Scott Rossi’s Testimony
CTL Romania Team Member and CTL Board Member
I went into this mission trip to CTL Romania with the mindset of completely letting go and letting God take me on this journey in any direction He deemed necessary. Once I allowed that to happen, He blew me away with His loving touches and filled my days with hope, energy and a better understanding of how much He loves all of us!
During our time there, we attended a two- hour church service, which was all in Romanian. I didn't want to attend the service and not understand what they were saying but it turns out that hearing the word in another language was stimulating to my understanding of how God works in all regions of the world amongst His faithful children. The sermon was
passionate, they sang, praised and truly worshipped our Lord with everything they had – it was awesome. Then in the middle of the service, a mission team shared about their experience serving overseas. It was powerful and moving and showed the sovereignty of our Almighty God– God is an awesome God who is present everywhere!
On our last day of ministry, we were driving to the Gypsy village with some of the CTL Romania staff when we got into a lengthy discussion about the blessing of hearing God be praised in other languages. The staff members asked us if we would all like to say the Lord's Prayer together in our own languages when we got to the Gypsy church. We said that would be awesome and the rest is history. It was truly one of the holiest moments of our lives – the hairs on my body are standing straight up just thinking about this experience again. It was an embodiment of what Luke explains in Acts 2:1-13! It was powerful and moving– the Holy Spirit was there with us and we all felt His touch.
That day doing ministry in the Gypsy village was one of the most moving days of my trip. Once we got to the church, some of us went to pick up some of the children in the program and we met their grandmother (she is their caretaker because the parents are out of the country working to make better wages). We saw the hut where they survive. The floor was the ground, and recently a door was donated to them. Before then, they were living in a hut with no door and the winter is brutally cold in Romania. The grandma had no shoes, just thick wool socks, which she wore while walking a third of a mile to the store everyday. She is 77 years old, tired and withered. But, when we were about to leave, something close to a miracle happened – she asked us to pray for her. Culturally, Gypsies don't claim a faith, but this woman knew she needed help. It was another very moving and emotional holy moment, and I was HUMBLED TO THE CORE!
The true miracle was when we met her grand children – they were the happiest children in all of Romania. The rest of the day I was in shock, seeing the other kids there at the ministry center who came from the poorest families in Romania but they were also truly at peace and happier than one could comprehend. I couldn't understand why these children were the happiest we had seen, but God gave me the answer.
I got a private moment during lunch time with one of the angels from the CTL Romania staff and I asked him how these children could be so happy.
He put his thumb and index finger close together just enough to see some light and he said “This is all we give these children, just a touch from God through us, just a small touch.”
I told him he was underestimating what they do for these children, but he interrupted me immediately and said, “This is how we see our life in this ministry. We have two choices to make; take God's path for our lives or take the evil path for our lives. But Scott, there is no middle path to choose from – evil or God are the only two choices! We (CTL Romania) choose God's path. We serve God and do what He asks us to do and He does the rest for these children!”
I went silent for a long moment so I could process what I just heard. I thought about Matthew 7:13-14 and I was in awe.
Then he added, with a smile, “We plant God's seed in these children and God takes care of everything else – it’s that simple.”
This was a heavenly moment. This team serves God and for everything that happens after that, they give God all the credit and glory!
That day ignited something in me that I still carry and I thank God for the heavenly touch on my heart.
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