July 26, 2018

Food That Satisfies

As I took that next bite, I looked at the people in the room. This tiny room, that could fit more people than I thought, was filled with chatter and liveliness. People eating together, savoring food and stories, sharing in the sacred moments of peace, prayer, purpose, power, and presence.

We have numerous stories placing Jesus at the table during those long days of investing in his disciples. Food gathers people, like the life-giving food of God gathers people who hunger for something satisfying, something more nourishing than what the world offers. As we are discipling young people here in Bucharest, we discover that food and drinks open mouths, but also hearts.

Bogdan and I are national missionaries serving in our beloved Romania, where food used to be scarce, controlled, and intentionally portioned to nourish minimally during the harsh communist regime that enslaved our nation. I remember it: the few empty stores, the long queues of people waiting for the morning to come in hopes of receiving the much-desired milk or the dreamy oranges. The hope may not have been fulfilled. The stocks may have been too small. Everything was kept to the lowest limit of life. It was not about sufficiency. It was not about satisfaction. It was about survival.

The country that we are serving in, not even 30 years later, now offers satisfaction. You can find your heart’s desire, in all tastes, flavors, shapes, colors, and textures. The bananas and oranges, with their little brand stickers that I used to keep in my Bible as a treasure, are readily available at every corner. You can now easily fill your stomach with food that satisfies.

We Need Spiritual Food

It is not so with food for the soul. Each day, when I walk or take the subway around the city, I see them—with their eyes glued to their little screens, parents with their children not talking, teenagers rushing from school and their classmates to connect online where it feels easier to say hi. Their eyes are not lively, their burdens are not lifted. Their loneliness is masked, their laughter is too often faked, their goodbyes are without emotion. There’s a pursuit of money, of career, of status, of popularity, of pleasure, of comfort that may be exhilarating at first, like a big bowl of jello is, but then it leaves them unnourished, empty, and undone.

As we spend time with our young people, sharing our simple home and food with them, they share their lives with us, giving us the holy and humbling honor of sharing the good news of Jesus with them. He offers life and gives satisfaction that is lasting, his love is inviting, his grace is sufficient, his forgiveness is restoring, his peace is steady. And when they find him —in that wound opened years ago, in that fight with a friend, in that heartache, in that fear of the future, in that lie that keeps them in bondage— they leave transformed, touched by grace, by hope, by beauty; by the Redeemer, by the Father.

And so do we! We’re also transformed, as we spend time sharing our lives and food (both physical and spiritual) with them. The lessons we learn are more precious treasures than the little fruit stickers that I once had in my Bible. They stick to my heart.

Starving People Can Refuse Nourishment

What happens when the response is not “give me more”? What happens when you serve people food and your life and they refuse to share theirs, they refuse love and the Love? It is heartbreaking. It is disappointing. It is burdensome. I am reminded of the words of my mother who always told me that appetite is a sign of health. I’ve seen little hungry kids in Romania playing with food rather than eating it. Sometimes you have it available and you don’t know what to do with it. As a first reaction, you want to not ever give them food again. But isn’t this nourishment what they need most? I am learning that the more a young one is refusing the love of Jesus who pursues them with his satisfaction, the more they need it, the more they need us to go towards them, the more we need to be full and satisfied so that there is not room for discouragement that stops, only for Love that goes, seeks, and saves.

God Uses Little People and Places

As we are encouraging and empowering our young people to do the same, to be missionaries of Jesus in their everyday life to the relationships and places where we cannot and should not be, we are learning that God can use little people and places to have big impact. We are the living proof. They are the living proof. We see it in Jesus’ life. We see it in the disciples’ lives. Jesus could have been everywhere, healing everybody, sharing the good news of the Kingdom with everyone, yet he chose to limit himself in order to empower, equip, and send. When we serve food, we need others, whether we are aware of it or not.

By my natural structure, I would rather do it all, from the setting of the table to the final cleaning (ok, except for the grocery shopping, because Bogdan does a much better job). Sometimes it seems easier to do it all by myself. But there’s so much beauty, life, and lifting of the burden in sharing the cooking, in passing the plate from one to the other, in taking turns cleaning. During this last year, I’ve seen young men and women grow from being confused to being confident in their identity in Christ, from being fearful to being filled with bold faith, from believing lies to letting the truth grow deep roots in their lives. This is the power of the gospel! It nourishes the most starving of souls.

As I am taking bite after bite, sharing in this sacred moment, I am reminded of another most sacred moment, when Jesus was around the table with his disciples in that upper room, sharing food and his mission with them. Now, he is here with us. At our little table in the upper room of an apartment in Bucharest.

As you are sitting down for your next meal, whether it is at your desk, with a pile of work waiting to be solved by the end of the day, or with a bunch of messy mouths crying for more, take a moment to ask Jesus to fill up your soul. Who does he want you to share food with the next time you take a bite?

Related Posts

Read Story

Discipleship, Events, Stories

The Unseen War

Three years of conflict and still no peace. The war in Ukraine has returned to the forefront of the news as world leaders clash in a spin cycle of opinions. Those in the country feel the weight of years of exhausting conflict, with no clear end in sight. But behind the scenes, another battle is raging for the spiritual soul of the nation.  Amidst pain, hardship, and struggle, God is still at work and our JV team of 27 staff are pressing forward to take ground in the fight. During the last weekend of February, they gathered 450 young people from local churches across Ukraine for an innovative “Spring Fest.” Good Bible teaching, powerful worship, and personal testimonies were woven together to point people to the resources they have in Christ. He is the only firm anchor for our souls in the midst of a raging storm. The storm is particularly fierce for these young people. Some of the youth groups meet close enough to the front lines to hear the sound of bombing all day and live with the constant threat of evacuation and displacement.   One youth group from Kharkiv, en route to the fest, had their main youth leader forcefully conscripted into the military. Can you imagine if that happened to a youth group from your church?  Yet, our sovereign God is always working to accomplish his purposes despite the evil and failures of man. In fact, he often uses these unwelcome trials to accelerate his work. Our team is experiencing an unprecedented response to the gospel and a passionate hunger in young people to grow deep in their walks with God. With the exodus of leaders out of the country or into the military, there is a huge need to equip a new generation of leaders, and our training events are packed. Other JV countries are using the crisis to mobilize their young people into mission. Recently, our JV team in Slovakia held a series of events for 250 youth leaders called “Glow and Go.” Their goal was to inspire, mobilize, and energize young leaders into personal transformation and bold outreach.  As a result, 12 Slovaks traveled into war-torn Ukraine to serve at the Spring Fest.  They led worship, organized eight workshops, and served in numerous practical ways. But most of all, they told these young people that they were not forgotten and not alone. More teams from Slovakia and the Czech Republic will be assisting with evangelistic camps. When under pressure from the enemy, the best strategy is forward motion. Thank you for joining us in the spiritual battle for Ukraine.       

Read Story

Discipleship, Stories

Fruit in Hard Soil

Dear Friends, How does the gospel bear fruit in hard soil? Montenegro is one of the most beautiful countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Sandwiched between Croatia and Albania on the Adriatic Sea, it combines stunning beaches with soaring 8000 ft mountains, rushing rivers, and the deepest canyon in Europe. But this hidden gem has very few evangelical believers. Out of a population of 600,000, less than 300 believers attend a few tiny evangelical churches. How do you make progress in such a difficult place? When Josiah Venture staff Noah and Jill Ellenwood moved to Montenegro in 2020, they immersed themselves in the local language and culture and took every opportunity to build natural relationships. Following the instructions of Jesus in Luke 10:6, they prayed that one of these new friends would be a “person of peace,” a trusted insider who would open the door to others. Noah met Slavo while playing soccer with a group of guys and invited him over to their apartment for board games. Slavo asked if he could bring his friends, and what began as a small gathering quickly grew into a weekly tradition with more than ten people attending. Slavo was always the catalyst, inviting new people while consistently building relationships. During this time, Slavo was on a personal spiritual journey. He openly shared his exploration of various paths for inner peace, including Hinduism, Buddhism, individualism, and Christianity. Noah and Jill had many candid conversations with him, sharing their own stories of God’s transformation in their lives. Still searching, Slavo embarked on a six-month backpacking trip through Europe. Along the way, he encountered people from all walks of life—Muslims who invited him to join their mosque, those who dismissed Christianity as fake, and others who loved him unconditionally. Throughout the trip, Slavo sensed that God was calling him, though he wasn’t sure what it meant at the time. When he returned, Noah spent 10 months studying the Bible with him, focusing on themes such as identity in Christ, being adopted into God’s family, and understanding sin and how it separates us from God. During this period, Slavo began experiencing dreams that seemed to be God speaking directly to him. One day, Noah received a call asking to meet on a hill where they often walked and talked. There he was greeted by a joyful Slavo, who exclaimed, “I want to do it—I want to follow Jesus!” Sitting down together, he prayed to accept Jesus as his Lord and Savior. Slavo quickly became passionate about studying the Bible. He would often cancel plans just to keep reading, feeling unable to put the Word down. His transformation impacted his family so much that they started joining him for church services. This fall Noah had the privilege of baptizing Slavo as he publicly proclaimed his faith in Christ. Perseverance, prayer, relationships, God’s Word, time, sacrifice, and commitment—each of these is needed to bear gospel fruit in difficult soil. But then the transformation is real and spreads to others. Thank you for your part in this movement of God.

Read Story

Discipleship, Spotlight, Stories

In Harm’s Way

Dear Friends, Someone needs to protect the flock. Ukrainian troops continue to fight a grinding and exhausting war against Russian invaders on their eastern front. Many have fled the towns and villages along the front line, but some still remain, including many families with young people. Life is particularly bleak for these teenagers. In most locations a curfew kicks in at 5:00 pm, meaning civilians are confined to their homes with stores and businesses closed. In some places, the limitations only lift at noon the next day, leaving just a few hours for young people to have any connections with others. Most school classes are online, and teenagers have witnessed enough death and destruction to create a lifetime of trauma. In spite of these conditions, a handful of brave pastors and youth leaders, like Pastor Yehven, have stayed in harm’s way to bring the message of Jesus to young people, who often feel hopeless and abandoned. Pastor Yehven travels regularly to multiple villages and gathers young people in his church building for youth group during the few hours when they can congregate. Most come from unbelieving families, but there is nothing else to do in their extra time; the loving care of a shepherd is a beacon of light to them in a very dark place. Yehven leads five small groups, including a group for the blind, a youth group, and several home churches in communities where other pastors have fled. His aim is to continue serving until everyone has evacuated. But Yehven also needs support and care. That is why our Josiah Venture team travels to the front lines every couple of months to strengthen leaders like Pastor Yehven and provide resources and support to youth groups in harm’s way. This summer, we brought Yehven and his youth group out to the relative safety of the mountains in the west for an evangelistic summer camp. You can see them wearing camp t-shirts in the picture below. Yehven and his team have also been cared for by several trauma retreats our team provides to help them process the devastating experiences of war. The economy in this region is shattered, so we also send financial support to 20 key ministries and leaders who are investing in young people up and down the front lines. Our contribution of $400 a month for each of them makes it possible to continue their work in spite of the difficult circumstances. As they seek to protect the flock of young people who know Jesus and reach others whom God is calling to himself, we are working hard to protect and support them. In addition, our team is teaching young leaders how to make disciples like Jesus did at a key seminary in the region. God’s kingdom is advancing as courageous Ukrainians run toward the battle with the gospel of Jesus, rather than fleeing in self-preservation. Light always shines the brightest when it pierces through the darkness. Your gifts and prayers make this possible. On behalf of those in harm’s way, thank you.