I cannot begin to put into words the joy that it has been for Rachel and me to have our 3 month old son, Cole, with us in Romania. I don’t know how many times I was asked, “Are you sure it’s a good idea to take a 3-month old overseas?” These questions come for many reasons: safety, travel, sickness, etc. Ultimately, however, I believe it to be a lack of perspective. This became abundantly clear to me as we were holding outdoor church services in the snow yesterday. We were in poor villages in the cold and yet there were several parents there with young children standing outside in the snow to receive a gift and hear the message of Christ. I cannot imagine raising Cole in conditions like we saw yesterday. How would he stay warm in a hut that is made of whatever materials could be found?
After seeing this, it is even harder to fathom the question, “are you sure it’s a good idea to take a baby overseas?” What could be better for this baby than to get started in missions at such a young age? How spoiled are we in America to think it’s “unsafe” to take a baby overseas? Or is it just that it could be inconvenient to try and travel with a baby? Either way, we have a lack of perspective to think God is not going to protect this baby as his parents seek to serve the Lord in a foreign country. All of this has caused me to rethink the priorities that we have in America. Is anything more important than sharing the message of Christ no matter how “inconvenient” it may seem at the time? Could anything be better for Cole than for him to experience the love of this team as we serve the Lord sharing the Gospel together in Romania? It has been awesome to see the faces of the Romanian people as they see Rachel holding Cole in their villages. I believe it makes them understand a little dose of how important they are in God’s eyes that He would send a couple with a little baby to share the love of God with them.
And just in case anyone was wondering, Cole is doing great in Romania. He is always happy and is being spoiled even more than he is in America!