For those of you who are thinking "is Steph already writing in Romanian after one day of class?" The answer is no. The title of this entry is actually in Portuguese, and it is the equivalent of saying "I miss you" in English but the text translates more literally as "I feel, or sense, your absence."
I had the opportunity to travel to New York City this past weekend to visit some Brazilian relatives & a good friend of mine, and the bus ride up there gave me some much appreciated time to be still and contemplate life and what possibilities the future holds for us.
I have noticed in myself that when it comes to parting ways, I tend to always be the one leaving; I leave places, jobs, friends & family. I am not usually the one being left. Even though the feeling of "missing someone" in theory should be the same whether they left you or you left them, there is actually a very sharp difference between the two. I think the feeling of being left is more harsh and cruel, because that person's absence becomes acute and ordinary things remind us of what once was. A mug can become a daily reminder of the person who most cherished drinking out of it; a simple step outside your bedroom door and no longer having to step over {and rub the tummy} of your sweet dog can bring back memories and heighten the reality that they are no longer there.
My cousin and I stumbled upon a very powerful and moving symbol of this "feeling of absence": the 9/11 Memorial at Ground Zero in Manhattan. It consists of two square waterfalls that were built down from the level of the street, and in the middle of each fountain is another square opening that goes deeper into the ground. Around the edges of the waterfalls are written the names of all the victims who perished on that day, whose absences are certainly felt by many. The Memorial powerfully evokes a sense of there being a large symbolic void by having two large precipices in the middle of a city bursting at the seams with sky scrapers. It is tinged with deep sorrow. Something was taken away from us as a country on that day, and for many, what was taken was irreplaceable and completely devastating.
Unfortunately, this sorrow is not something unique to the US: there are people all over the world being robbed of their innocence and dignity, people who feel an absence of light, love and truth. People who have large voids in their very souls and are searching to fill them with something, anything, it seems, for some of them.
As a believer in the redeeming love of Jesus Christ, if I can be an instrument that leads people to the source of eternal love and to the one who can quench their longing for wholeness, then I am willing to serve the Lord in any way he calls me to.
I found two short videos that show a glimpse of what life is like for some in Moldova. Brace yourselves, because the second video in particular is a bit heart-wrenching. I hope to be able to help organizations like Stella's Voice when we move to Chisinau.
I had the opportunity to travel to New York City this past weekend to visit some Brazilian relatives & a good friend of mine, and the bus ride up there gave me some much appreciated time to be still and contemplate life and what possibilities the future holds for us.
I have noticed in myself that when it comes to parting ways, I tend to always be the one leaving; I leave places, jobs, friends & family. I am not usually the one being left. Even though the feeling of "missing someone" in theory should be the same whether they left you or you left them, there is actually a very sharp difference between the two. I think the feeling of being left is more harsh and cruel, because that person's absence becomes acute and ordinary things remind us of what once was. A mug can become a daily reminder of the person who most cherished drinking out of it; a simple step outside your bedroom door and no longer having to step over {and rub the tummy} of your sweet dog can bring back memories and heighten the reality that they are no longer there.
My cousin and I stumbled upon a very powerful and moving symbol of this "feeling of absence": the 9/11 Memorial at Ground Zero in Manhattan. It consists of two square waterfalls that were built down from the level of the street, and in the middle of each fountain is another square opening that goes deeper into the ground. Around the edges of the waterfalls are written the names of all the victims who perished on that day, whose absences are certainly felt by many. The Memorial powerfully evokes a sense of there being a large symbolic void by having two large precipices in the middle of a city bursting at the seams with sky scrapers. It is tinged with deep sorrow. Something was taken away from us as a country on that day, and for many, what was taken was irreplaceable and completely devastating.
Unfortunately, this sorrow is not something unique to the US: there are people all over the world being robbed of their innocence and dignity, people who feel an absence of light, love and truth. People who have large voids in their very souls and are searching to fill them with something, anything, it seems, for some of them.
As a believer in the redeeming love of Jesus Christ, if I can be an instrument that leads people to the source of eternal love and to the one who can quench their longing for wholeness, then I am willing to serve the Lord in any way he calls me to.
I found two short videos that show a glimpse of what life is like for some in Moldova. Brace yourselves, because the second video in particular is a bit heart-wrenching. I hope to be able to help organizations like Stella's Voice when we move to Chisinau.
Hi Stephanie! Great post - I remember watching an episode of Frontline last year about the sex trade in Eastern Europe and it was horrifying. It would be so amazing to be able to volunteer for one of these organizations in Chisinau.
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