Young singer ponders significance of Romania Mission

By Zach Parks, 16-year-old singer
April 26, 2009

I am sitting on the bus at 3:10 in the morning. Something is terribly wrong with this picture. I contemplate the trip. What have I accomplished while I have been here? What have we done as a chorus? Was this worth it?

My mind goes over our travel through the wonderfully windy roads of Romania as we stop at first one and then another little church or place to sing. In one of the churches the husband of one of the cooks had just died and she was in tears as we sang for them. We then took up an offering for their little church and raised a fair amount of money for them.

As we traveled from concert to concert, what did we accomplish? What did we do? Was what we did worth it? We have sung with some of the best brass and orchestras, and in some of the best halls of Romania, but what did we accomplish?

Well, for one thing, it has helped to unify the Romanian men’s chorus. For another, I think that it brought some of us closer together. Some of us were able to have conversations that were of huge benefit to ourselves and the people with which we were talking. But aside from that do we have any clue as to what we have done here in Romania?

In Hebrews 11, when talking about all the people of faith, it says that all these died not having received the reward promised because God had something better in mind; that only together with us would they be made perfect and understand what they had done in full.

So perhaps we touched somebody. Perhaps it was just being positive when many of the members were being negative. Maybe it was the singing, or the talking, or just the way we were walking. We could guess all day, but in heaven, we will then know what God did with what we threw at Him. Maybe we weren’t the “grand finale” or the end of this journey, but just another piece. Because you know, we weren’t here for the glory, so if we didn’t do the biggest or the best work, then so be it. God knows what we gave, and he is in control, and you know what? I think I will trust Him with the results, because…. He is God.

And to cap it all off? I would say we had fun, and sang our voices out. The devil was desperately trying to destroy our last concert by sickness, tired voices, tired people, and any other method he could come up with. Despite all of that, in my opinion, our last two concerts were two of the best. Praise God for his intervention and what He is going to do with what we gave.