Feet

I used to be married and one of the nicest things my wife did for me was to give me an occasional pedicure. I guess because they're at the other end of my body from my eyes I never noticed what poor shape my feet were in. They certainly get rough looking over time! She used to encourage me to use the pumice stone in the shower and put lotion on them but that seemed like such a hassle. She warned me that I couldn't expect them to look good all of the time if I relied on her only occasional attention.



Tonight our small group will meet to discuss chapter 17 of "Discipleship Essentials" by Greg Ogden. The chapter on Love. Part of the reading was John 13 where Jesus is spending the last night on earth with his disciples. To teach them about loving servitude he poured a basin of water, got a towel and began washing the disciples' feet. I love this picture of Jesus and I don't know why. I have read it for years but lately it's drawing me in. There is something here that grabs my affections. I smile at Peter's brash pride when he puffs up and says, "No, you shall never wash my feet!" That's me. Totally oblivious to what the Saviour is teaching. The book proposed that showing love through serving may be easier than receiving loving service from someone else. It's easier to hear from a friend how helpful my act of service was. It feeds my pride. To be served is altogether humbling. Archbishop William Temple said, "Man's humility does not begin with the giving of service; it begins with the readiness to receive it."



One time I was injured in a silly trampoline accident. Playing with a friend's 4-year-old I tried a move he just completed forgetting that my 43-year-old body might not respond like his. I remembered the tingle in my arms and fingers as I hyper extended my cervical spine. I had no permanent damage but wearing a hard cervical collar for 6 weeks made me think. What if I had been injured? What if I sustained a spinal cord injury and became a quadriplegic? What if someone had to assist me with all my hygiene needs every single day? I remember thinking if that were to happen I would want my wife to leave to find another mate who wasn't disabled. It was unbearable to think of requiring that kind of service day in and day out. I'm embarrassed to admit this because I think it's a reflection of my own shallow idea of love.

Suddenly I realized my buddy Ches was leading the discussion tonight. What if he reads this lesson and gets the bright idea that we're to wash each other's feet? I ran to the bathroom and grabbed the foot file, cuticle nippers, nail clippers and lotion. I headed out to the back deck to repair a few years worth of damage in 20 minutes or so.

A Little Bit of Heaven

There is a phenomena that occurs when I get back from one of these short-term mission trips. It’s almost like being high on some kind of drug and then coming down. Kind of a hangover. I was walking my dog on Tuesday morning after I got back. One of those beautiful southern mornings and even though it’s only July there was an uncharacteristic hint of fall in the air – a little crispness. It immediately reminded me of the mornings in Suceava and I was homesick. But wait… I am home. That was only ten short days out of my summer. How can I grow to love a place in such a short time? Maybe it’s because the people were so hospitable. Maybe it’s because we were all together in our task to help people. Our therapists Deb and Jenny kept saying it was a little bit of heaven on earth. Maybe….

In heaven there will be no disabled people to help. No head or spinal cord injuries, no cerebral palsy and no muscular dystrophy. So, it cannot be a little heaven on earth. But the young boy who sang to us in his native tongue and the grateful parents we hugged, the surprising joy welling up in us from serving people, and the extraordinary bond I shared with my co-laborers... that was pretty cool. In that way, maybe...

I already spoke of how these who are last will be first when we get home. Like the boy whose body was so tight with abnormal muscle tone from cerebral palsy. He couldn't express himself in a way I could understand yet I looked at him. And he looked at me. I liked looking in his eyes. I want to remember him so that when I see him dancing before our Saviour I can laugh. I can laugh and cry at the same time. A little bit of heaven, maybe...

It's going to be so great.

They Call Them Repenters

One surprise I had about the church in Romania was that evangelicals are called repenters. I think there is something to be learned here. Let me explain...

I have friends, mostly younger than me, teenagers whom I met through the church or that I taught guitar. Some of these have gone off to university and have wandered away from following Christ. The very sad thing is that I expect it. Because it was true for me I expect it to be an experience that most will bear. Kind of a testing time. A time of sewing "wild oats." Even the Amish have the time of Rumspringa. I wondered about that in Romania.

I worked with some unusual teenagers. These boys were there for translating mostly but David, Alex, Dani, Cosmin, Narcissus, and Roland spent a good bit of time being wheelchair mechanics. I liked them all right away. "Narcheeze," as I called him in my poor Alabama dialect, showed me around the local mall and spoke easily in very good English about his plans for medical school. Roland is moving to Seattle and wants to become an architech. David loves computers. They all knew the Bible. In our down times I would drill them. Easy questions at first, "what was King David's great sin?" and then harder ones, "who was the disabled boy King David brought into his home and why?" These fellows knew most of the answers. They were respectful to elders and opened doors for ladies. On one night's hike Dani walked slowly, away from all of his friends who were up ahead, to assist our writer Jody who had no idea she would be walking up and down a hundred steps in the dark to witness a Stephen the Great fortress.

I worry about teenagers. I wonder if all of them have to walk away from God to see if their faith is real. I spoke to Sammy on my last day about this. Sammy is with Evangelism Explosion and lives in Bucharest. He helps with Joni and Friends events as well. Bucharest Sammy told me the Orthodox church is like the "state church" in Romanian. Almost to the extent that to be Romanian is to be orthodox. I heard many problems with the orthodox church. A different Sammy, Suceava Sammy who helped us with translation, told me that many years ago his father started to read the Bible. He was orthodox like all of his friends. When he found things in the Bible which didn't line up with orthodox tradition he went to the priests and asked questions. They told him, "that is not our tradition. If you believe that you are pentecostal." Suceava Sammy's father said, "I don't know pentecostal but if they believe the Bible I suppose I am one!" Both Sammys told me that when someone comes to Christ they are called repenters and face ostracism right away. Some face it in school with their peers and some face it on the job. To be Romanian is to be orthodox. To walk away from orthodoxy is, to some extent, to declare allegiance to another besides Romania. Exactly what Jesus calls us to.

Both Sammys helped me to see that for Romanians to embrace the gospel of Jesus involves some hardship and persecution. Bucharest Sammy said this is why they don't fall away when they go off to university. They have been tested. They know what is required. They have repented.... they are repenters.

If God should bring difficult times upon America I believe repenters will stand, only by God's grace, and nominal Christians will fall away. There are so many thorns and not a lot of depth of soil in the hearts of people who experience abundance and ease. To be challenged about our faith, even a little bit, is at that time a crisis point. Will we speak the truth and testify to Jesus Christ as the light of the world or will we keep our mouth's shut? We will exclaim humbly yet with boldness that Christ Himself said he was exclusively the only saviour?

Repenters. Difficult to be one but oh so necessary.

Leaving Romania Soon

Those of you who have been on these short-term mission trips know about the devotions and de-briefing. These help me stay focused and I remember why I am here. They also give me glimpses into the hearts of my co-workers. The last few were very hard. I know we are all leaving and it's hard to say goodbye.

Saturday morning Beckah, our youngest co-worker, led our devotion time. She's the teenage daughter of physical therapist Debbie. They got here a week before the rest of the team and shared the love of Christ in another wheelchair distribution in Cluj. Beckah attracts children probably like Jesus did. She turned our attention to two of her favorite scriptures. I smiled when I heard the second one. It was a turning point scripture for me. One I heard back in 2006 when my pastor preached for weeks on the early church in the book of Acts. "They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching, to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. And awe came upon every soul and many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people."

This kind of bond that we believers share is not like any other. Close friends, spouses, parents and their children, brothers and sisters in human families will all one day be separated by death. It doesn't feel right. It's almost like we were made for some kind of enduring bond that transcends time and death. That's because we were. All history is marching relentlessly toward Revelation 7:9-17. God's word will not be set aside. He will accomplish His goal and that goal is to have a multitude that no one can number, white-hot worshippers who reflect His glory for eternity. We who know Him will look into His eyes and worship. We will see others there with whom we shared a bit of heaven on earth. Like these days in Romania have been.

I will miss my friends. I want to remember them forever.

Until that day I pray for Pastor Nicu and his family, Jenny, Deb, Beckah, and all the other dear ones whom Christ knit together in love, "that Christ might dwell in their hearts through faith and that they, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that they may be filled with all the fullness of God."

Suceava Day 4

We enjoyed dinner out tonight at a local restaurant with our team and the nationals who helped us by translating, sharing the gospel, turning wrenches and all sorts of tasks. Not far from the school where we've been staying is Hotel Zamca and the Fire Bulls restaurant. Honestly it was the worst meal on the trip so far - but of course you cannot count the meals on the airline! It isn’t that it was terrible, it’s just that we have been eating in peoples’ homes each night and the meals have been hearty and much better.

One purpose of the get together was to give gifts to Pastor Nicu, his wife Gaby and all the young people who helped us this week. It was hard indeed at the end of the night to say goodbye. I've been here only one week but I have grown close to them. Working alongside brothers and sisters in Christ I experience God knitting our hearts together when we purposefully work for the sake of the gospel. We have seen some amazing things. People have driven in some cases hundreds of kilometers to have a wheelchair evaluation with American physical therapists. We've watched the dwindling stack of wheelchairs yet we were always able to find the right fit. We've witnessed the tears of people as they watch caring hands touch their loved ones. We've succeeded in perfectly fitting a wheelchair only to find it's too heavy to carry to their fourth floor apartment (there are lots of accessibility issues in Romania).

Joni and Friends use the passage in Luke 14:15-24 to sum up their vision. They believe that God wants His kingdom filled with all people and especially the disabled. I've read that passage a few times since I signed up for this mission. It is an honor to be one of those who assists in the calling so that His house may be full.

Suceava Day 3

Wow.... a very difficult day. Such is life. Some days are great and you're on the mountain. God gives you glimpses of his power and it takes your breath away. Other days the stress is weighty and nothing is going right.

It seemed like all of our teeneagers were tired or who knows what and I had to keep after them. Or maybe my nerves were frazzled and no one could please me. I do remember at one point David, who has become like a little apprentice, was laying on the floor adjusting a wheel lock trying to get a chair ready. I asked him what was up, he just didn't seem to have the vigor he showed the day before. He said in his funny clipped English, "I'm just so tired". I gave him a hand with the wheel lock and he was pretty sure he had done it right. I said, "David, this won't work, don't you see?" He said, "I think it's fine". I just leaned back and started laughing and about that time the PT Jenny came in. She asked what was funny and I said "David has three days of wheelchair expertise and he thinks it's fine!" That was all we needed to breathe a little life back into our work and take the edge off the day. We started keeping track of the funny little sayings by writing them on the board. Like the time David was having trouble getting a hex bolt out of a seating system and in an attempt to spur him on I said, "Come on dude, use some muscle. Get all Romanian on it!"

One family came in and needed a chair for their daughter. She had low muscle tone and sat badly in a regular folding wheelchair. She just slumped. Jenny pointed out that a solid seating system would make all the difference in the world. She wouldn't let me steal it off another chair and wanted me to make it out of plywood, foam and some extra hardware. I'm not real good at that kind of fabricating on the fly but I bit my tongue and started the project. It took awhile, maybe an hour and a half. The family left and came back. Well, they didn't like the work. In fact I found out later they said it was junk in Romanian. Jenny left the room - she had forewarned us that sometimes it's best just to walk away. The thing was their daughter did sit up much better in a solid seating system. She wasn't slumping nearly as bad. But they were not happy so they picked out another wheelchair altogether and left. A little later I was considering the difference between the grateful families and this most recent one. When I started to get a little perturbed I heard His voice say, "My child, how many times have you showed Me little gratitude or none at all?" Ahh.... yes. Okay, Lord. I get it. I do not know what my attitude would be like if I had a child with a disability and all my day was providing for my family only to go home and be a caregiver for the night. Without God's grace in Christ my eyes would be closed to His love and my world would be dark. I would have occasional pleasures in this life just to keep my mind off the inevitable march toward old age and death. Ahh.... yes. Okay, Lord Jesus.

The last two of the day was a sweet little boy and girl. Different families but both mom's knew each other. We served them together cutting footrests and dealing with stripped bolts (I hate when that happens). Finally when we were all done I was back in the workroom with David and my crew of teenagers. Someone came in and said to me, "David, Jenny needs you." I thought, "oh no, what now?" I walked out into the hallway to see that little fellow we just served singing a song to us in his native tongue. The therapists were both there and almost all of our other workers. This sweet little boy was giving us a gift and my eyes filled with tears as he sang in the highest most beautiful voice. All my cares melted away as I thanked God for this gift.

Suceava Day 3...... I think it's fine.

Suceava Wheelchair Distribution Day #2

It's hard to find the energy to write. Monday, our first day of wheelchair distribution in Suceava, we gave out 26 chairs. Today we did 22. I'll remember these stories forever.





We had 7 teenagers helping today. Most were serving by translating and a couple were mechanics with me. Pastor Nicu's son David is very handy and learns fast. Our last little boy of the day was lots of fun. He had cerebral palsy and came walking in with his dad holding his arms. When I asked if they had a walker or a wheelchair they replied they had neither! The PT got him going quickly in a posterior walker and he was up and down the long hallway 4 times. The wheelchair was another matter.

We worked on that thing for nearly two hours! He didn't need much support, it's just that we had to mix pieces and parts from different wheelchairs to come up with the best solution. I will never forget the graciousness of the people here in Romania. Many of the chairs collected from the U.S. and sent here would end up in the dumpster at my shop. The families and users here are delighted to have them and appreciate every act of service we offer.

During our meeting tonight one of our PT's shared how she observed the gypsy family who came today. Mom pushed her daughter, who was about 30-years-old, into the reception area seated in her wheelchair. Jody, our writer on the trip, sat with the family while they were waiting and she was holding the patient's hands and kinda petting her, soothing her. Tears rolled down mom's cheeks as she considered the kindness shown by this American stranger. I don't think caregivers here are used to this.

Serving,

cu placere