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The Joy, The Tears, The Call
By Jonathan Surmi

I find my greatest joy when I watch a person walk down the road to Calvary. During the youth camp in Moldova, a 15 year-old boy named Corneal and a 17 year-old girl named Olga invited the Lord into their lives. I had been building a good relationship with both of them during the camp and Olga was asking a lot of difficult questions. Towards the middle of the camp both Olga and Corneal received Christ as their Savior and Lord. By the end of the camp, four others had also prayed to receive Christ. Truly, we can celebrate with all of heaven - these dear souls were born into the Kingdom of God, Satan lost ground, and our Savior was glorified.

I would like to ask your prayers for another young lady named Irina. She is Corneal's sister and Olga's best friend (she is surrounded by two believers now). I talked with her extensively and shared the gospel several times. However, there are some mental blocks that she can not get past. Specifically, she does not want to become a Christian if it requires her to submit to her husband (she is not married yet). I was very surprised at how much scripture she was familiar with. She invited several of us from the American team to have dinner with her and her family after the camp. We talked with her for over two hours and tried to help her understand what true, Christian submission was all about. Our conversation ended with her final comment that she just could not accept what we were saying. But, she is truly seeking. She wants to understand the truth of God and the truth of the gospel. Please pray that the seeds we planted will be watered and ultimately come to fruition.

Amidst the joy of seeing lives born into the Kingdom and seeds being planted, I was met with an overwhelming sense of hopelessness. When Olga arrived home from the youth camp, she started to read the new Bible we had given her. A few minutes later, Olga's mother walked into the room. She told Olga she was not allowed to read that Bible and instructed Olga to throw it away immediately. Disobeying her mother, Olga hid the Bible, hoping to read it when her mother was not around. After Olga relayed this story to us, my heart was torn. Our team was leaving in a few days and it felt like we were abandoning a newborn baby.

As the airliner lifted from the runway at Chisinau airport in Moldova, I began to wrestle with God. In my mind I saw images of Olga, Irina, and Corneal. I remembered the dozens of villages that we had driven past where no mission work was being done. There was so much need, and yet so few Christians were going into the harvest. But then the Lord spoke to my heart, "Jon, you're not seeing what I'm doing. This is only the beginning of a great work. Over the past five years, you have helped inspire several people to seriously consider full-time work in the mission field. They in turn will inspire others. Don't be discouraged. I am calling your generation into the harvest."

These words put my mind at peace and yet created a sense of urgency and challenge. I understood my responsibility: Lead this generation into the harvest. But yet, as I think of Olga, Irina and Corneal, I am reminded that it is not duty alone that drives me to the harvest. It is the love of Christ in my heart that compels me to reach out to a dying world. Does His love compel you? Will you be a part of the generation that answers the call?