Blog Series // Ministry Memories: Europe

BLOG SERIES

The other day our team was looking back at all of our old photos from the Race. We have almost a year of memories – filled with laughter, hard work, weariness, breakthroughs, growth, and failure. Our teammate asked us to look at different ministry experiences that impacted us that we don’t want to forget. There were so many, that I narrowed it down to three – one from each continent we went to! This first one is from Europe, and I’ll be posting the next two in the next few days! Hope you enjoy it! 

ROMANIAN REBAR

I found this photo of me and my pal setting rebar for a house that a Romanian missionary was going to live in. 

As I was looking through the pictures, I noticed a few things I didn’t before. I saw a little bit of the work God has asked me to do in my own life these past 11 months…maybe you can see what I mean. 

1. When we started, the rebar was a mess. 

The bars were curving and bending and swerving their way from one side of the roof to the other. And we were supposed to set them completely straight! It seemed impossible. It would have been way easier if the rebar just started off perfectly straight! 

2. The way to straighten the rebar is one bar at a time, one wire at a time. 

We would tie one wire around the rebar, then moved down 6 inches and do it again, and again, and again. Each time we twisted a tie we would adjust the rebar little by little. Adjusting the rebar 6 inches down wasn’t too hard…adjusting the rebar 6 feet down was near impossible. We couldn’t skip any steps. 

3. We were hunched over for hours. 

It was hard work. My hands ended up with blisters and my back sore for days. But this was work that had to be done, and the only way it could be done. 

4. This was one of the most important parts of the structure, and no one ever sees it. 

I googled this because I know very little about construction haha. But the rebar doesn’t actually make the concrete any “stronger” but it reinforces it so that it is more resistant to tension. So when tension builds up, the concrete doesn’t crumble. And once you pour the concrete, no one ever even sees the rebar doing its job. Only the people who put in the work even know it’s there. Other people just get to enjoy the safety and shelter it provides. 

5. We didn’t see our progress until the end. 

When we first started, the metal bars were twisted and turning and overlapping each other – it looked like chaos. But little by little we worked, and we didn’t even realize what we had accomplished until we took a step back and looked at the whole roof. The rebar slowly straightened more and more until it look nearly perfect! Hunched over in squatting position, we only saw the work that we had yet to do. But when we stopped and took a step back we could actually appreciate how far we had come. 

CONSTRUCTION SCIENCE OF THE SOUL

This year was definitely a year of laying rebar of the soul. I realized I am a messy human with a lot of crooked rebar. A lot of times I just wanted to pour the concrete already, I was so tired of straightening out the winding bars. But God wanted it to be stronger than that, He wanted more for me. He had me hunched over, squatting, with blistered hands, tying one tie at a time. I’ve realized that a lot of the work we want to do in ourselves takes little steps and lots of time. But when you commit to put in the work God asks you to do, it adds up. Now I don’t just have a concrete foundation, but a reinforced structure that can withstand the tension and pressure of this world. To me, that looks like knowing my identity and trusting in the character of God. Other people might not ever see it or even think to wonder if it’s there, but it’s enough for me that God knows. And when I take a step back, I see that God did quite a work in me. And it was all worth it. 

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Love y’all, 
Em

P.S. The end of the race has snuck up on me and I realized I have quite a few blog drafts and not a ton of time left to post them hehe. So I’m busting them all out in the next couple weeks, so be prepared haha!