Outdoor with the Romas

 

It has been an amazing week!  It's been a blur.  The last day of actual ministry here in Serbia was nothing short of fantastic. The Serbia Seven were asked to participate in an outdoor concert and outreach event in the Roma community of Leskovac.  The family Weiss (Mike and Lael) was asked to share their story and Mauro was asked to give an evangelistic message.

God was with us all and blessed all we had to say.  The important thing to remember is when I say, "God blessed what we had to say" it's because we opened our hearts to the Roma people.  When I gave the message that night and as I stood on the stage and saw the sea of faces my heart practically burst out of my chest.  Many of you might be thinking that if you had to speak in front of one thousand people your heart jump out of your chest, but that's not it at all.  I saw all those faces and literally fell in love with these people.  If only I could take my heart out and somehow magically put it in every one of you reading this blog.

We have had a very intense week.  Every day was packed with traveling, talking, listening, hugging, praying, eating, encouraging, sweating then finally debriefing.  Then when Gloria and I would get ready for some needed sleep we would pray some more then finally hit the sack to the rhapsody of barking dogs.

Back to the out reach event.  That particular Roma community population numbers at about six thousand and about one thousand or better attended the event.  It started with music of course, after all it's the Roma people who are gifted with musical ability, and oh how that music pierces your heart.  All age groups were represented musically.  There were recitals by very young girls, a dramatic sketch by a teenage couple, a group of grade school age children acted out a song of love for God, then the members of the Serbia Seven shared (Faith, Mike, Lael and Mauro) finally more music then the handing out of New Testaments and cookies as hospitality.  The community was blessed with great music, food, touching dramas and testimonies and unconditional love.  All this just to be the hands and feet of Jesus without any expectations.  They plan on doing this outreach event once a month and the next one is in a Muslim dominated quarter.

I pray the Holy Spirit moves your heart as you read our blog.  I could go on and on but I have to trust that what we have posted these past few blurry days will be used by God to open your hearts and eyes to the great work he is doing here in Serbia.

Pray for the pastors and their wives.  Pray for Serbia, that wall of separation would be broken down and there would no longer be Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female, Serb. or Roma.

See you soon and God bless you or as the Serbs would say it Bog te blogosvio or as the Romas would say it O devell tua.


Mauro