2 Corinthians 12:9-10

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10

This past summer, when I was in Romania, this verse came to be a very important and encouraging verse to me.

The first week I was there, I really struggled. It was hard getting adjusted to the culture, and I was just completely out of my comfort zone. The food was different, the way of life was different, the language was different. This made it really hard to be a part of the culture.

About a week in to the trip, I read this verse during my quiet time. This verse became my theme for the trip. It was very encouraging to look at this verse because it says that when I am struggling, God's power is at work in MY life. It's such an awesome thought to know that the same power that made EVERYTHING in the universe is at work inside of me changing my life.

Throughout the rest of the trip, God continued to put this verse in my head. When I doubted that I could do something, this verse always popped in my head. I can now see that when I was struggling, God's power was working inside of me because I see the change he has made in my life since that trip.

Listen to Music

"Break My Heart for what Breaks Yours"

Break my heart for what breaks Yours. These simple lyrics from the song "Hosanna" by Hillsong United came alive to me this past summer.

I spent a month this past summer living in a small village called Viile Tecii in the northern part of Romania. Before I even arrived in Romania, the words "break my heart for what breaks Yours" became my prayer. I didn't realize what I was asking God for until after I arrived.

God opened my eyes and heart to the people of Viile Tecii and the surrounding villages during that month. The main ministry of my team was to the Gypsy people in the villages. We spent time in many Gypsy villages building relationships with the people and sharing Christ's love with them.

Seeing the poverty that the Gypsies live in and the discrimination they have to endure just because they are Gypsy literally broke my heart. My heart hurt and longed to help those people in any way I could. I have never felt so much hurt and brokeness in my heart before as I did when I looked at those people.

When I had to leave, I didn't understand why God would give me so much compassion and desire to help a people group and then tear me away from them. But then God revealed to me that all He had done was given me what I asked for. It was hard, but I'm so thankful that God broke my heart because it was a learning experience

I fell in love with the Gypsy people. I understand God's broken heart for people now because I've experienced it myself. My prayer and desire is that one day, God will send me back to Romania so that I can continue to help and minister to the Gypsy people.