Yesterday (March 8th) was international women's day, and being in a country that celebrates this day was so much fun! Heather (the American missionary I am working with) had the idea to have a spa day for the ladies from the church plant in Mborja (a small village right outside of Korca). Earlier last week Heather and I shopped for supplies in the pazar- a huge outdoor market that you can basically find anything you need. From shoes to furniture to live animals!
We completely transformed the church into a spa, bringing in rugs and little girly touches.
We set up multiple spa stations for the ladies to enjoy a nice relaxing day.
our foot soak station... we heated the water in buckets on the wood stove.
A facial station with a moisturizing banana, honey and yogurt mask- gotta love Pinterest
The ladies absolutely loved it! They all said they had never done anything like this before and one of the women kept saying she felt like she was in a dream or a movie!
This day was so special, getting to love on this group of ladies and just seeing their reactions to love was so encouraging. This day was all about them and celebrating who they are, and all of their hard work. The women in Mborja has a bible study that meets every other week, they are getting ready to start a study on emotions and learning how to handle your emotions maturely so that they can mature in Christ. This concept of sharing feelings and talking about emotions is so different for the culture here. Women (especially the older generation) tend to hide their past, their feelings, their current struggles. For the most part they aren't comfortable with really opening up with each other and if they do it's all surface things. I think a lot about the bondage and strongholds that form when you try to keep those deep painful parts of you hidden, and many stories I have heard just bring me to tears. Tears not only for what these women have been through, but tears for the bondage these events have left them in and for the years of loneliness they have had keeping these hurts buried....
I'm a bit of a radical person to these women, sharing so openly about my past, the hurts and disappointments, and the things that at one time held me captive. My openness is probably why they are so willing to open up and speak with me.Working through traumas and hurts in your life is never easy in my case it took years, lots of tears, and something I still work on not allowing to take holds in my life. A friend of mine described this processes so appropriately "It's (past hurts and traumas) like an infection, where the infection has to be repeatedly cleaned out- a process that may seem more painful than the infection itself- it has to be bandaged and cared for long-term. Only God can do that with an unwavering diligence that you might not always feel for yourself. You may want to just get over it and be fixed, but God doesn't see you as a broken thing. Yes. you are wounded, but not without hope of coming under the care of the ultimate Healer. There Is freedom for you!"
I am so grateful to have the opportunity to share this with the women I have formed relationships with. My prayer for them is that they continue seeking God to heal their wounds and hurts and that one day they can use the healing to lead others into the freedom they have found!
We set up multiple spa stations for the ladies to enjoy a nice relaxing day.
A nail station with a great sugar hand scrub
I got to practice my hair straightening skills in the hair station. 
The ladies absolutely loved it! They all said they had never done anything like this before and one of the women kept saying she felt like she was in a dream or a movie!
I'm a bit of a radical person to these women, sharing so openly about my past, the hurts and disappointments, and the things that at one time held me captive. My openness is probably why they are so willing to open up and speak with me.Working through traumas and hurts in your life is never easy in my case it took years, lots of tears, and something I still work on not allowing to take holds in my life. A friend of mine described this processes so appropriately "It's (past hurts and traumas) like an infection, where the infection has to be repeatedly cleaned out- a process that may seem more painful than the infection itself- it has to be bandaged and cared for long-term. Only God can do that with an unwavering diligence that you might not always feel for yourself. You may want to just get over it and be fixed, but God doesn't see you as a broken thing. Yes. you are wounded, but not without hope of coming under the care of the ultimate Healer. There Is freedom for you!"
I am so grateful to have the opportunity to share this with the women I have formed relationships with. My prayer for them is that they continue seeking God to heal their wounds and hurts and that one day they can use the healing to lead others into the freedom they have found!
"Christ came to set the captive free- no matter what kind of yoke binds them. He came to bind up the brokenhearted- no matter what broke the heart. He came to open the eyes of the blind- no matter what veiled their vision." - Beth Moore
Please Pray
- For the women I have been talking with who are currently working through hurts of their past
- Pray for the womens bible study in Mborja, that the women can open up and really feel the community
- Pray for the women in the Korce church (who currently do not have a womens meeting)
- Pray for the church plant in Drenova, that the people there can really see this as something needed and can start taking a more active roll in starting the church - and for the Heather and Kenny (the missionaries)
- Pray for my last 17 days in Korca (thats crazy!) that I can be open to where God is leading and that I can make the most of the little time for his kingdom.
Comments
Post a Comment