Acts 2

"All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people." ~Acts 2:44-47

These verses about the early church paints a fairly accurate picture of the fellowship of fellow missionaries in Kapsowar. One of the biggest blessings I experienced there was the community of believers who had followed God's call to serve in missions.  I will give just a brief description of everyone, but I will not use names or pictures for safety reasons.

There are three families who have lived there for more than half a year, two families for longer.  All of the husbands are doctors. One of the family's children are all grown, but the other two families have a few children each, and one of the wives is expecting again.  It was such a privilege to get to know these three families!  They are all so kind, caring, and welcoming.  They would often invite us over for dinner, game night, or movie night.  I always felt free and comfortable to go over at anytime of the day just to see how they were and hang out. They set great examples of how to live daily for Christ.

There were a total of eight other short termers, not including myself, with whom I grew close. We all trickled in a different times, but when I left Kapsowar these were the people who had just recently left or were still there.  There was a doctor from Ireland, a teacher from Hong Kong, a teacher from America, a pastor and his medical student wife from Australia, and three other medical students from America, England, and Slovakia.  The teacher from America, the couple from Australia, the three medical students, and I all lived in the same housing complex, which was so much fun!  We had meals together every night and spent time hanging out all of the time.  At the end of the few weeks we were all together, we really were a family, to say the least. Even though the doctor from Ireland and the teacher from Hong Kong did not live with us, I got to know them well and enjoyed spending time with both of them.

The best part of the fellowship of believers was the same love we had for the Lord.  The were many opportunities throughout the week to spend time with each other in the Bible.  One of the wives held a weekly Bible study for the local nursing students and another wife had a weekly Bible study for the women who were our house helpers.  There were morning Psalm studies on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, and a Sunday evening Bible study. I attended all of them as much as I could, and I will miss not having those daily and weekly opportunities.  Even scheduled activities aside, I often had conversations about the Bible, learning more about people's hearts and what the Lord has laid on them. We also shared many things like food and utensils, borrowing and giving if someone needed it. It really seemed like the church in Acts 2.

One of the hardest things about leaving Kapsowar was saying goodbye to all of the missionaries, short and full term.  We really became close the two months I was there, and I felt like I was saying goodbye to family.  Having six different countries represented, I know it is next to impossible that we will all be together again, and that makes me very sad.  We do have the assurance that one day we will all meet in Heaven, but it is rather sad to think we might not ever see each other again on this earth.  I have many new friends/family members whom I will always love and never forget.