One of the most difficult parts of ministry is that you don't always get to see the fruit of your work. Especially when you work with children. And especially in Romania. The kids' lives can be so tumultuous and unpredictable- you can pour into a child for years, and then one day they are gone, without warning, and you may never see them again or know how their life turned out.
I like to see the fruit because it's immediate and gratifying. It gives purpose and fuels the fire and passion.
Another difficult part of ministry is that it's not about me- I don't always get to harvest the fruit. I can plant it and care for it, and sometimes that's all I get to do. Jesus asks us to serve him and serve others. He doesn't ask us to fix and solve. That's what I would like to do, but he says trust me and be faithful. So I try.
And sometimes he gives me ripened fruit in his perfect timing. Like with this little love:
Three years ago, when he was 10, he knew about 15 letters of the alphabet. We started working with him in our reading class, and he was able to learn and grow. When we left a year ago, he had started putting letters together to read words! It was a great step, and when our colleagues took over the reading program, I knew he'd continue to make progress. But it's hard to leave something unfinished.
The other day he sat down next to me with a little notebook and I wrote a short sentence for him to read. He did it! I wrote more difficult sentences, and he read those too! Then, I wrote him a little story that was about a page long. HE READ THE WHOLE THING. I cheered and hugged him and he was so proud of himself.
That's fruit. A little boy with a tough road ahead making strides. And now reading is something no one can ever take away from him. That's fruit, and it is very sweet.
