a bead, a bean, and a touch of hope.

i own three northface articles, two of which are bookbags.  the other i own is a jacket.  it's a treasured possession, not because it is a nice jacket, but because of the wear and tear and mementoes i have stored away inside the pockets. 

a bead.  a bean. a touch of hope.  glue on the sleeves from craft projects with children who didn't even speak my language. a bean and beads that were in the floor, while i was trying to clean up, that i haphazardly stuffed into my pocket and forgot to throw away.  and four months later...they are still there.

each time i reach into my pocket, i feel these things, and i remember. i remember the roma.  the goss family.  the light that is shining in the darkness of the romany in eastern europe.  the sheer provision and power of God, and how i....could only be silent that week in His undeniable presence.

the pictures on the screens are more than faces of romany...they are people i know, that i lived life with for a week.  they have names, and wishes, and desires, and hearts.  as the script says, "i am not a mission...i am a person." 

i feel the bead, and the bean, and i remember the touch of hope and why i do what i do--to see the love of Christ showered out onto the nations.