“Girl, we on ATL”

On December 26th, the five teams of P-Squad left Craiova and traveled to various locations around Romania for an 11-day period we like to call ‘ATL’ (ask the Lord). During this time, we ask God to show us where to go, what to do, and where to live. It’s a time that drives us to the feet of Jesus in deep dependence on the Father and trust in the Holy Spirit to lead us. This time could easily be spent taking matters into our own hands and scheduling ministry, planning housing, and choosing a logical location without asking the Lord. But to really embrace a life that’s dependent on God and expectant that he’ll move and provide, it’s best to wait on the Him to make your plans. As our beloved Alumni SQL, Raquel would say, “Girrrl, we on A T L”. 
To prepare for ATL, our team, 247, spent much time in prayer while researching places and opportunities. We hadn’t settled on a location yet even though we were leaving in about two weeks. I sat with the Lord asking him where our team should go, but nothing was impressed on my heart. Then, on more than one occasion, I’d be talking with a stranger, and I’d tell them about leaving Craiova for a city that we hadn’t chosen yet, and they would look me in the eyes and say, “You’re going to love Brasov!”. What???? I’m sorry, did you not just hear me say we have NO CLUE where we’re going? …But I guess we’ll love Brasov! After I shared these stories with my team, we asked the Lord if Brasov, Romania was where he’d like us to spend our time, and we all felt peace about it! To Brasov we went!!!
The next logical step would be to look for housing. So, we began to research places to stay: hostels, churches, Airbnb’s, ministries, etc. As I scrolled on Airbnb, I saw a cute apartment that looked perfect. It was right in the center of the city, had a small kitchen, and would be perfect for our team. Portions of the walls were green, I noticed, and I returned to the home page to find the apartment named, “The Green Apartment”. Immediately I remembered the time that our team spent vision casting for Romania when we were still in Guatemala. Jordan had heard the color ‘green’ from the Lord, but we didn’t know how that would play out. Certainly, this apartment felt like an answered prayer, but it was over twice our modest budget ($30 USD/night) and was unavailable for the dates we needed. So, collectively we reached out to 15+ churches or ministries asking for connections to local believers who we could stay with or opportunities to serve with them. We were rejected, or left unanswered, by every single one. But we continued to trust the Lord in confidence that he would provide.
Come December 26th, we gathered up the last of our things and strategically packed them like a game of Tetris into our big packs. With still no plan for housing that night, we hugged our squadmates goodbye and headed to the train station. We spent time in prayer at the train station, submitting our wills, fears, and minds to Christ. Truly, if God is who He says He is, and if He does what He says He does, He WILL provide for everything we need. Need being the keyword!
We boarded the train and began the journey to Bucharest, and then to Brasov. Somewhere along the way, we hopped on Airbnb and, to our surprise, the Green Apartment was now available for two nights within our budget. We thanked God and booked the stay! Our faith was strengthened. Upon arrival, we settled in, worshipped the Lord, and ordered a few yummy pizzas. The next day we explored Brasov, made friends with some locals, and spent time together as a team. This is where it starts to get crazy.
One of our teammates, Lexy, had made a crazy connection on Instagram a year or two prior with a missionary who has a cousin in Brasov. Through that connection, the cousin, Catalina, invited our team to join her and her family for dinner that night. We eagerly accepted the invite, bought some flowers for her, and hopped on a bus to their home. The Kreider’s generously made us a homecooked meal while some of us played with their 4 kids and the others joined in conversation with Derek, Catalina, and Kim (their intern!) to learn about their ministry and life in Romania. Our team ended up spending around 5 hours with them that night and we left feeling so encouraged in our faiths and grateful for the radical hospitality of these local believers. Saying goodbye to them, they promised to pray and reach out to other missionaries to see if they knew of a place for us to stay. Over the next few days, we would experience Romans 12:13 on a whole new level through the kindness and generosity of this family.
The next morning, we packed our bags to check out of the Green Apartment Airbnb and headed to Starbucks. Earlier that morning, I had asked God where to go and heard “the park”, so with conviction we turned around before grabbing coffee and headed to the park to sit in the cold and wait on the Lord. This was new for all of us and was certainly stretching us in more ways than I can even recount. IMMEDIATELY when we arrived at the park, Lexy received a text invite from the Kreider’s for us to join them for two nights (which turned into 3 or 4!). The boys would stay with the Kreider’s, and the girls would stay with Kim, at her apartment. We praised the Lord and hopped on the bus.
Over the next few days, we spent so much time with their family. We played with their four little kids, who were out of school for Christmas break. We made meals, went to the park, water colored, played uno, and laughed so much. These few days were so impactful for me. It was such an encouragement to be around a family who showed radically ordinary hospitality, it was a glimpse of the early church and it melted my heart. Time with their kids reminded me the Kingdom is for little children, and faith is so much simpler than I often make it out to be. We were invited to join in their morning devotionals, and my heart was so encouraged to sit with a child on my lap and the Word of God on the table before us, talking about Scripture like it was truly written for all ages. Our time with them was a refreshing reset in my own walk with Jesus and a marker for our time on the Race. We often spent hours sitting around the kitchen table sharing testimonies of how we’ve seen the Lord move in our lives. I left this time feeling refreshed and pumped about life on mission. We experienced the hospitality of heaven here on earth.
We left the Kreider’s house on New Year’s Eve and headed to the heart of Brasov to stay in an Airbnb that Morgan had found online, and was owned by followers of Jesus. It was a miracle and a testament to the Lord’s provision that it was available for 4 nights, including NYE, in the center of one of the most touristic cities in Romania. They gave us a great price and it would be the perfect place to settle in for the second half of what God had put on our hearts for this ATL time, and what we now fondly refer to as…The Bible Burn. Beginning at midnight, right at the start of the New Year (2023, WHAT?!!), 247 began reading Genesis and set out to read without ceasing until the very last verse of the book of Revelation. We wanted to read the Bible cover to cover to give God the first fruits of our year and finish our time as a team well. It would be fitting that our team, 247, would read the Bible 24/7 until completion. Over the next 4 days, we read the Bible out loud in 1 hour shifts, rotating between the 5 of us. We stayed awake as much as possible to let the Word sink in and bask in the peaceful presence of God. It was surreal to hear the entirety of Scripture read aloud. After 73.5 hours, we finished the Burn around 2 AM on January 4th, 2023. We went to bed and packed up, heading to Starbucks to reflect on the Bible Burn and wait on the Lord to provide housing for the next two nights. Not one of us was untouched by the reading of the Word. We had all experienced revelation and fresh perspective through that experience. Here are a few things I learned: I want the posture of my life to be surrender, because there’s no god more worthy of my bowing low; the biggest thing stopping us from encountering God is believing we already have; reading the Word out loud changes the atmosphere and impacts the spiritual realm; and the access we have to the living Word of God is never something I want to take for granted. We reflected, pondered out loud, and got hype about getting back in the Word (funny how 73.5 hours of reading it still left us hungry for more!). After an hour or so, Elijah, our Team Leader, received a response from the owners of the Green Apartment saying that the apartment was ready for us. We made our way back to the familiar home and settled in for a team movie night. We spent the next day taking a Sabbath and packing up to head to Bucharest for our mini debrief and team changes. There aren’t enough words, nor is there enough time to reflect on all the ways the Lord provided and showed up during our ATL time. We finished our time as a team full of gratitude, humbled by the goodness of God, and fired up about what He had in store for our futures. It’s wild to think about how our team began as strangers in September, but ended as brothers and sisters who love each other deeply, fight for each other’s freedom, and champion each other on in faith. There’s so much gratitude and affection in my heart towards my first team on the Race. Thank you, God, for 247 and for the ways this team stretched me!!

Here are some sweet pics from the ATL time. I’m reminiscing & I’m obsessed with the Lord & what He’s done. Woah.

HEY! You matter to God, so you matter to me.

Kara Grace <3