News & Updates Category
05.31.2016
“the darkness that confronts them each day is paralyzing, yet they stand defiantly as lighthouses in an ocean of night.”
Last month, I went on a trip with Hill City Church to see the work of Beginning of Life, a holistic organization bringing hope, awareness, healing and justice in the area of human trafficking, in the very small country of Moldova.
No matter your experience with trips, God always surprises. I don’t think any of the 14 members on this trip could have even begun to imagine what the Lord had in store for us as we boarded the plane in Vancouver.
As Canadians, we walk into foreign countries with our own coloured glasses. Our worldview adds a certain tinge to everything we see, hear and feel while travelling. It only becomes more pronounced when we start talking about ministry.
We don’t understand the history, culture or nuances of the people we speak to. Their lives are their own, a complex amalgamation of everything that has happened to them. It’s why we work with local people on the ground who understand intuitively the challenges that Moldovan’s face each and every day.
To the right is a photo of Sergiu (Sergei), one of the staff members of Beginning of Life. He acted as our guide, our translator and he quickly became our friend. Through the thousands of questions we asked over the week, Sergiu offered us priceless insights into the unseen currents flowing underneath.
These are workers who open doors, and while we are now back home in Canada, they are ministering in Moldova, working tirelessly in the schools, the urban centers, the rehabilitation and care homes and more.
Their boundless passion exudes through not only their words but the sacrificial way they serve the people God has entrusted for them. They set a grueling standard for advancing the Kingdom of God and exemplify what it means to move mountains. By any standard, the darkness that confronts them each day is paralyzing, yet they stand defiantly as lighthouses in an ocean of night.
Through this trip, we have been challenged not to observe our culture, but to participate in it. To preach with our actions and love bigger than our skin. Shining like a city on a hill, a beacon of hope and safety for all those wandering in the darkness. This is the vision God has laid on our hearts. He is already realizing this in Moldova, and we have caught the flame. Now we come as torch bearers to our home. That is where our eyes turn to, knowing that in partnership the Kingdom of God will advance ever forward around the world.