Irene hear about a widow in dire need, they visit her and assess the situation to determine what she needs most. The majority of these widows are given a pack of food essentials each month and wood to keep them warm in the winter. Often they are more concerned about the cold than about food. Imagine yourself barely able to get around, living alone in a rundown house in a village. You have no way to get wood for yourself. Freezing would be a very real fear. Others need medication and can't afford it. Some have a family member to take care of them, and all they need from the program is medicine.
Irene was visiting while I was here, so I got to meet her and learn a lot about the ministry. She told me the stories of some of the people in the program. She tries to visit as many as she can while she is in the country. Some of them live in far away areas, and she can't always get there. Last week, after we spent time at the mental hospital in Mochria, we went to visit two of the people they care for in a nearby village, and I got to see a little bit of what they see.
Elena lives alone. She broke her leg at some point, and it wasn't set right, so she walks crookedly. She suffers from arthritis. She has a flock of chickens that she cares for. Their hutches are practically falling down. She also keeps a good-sized garden, although I don't know how she keeps it up. But most older Romanians are extremely hard workers. They just keep going until they have nothing left. And they don't want help with their work. We brought Elena food and sat with her for awhile to talk. Irene said that she does not seem as well as before and is losing some of her memory.
Then we went to visit Geeta. The program includes mostly women, but Geeta is a widower. They found him last year, I believe. He was living in deplorable conditions. He has a hernia the size of a melon. When his wife died, he was barely able to care for himself, let alone the house. There had been a fire in the house at some point. He was living in trash and filth. No one in his village would help him. They said he was mean to everyone, so they didn't care what happened to him. Then the missionaries came in with a work team that was visiting from the States, and they set out to show love to Geeta. They spent a whole day taking everything out of his house, and they had to burn all of it. They repaired the fire damage as best they could, cleaned, and painted. They brought clothes and food. People in the village would come by and ask why they were helping Geeta, when no one else cared. Now someone goes to his house once, sometimes twice a month, to clean, change the bedding, and bring clean clothes. He also gets canned food that is easy for him to manage. To me, his living conditions are still very crude, but it is much better than what it was. The young man who usually goes there to clean was with us, and he said that Geeta is always happy to see him. I don't know what kind of life Geeta led, or if he was really as mean as people say. But I wonder how these acts of Christlike love are affecting him, perhaps changing a hard heart. Not many people would stop for Geeta, especially if he did act nasty and they had known him a long time. Not even many who call themselves Christians would stop. But Jesus would.
These people have often led very hard lives, and they are mostly alone in the world. But God has heard their cries and sent His servants to care for them. If only all His people would care like He does; I think there would be no more desperate needs. But I am preaching to myself too. We know how God feels about these things. James tells us, "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this; to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world."
But do we listen? How often have you and I turned a deaf ear and a blind eye to the brokenness in our world? How often do we stop caring about what might happen to us if we stop to help, and start caring about what will happen to that person if we don't do anything? Convicting? YES. All I can think about is how uncomfortable and overwhelming it would be to step into a situation like that and try to do something to change it.
I think the first step is to acknowledge how spiritually destitute we are: destitute of true love, forgiveness, mercy, patience, kindness....apart from the life of Christ in us. Jesus had a big problem with the church of Laodicea in the letters of Revelations. He tells them they are poor, blind, naked, and wretched....but they are deceiving themselves. They think they need nothing. And because of this, they are in dangerous territory. The cure is to repent and come to Jesus to supply what is lacking in our souls. We have to become desperate to have hearts that are desperate for Him! If we desire to see the kingdom of God come to earth, we need God's heart beating within us. If you are not there today, don't despair. Take the hardness of your heart to Him. He knows what to do with it. Ask Him to make you willing to receive His heart, no matter what it costs.
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
God-Sized Vision
Last week I got to see the future site of the Solid Rock Ranch in the foothills of the Carpathian mountains! The vision for this ranch is what originally drew my interest in Rock of Hope Ministries. The therapeutic ministry through horses and God's creation is close to my heart, so I want to share with my readers the story of how God is working to bring this vision into being.
If you read my previous post about Caleb, you will remember that I talked about Caleb waiting forty-five years for the promise God gave him to be realized. I struggle to imagine myself waiting even ten or twenty years for something! Well, it has now been ten years since God called Scott and Carolyn to Romania and gave them the vision to build a ranch for hurting youth. To a human perspective, especially in today's "instant everything" culture, very little has happened to make this dream a reality. If you saw the pictures I posted on Facebook of the ranch land, it is just empty country right now. Beautiful, but wild and empty. There is no cleared pastureland, no road to the top of the hill, no buildings, no animals. But go beneath the surface, and God's hand is clearly visible.
God put the same vision on Scott and Carolyn's hearts individually before they ever talked about it. When they realized they were being called, they started looking for a mission organization to help them. Some friends of theirs had been trying to apply to a certain organization for a long time but without success. One day Scott and Carolyn received a call from the director of this organization, and after a ninety minute conversation, they asked him what they needed to do to apply. He told them the phone conversation was their application, and they were accepted!
Scott has a lawyer friend who owns a horse breeding farm in Romania. She suggested that they start their own non-profit organization. He then asked if she would consider being on their board of directors, and she gladly accepted! This same friend has promised to donate horses from her farm to the ranch!
They ran into a lot of difficulty trying to find land to purchase for the ranch. Finally they decided to step back and stop trying to make this happen. They left the ball in God's court. If he wants this ranch, He is more than able to put everything in place. Some time after this, God brought Gabi into the picture. Gabi is a strong Christian, Romanian, and he is also a veterinarian. Horses in Romania are generally only used for work, and most Romanians do not understand the concept of having horses for pleasure and therapeutic benefit. But Gabi and his wife are different. They believe strongly in the purpose of this ministry and the need for it in their country, and so they came on board to help Scott and Carolyn. Gabi was raised by his grandparents in a small mountain village, and he says that he met God while walking the hills with his grandfather. He wants other young people, especially those from the city, to experience the same thing.
In Romania, property is passed down from generation to generation. Gabi's grandfather owned a large portion of land, and when he passed away, Gabi inherited the land and the house where he grew up. So when he learned of the vision for Solid Rock Ranch, he offered his land! In fact, once the ranch is built, he wants to leave his job with a pharmaceutical company and work full-time in the ministry! He and his wife plan to live on the ranch and care for the young women who will live there, while Scott and Carolyn remain in the city with the transitional apartment. The ranch would be a place for those girls who need a lot of healing, a safe place away from the distractions and danger of the city where they can regain hope. When they are in a better place emotionally and spiritually where they are able to move forward in life, they would graduate to the apartments, where they can get a job, go to school, and save money so they can eventually be on their own.
Scott and Carolyn were introduced to horse ministry through Crystal Peaks Youth Ranch in Oregon. They read the book Hope Rising, which is full of stories of how God has used horses to rekindle hope and healing in the lives of hurting children. One of their daughters even worked at Crystal Peaks for awhile. This same ranch has sparked dozens of similar ministries across the U.S. over the last several years, including His Ranch in Missouri, where I have been working for almost three summers! And Crystal Peaks donated all the horse tack that Solid Rock Ranch will need! Maybe you can begin to glimpse how God is tying all of this together. I think it's awesome to be part of this story....it is so much bigger than me, bigger than His Ranch and Crystal Peaks and Rock of Hope Romania! This is God's story, God's vision, and he is putting all of the pieces together according to His will. It matters little whether the setting is Oregon, Missouri, Romania, or Timbuktu! God allows us to join Him in His redemptive plan for the whole world, and He will use each of us in a unique way, if we make ourselves available to Him. Our part is simply to obey when He calls.
I feel privileged to have learned some of Scott and Carolyn's part in this story and to see God in their lives. They are still waiting for Him to bring the vision to completion, and there is much work still to be done, but they fully believe that He will accomplish it in His timing. One of the needs right now is for more land at a low price. During Communism, the government confiscated private farm land. Later on, they returned the land to Gabi's grandfather, but Gabi discovered that they did not actually return all of it. They gave him separate parcels of land that are not even joined together, which is not going to work very well for a ranch! The rest of the land is still owned by the state, so Gabi wants to buy it back, but money is an issue. Of course there will also be a lot of cost involved in clearing the land for grazing and farming, building a road, house, and buildings, and all the equipment that will be needed. God has not provided the funds at this point, and yet He has done so much to confirm that it's going to happen! His will does not lead us where His grace cannot keep us. I'm really excited to see how the story of the Solid Rock Ranch continues to play out. I can't see the future. I don't know if God will bring me back to Romania to have a part in this. But I want to stay close and available to Him, because the One who gave the vision still calls, and He has many other servants that He will call to join in the work here in the days ahead. He may not call you to work with horses, or to leave your job to work on a ranch, or to move to a foreign country and start a ministry. But He has work somewhere that He invites you to join, and He has built unique gifts and desires into you for that purpose. It may be something right where you are, or it may be somewhere else He wants to take you. Remember that He has plans for you, and they are plans for hope and a good future....a life of walking with God will bring rewards for all of eternity!
I close with a quote from Pendragon, one of my favorite movies. It is an inspiration for all of us to take to heart as we follow our Lord today:
"Whatever happens, remember; what God calls us to do, He gives us the strength to accomplish....the grace to live...or die... for His glory."
If you read my previous post about Caleb, you will remember that I talked about Caleb waiting forty-five years for the promise God gave him to be realized. I struggle to imagine myself waiting even ten or twenty years for something! Well, it has now been ten years since God called Scott and Carolyn to Romania and gave them the vision to build a ranch for hurting youth. To a human perspective, especially in today's "instant everything" culture, very little has happened to make this dream a reality. If you saw the pictures I posted on Facebook of the ranch land, it is just empty country right now. Beautiful, but wild and empty. There is no cleared pastureland, no road to the top of the hill, no buildings, no animals. But go beneath the surface, and God's hand is clearly visible.
God put the same vision on Scott and Carolyn's hearts individually before they ever talked about it. When they realized they were being called, they started looking for a mission organization to help them. Some friends of theirs had been trying to apply to a certain organization for a long time but without success. One day Scott and Carolyn received a call from the director of this organization, and after a ninety minute conversation, they asked him what they needed to do to apply. He told them the phone conversation was their application, and they were accepted!
Scott has a lawyer friend who owns a horse breeding farm in Romania. She suggested that they start their own non-profit organization. He then asked if she would consider being on their board of directors, and she gladly accepted! This same friend has promised to donate horses from her farm to the ranch!
They ran into a lot of difficulty trying to find land to purchase for the ranch. Finally they decided to step back and stop trying to make this happen. They left the ball in God's court. If he wants this ranch, He is more than able to put everything in place. Some time after this, God brought Gabi into the picture. Gabi is a strong Christian, Romanian, and he is also a veterinarian. Horses in Romania are generally only used for work, and most Romanians do not understand the concept of having horses for pleasure and therapeutic benefit. But Gabi and his wife are different. They believe strongly in the purpose of this ministry and the need for it in their country, and so they came on board to help Scott and Carolyn. Gabi was raised by his grandparents in a small mountain village, and he says that he met God while walking the hills with his grandfather. He wants other young people, especially those from the city, to experience the same thing.
In Romania, property is passed down from generation to generation. Gabi's grandfather owned a large portion of land, and when he passed away, Gabi inherited the land and the house where he grew up. So when he learned of the vision for Solid Rock Ranch, he offered his land! In fact, once the ranch is built, he wants to leave his job with a pharmaceutical company and work full-time in the ministry! He and his wife plan to live on the ranch and care for the young women who will live there, while Scott and Carolyn remain in the city with the transitional apartment. The ranch would be a place for those girls who need a lot of healing, a safe place away from the distractions and danger of the city where they can regain hope. When they are in a better place emotionally and spiritually where they are able to move forward in life, they would graduate to the apartments, where they can get a job, go to school, and save money so they can eventually be on their own.
Scott and Carolyn were introduced to horse ministry through Crystal Peaks Youth Ranch in Oregon. They read the book Hope Rising, which is full of stories of how God has used horses to rekindle hope and healing in the lives of hurting children. One of their daughters even worked at Crystal Peaks for awhile. This same ranch has sparked dozens of similar ministries across the U.S. over the last several years, including His Ranch in Missouri, where I have been working for almost three summers! And Crystal Peaks donated all the horse tack that Solid Rock Ranch will need! Maybe you can begin to glimpse how God is tying all of this together. I think it's awesome to be part of this story....it is so much bigger than me, bigger than His Ranch and Crystal Peaks and Rock of Hope Romania! This is God's story, God's vision, and he is putting all of the pieces together according to His will. It matters little whether the setting is Oregon, Missouri, Romania, or Timbuktu! God allows us to join Him in His redemptive plan for the whole world, and He will use each of us in a unique way, if we make ourselves available to Him. Our part is simply to obey when He calls.
I feel privileged to have learned some of Scott and Carolyn's part in this story and to see God in their lives. They are still waiting for Him to bring the vision to completion, and there is much work still to be done, but they fully believe that He will accomplish it in His timing. One of the needs right now is for more land at a low price. During Communism, the government confiscated private farm land. Later on, they returned the land to Gabi's grandfather, but Gabi discovered that they did not actually return all of it. They gave him separate parcels of land that are not even joined together, which is not going to work very well for a ranch! The rest of the land is still owned by the state, so Gabi wants to buy it back, but money is an issue. Of course there will also be a lot of cost involved in clearing the land for grazing and farming, building a road, house, and buildings, and all the equipment that will be needed. God has not provided the funds at this point, and yet He has done so much to confirm that it's going to happen! His will does not lead us where His grace cannot keep us. I'm really excited to see how the story of the Solid Rock Ranch continues to play out. I can't see the future. I don't know if God will bring me back to Romania to have a part in this. But I want to stay close and available to Him, because the One who gave the vision still calls, and He has many other servants that He will call to join in the work here in the days ahead. He may not call you to work with horses, or to leave your job to work on a ranch, or to move to a foreign country and start a ministry. But He has work somewhere that He invites you to join, and He has built unique gifts and desires into you for that purpose. It may be something right where you are, or it may be somewhere else He wants to take you. Remember that He has plans for you, and they are plans for hope and a good future....a life of walking with God will bring rewards for all of eternity!
I close with a quote from Pendragon, one of my favorite movies. It is an inspiration for all of us to take to heart as we follow our Lord today:
"Whatever happens, remember; what God calls us to do, He gives us the strength to accomplish....the grace to live...or die... for His glory."
Sunday, August 18, 2013
Hearts of Passion
During my time in Romania, I've had the pleasure of meeting with a small group of missionaries on Wednesday nights for a time of Bible study, spiritual encouragement, and prayer. Last week we did a study on Caleb, one of the twelve spies sent into the land of Canaan by Moses. Out of twelve men, only Caleb and Joshua had faith to believe that God would bring the people into the Promised Land, despite all of the miraculous ways in which He had delivered and cared for them and showed His character, despite the covenant and promises He had made with Israel. Because of the faithlessness of the rest of the people, God told them they would wander and die in the wilderness; their children would go in to the land, but they would never see it. Then He said, "But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land in which he went, and his descendants shall possess it." Num. 14:24 It was challenging to dig deeper into the life of this man and search for the secrets of his passionate heart after God.
When his companions lost heart, fearing the inhabitants of the land over the power of their God, and swayed the opinion of the entire mob in their favor, Caleb stood alone on the promise of God's covenant. He said, "Let's go take the land; we are ready and able to do this!" When the people doubted and grumbled, Caleb urged them to trust in the Lord and warned them not to rebel against Him. He never faltered in his faith. God had promised to go with Israel, and Caleb trusted that as a result, no one would be able to stand against them! No matter that the people of Canaan were strong, well-armed, and some were giants....Caleb understood that God had removed all protection from them because of their wickedness. He was all-in with God; he was ready to obey the command to take the land, even though I'm sure he couldn't see how it would all work out. Caleb did not trust in what he could see. He lived by faith, and this faith set him apart from his companions.
But Caleb was not immune to the consequences of his people's rebellion. He had to endure forty years of wandering in the desert, watching all of the people over twenty years old die. Can you imagine waiting forty years for God to fulfill a promise or a dream? I wonder how many of us would have given up. And how did it feel to slowly lose his family, his friends, so many people he loved and respected and worked with? When it was all over, Caleb was the only one over the age of sixty in the entire race of Israel, except for Joshua and Moses. Think of it....at eighty years of age, he finally set foot once more in the Promised Land and began to see his dream come true! And it took another five years until most of the land was conquered and Caleb received his inheritance and was able to settle in. But in all that time, he never stopped following God. In Joshua 14, we read that Caleb came to Joshua and asked for his inheritance. He reminds Joshua of God's promise to them all those years ago, and he says that he "wholly followed the Lord my God".
After the study, God prompted me to do my own search of other people throughout the Bible who had this "different spirit" like Caleb. What I found was deeply inspiring and challenging! God has pointed out specific lives of individuals throughout Scripture to show us what kind of people are pleasing to Him. We need to study their examples. I just want to make a quick note on what I found here.
Hebrews 11:6 tells us, "Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him."
Enoch walked with God and was commended by God as having pleased Him. Gen. 5:24, Heb. 11:5
Noah also walked with God and found favor in His eyes. Gen. 6:8-9
God Almighty made a personal covenant with Abraham and his descendants. Abraham's faith in God's promise was counted to him as righteousness, and he was called the friend of God. Gen. 17:1-2, Rom. 4:3, Jam. 2:23
Moses spoke with God face to face and found special favor with God. Ex. 33:11, 17
God said that David was a man after His own heart, who would do all His will. David had success in all he did because the Lord was with him. 1 Sam. 13:14, 18:14, Acts 13:22
God called Job blameless and upright; he distinguished him over all the other people on earth.
Job 1:8
Daniel had an excellent spirit; the pagan Babylonians called it the spirit of the holy gods.
Dan. 5:11-12
I long to have a place with these great men of God, one with an excellent spirit, in whom He delights. These men were rare among their generation. But what about today? Romans chapter 8 explains that everyone who belongs to Christ has the Spirit of God living in them. If you have the Spirit of God in you, then you have the power to walk with God as these men did! It is no longer limited to a select few individuals. The Holy Spirit is available to all who will surrender their lives fully to His control.
"And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh....and it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Acts 2:17,21
As you look into the lives of each of these men and many others in the Scripture, you will see that the common denominator was their faith in God. They knew who God was, and they believed Him. Period. They believed Him with their whole heart. If you and I will do the same, God will have the same pleasure in us as He did in them!
So I leave you with this powerful prayer from Ephesians 3: "that according to the riches of His glory He may grant you to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith."
Amen.
When his companions lost heart, fearing the inhabitants of the land over the power of their God, and swayed the opinion of the entire mob in their favor, Caleb stood alone on the promise of God's covenant. He said, "Let's go take the land; we are ready and able to do this!" When the people doubted and grumbled, Caleb urged them to trust in the Lord and warned them not to rebel against Him. He never faltered in his faith. God had promised to go with Israel, and Caleb trusted that as a result, no one would be able to stand against them! No matter that the people of Canaan were strong, well-armed, and some were giants....Caleb understood that God had removed all protection from them because of their wickedness. He was all-in with God; he was ready to obey the command to take the land, even though I'm sure he couldn't see how it would all work out. Caleb did not trust in what he could see. He lived by faith, and this faith set him apart from his companions.
But Caleb was not immune to the consequences of his people's rebellion. He had to endure forty years of wandering in the desert, watching all of the people over twenty years old die. Can you imagine waiting forty years for God to fulfill a promise or a dream? I wonder how many of us would have given up. And how did it feel to slowly lose his family, his friends, so many people he loved and respected and worked with? When it was all over, Caleb was the only one over the age of sixty in the entire race of Israel, except for Joshua and Moses. Think of it....at eighty years of age, he finally set foot once more in the Promised Land and began to see his dream come true! And it took another five years until most of the land was conquered and Caleb received his inheritance and was able to settle in. But in all that time, he never stopped following God. In Joshua 14, we read that Caleb came to Joshua and asked for his inheritance. He reminds Joshua of God's promise to them all those years ago, and he says that he "wholly followed the Lord my God".
After the study, God prompted me to do my own search of other people throughout the Bible who had this "different spirit" like Caleb. What I found was deeply inspiring and challenging! God has pointed out specific lives of individuals throughout Scripture to show us what kind of people are pleasing to Him. We need to study their examples. I just want to make a quick note on what I found here.
Hebrews 11:6 tells us, "Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him."
Enoch walked with God and was commended by God as having pleased Him. Gen. 5:24, Heb. 11:5
Noah also walked with God and found favor in His eyes. Gen. 6:8-9
God Almighty made a personal covenant with Abraham and his descendants. Abraham's faith in God's promise was counted to him as righteousness, and he was called the friend of God. Gen. 17:1-2, Rom. 4:3, Jam. 2:23
Moses spoke with God face to face and found special favor with God. Ex. 33:11, 17
God said that David was a man after His own heart, who would do all His will. David had success in all he did because the Lord was with him. 1 Sam. 13:14, 18:14, Acts 13:22
God called Job blameless and upright; he distinguished him over all the other people on earth.
Job 1:8
Daniel had an excellent spirit; the pagan Babylonians called it the spirit of the holy gods.
Dan. 5:11-12
I long to have a place with these great men of God, one with an excellent spirit, in whom He delights. These men were rare among their generation. But what about today? Romans chapter 8 explains that everyone who belongs to Christ has the Spirit of God living in them. If you have the Spirit of God in you, then you have the power to walk with God as these men did! It is no longer limited to a select few individuals. The Holy Spirit is available to all who will surrender their lives fully to His control.
"And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh....and it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Acts 2:17,21
As you look into the lives of each of these men and many others in the Scripture, you will see that the common denominator was their faith in God. They knew who God was, and they believed Him. Period. They believed Him with their whole heart. If you and I will do the same, God will have the same pleasure in us as He did in them!
So I leave you with this powerful prayer from Ephesians 3: "that according to the riches of His glory He may grant you to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith."
Amen.
Friday, August 16, 2013
Living It Up In The Village
So today I got a taste of real old-fashioned Romanian hospitality! And when I say taste....I mean taste!
Scott took me to the village where the Solid Rock Ranch is going to be built. We went with Gabi, Scott's Romanian ministry partner, and Nick, a friend from England. The village is about a 90 minute drive from Arad. Gabi was raised in this village by his grandparents. When they died, their property became his. And he wants to use it for the ranch to help the young people.
His grandparents owned two houses next to each other.....the house they lived in, and a guest house. They also had shelters for animals. All of this is in a very small compound. The buildings are extremely old, and one of them is still virtually untouched since Gabi's grandparents lived there. The plan is to fix up both houses so that mission teams have a place to stay when they come to help with the ranch.
So this morning, the guys did some work on the house and the grounds. I got to be the weed killer with a canister of poison water....(insert evil laughter). Scott was planning to take me up to the hill where they want to build the ranch house later on in the afternoon.
Around lunch time, Scott asked me if I'd like to take a quick trip next door, because I might be interested to see the neighbor's animals. So we go in and meet this 50ish Romanian man, and he is really happy to show us around his property. The guys visited him the day before, and he was showing them his guns; he does a lot of hunting. Right away he invites us into his house, where he is making goat cheese....he makes it from the fresh milk every day and sells it. I wish I had taken my camera...he has the cheese in these bags and he squeezes out all the whey and feeds it to his pigs. It takes about 36 hours until the cheese is ready. Then we go outside to look at the animals. He owns several pigs and a small herd of goats. He starts calling this boar, by his name I suppose, and the boar is inside a little shed. This is a really smart boar; he can open the shed door inward and come out! Then he gets all the goats to come out so we can get a good look and proceeds to explain to us that each year, at Christmastime, he kills one pig and three goats, mixes the meat together, and makes carnate, which is a Romanian sausage. He then takes us over to see his barn where he has stalls for the sows when they give birth, and he's showing us the hill up behind the barn where he leaves food for the wild boars, so they keep on coming back, and one day he will have a stakeout behind the barred door on the end of the barn and shoot them.
We were fascinated by all of this and he is more than happy to explain what he does....apparently he doesn't get many visitors. This is a pretty remote village. The guy speaks Romanian, which of course I don't, so Scott asks him lots of questions and tells me what he's saying. After all this, the man cajoles us to come back into his house and sit down....it's obvious he wants to show hospitality by offering us food. This is a very important part of Romanian culture. Okay, the first thing he brings out...tuica (pronounced sweeka). Homemade Romanian moonshine. Made from plums. He starts pouring it out into three little shot glasses. Scott gives me this dubious look. "It's really strong," he says. Have I ever had anything alcoholic? Nope. Unless a little cooking wine counts. He told me I didn't have to drink it. But I realize that in many cultures, it is a great offense to your host if you refuse what is offered. So I thought, why not just try it? I've never had a desire for alcohol and I choose not to partake because of all the negative connotations, but this is an interesting situation. I've heard the stories....people have been offered much nastier things in foreign countries. At least it is not fish eyeballs or insects or some kind of animal guts.....
So I took a teensy swallow. Gotta have a sense of adventure. Not everyone can say they've had Romanian moonshine! It didn't taste as bad as I expected....but strong....yes, definitely. Burns all the way down. The guy kept telling us it was "medicinal". Not having any ambitions to find out what it's like to be slightly intoxicated, I was not going to drink the whole glass. Scott finished his, trying not to outright choke, and then when I waved off the rest of mine, our gracious host told Scott to finish mine too! Poor guy....I kept trying not to laugh too much at the faces he was making while he put it down. Meanwhile, our host brings out a hunk of goat cheese for us, which was pretty good, and some walnuts, and he wanted to offer me something else to drink, like wine....um, no. Pepsi? Ok, I can do Pepsi. And then, get this, he fills up Scott's shot glass again....despite protests! Scott very nearly lost it on that one. Oh, but we're not done! He brings out a container of some dubious looking orange stuff and starts spooning it into a pan....and Scott is making really horrible faces at this point. Faces like, "Oh no, what did we get ourselves into....this is really bad." Out comes a carton of little sausages in their congealed grease...presumably the guy's homemade carnate. How are we to know what is in this meat and if it's really safe to eat? Does he even refrigerate it? I am not too grossed out....I'm just watching Scott and wondering if there is a way to graciously refuse the offering, but I still think it's all rather funny, and Scott is just fervently hoping that we're not both going to end up sick! So when our host leaves the room, he breathes a prayer, "Lord, sanctify this food!" After the sausage gets a cursory "heating" on the stove, it is served to us with bread. Two pieces each. He insists! So we eat. And it is good! First time eating goat meat for me. Why stop with one first in the day, after all? I have to force myself to finish both pieces of carnate, but I do. This whole time, the guy keeps talking, going on about his family and how he makes the moonshine, showing us the machine that grinds up the meat for the sausage, giving me hunting magazines in Romanian because I think he just really wants to give me something to take home.
At last we graciously extracted ourselves to get back to working on Gabi's house. We thanked our host and left with the goat cheese that Scott decided to buy....and the man gave him two for the price of one! We get back next door, giggling over what has just occurred, and poor Scott is feeling the effects of three shots of tuica. He had to sit down for awhile, so the rest of ended up talking while Gabi worked, until Scott was ready to take me for a hike up to the ranch hill. But I'll save that for the next post.
All in all, it was quite a unique experience and a wonderful day, plus it makes for a great story, and every writer loves to have a story to tell! So I just have to say....Thanks, Scott, for showing me a great time in a Romanian village. And thanks for drinking all the tuica.
Scott took me to the village where the Solid Rock Ranch is going to be built. We went with Gabi, Scott's Romanian ministry partner, and Nick, a friend from England. The village is about a 90 minute drive from Arad. Gabi was raised in this village by his grandparents. When they died, their property became his. And he wants to use it for the ranch to help the young people.
His grandparents owned two houses next to each other.....the house they lived in, and a guest house. They also had shelters for animals. All of this is in a very small compound. The buildings are extremely old, and one of them is still virtually untouched since Gabi's grandparents lived there. The plan is to fix up both houses so that mission teams have a place to stay when they come to help with the ranch.
So this morning, the guys did some work on the house and the grounds. I got to be the weed killer with a canister of poison water....(insert evil laughter). Scott was planning to take me up to the hill where they want to build the ranch house later on in the afternoon.
Around lunch time, Scott asked me if I'd like to take a quick trip next door, because I might be interested to see the neighbor's animals. So we go in and meet this 50ish Romanian man, and he is really happy to show us around his property. The guys visited him the day before, and he was showing them his guns; he does a lot of hunting. Right away he invites us into his house, where he is making goat cheese....he makes it from the fresh milk every day and sells it. I wish I had taken my camera...he has the cheese in these bags and he squeezes out all the whey and feeds it to his pigs. It takes about 36 hours until the cheese is ready. Then we go outside to look at the animals. He owns several pigs and a small herd of goats. He starts calling this boar, by his name I suppose, and the boar is inside a little shed. This is a really smart boar; he can open the shed door inward and come out! Then he gets all the goats to come out so we can get a good look and proceeds to explain to us that each year, at Christmastime, he kills one pig and three goats, mixes the meat together, and makes carnate, which is a Romanian sausage. He then takes us over to see his barn where he has stalls for the sows when they give birth, and he's showing us the hill up behind the barn where he leaves food for the wild boars, so they keep on coming back, and one day he will have a stakeout behind the barred door on the end of the barn and shoot them.
We were fascinated by all of this and he is more than happy to explain what he does....apparently he doesn't get many visitors. This is a pretty remote village. The guy speaks Romanian, which of course I don't, so Scott asks him lots of questions and tells me what he's saying. After all this, the man cajoles us to come back into his house and sit down....it's obvious he wants to show hospitality by offering us food. This is a very important part of Romanian culture. Okay, the first thing he brings out...tuica (pronounced sweeka). Homemade Romanian moonshine. Made from plums. He starts pouring it out into three little shot glasses. Scott gives me this dubious look. "It's really strong," he says. Have I ever had anything alcoholic? Nope. Unless a little cooking wine counts. He told me I didn't have to drink it. But I realize that in many cultures, it is a great offense to your host if you refuse what is offered. So I thought, why not just try it? I've never had a desire for alcohol and I choose not to partake because of all the negative connotations, but this is an interesting situation. I've heard the stories....people have been offered much nastier things in foreign countries. At least it is not fish eyeballs or insects or some kind of animal guts.....
So I took a teensy swallow. Gotta have a sense of adventure. Not everyone can say they've had Romanian moonshine! It didn't taste as bad as I expected....but strong....yes, definitely. Burns all the way down. The guy kept telling us it was "medicinal". Not having any ambitions to find out what it's like to be slightly intoxicated, I was not going to drink the whole glass. Scott finished his, trying not to outright choke, and then when I waved off the rest of mine, our gracious host told Scott to finish mine too! Poor guy....I kept trying not to laugh too much at the faces he was making while he put it down. Meanwhile, our host brings out a hunk of goat cheese for us, which was pretty good, and some walnuts, and he wanted to offer me something else to drink, like wine....um, no. Pepsi? Ok, I can do Pepsi. And then, get this, he fills up Scott's shot glass again....despite protests! Scott very nearly lost it on that one. Oh, but we're not done! He brings out a container of some dubious looking orange stuff and starts spooning it into a pan....and Scott is making really horrible faces at this point. Faces like, "Oh no, what did we get ourselves into....this is really bad." Out comes a carton of little sausages in their congealed grease...presumably the guy's homemade carnate. How are we to know what is in this meat and if it's really safe to eat? Does he even refrigerate it? I am not too grossed out....I'm just watching Scott and wondering if there is a way to graciously refuse the offering, but I still think it's all rather funny, and Scott is just fervently hoping that we're not both going to end up sick! So when our host leaves the room, he breathes a prayer, "Lord, sanctify this food!" After the sausage gets a cursory "heating" on the stove, it is served to us with bread. Two pieces each. He insists! So we eat. And it is good! First time eating goat meat for me. Why stop with one first in the day, after all? I have to force myself to finish both pieces of carnate, but I do. This whole time, the guy keeps talking, going on about his family and how he makes the moonshine, showing us the machine that grinds up the meat for the sausage, giving me hunting magazines in Romanian because I think he just really wants to give me something to take home.
At last we graciously extracted ourselves to get back to working on Gabi's house. We thanked our host and left with the goat cheese that Scott decided to buy....and the man gave him two for the price of one! We get back next door, giggling over what has just occurred, and poor Scott is feeling the effects of three shots of tuica. He had to sit down for awhile, so the rest of ended up talking while Gabi worked, until Scott was ready to take me for a hike up to the ranch hill. But I'll save that for the next post.
All in all, it was quite a unique experience and a wonderful day, plus it makes for a great story, and every writer loves to have a story to tell! So I just have to say....Thanks, Scott, for showing me a great time in a Romanian village. And thanks for drinking all the tuica.
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