Latest / Eurasia Region Podcast / S1-E101 | Everyday Eurasia | Vania Fink

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S1-E101 | Everyday Eurasia | Vania Fink · Eurasia Region Podcast

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  Hello and welcome to the Everyday Eurasia podcast,
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  Inspiring Faith for Every Day. Each day we are on a journey
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  with Jesus in our churches, our homes, our workplaces, and in so
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  many different places around the world.
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  Is it beautiful that no matter where we are, we can walk with
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  him every single day? Jesus is the one who connects us
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  all and stands at the very center of our lives day after
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  day. Through this podcast, you'll
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  hear voices from across the region sharing devotionals that
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  reminds us of God's presence in our everyday moments.
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  Hello friends, my name is Vanya and I serve as an ordained elder
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  in the Church of the Nazarene, Florence, Italy alongside my
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  husband Daniel. I am a mother of three and a
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  grandmother of two. I work as a shift nurse in the
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  oncology department of a gynecology and breast unit, so
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  my schedule changes constantly, nights, weekends, holidays.
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  But my true hard calling, the place where my passion lives, is
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  pastoring our small but beautiful church family in
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  Florence. Our congregation is a little
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  picture of the nation's on a typical Sunday, you'll find
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  people from Russia, Peru, Ecuador, Venezuela, and of
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  course, Italy. Different languages, different
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  stories, but one Savior and one family in Christ.
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  Sometimes I look around our sanctuary and realize that in a
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  way, the nation have come to our Jerusalem.
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  And that is one of the reasons why missions mean so much to me.
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  When I was 8 years old, a missionary came to preach in my
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  church. I don't remember his name
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  anymore, and I don't remember every detail of the sermon, but
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  I remember that moment when the invitation was given.
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  I was the only person, the only child who stood up and walked
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  crying to the altar. Through the preaching of that
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  missionary, I gave my heart to Jesus, and that moment changed
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  the direction of my life. In Romans chapter 10, verses 14
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  and 15, Paul asks a powerful question.
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  How can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?
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  And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?
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  And how can anyone preach unless they are sent?
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  That missionary was sent. I don't know who prayed for him.
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  I don't know which churches supported him, but I know that
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  someone did. And because someone chose to
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  send an 8 year old girl heard the gospel clearly that night.
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  As the years went by got scalding, my life became
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  stronger. Being a nurse, I often imagined
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  how beautiful it would be to serve on a mission field
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  somewhere in the world, combining my profession and my
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  faith. But God planted me here in
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  Florence, in hospital rooms where women face difficult
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  diagnosis, in a small church filled with people from many
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  nations, and also in my own family, because my family is an
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  important part of my mission field too.
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  Over time I have understood something very important.
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  Not everyone is called to go, but everyone is called to
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  participate. Working in healthcare, I often
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  think about the human body. The body is incredibly complex,
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  with many systems working together, but without one
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  essential structure, the body simply could not stand the
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  skeleton. Without bones, the body would
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  collapse. It would become just a
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  collection of skin and organs. Without support, without
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  stability, even the brain itself would have no protection.
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  For me, the word evangelism found is something like the
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  skeletal system of the mission of the Church of the Nazarene.
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  It is the structure that holds everything together.
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  Through it, missionaries are sent, leaders are trained,
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  churches are planted, and the gospel continues to move across
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  cultures and borders. Without a share commitment, the
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  global mission of our church will struggle to stand.
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  But when we participate together through prayer, generosity and
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  faithfulness, the body of Christ stands strong and continues to
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  move. And when I look at the faces in
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  our church in Florence, Russian, Peruvian, Ecuadorian,
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  Venezuelan, Italians, I'm reminded to get that God mission
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  is bigger than anyone place. Sometimes God sends missionaries
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  across oceans, sometimes he brings the nations right into
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  our neighborhoods, and sometimes he simply asked us to be
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  faithful partners in the mission.
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  I often think back to that 8 year old girl walking toward the
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  altar. That moment happened because
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  someone believed the Gospel needed to be preached and
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  someone else believed enough to send them somewhere in the
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  world. Today, someone is here in the
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  Gospel because the church chose to send.
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  And somewhere another child might be walking taller and
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  altar just like I did. Let's pray.
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  Father, thank you for those who answered your call to go.
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  Thank you for those who faithfully support the mission
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  of your church around the world. Help us to be faithful wherever
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  you plant us, in our workplaces, in our churches, in our
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  families, and in our communities.
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  And may people everywhere have the opportunity to hear the good
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  news of Jesus. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.
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  Thank you for listening to the Everyday Eurasia podcast
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  Inspiring Faith for Everyday. For more Everyday stories,
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  subscribe on this podcast channel, follow our social
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  Facebook and Instagram or our newsletter snapshots.
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  For our newsletter and further information about the Eurasia
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  region, visit our website, eurasiaregion.org.