By Lisa Farley, a member of SEND’s Romania | Europe team

Tears began to well in the Romanian woman’s eyes, and I wondered what might be weighing on her heart. After spending most of the plane ride from England back to Romania in silence, the Lord created an unexpected connection with the lady beside me.  

I was on my way home from a Christian art conference, and I sensed the prompting of the Holy Spirit to talk with the passenger sitting next to me on the plane. However, wanting to be culturally considerate, I was unsure how to begin. As I prayed for God to make the pathway clear, the lady initiated a conversation with me by asking what I had been doing in England.

As we spoke, she was intrigued by the fact that I would move from the United States to Romania rather than another country. When I explained as best I could in Romanian that, in my opinion, many people in Romania had experienced suffering and needed hope, she started to cry. Through our conversation, the Lord allowed me to “plant some seeds” of the gospel. Before we parted, I was amazed that she wanted to exchange contact information and even embraced me with a warm hug! In Romania, it often takes a long time to establish trust in a relationship, so this was an unexpected and meaningful gesture. 

This opportunity on an airplane, the woman’s initiation of the conversation, and my ability to touch her heart with my imperfect Romanian formed what I would call a “noncoincidence.” Despite my uncertainty and insufficiency, God worked through me in a random, ordinary situation to bring the love of Christ to the lost.

Millions of people in Europe remain unreached, whether they are lost in a post-Christian world or are recent immigrants from countries closed to the gospel witness. Learn more about SEND’s teams in Europe.