The sounds of the city

It may seem strange for those of you who know me and the town I come from but I am a city girl through and through (even if the town I grew up in has a population of less than 800 people.

I have had the privilege of spending the last 5 days in Zurich, Switzerland and was reminded of why I love the city so much. I love the anonymity of being a part of the bustling crowd. But one of the things I really love are the sounds of the city. The trolleys, buses, trams, emergency vehicles and trains and the music. Where else can you hear Dixieland Jazz, a bagpipe and drum ensemble, the classics played on an accordion AND see a tribute to Bollywood all in less than 48 hours! Many European cities, especially cities in Switzerland, also afford you the opportunity to listen to the amazing bells of their clocks and cathedrals as you wander along the cobblestone streets of their Old Town. Nothing enhances a walk through a beautiful city park like the gentle chiming of church bells. There's nothing quite like it and what made Zurich even better was that it is on the water. There's nothing better than a metropolis with a waterfront!

Same place, New person

I was once again blessed this year to be a part of the 2nd Annual Christian Gathering of Former Addicts. This event was inaugurated last year by a friend of mine, Boro Goic, along with some of his other friends from Croatia who are presently working in the area of re-socialization for former addicts. The purpose of these gatherings is three-fold--to share information regarding the progress of re-socialization in the Balkans; to meet and encourage other brothers and sisters in Christ who have been delivered from the slavery of drug addiction but are still battling to build new lives in their old neighborhoods; and finally, to give thanks to God for all He's done to bring them to wherever they are today and to seek His will for their future. There were once again brothers and sisters from BiH, Croatia, Bulgaria and Serbia.

This year the conference added a new aspect by including a public forum entitled, "Addiction is in the past, now what?" This forum allowed our guest speakers from Croatia to share about the work they are doing in re-socialization as well as the laws and governmental programs that have been established over the past few years to assist former addicts in this process. They talked about the foundation in Christ and the good work ethic that they had been given in the rehabilitation centers and how this was a great starting point for re-socialization. They discussed that employment is really only a small part of re-socialization and that much of this process entails continuing to work on character, relational and emotional issues which led to their addictions and the many broken relationships their habits left behind.There were guests from the local police and social work departments as well as several Bosnian government officials. It even looks like God is opening some doors for some of our church members who are former addicts to receive funding from one of the local government agencies to begin a re-socialization program in the Sarajevo area.
It is so exciting to see how God is using these men and women to testify to His redeeming power in the secular world. I know that everyone left feeling blessed and encouraged.