Today I was invited to a birthday party for a 2 yr old. Not just any 2 yr old, but one who is half British & half American and is being raised in the small town of Uzice, Serbia. Furthermore, there were party guests from Holland, Romania, England, and Serbia all thrown into the mix. Leaving the party, I couldn’t help to think how the heck did this happen? How did I end up in this randomness in only my 3rd week in the Serbs?
Lets back track a week and see how this all began. My day started out fairly mild, in the police station. Calm down, I was applying for my work visa. As I was sitting in the office on the 4th floor signing my name of a sea of papers, a man walked in. I cant pinpoint it, but something about him automatically said “im not actually Serbian”, however he was speaking Serbia pretty fluently (I say that like I’m a pro at deciphering Serbian accents after only 3 weeks here). Anyways, there was a moment where he saw my USA passport on the table and asked, in perfect English, where I was from. I was so taken back I don’t even think I answered before I asked if he was American. Medium story short, he is from Texas yall, and he has lived in this rando town for 7 YEARS doing- you guessed it- Christian missionary work. God moment forusre. After chatting with him briefly, I was able to get his phone number so that I could meet him and his wife for coffee the following day.
My day started out fairly mild, in the police station.
Lolz at what happened the next day because this would only happen to me. As I was on my way to meet this fam- i mean literally, Im walking down the stairs of my apt building- my phone decides to jump out of my hand and through the stair crack 4 floors down (technically 5 floors because Europeans don’t count the ground floor as 1 which is very frustrating, but I digress). So not only is my phone now potentially shattered to a million pieces, it fell even further to the basement level which happens to be locked and inaccessible. Perfect. Now, let me tell you how God is real. I decided to go to the coffee date without a phone and deal with it later. I then ran into my volleyball coach on the street, explained the situation, and we hustled back to the apt to find the supervisor, went down to get the phone and it was perfectly fine. I made it to the coffee date just a few mins late, luckily the fam was still waiting for me.
So today as I found myself in the home of two native English speakers, the atmosphere was anything but native to me. It blows my mind how Europeans are fluent in at least 2 or 3 languages, even at the young ages of 3 or 4. Observing the conversations in English, in Serbian, and in Dutch was probably the coolest part of my day and something I have come to admire so much about living overseas. No matter what language, we are still all human, all God’s creation. We have the same mannerisms and quirks about us. The same warmth of an embrace, or kiss on the cheek spans the globe. Even when we sing “happy birthday” to a 2 year old, first in English, then in Serbian, then in Dutch, we all get that same smile across our face as the candles are blown out. And what made this gathering even more special is that, despite the seemingly randomness of cultures, everyone there was connected through this Christian ministry (Youth On A Mission). And getting the opportunity to sit and listen to these couples’ stories (I was the only single person and furthermore only person without kids) of how their journeys started to where they are now- both in ministry and in life- was so flippin encouraging.
Its experiences like this that keep me going when I feel loneliness or when the doubts creep in like am I really here for a reason? What impact can I really make here?
As I got home and reflected on this cool experience, Revelations 7:9-10 popped into my head. Because this is exactly what God promises heaven will be like:
“I looked again. I saw a huge crowd, too huge to count. Everyone was there—all nations and tribes, all races and languages. And they were standing, dressed in white robes and waving palm branches, standing before the Throne and the Lamb and heartily singing: Salvation to our God on his Throne! Salvation to the Lamb!” (Rev 7:9-10 MSG).
Ok it wasn't exactly like the scripture depicts; no one was in white robes and I could forsure count everyone in the room on both hands. The feeling of peace and joy that was in my heart, though, that was 100% accurate and it makes me excited to see people of all nations, cultures, tribes, and tongue up in heaven, and we'll all be signing the exact same song in perfect clarity and understanding.
Ćao,
Sarah Bloms