I don't think it was a coincidence I read this verse the other morning --
"Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people both now and forevermore.”
Psalms 125:1-2

That day we loaded up the van & drove to a small village on the other side of the mountains. We were bringing boxes of warm clothes & food packages for the families there. When we got to the church we met with the pastor & began unloading. Then out of the corner of my eye this little boy caught my attention. We played high fives & eventually went to the soccer field and raced each other a few times (he totally won). His name means 'Honey' in greek ??. Then i met his cousin who's almost my age, she wants to go to college & become a translator. We talked about languages & families & dreams.

The pastor invited us inside & we had espresso (a staple here) & sat around a heater (that didn't work). Then we sat for what seemed like forever and just listened as this pastor poured out testimony over testimony about what the Lord had done in his life. Everything from infertility, to church movements, to coming to know Jesus in a Muslim community. Dang. Our hearts were so encouraged.

We got to pray for the pastor too right before we left. He's been having back pains so we prayed for healing. We also got to pray for his church & thank God for the Spirit already moving there. He was so encouraged.

I remember when we got back in the vans and how giddy all of us were. We were just there to give supplies & leave. Instead, our hearts were so encouraged by the Body of Christ around the world. What a gift that the Lord gave us to see the lives of people who live in a village surrounded by mountains. It became clear to me that God surrounds those people just as much as those mountains.