Postcard from Moldova - Day 2 - Blessings
Several members of the group have commented on how awkward they feel when we are thanked by the various beneficiaries that we meet. We all feel like stopping them and saying, “No! No! I want to thank you for pointing me towards God”!
Today we attended a large Evangelical church in the centre of Chisinau. Most of the service was in Russian with some Moldovan/Romanian parts. Few of us understood much of the three (!) sermons, but we followed the readings in our English Bibles and watched.
It is amazing how much one can absorb by watching: one lady read a poem. We couldn’t understand a word and yet several of us found it a very moving experience simply because of the emotion that she put into reading it. At the end of the service we were all asked to stand up and be welcomed by the congregation. As everyone left the building people from the Church came up to us individually to greet us and thank us. I lost count of how many times someone blessed me.
The Pastor invited us to follow him. He took us to the back of the building to the Community Centre. Around 20 people were already there and their food was being served. We greeted each person and among the many smiles and nods, they thanked us and blessed us yet again. We were invited to sit and have lunch too. Over a magnificent lunch we were able to meet the Pastor, one of the Deacons, the cooks and one of the helpers. Using two translators we were able to ask many questions. Again it was explained to us that we were such a blessing to them and how we are partners in Mission together.
Some of the group had bought the Mission Without Borders’ alternative gifts - including the “£30 - Meals for a Month” gift. It was suddenly so very meaningful to meet some of the recipients of that gift face-to-face. If you have bought someone one of the alternative gifts, then we can reassure you that it was money very well spent. Many of the beneficiaries have no family living in Moldova (many of them have emigrated to find work elsewhere) and the State pension will not buy food and heating. As the others finished their meal, they all came across to us to thank us and - you guessed it - even more blessings!
