Moldova

Well, in 9 days I will be on a plane headed to Kyiv, Ukraine:) I am getting more and more excited every day! I just really feel strongly that God is going to do incredible things through us to reach the 3 countries we'll be going out to. The heart of missions work really isn't all that complicated. We know God has called us to reach out to the ends of the earth to make His name famous, so really, all we have to do is show up. We try to over think it at times, but it's not like you have to doubt if God's called you to do it....it's in the Bible!

The three countries that God has called me and my team specifically to go to are Ukraine, Moldova, and Romania. Moldova and Romania are going to be slightly more difficult for me to give perspective on, as I've never been to either country, but I'll try to share what I've learned from research, and what I feel God is speaking to me!:)

Whenever I tell people that I'm going to Moldova, I get a pretty standard response: "Oh, Moldova! Um...where's that again?" And to be honest, I didn't know much about it either until I found out we'd be going there. It's a nation located in Eastern Europe between Romania and Ukraine (notice a trend?). Moldova declared itself an independent state in 1991, and in 1994, the new constitution of Moldova was adopted. 

The official language of Moldova is Moldovan, which is the same as the Romanian language. Moldova is called "the sunny land" by some as it is sunny for roughly 240 days of the year. The coldest month of their year is January, which you guessed it, is right around when we will be there. While I've been told it's slightly warmer than Ukraine, I've also been warned to expect cold temperatures and plenty of snow.
Basically, I'm going to be freezing for the entire 6 months.

 We don't know yet the exact specifics of what we're doing, but we have been informed by the leaders of our team that we will have an anti human trafficking theme for the outreach. While I'm no expert on this issue in Moldova, I've done some research, and this is a big issue in Moldova. 

Evidently, Moldova is a source, and to a lesser extent, a transit and destination country for women trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation, and for men trafficked for forced labor. Every country is placed into a different "tier" when it comes to human trafficking. Tier 1 are the countries whose governments fully comply with the TVPA'S (Trafficking Victim's Protection Act) minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. Tier 2 are the countries whose governments do not fully comply with the TVPA'S minimum standards but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with those standards, and Tier 3 are the countries whose governments do not fully comply with the TVPA'S minimum standards and are not making significant efforts to do so.  Moldova is considered a tier 2 country. Moldovan women are forced into prostitution in Turkey, Russia, Cyprus, Bulgaria, the UAE, Kosovo, Israel, Indonesia, Malaysia, Lebanon, Italy, Greece, Czech Republic, and Ukraine and Romania. Men, women, and children are forced into labor in Russia, Turkey, the UAE, Israel, Greece, and Ukraine. Some Moldovan children are subjected to forced begging in some neighboring countries.

It's not like this is just an issue in Moldova, it goes on everywhere and this is something that we should all be paying attention to. However, I am excited to get a chance to have an impact in this area in Moldova and Romania, where human trafficking is even worse. I really believe God is going to work through us on this issue. PLEASE pray specifically for this. This is going to be a main focus on our trip, and despite what some people think, this stuff DOES go on everywhere, and it's a big deal. 

One of the biggest issues in Moldova is the poverty. Industry accounts for 20% of it's labor force, while agriculture's share is more than one third. Moldova is one of the poorest countries in all of Europe. This goes back to my original point. In Proverbs 29:7, it says "A righteous man knows the rights of the poor; a wicked man does not understand such knowledge." There are countless times in the Bible where it speaks on loving the poor. Jesus commanded us to do so. So I have no doubt that we're called to help with the issue of poverty in Moldova. God already told us to.

I don't know much about Moldova yet, although I'm sure I'll be able to give you guys much more information once we start studying for our outreach and once we actually get to Moldova. But I do feel like God is going to use us in this nation. I'm excited about getting there, and I'm excited about this trip. Like I said, I have no doubt that this is a mission from God. I'm just showing up.

You can contact me by phone (813-449-0804 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            813-449-0804      end_of_the_skype_highlighting), email (joshholmes19@gmail.com), or Facebook. Also, if you would like to support me you can check out my GoFundMePage (http://www.gofundme.com/130ajw?pc=fb_cr), or contact me for more information. Also, if you haven't already, go "Like" my Facebook page, Josh's Discipleship Training School With YWAM Kyiv, Ukraine, at http://www.facebook.com/joshukrainedts.

Please keep praying!