I dont know when I will return to this beautiful country again. That makes me sad. I have fallen in love with so many people here and the spiritual oppression here. The poverty, lack of hope and lack of opportunities.
It rained today so no one wanted to hang out. :( I only have a day left with them. I hope and pray many will come to our party tonight. If not for good conversation then just so I can see them once before I leave without knowing when Ill come back.
I dont like rain here.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Camp
Camp so far was amazing!
Praise God for Maja, Meliha, Rijad, Sanela, Amila, Amna, Amela, Senad, and Goran from Zenica came! Students also came from other cities but ours was the best represented!!!! We prayed and prayed and you prayed and prayed and God answered our prayers! Nine students are more than we expected! Each Bosnian shared a two-person tent with one of our American students. We all had great late night conversations!Amela shared a tent with me and I love her! She is Senads girlfriend and very sweet and fun!
Every morning we had and inductive manuscript like Bible study. In my small group Meliha and Amela had great insight into the prables we looked at. We enjoyed fun each afternoon at the lake or on the soccer field or throwing an American football. Then after dinner we had a speker teach on some part of relationships. Dating and Marriage, Friends and family (focusing on forgiveness) and Relationship with God.
We prayed every morning at 8 and expected God to move! He did. We had great conversations. But it was also very hard.
The last night 6 of our Zenica friends left to hang out with their other friends who were at camp. Those of us who had been investing in them the last 3 weeks (or for me year) cried and prayed in the back. Not because we were mad at them for leaving but sad because I want Senad to know Jesus. I want Amela to know the love and forgiveness he offers. I want them all to spend eternity with the one who created them and loves them. But they rejected even the idea of listening to what God might have to offer them.
That led to a good conversation with Amela about her relationship with God and what that meant to her. It ended up being mostly a conversation about the Muslim rules she follows with no purpose behind them but it was a good conversation. and in the morning I took my sadness to Gods word and found once again that he must know what he is doing. He has perfect timing and its not for us to know that time. Isaiah 55 was also a great encouragement to me because it says Gods word wont return without fulfilling its purpose. They had studied the Bible even if they didnt hear that last night they had heard from Gods word. So I was reassured. But I did get to taste a bit of what dissapointment looks like in missions such as this. its hard soil with many rocks.
On a happier note. Maja shared deep things in ther life with me and i feel our friendship is very strong.
Thanks for your prayers.
Praise God for Maja, Meliha, Rijad, Sanela, Amila, Amna, Amela, Senad, and Goran from Zenica came! Students also came from other cities but ours was the best represented!!!! We prayed and prayed and you prayed and prayed and God answered our prayers! Nine students are more than we expected! Each Bosnian shared a two-person tent with one of our American students. We all had great late night conversations!Amela shared a tent with me and I love her! She is Senads girlfriend and very sweet and fun!
Every morning we had and inductive manuscript like Bible study. In my small group Meliha and Amela had great insight into the prables we looked at. We enjoyed fun each afternoon at the lake or on the soccer field or throwing an American football. Then after dinner we had a speker teach on some part of relationships. Dating and Marriage, Friends and family (focusing on forgiveness) and Relationship with God.
We prayed every morning at 8 and expected God to move! He did. We had great conversations. But it was also very hard.
The last night 6 of our Zenica friends left to hang out with their other friends who were at camp. Those of us who had been investing in them the last 3 weeks (or for me year) cried and prayed in the back. Not because we were mad at them for leaving but sad because I want Senad to know Jesus. I want Amela to know the love and forgiveness he offers. I want them all to spend eternity with the one who created them and loves them. But they rejected even the idea of listening to what God might have to offer them.
That led to a good conversation with Amela about her relationship with God and what that meant to her. It ended up being mostly a conversation about the Muslim rules she follows with no purpose behind them but it was a good conversation. and in the morning I took my sadness to Gods word and found once again that he must know what he is doing. He has perfect timing and its not for us to know that time. Isaiah 55 was also a great encouragement to me because it says Gods word wont return without fulfilling its purpose. They had studied the Bible even if they didnt hear that last night they had heard from Gods word. So I was reassured. But I did get to taste a bit of what dissapointment looks like in missions such as this. its hard soil with many rocks.
On a happier note. Maja shared deep things in ther life with me and i feel our friendship is very strong.
Thanks for your prayers.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Coming up
There are many things coming up that I would love you to pray for!
Tonight
We are having our last class and a party afterward at our house. Pray for good conversations and lots of fun with our friends.
Saturday
We are having a BBQ at Bistrićak. Pray many students come and we have lots of fun and good (maybe last) conversations. Also pray for our students because we are tired.
Sunday morning
We go to camp and we currently only have 4 Zenica students coming. Praise God for them and pray for more! We would love to take 12 to match the number or americans. Pray for the Gospel to be clearly presented and for the Bosnians to respond to Gods love. And also that they would have fun and connect with EUS students.
THANKS!!!!!!!!!
Hvala!!!!!!!
Tonight
We are having our last class and a party afterward at our house. Pray for good conversations and lots of fun with our friends.
Saturday
We are having a BBQ at Bistrićak. Pray many students come and we have lots of fun and good (maybe last) conversations. Also pray for our students because we are tired.
Sunday morning
We go to camp and we currently only have 4 Zenica students coming. Praise God for them and pray for more! We would love to take 12 to match the number or americans. Pray for the Gospel to be clearly presented and for the Bosnians to respond to Gods love. And also that they would have fun and connect with EUS students.
THANKS!!!!!!!!!
Hvala!!!!!!!
Thursday, July 10, 2008
So much! So good!
Last week was great! So many new relationships started! So many new experiences!
It was also really hard at the end of the week because it rained. It wasnt hard just because we were up on a hill and had to walk through the city in the rain but because there was so much rain that only 3 students came to our classes combined. It worked well becaue we just played games and then went bowling but it was hard because we wanted to have a bbq at our house on Saturday but didnt have everyones phone numbers. :( We also wanted to have coffee with friends during the day but didnt have their numbers. :(
So Saturday kind of sucked. It was good for us who as Americans want to be productive every second of the day and our worth many times comes from what we produce and we couldnt produce anything. Even how hard as we tried, no product at the end of the day to feel like we were worth the money people had given for us to go. That I think is a great lesson for us to learn- as hard as it was. Saturday night we did have a bbq and 7 or more of our Bosnian friends were there (there was 12 of us so 7 of them felt small) but it was great to minister to them individually and connect with them.
Monday the tides seemed to change. OH- it was also hard because many of the students felt like they didnt have a real bosnian friend yet and my co-leader, Nicole, was the first to voice this to me. I had sensed dissonance but after talking to her we were able to talk with the whole group about waiting for Gods timing while still giving all we have. We prayed monday morning for good conversations and that night God provided!
Good conversations about life!
Mandy, Kat and I talked and walked with Maja and she shared about her family and the war and her hopes and dreams. (I want her to know Jesus)
Good conversations about spirituality!
Miranda has been building a relationship with Sanela and her friend Dino and his girlfriend Alisa. They asked good questions and wanted to follow up with her the next day, which they did and they are in a great place to keep seeking God and asking good questions.
Good conversations about life as a Christian in Bosnia!
Nicole and Ali have befriended Medina (a friend from last year) and she shared the persecutions and hardships and loneliness of being a Christian here in Zenica.
God is so faithful!
And i havent had time to write sooner because ever second is filled with great conversations with Bosnians!
Pray for Senad and Goran (who just came back into town) and pray for my coffee with Amela right now. And that so many people would come to camp!
Thanks!!!!!!
God is great!
It was also really hard at the end of the week because it rained. It wasnt hard just because we were up on a hill and had to walk through the city in the rain but because there was so much rain that only 3 students came to our classes combined. It worked well becaue we just played games and then went bowling but it was hard because we wanted to have a bbq at our house on Saturday but didnt have everyones phone numbers. :( We also wanted to have coffee with friends during the day but didnt have their numbers. :(
So Saturday kind of sucked. It was good for us who as Americans want to be productive every second of the day and our worth many times comes from what we produce and we couldnt produce anything. Even how hard as we tried, no product at the end of the day to feel like we were worth the money people had given for us to go. That I think is a great lesson for us to learn- as hard as it was. Saturday night we did have a bbq and 7 or more of our Bosnian friends were there (there was 12 of us so 7 of them felt small) but it was great to minister to them individually and connect with them.
Monday the tides seemed to change. OH- it was also hard because many of the students felt like they didnt have a real bosnian friend yet and my co-leader, Nicole, was the first to voice this to me. I had sensed dissonance but after talking to her we were able to talk with the whole group about waiting for Gods timing while still giving all we have. We prayed monday morning for good conversations and that night God provided!
Good conversations about life!
Mandy, Kat and I talked and walked with Maja and she shared about her family and the war and her hopes and dreams. (I want her to know Jesus)
Good conversations about spirituality!
Miranda has been building a relationship with Sanela and her friend Dino and his girlfriend Alisa. They asked good questions and wanted to follow up with her the next day, which they did and they are in a great place to keep seeking God and asking good questions.
Good conversations about life as a Christian in Bosnia!
Nicole and Ali have befriended Medina (a friend from last year) and she shared the persecutions and hardships and loneliness of being a Christian here in Zenica.
God is so faithful!
And i havent had time to write sooner because ever second is filled with great conversations with Bosnians!
Pray for Senad and Goran (who just came back into town) and pray for my coffee with Amela right now. And that so many people would come to camp!
Thanks!!!!!!
God is great!
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Senad and others
Much has happened here and it feels as if we have been here for weeks already though it has not even been a week. (That is a good thing) I ran into my friend from last year, Fedja, and later Senad. I introduced Senad to Sladjan and Jan (christians) and they have spent time with him this year. Now he is teaching our Bosnian language class and coming to my english class with his girlfriend. I want him to know the love and acceptance Jesus offers. Please keep him in your prayers.
Also we have met great people from our first day of class. Ena and Dražen are very open to Jesus and the way he comes to right wrongs and cares about injustice. They both come from mixed marriages so are open to reading about God! Pray that would happen.
Many students are interested in our camp in 2 weeks because of its great location. please pray they would actually come and receive the words that bring life.
Pray for us as we continue to learn how to live together as a team. We have had great conflict resolution so far-I am so greatful to God for that. Pray that would continue.
Oh and pray for Meliha (a teacher from a city an hour away) who is in my class. She will be staying at our house 3 nights this week becasue she doesnt want to travel so far. Pray this will be a great ministry to her and she would respond to the Gospel we live.
Yeah for second day of English class in an hour!
Also we have met great people from our first day of class. Ena and Dražen are very open to Jesus and the way he comes to right wrongs and cares about injustice. They both come from mixed marriages so are open to reading about God! Pray that would happen.
Many students are interested in our camp in 2 weeks because of its great location. please pray they would actually come and receive the words that bring life.
Pray for us as we continue to learn how to live together as a team. We have had great conflict resolution so far-I am so greatful to God for that. Pray that would continue.
Oh and pray for Meliha (a teacher from a city an hour away) who is in my class. She will be staying at our house 3 nights this week becasue she doesnt want to travel so far. Pray this will be a great ministry to her and she would respond to the Gospel we live.
Yeah for second day of English class in an hour!
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