Wow! If you ever have a chance to visit the Adriatic, pick Croatia. Dubrovnik is beautiful!
Originally i picked Croatia over Austria because it was cheaper. This was a risky choice because in Austria everything is taken care of for us and I've been there twice and other staff were there before me. In Croatia I didn't know where to stay, if it would be what it said it was online, where we would eat, where we would meet, where to exchange money, etc. God was definitely in control of the whole process!
I found a great hostel right in the center of Dubrovnik, right by the sea. I saw pictures but didn't know what it would be like. It was amazing. Literally 5 minutes from the main walking street and 6 minutes from the sea, we could see it from our patio! Our rooms were small but livable. Our hosts were so nice, they showed us where everything was after picking us up from the bus station and they also showed us on a map how to get there, they suggested good restaurants, and gave us traditional Dubrovnik snacks! If you ever want to go to Croatia check out Begovic boarding house.
It was also great to hear how God had been at work during the summer in each person's life and how they were going to apply it. Some students were struck by the lack of opportunities and corruption in the University system, some touched by the depth of friendships, others the poverty and unemployment. Each student came away with commitments for their life and time on campus. Some made commitments to pray every time they drink coffee, some to take more risks with their friends at home, and others to step up in leadership. Every student learned something about living in community that I pray will spread throughout the rest of the fellowship.
I feel like this summer God was teaching me about community and faith.
In community I was challenged to be vulnerable 24/7 with my team, to depend on them and let them help me when I needed help and admit that I couldn't do it on my own. That was hard for me but I didn't have any other choice and my team was so great, they really were the hugest blessing this summer. Praise God for a great team! They all have unique gifts that they brought to the team and they were intentional about initiating and leading in their strengths! I need to not be independent but trust those in my community.
In faith I was challenged to examine what I really believe. I have learned in the last few months that i have the gift of faith, I really believe God will provide when he calls me to something, i believe he wants the best for my life, including healing. But this summer I wrestled with the situation of believing but not yet receiving and what does faith look like then. My team prayed for me and shared great scripture with me. I don't know if i ever told you but we prayed together every morning at breakfast and every night after sharing stories from the day, before we would go to sleep. Prayer was something I initiated but they continued to make happen every day- so great! Anyway, I'm going to keep praying and believing.
All our flights went well and we're all back home safely!
Thank you all so much for praying for me and our team this summer. Your prayers made it happen! You were there with us.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Camp- A great time for everyone!
Thank you for your prayers for camp! It went so well!
All summer I and the Zenica team were praying for 10 of our friends to come but only one did. We wish all our friends had come because camp was so great! But we are thankful for our one friend and the 10 Bosnian students who did come!
The content of the camp was really great! The EUS staff all did an amazing job planning it and thinking how to make it more fun and interactive while still allowing students to encounter God in his Word. (Note: Deron and Jessica Bauer are staff in Sarajevo, they’ve been there for a year and are alumnus from UCSB)
The camp was called “A better life,” “Bolji Zivot” and Deron found an old (Frank Sinatra style) song in Bosnian called, "Bolji Zivot" to play at the start of each session. Jessica was the MC and brought lots of energy and depth to the sessions. Students got practical communication skills, thought about what would make their life better, heard Sladjan’s powerful testimony about questioning life and God and seeking answers until finding Jesus! Then students were encouraged to discuss in small groups their thoughts on faith, relationship with God, Heaven & Hell, where they thought they would go and why. It was the most in depth, clear conversation I’ve been in while in Bosnia! Two girls from Banja Luka were in my group along with Charlene and Crystal and we all took turns sharing our thoughts and questions and answers. It was a great session because Charlene, Crystal and I had been having a lot of fun with the girls and it was so good to hear their thoughts and how they live their lives and to share with them what we believed freely without pressure on any side. I pray this conversation will continue to work in their (and all our friends’) hearts and draw them closer to himself. Then a pastor from Sarajevo came and talked about Jesus clearly, all the students were focused and paid attention even thought many had never heard the Gospel before they listened and though we didn’t see fruit, their response was better than last year and I still believe God’s word won’t return empty! This was a great step for the students that did come!
Thanks you for your prayers!
I got to co-lead an investigative Bible study one morning and it was great! I enjoy teaching and it was exciting that this was the first time many of the Bosnians had ever looked at the Bible!
We also had a lot of fun swimming in the lake, chatting over coffee, playing volleyball, and the last night we had a talent show and karaoke (in Bosnian and English)! Many good memories!
I was able to have enough energy to engage with the students and didn't have a bad headache even though I was sleeping on the ground. God is gracious! I did twist my right ankle and it still hurts but overall I was okay :-)
It was hard to leave my new friends and the EUS staff especially Deron and Jessica, my good friends from UCSB. Please keep praying for them and the other EUS staff as they continue the work in Bosnia for the rest of the year.
Pray they would build on the relationships already started and that students would be interested and respond.
Thank you so much for all your prayers while we were in Bosnia! God was with us!
All summer I and the Zenica team were praying for 10 of our friends to come but only one did. We wish all our friends had come because camp was so great! But we are thankful for our one friend and the 10 Bosnian students who did come!
The content of the camp was really great! The EUS staff all did an amazing job planning it and thinking how to make it more fun and interactive while still allowing students to encounter God in his Word. (Note: Deron and Jessica Bauer are staff in Sarajevo, they’ve been there for a year and are alumnus from UCSB)
The camp was called “A better life,” “Bolji Zivot” and Deron found an old (Frank Sinatra style) song in Bosnian called, "Bolji Zivot" to play at the start of each session. Jessica was the MC and brought lots of energy and depth to the sessions. Students got practical communication skills, thought about what would make their life better, heard Sladjan’s powerful testimony about questioning life and God and seeking answers until finding Jesus! Then students were encouraged to discuss in small groups their thoughts on faith, relationship with God, Heaven & Hell, where they thought they would go and why. It was the most in depth, clear conversation I’ve been in while in Bosnia! Two girls from Banja Luka were in my group along with Charlene and Crystal and we all took turns sharing our thoughts and questions and answers. It was a great session because Charlene, Crystal and I had been having a lot of fun with the girls and it was so good to hear their thoughts and how they live their lives and to share with them what we believed freely without pressure on any side. I pray this conversation will continue to work in their (and all our friends’) hearts and draw them closer to himself. Then a pastor from Sarajevo came and talked about Jesus clearly, all the students were focused and paid attention even thought many had never heard the Gospel before they listened and though we didn’t see fruit, their response was better than last year and I still believe God’s word won’t return empty! This was a great step for the students that did come!
Thanks you for your prayers!
I got to co-lead an investigative Bible study one morning and it was great! I enjoy teaching and it was exciting that this was the first time many of the Bosnians had ever looked at the Bible!
We also had a lot of fun swimming in the lake, chatting over coffee, playing volleyball, and the last night we had a talent show and karaoke (in Bosnian and English)! Many good memories!
I was able to have enough energy to engage with the students and didn't have a bad headache even though I was sleeping on the ground. God is gracious! I did twist my right ankle and it still hurts but overall I was okay :-)
It was hard to leave my new friends and the EUS staff especially Deron and Jessica, my good friends from UCSB. Please keep praying for them and the other EUS staff as they continue the work in Bosnia for the rest of the year.
Pray they would build on the relationships already started and that students would be interested and respond.
Thank you so much for all your prayers while we were in Bosnia! God was with us!
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Charlene's Visa!!!!!!!!!!
Please praise God with me!
Charlene got her visa TODAY! This was the last day to get it without causing travel plan changes and all sorts of fast thinking.
We’ve been praying and fasting and praying. I was woken at 6:30 this morning by the sun and was wide awake so I just started praying for Charlene’s visa. I was looking in awe at God’s creation and how amazing His work is, SO huge! As creator of the universe, getting a small visa is a very simple task. But getting Charlene’s visa is impossible for us so it would take an act of God, a miracle!
We had to start thinking this morning, “If they don’t have it today here are our 5 options A, B, C, D, E?” And, “What is our last day before we just have to send Charlene home without coming to Croatia?” :( very sad thoughts…
Our plan was call the Croatian embassy in Sarajevo all day until we knew if we could get it and if not Nicole and Charlene would stay in Sarajevo until they could get it. So we prayed this morning, I prayed last night with every student I met and kept praying.
I was leading a Bible study this morning on Acts 2:42-47 and it was going really well. I just said, “It is great to be in community to share each others joys and burdens like if someone gets a new job or if someone is waiting for a visa.” As I said “visa” Nicole’s phone rang and the lady said come pick up your visa! What a testimony for our students! YEAH GOD!!!!! Thank you Jesus that Charlene is here now, at camp, with her Croatian visa! Now we don’t have to buy her a different plane ticket or change any travel plans! God definitely loves and provides for his children!
I’ll tell you more about camp when I return to California. Please pray for our debriefing and reentry time to go well and for the staff to have energy, we are tired.
Thank you for your prayers! Praise God!!!!!!!!!!!
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Goodbye Zenica, Hello Camp
We are on our way to Borocko tomorrow!
Please pray for more students to come!
Pray for the Bible studies to speak individually to each student and the we would have discernment to know what to ask and what to share
Continue to pray for Charlene's visa: Zelko is a great advocate and working hard to rush the process for us.
Pray for out time at debriefing in Croatia, for safe travel, that staff would lead the students well, and things God taught us would be solidified.
Pray for energy and patience. Everyone is tired and that leads to more conflict.
Fun stories from the week!
E & M my 2 good friends asked me to meet them for coffee at 4pm. Now let me paint you a picture. It was the hottest week and i had been sweating all day. To go out again at 4 meant more sweat. I wanted to sleep before our party and when i'm tired my leg seems to work less. But i love them and the coffee shop was only 15 minutes away so i went. When i got there they reminded me that in Bosnian "Go to coffee" Doesn't mean you have to drink coffee, you can drink, lemonade, coke, fanta, whatever. It also doesn't even mean sitting down and drinking it can just mean meeting and hanging out. So they wanted to walk... in the hot sun... to the shopping center. Thankfully the shopping center has some sort of air conditioning. We eventually decided to get pizza because E was hungry. M decided to get fries because we were getting food. Her fries came but our pizza never did :( E was very mad but you have to imagine her voice as the voice of Pollyanna saying, "It's not fair, really!" and i said, "It's okay at least we get to be together" and she (in Pollyanna voice) said, "I very much like being with you too." We've gotten so close and i'm very sad she & M will not be joining us for Camp :( I gave them cute pens from UCSB and they gave me the bracelets they were wearing after much protesting on my part. They are so generous and sweet and I'll miss them. (but i wont miss sweating all over Zenica, though the time with them was worth it)
Did i ever tell you that we got a fish? Just a little goldfish. We named him David because we are going to give him to David, the Staff in Banja Luka. But he might die soon. Every time we come home someone says, "Is David dead?" It's quite funny. Today we took him on the train with us.... our train hit a van... and we were 2 hours late. But David is still alive :)
This isn't really a story but we had our last going away party on Friday night and many many people came to our house. It was fun and sad all mixed together and when they left around 11:30 we had to clean the entire house, pack up and try to sleep to wake at 6:00 to catch the train! Whew! We are tired!
When I arrive in the states I'll tell you more about camp and debrief, until then please keep me/us in your prayers.
Please pray for more students to come!
Pray for the Bible studies to speak individually to each student and the we would have discernment to know what to ask and what to share
Continue to pray for Charlene's visa: Zelko is a great advocate and working hard to rush the process for us.
Pray for out time at debriefing in Croatia, for safe travel, that staff would lead the students well, and things God taught us would be solidified.
Pray for energy and patience. Everyone is tired and that leads to more conflict.
Fun stories from the week!
E & M my 2 good friends asked me to meet them for coffee at 4pm. Now let me paint you a picture. It was the hottest week and i had been sweating all day. To go out again at 4 meant more sweat. I wanted to sleep before our party and when i'm tired my leg seems to work less. But i love them and the coffee shop was only 15 minutes away so i went. When i got there they reminded me that in Bosnian "Go to coffee" Doesn't mean you have to drink coffee, you can drink, lemonade, coke, fanta, whatever. It also doesn't even mean sitting down and drinking it can just mean meeting and hanging out. So they wanted to walk... in the hot sun... to the shopping center. Thankfully the shopping center has some sort of air conditioning. We eventually decided to get pizza because E was hungry. M decided to get fries because we were getting food. Her fries came but our pizza never did :( E was very mad but you have to imagine her voice as the voice of Pollyanna saying, "It's not fair, really!" and i said, "It's okay at least we get to be together" and she (in Pollyanna voice) said, "I very much like being with you too." We've gotten so close and i'm very sad she & M will not be joining us for Camp :( I gave them cute pens from UCSB and they gave me the bracelets they were wearing after much protesting on my part. They are so generous and sweet and I'll miss them. (but i wont miss sweating all over Zenica, though the time with them was worth it)
Did i ever tell you that we got a fish? Just a little goldfish. We named him David because we are going to give him to David, the Staff in Banja Luka. But he might die soon. Every time we come home someone says, "Is David dead?" It's quite funny. Today we took him on the train with us.... our train hit a van... and we were 2 hours late. But David is still alive :)
This isn't really a story but we had our last going away party on Friday night and many many people came to our house. It was fun and sad all mixed together and when they left around 11:30 we had to clean the entire house, pack up and try to sleep to wake at 6:00 to catch the train! Whew! We are tired!
When I arrive in the states I'll tell you more about camp and debrief, until then please keep me/us in your prayers.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Great times in Zenica!
Charlene is still waiting for her visa but with the express process she should know by Friday (tomorrow) if she gets it or not. Dear God please get her visa to Croatia!
Our team is still having a great time! We get along really well and have been dealing with whatever small things come up right away! Its so great! Well i almost wish there was conflict that they could learn and grow from but really they just know themselves and love each other.
It has been SO hot this week. I started sweating at 9am and its 9pm and Im still sticky. :( Yuck!
I went to my friend Amela's house today just to "hang out" and she had made us a full meal, at 3pm. We just finished lunch at 2... it was so delicious and i love spending time with her and Senad! The are great friends of mine! I am now stuffed to the top!
Pray for students to join us for camp on Sunday. There have been many barriers like parents, money, other friends not going. I just want students to be blessed as they spend time with us and encounter Jesus in the Bible. Pray with us.
Healthwise I have been okay. Praise God for not so huge headaches even while its been hot. My leg has gotten more and more tired. I dont know how to make it better but to pray.
Pray for tomorrow, our last day in Zenica, that we will be led by the Spirit in conversation and connecting our friends to EUS to continue the work.
Saturday we are joining the other half of our team in Sarajevo, pray for our travel and time in Sarajevo, that we would be prepared for camp.
OH praise God with us that the sleeping bags we had to buy were half price today and i was able to finally understand our landlady so we went to buy them and bought out the stores supply. Thank you Jesus!
Fun story:
It was just going to be Jenni and I at lunch on Tuesday because the boys went to Armins house and Charlene was in Sarajevo. So we invited 4 girlfriends to come over, 2 replied to say they could come and 6 showed up! It was a great time but our amazing cook was very surprized, "Četri, Osam?" (four, eight?)
We also had a girl-guy night on Tuesday. Girls tye-dyed upstairs and did girly stuff while the guys made tacos (including the tortillas)! We enjoyed their food and it was just fun to be together. One girl even tye-dyed her head scarf :)
I love being here and i love Jesus for being with us and at work and i love you for praying for us!
Our team is still having a great time! We get along really well and have been dealing with whatever small things come up right away! Its so great! Well i almost wish there was conflict that they could learn and grow from but really they just know themselves and love each other.
It has been SO hot this week. I started sweating at 9am and its 9pm and Im still sticky. :( Yuck!
I went to my friend Amela's house today just to "hang out" and she had made us a full meal, at 3pm. We just finished lunch at 2... it was so delicious and i love spending time with her and Senad! The are great friends of mine! I am now stuffed to the top!
Pray for students to join us for camp on Sunday. There have been many barriers like parents, money, other friends not going. I just want students to be blessed as they spend time with us and encounter Jesus in the Bible. Pray with us.
Healthwise I have been okay. Praise God for not so huge headaches even while its been hot. My leg has gotten more and more tired. I dont know how to make it better but to pray.
Pray for tomorrow, our last day in Zenica, that we will be led by the Spirit in conversation and connecting our friends to EUS to continue the work.
Saturday we are joining the other half of our team in Sarajevo, pray for our travel and time in Sarajevo, that we would be prepared for camp.
OH praise God with us that the sleeping bags we had to buy were half price today and i was able to finally understand our landlady so we went to buy them and bought out the stores supply. Thank you Jesus!
Fun story:
It was just going to be Jenni and I at lunch on Tuesday because the boys went to Armins house and Charlene was in Sarajevo. So we invited 4 girlfriends to come over, 2 replied to say they could come and 6 showed up! It was a great time but our amazing cook was very surprized, "Četri, Osam?" (four, eight?)
We also had a girl-guy night on Tuesday. Girls tye-dyed upstairs and did girly stuff while the guys made tacos (including the tortillas)! We enjoyed their food and it was just fun to be together. One girl even tye-dyed her head scarf :)
I love being here and i love Jesus for being with us and at work and i love you for praying for us!
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Last week!
This is our last week here in Zenica then we go to Boroćko for a week of camp, including morning Bible studies and evening talks and afternoons filled with fun at the lake.
We have had a lot of fun but i cant tell you all about it until later. I have to go teach english class. Just know we are having a great time in class, playing baseball, having bbqs, parties, going to the pool, and just enjoying coffee.
Charlene needs to get her visa for croatia tomorrow morning in sarajevo, pray for save travel and favor with the embassy. Pray she can come with us.
Please pray for Pray for:
• Please pray for students to keep coming to class. We have a consistent 15.
• Praise God for good, non-awkward conversations with new and old friends this last week! Pray that continues!
• Please pray with us for all our students to encounter God in a real way in the next 2 weeks and that they would come to camp with us.
• Pray for camp July 26-30, that 10 students from each city would come. We have a list of 15 students we would love to come from Zenica, pray they would.
• Continue to pray for good communication and energy on our team. Pray for Jenni, Scott, Chris, Charlene, Sean and myself. Charlene as a Kenyan citizen has run into prolems for getting into Croatia for our debrief time. Please pray that God would do something to get her there and affirm that she has been doing a great job so far in Zenica.
• Please keep praying for healing for my spinal cord, strength for my leg, and decreased cerebral spinal fluid pressure to be free from my headaches. Praise God that yesterday when I TOTALLY twisted my ankle it didnt hurt after 10 minutes
God is great! May his name be glorified!
We have had a lot of fun but i cant tell you all about it until later. I have to go teach english class. Just know we are having a great time in class, playing baseball, having bbqs, parties, going to the pool, and just enjoying coffee.
Charlene needs to get her visa for croatia tomorrow morning in sarajevo, pray for save travel and favor with the embassy. Pray she can come with us.
Please pray for Pray for:
• Please pray for students to keep coming to class. We have a consistent 15.
• Praise God for good, non-awkward conversations with new and old friends this last week! Pray that continues!
• Please pray with us for all our students to encounter God in a real way in the next 2 weeks and that they would come to camp with us.
• Pray for camp July 26-30, that 10 students from each city would come. We have a list of 15 students we would love to come from Zenica, pray they would.
• Continue to pray for good communication and energy on our team. Pray for Jenni, Scott, Chris, Charlene, Sean and myself. Charlene as a Kenyan citizen has run into prolems for getting into Croatia for our debrief time. Please pray that God would do something to get her there and affirm that she has been doing a great job so far in Zenica.
• Please keep praying for healing for my spinal cord, strength for my leg, and decreased cerebral spinal fluid pressure to be free from my headaches. Praise God that yesterday when I TOTALLY twisted my ankle it didnt hurt after 10 minutes
God is great! May his name be glorified!
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Tired but giving our all
This has been an eventful week!
This is long but I have so much to say! Summarized in 6 points for stories and prayer:
English classes lead to deeper friendships!
Our team encourages each other and continues to serve boldly through tiredness!
Students are having spiritual conversations every night!
I’ve reconnected with more old friends!
Ode to David
Walking has been hard and my headache still unceasing
(read below for details on each of these points)
Pray for:
• Please pray for students to keep coming to class and engaging in conversation.
• Pray for good, non-awkward conversations with new and old friends.
• Please pray with us for all our students to encounter God in a real way in the next 2 weeks and that they would come to camp with us.
• Pray for camp July 26-30, that 10 students from each city would come. We have a list of 15 students we would love to come from Zenica, pray they would.
• Continue to pray for good communication and energy on our team. Pray for Jenni, Scott, Chris, Charlene, Sean and myself.
• Praise the Lord with me that we live so close to the city! Please keep praying for healing for my spinal cord, strength for my leg, and decreased cerebral spinal fluid pressure to be free from my headaches.
English classes lead to deeper friendships!
I love teaching! English is not my subject so I’m very thankful this is a conversational class! We have a lot of fun in class and are also able to have deep conversations about life. Last week we talked about family, friends, country and life experiences. For life experiences they drew time lines and shared them with their table group and I heard how the war affected my friend E and how the death of S’s father in 2001 through her into a pit of bad stuff. S thinks that her boyfriend will make everything better, I pray she’ll let Jesus make her well and healed. I’m blessed for these English classes because without them we might not get to know each other so well so quickly.
Our team encourages each other and continues to serve boldly through tiredness!
We are very tired and need prayer for more energy because we’ve spent so much time with our new friends! Friday was a very hard day for me. We had bowling in the morning, coffee to follow, people over for lunch, a staff meeting, class, and a party at our house until after midnight. It was non-stop and non-stop with people. I was very drained by the end of the night and was glad for the weekend to come (though it didn’t slow down much). When I asked the team to pray for me to continue engaging with students and have energy to be around people they also said Friday was a hard day for them, but you never would have known. At the party they were smiling and laughing and talking with their friends. They are great! We haven’t had much conflict, I think because they are so self-aware. We had a small conversation last night about a girl in our class and how one on our team was interacting with her differently than would be acceptable in this culture and that was hard to hear for that one but ended up being a good conversation. They are so teachable and such a blessing to me. Continue to pray for good communication and energy.
Students are having spiritual conversations every night!
Sean and I had a great conversation with two girls from our class E and M. It started in a café called Manuel. There was a Michael Jackson song on and I mentioned he had died. Then E went off about how strange he was but how she thought he was a believer. Sean jumped in and asked if she was a believer in anything. She shared about being atheist, then choosing Islam and hoping that her good out weighs the bad and the Muhammad will stand on her side on judgment day. Sean shared the Gospel and invited her to study the Bible with us. I shared my testimony and how God spoke to me through His Word and through reading and prayer I realized how important Jesus is.
Jenni and Charlene have spiritual conversations every night, sometimes with people they just met! Last night my old friend Sanela brought a friend with her and that girl talked with Jenni for a few hours about God as we walked around the city!
Scott and Chris have been spending their time with very devoted Muslims. Scott has had really great conversations with a girl who is covered! She even teaches at the mosque. We’re praying for her to have a dream that would direct her to Jesus because in Islam dreams are very important. Please pray with us for all our students to encounter God in a real way in the next 2 weeks and that they would come to camp with us.
I’ve reconnected with more old friends!
I saw Sanela and Dzenana last night! They are dear friends and I pray they will spend time with us and grow closer to God! I am awaiting the return of Amela and Senad, they went on vacation and I miss them. Pray for good, non-awkward conversations when they come back.
Ode to David
David is a missionary from Czech and serves in Northern Bosnia in a city called Banja Luka. He would like to have an InterVarsity team come to his city next year so he stayed with us for 10 days to see what it would be like. It was great to have a Bosnian speaker with us and he blessed us with his car as well! He would play games with us, eat meals with us and attend church with us. He is so much fun and we will miss him. He left us Monday afternoon. We will see him again at the Evangelistic camp on the 26th-30th. Pray for him and his ministry.
Walking has been hard and my headache still unceasing
I praise the Lord daily that we live so close to the city! It only takes 10 minutes to walk to the center of the city and 15 minutes to the classroom! From the classroom to the center of the city is 15-20 minutes (depending on how tired my leg is). Thank you God! My right leg has gotten to the point that I can only walk about 7 minutes before getting tired and weak. Then I can go about another 10 before I need to stop and rest. It’s really hard at the end of the day to walk home, even on flat land. I’m afraid of little bumps in the sidewalk and walking up our little hill at the end is very strenuous and takes much effort.
I still have my headache each day but some how I feel like it hasn’t been as bad as it could be. I just asked my students and they said I have a bad headache at least once a day, some times three times a day. It doesn’t often last for long though, I think. I guess I just try not to think about it. But I guess I do sometimes think to myself, “Can I afford to stay home today because my head hurts?” Then the team prays and it feels better by the time I have to leave.
Please keep praying for healing for my spinal cord, strength for my leg, and decreased cerebral spinal fluid pressure to be free from my headaches.
This is long but I have so much to say! Summarized in 6 points for stories and prayer:
English classes lead to deeper friendships!
Our team encourages each other and continues to serve boldly through tiredness!
Students are having spiritual conversations every night!
I’ve reconnected with more old friends!
Ode to David
Walking has been hard and my headache still unceasing
(read below for details on each of these points)
Pray for:
• Please pray for students to keep coming to class and engaging in conversation.
• Pray for good, non-awkward conversations with new and old friends.
• Please pray with us for all our students to encounter God in a real way in the next 2 weeks and that they would come to camp with us.
• Pray for camp July 26-30, that 10 students from each city would come. We have a list of 15 students we would love to come from Zenica, pray they would.
• Continue to pray for good communication and energy on our team. Pray for Jenni, Scott, Chris, Charlene, Sean and myself.
• Praise the Lord with me that we live so close to the city! Please keep praying for healing for my spinal cord, strength for my leg, and decreased cerebral spinal fluid pressure to be free from my headaches.
English classes lead to deeper friendships!
I love teaching! English is not my subject so I’m very thankful this is a conversational class! We have a lot of fun in class and are also able to have deep conversations about life. Last week we talked about family, friends, country and life experiences. For life experiences they drew time lines and shared them with their table group and I heard how the war affected my friend E and how the death of S’s father in 2001 through her into a pit of bad stuff. S thinks that her boyfriend will make everything better, I pray she’ll let Jesus make her well and healed. I’m blessed for these English classes because without them we might not get to know each other so well so quickly.
Our team encourages each other and continues to serve boldly through tiredness!
We are very tired and need prayer for more energy because we’ve spent so much time with our new friends! Friday was a very hard day for me. We had bowling in the morning, coffee to follow, people over for lunch, a staff meeting, class, and a party at our house until after midnight. It was non-stop and non-stop with people. I was very drained by the end of the night and was glad for the weekend to come (though it didn’t slow down much). When I asked the team to pray for me to continue engaging with students and have energy to be around people they also said Friday was a hard day for them, but you never would have known. At the party they were smiling and laughing and talking with their friends. They are great! We haven’t had much conflict, I think because they are so self-aware. We had a small conversation last night about a girl in our class and how one on our team was interacting with her differently than would be acceptable in this culture and that was hard to hear for that one but ended up being a good conversation. They are so teachable and such a blessing to me. Continue to pray for good communication and energy.
Students are having spiritual conversations every night!
Sean and I had a great conversation with two girls from our class E and M. It started in a café called Manuel. There was a Michael Jackson song on and I mentioned he had died. Then E went off about how strange he was but how she thought he was a believer. Sean jumped in and asked if she was a believer in anything. She shared about being atheist, then choosing Islam and hoping that her good out weighs the bad and the Muhammad will stand on her side on judgment day. Sean shared the Gospel and invited her to study the Bible with us. I shared my testimony and how God spoke to me through His Word and through reading and prayer I realized how important Jesus is.
Jenni and Charlene have spiritual conversations every night, sometimes with people they just met! Last night my old friend Sanela brought a friend with her and that girl talked with Jenni for a few hours about God as we walked around the city!
Scott and Chris have been spending their time with very devoted Muslims. Scott has had really great conversations with a girl who is covered! She even teaches at the mosque. We’re praying for her to have a dream that would direct her to Jesus because in Islam dreams are very important. Please pray with us for all our students to encounter God in a real way in the next 2 weeks and that they would come to camp with us.
I’ve reconnected with more old friends!
I saw Sanela and Dzenana last night! They are dear friends and I pray they will spend time with us and grow closer to God! I am awaiting the return of Amela and Senad, they went on vacation and I miss them. Pray for good, non-awkward conversations when they come back.
Ode to David
David is a missionary from Czech and serves in Northern Bosnia in a city called Banja Luka. He would like to have an InterVarsity team come to his city next year so he stayed with us for 10 days to see what it would be like. It was great to have a Bosnian speaker with us and he blessed us with his car as well! He would play games with us, eat meals with us and attend church with us. He is so much fun and we will miss him. He left us Monday afternoon. We will see him again at the Evangelistic camp on the 26th-30th. Pray for him and his ministry.
Walking has been hard and my headache still unceasing
I praise the Lord daily that we live so close to the city! It only takes 10 minutes to walk to the center of the city and 15 minutes to the classroom! From the classroom to the center of the city is 15-20 minutes (depending on how tired my leg is). Thank you God! My right leg has gotten to the point that I can only walk about 7 minutes before getting tired and weak. Then I can go about another 10 before I need to stop and rest. It’s really hard at the end of the day to walk home, even on flat land. I’m afraid of little bumps in the sidewalk and walking up our little hill at the end is very strenuous and takes much effort.
I still have my headache each day but some how I feel like it hasn’t been as bad as it could be. I just asked my students and they said I have a bad headache at least once a day, some times three times a day. It doesn’t often last for long though, I think. I guess I just try not to think about it. But I guess I do sometimes think to myself, “Can I afford to stay home today because my head hurts?” Then the team prays and it feels better by the time I have to leave.
Please keep praying for healing for my spinal cord, strength for my leg, and decreased cerebral spinal fluid pressure to be free from my headaches.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
When God Works, He Works!
God is so great!
I am having a great time and have reconnected with many old friends!
I met with Maja, Amela, Goran, Senad, Medina. Have talked to Amna, Sanela and Anela. I was going to meet with Selma today but she had unexpected company so we rescheduled.
&&& Pray for deep conversations with all of them and that i would see others i havent yet.
My team is great!
Sean is a great coleader! He is insightful and can make quick decisions
Jenni is a great initiator and is full of energy
Scott is so genuine and up for anything
Chris is so easy going and caring
Charlene is so bible based and sweet
It is a true blessing to work with them!
&&&&Pray for continued good times together that we could encourage and uplift each other.
My health as been alright
We have 28 students in class! from 10
Pray for no headaches, better sleep, good weather and deep conversations.
I am having a great time and have reconnected with many old friends!
I met with Maja, Amela, Goran, Senad, Medina. Have talked to Amna, Sanela and Anela. I was going to meet with Selma today but she had unexpected company so we rescheduled.
&&& Pray for deep conversations with all of them and that i would see others i havent yet.
My team is great!
Sean is a great coleader! He is insightful and can make quick decisions
Jenni is a great initiator and is full of energy
Scott is so genuine and up for anything
Chris is so easy going and caring
Charlene is so bible based and sweet
It is a true blessing to work with them!
&&&&Pray for continued good times together that we could encourage and uplift each other.
My health as been alright
We have 28 students in class! from 10
Pray for no headaches, better sleep, good weather and deep conversations.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
We are here!
After a day and a half of travel we are in Zenica!
Yeah God for getting us here safely with all our luggage and with out any problems with Charlene!
Please pray for students to sign up for class which starts on Monday. We passed out fliers today and 2 students already signed up that we just met, i think that makes a total of 15 students. Pray for more.
Pray for rest and no jet lag.
Thank God that we are here and my team is doing great so far!
Thank you for yours prayers! Im so blessed to be back in Zenica, it feels like my second (or third) home!
Pray for my leg to work well, its kind of tired (was when i woke up too) which is difficult when i have so far to walk each day. Also pray for me to not have a headache. This morning was bad but now is not so bad.
Thanks for your prayers!
God bless you!
Melissa
Yeah God for getting us here safely with all our luggage and with out any problems with Charlene!
Please pray for students to sign up for class which starts on Monday. We passed out fliers today and 2 students already signed up that we just met, i think that makes a total of 15 students. Pray for more.
Pray for rest and no jet lag.
Thank God that we are here and my team is doing great so far!
Thank you for yours prayers! Im so blessed to be back in Zenica, it feels like my second (or third) home!
Pray for my leg to work well, its kind of tired (was when i woke up too) which is difficult when i have so far to walk each day. Also pray for me to not have a headache. This morning was bad but now is not so bad.
Thanks for your prayers!
God bless you!
Melissa
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Orientation!
We started orientation with students today!
Praise God that Charlene (UCSB student from Kenya) held her visa in her had 2 days ago! It as cutting it close but it came, she has it and will be serving with us! We were all so excited to greet her today, the first day of orientation.
Please pray for the staff, me, Tina, Adam and Nicole, as we lead these students through cultural & language lessons, history lessons, evangelism training, and team building for the next 4 days. Pray as staff we have energy and the Lord's discernment at all times. Pray also we'll have good communication with each other, our team and the missionaries in Bosnia. Pray the students will be teachable, build good friendships on the team and be fully prepared for what God has for them this summer!
Pray for Bosnian students to sign up for the English classes we'll be hosting.
Pray for all the logistics and flights on June 30th 9pm.
Also pray for my health, that I don't have any really bad headaches and that my right leg gets stronger so I'll have no problems walking.
I'm so excited for how God will move through and in us this summer! I'm also excited to see my old friends and continue taking those relationships deeper.
Praise God that Charlene (UCSB student from Kenya) held her visa in her had 2 days ago! It as cutting it close but it came, she has it and will be serving with us! We were all so excited to greet her today, the first day of orientation.
Please pray for the staff, me, Tina, Adam and Nicole, as we lead these students through cultural & language lessons, history lessons, evangelism training, and team building for the next 4 days. Pray as staff we have energy and the Lord's discernment at all times. Pray also we'll have good communication with each other, our team and the missionaries in Bosnia. Pray the students will be teachable, build good friendships on the team and be fully prepared for what God has for them this summer!
Pray for Bosnian students to sign up for the English classes we'll be hosting.
Pray for all the logistics and flights on June 30th 9pm.
Also pray for my health, that I don't have any really bad headaches and that my right leg gets stronger so I'll have no problems walking.
I'm so excited for how God will move through and in us this summer! I'm also excited to see my old friends and continue taking those relationships deeper.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
One Month to Go!!!
God is so faithful!!!
Our team already has been so blessed in team dynamics, funding, prayer support and logistics!
We only need $4,000 for our UCSB team to be ready to go! Thank you friends who've provided and thank you God for giving the resources for them TO provide :)
Praise God for an apartment in Zenica! Pray it's closer to the city than our last house. And that we can minister to Goran's grandmother and aunt who live on the top floor (we're renting the bottom 2 floors)
My team is the greatest! We had a great time together at STIM and our UCSB team is enjoying being together!
It's a very diverse team. Scott at UNLV is African American, Jenni at UNLV is half Japanese half English, Charlene at UCSB is from Kenya, Chris at UCSB is Latino, Sean at UCSB is half Vietnamese half white and I am all white. We'll have a great time together learning how to work together and how to interact with Bosnians who have little experience with non-whites.
Pray for Charlene's visa to come quickly! we need it before she goes to Bosnia!
Pray for my health and that I do everything for it before I go.
I'm so excited to see Maja, Senad, Sanela, Amela and Amila, Anela, Alexandra, Goran, Medina, Selma, and everyone else!
Thanks for covering Bosnia in your prayers!
Our team already has been so blessed in team dynamics, funding, prayer support and logistics!
We only need $4,000 for our UCSB team to be ready to go! Thank you friends who've provided and thank you God for giving the resources for them TO provide :)
Praise God for an apartment in Zenica! Pray it's closer to the city than our last house. And that we can minister to Goran's grandmother and aunt who live on the top floor (we're renting the bottom 2 floors)
My team is the greatest! We had a great time together at STIM and our UCSB team is enjoying being together!
It's a very diverse team. Scott at UNLV is African American, Jenni at UNLV is half Japanese half English, Charlene at UCSB is from Kenya, Chris at UCSB is Latino, Sean at UCSB is half Vietnamese half white and I am all white. We'll have a great time together learning how to work together and how to interact with Bosnians who have little experience with non-whites.
Pray for Charlene's visa to come quickly! we need it before she goes to Bosnia!
Pray for my health and that I do everything for it before I go.
I'm so excited to see Maja, Senad, Sanela, Amela and Amila, Anela, Alexandra, Goran, Medina, Selma, and everyone else!
Thanks for covering Bosnia in your prayers!
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
February thoughts...
I get to return to Zenica this summer!
Woohoo!!!!!!!
I have been praying a lot, preparing, doing front end logistical stuff with Tina, Adam and Nicole.
If you read this please pray for us as we select this summer's team of students. I would also love for more students from UCSB to come so please pray that they would sign up by this weekend.
Praise God for the great staff in Bosnia preparing for us to come and for the relationships I've been able to keep up over facebook.
I get to have a second opinion about my health tomorrow at 10am.
I have a great team of leaders this year and I especially enjoy the Vision team of coordinators who basically lead the fellowship.
I received some great training in Manuscript study for Urbana 09 so I can help out and in 2012 perhaps lead a manuscript study for 150-200 students. It was great timing because I get to lead the manuscript study for 2 Timothy this weekend at Winter Conference.
I really like all the freshmen I get to hang out with! And I'm praying for new leaders to step up to lead next year.
I love snowboarding.
The end.
Woohoo!!!!!!!
I have been praying a lot, preparing, doing front end logistical stuff with Tina, Adam and Nicole.
If you read this please pray for us as we select this summer's team of students. I would also love for more students from UCSB to come so please pray that they would sign up by this weekend.
Praise God for the great staff in Bosnia preparing for us to come and for the relationships I've been able to keep up over facebook.
I get to have a second opinion about my health tomorrow at 10am.
I have a great team of leaders this year and I especially enjoy the Vision team of coordinators who basically lead the fellowship.
I received some great training in Manuscript study for Urbana 09 so I can help out and in 2012 perhaps lead a manuscript study for 150-200 students. It was great timing because I get to lead the manuscript study for 2 Timothy this weekend at Winter Conference.
I really like all the freshmen I get to hang out with! And I'm praying for new leaders to step up to lead next year.
I love snowboarding.
The end.
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