Sasha turned and looked at me, beaming. “Sara,” he said in Russian, with a little bit of surprise in his voice, “you are a great house wife.”
Sasha and the other young men of Sarata Galbena had been watching me that evening as I helped prepare the potluck for forty people. They were impressed that I knew how to set the table, cut the bread and even remembered the tea. I was taken aback by the comment. I knew that Sasha had given me a compliment. In fact for a Moldovan woman, it would have been the ultimate compliment. But I am not Moldovan and I did not come here to be a ‘good house wife,’ I came to be a missionary. I am not here to make food, remember tea and cut bread; I am here to serve the church and seek the lost. I wasn’t sure how to respond: offended or pleased. I smiled as the other young men around nodded in agreement and soon left the table.
As I sit here writing this, I am not offended, but delighted. Moldovan women are strong, good mothers and excellent wives. And the men here are constantly bragging about them: their good looks, competency and skills. Sasha showed me respect. He sees the other Americans around and watches how I have learned, adapted and grown in my new country and environment. He was never trying to offend, but encourage. It is on this foundation of respect that influence and change can be brought about. And that is real missionary work.
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1 comment:
"I am not here to make food, remember tea and cut bread; I am here to serve the church and seek the lost."
Sometimes when we are doing the every day, mundane necessities of life we don't recognize that we are serving the church and seeking the lost just as Jesus did when he cooked fish on the beach or asked a woman to give him a drink of water. You received not only a compliment to your skills and work ethic, you received confirmation that connections are being made because you are trustworthy in their eyes. Trust opens doors to the heart and soul.
Rock on, most excellent house wife
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