Just had a few thoughts I'd write down after distributing humanitarian aid today in some villages near Karlovac (40 min. west of Zagreb). My co-worker and I distributed basic groceries to 14 households. With the exception of a few new additions, these are the same households we've been working with the past 20 months.
One of the great aspects of the job is that we get to distribute justice in 2 different ways. One, is the obvious way of giving food to people who otherwise would not be able to afford to feed themselves (or they'd barely be able to feed themselves) in a given month. This is a phenomenal privilege to be a part of meeting their physical needs. As trust has grown in our relationship with people, we've seen them open up to us as they see that we seek nothing of them...just to help. It's also beautiful to see how they love to give back. Most of the time we return to Zagreb with full hands (squash, zucchini, corn, dried mushrooms, household and outdoor plants, horse radish root, etc.) They too want to give to us and have this relationship be a "2-way street".
The 2nd way that we are able to distribute justice is spiritually. We take the opportunity as the Holy Spirit leads us to pray for these people. Every time we run into multiple people who are depressed, struggling with their health, have relationship problems with family or friends, act crudely, or who struggle with alcohol abuse. We love to pray for them and remind them of how God loves them. On a wider scale, as we drive down their roads, walk the paths to their homes, sit and drink coffee with them in their homes, in our hearts we bless them, their homes, and their village in the name of Jesus. We believe these types of prayers, combined with sharing the love of Jesus for them will change the spiritual atmosphere of the place. Our hope is that as we continue to work with them, we'll see less and less depression, alcohol abuse, crude behavior, relationship problems, and even health problems. We pray that the land will produce magnificent crops. We pray that it would be a place free of binding religion and full of freedom found only in Jesus. God wants this for Krnjak and Catrnja! Here are 2 villages we went to today that you can not even find a map (at least you can't find Catrnja...maybe Krnjak), and God loves these people and knows them intimately! Wow!
May we become more and more aware of God's longing to distribute justice among His creation.
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