Cheifing in BiH

A camping we will go!

2008-08-12T12:03:00.000-07:00

Well, rather unexpectedly, this summer found me back at camp on Boracko Jezero for three weeks (four if you count my time with the Eagle team!). I say unexpectedly because 2 months ago I thought I wouldn't be able to go to camp at all. However, God knows the desires of our heart and enjoys surprising us with them. I not only went to camp for nearly a month all together, I somehow wound up as a last minute member of the full time camp team--as one of the three cooks! There were actually 8 weeks of camp so I was only there for half because of my move to Sarajevo and my brother's team from Cody, Wyoming. However, those 4 weeks, especially the 3 straight weeks I just spent there, were enough to leave me exhausted and very appreciative of all the comforts of the modern world.

You can see pictures from all six weeks of camp on the website www.emekberaka.org. You can also check out my pics on Facebook if you're a member.

I was at camp for the young adult camp (age 18-30), family camp and the second teen camp. All together we served nearly 300 people over the 3 weeks of camp. It was a great time and the Lord truly blessed me with great co-workers in the kitchen. Each morning, we three cooks would spend a few minutes praying for the day. This along with the quite time I was able to have each day between 6 and 7 am (while the water was boiling for coffee for the workers and campers) were some of my favorite times at the camp.

Another of my favorite times was worship because I have found few places that are a better testimony to the greatness of our Creator than the valley where our camp is surround by mountains rising up all around us.

Living the Call together

2008-07-27T00:44:00.000-07:00

I have been abundantly blessed to have so many people supporting me in my ministry in Bosnia-Herzegovina. One of the greatest blessings over the past ten years of working with Bosnians has been my home church, Eagle Church. Eagle has sent several teams to BiH since the start of their partnership with the Bosnian Field in 2000. However, I think that the team that came this summer has been one of my favorites so far.

One of the reasons this is true is because all of the people on the team have been a special part of my life at Eagle church. A second reason is because they came to help us develop the camp purchased last year by the Evangelical church of Bosnia-Herzegovina. This camp has become very special to me as I have spent 2-3 weeks there every summer over the last 4 years. In fact, this year I will once again be there for 3 weeks in the kitchen with two of my Bosnian sisters from Tuzla. The has and continues to play a part in the spiritual development of a large majority of Bosnian believers. It is one of only a few opportunities the Bosnian church has each year for believers to meet other believers from all over BiH. It was so much fun for me to be able to show the team the amazing place God has provided for us to have camp and to introduce them to my new hometown, Sarajevo.

Another special part of the team's time in BiH and at the camp was that they had the opportunity to meet a majority of the pastors currently serving in Bosnia-Herzegovina as well as having the opportunity to spend time with nearly all of our C&MA team. Though this was not a planned part of their time here, it was exciting for me that they could get to know some of the amazing men and women God has chosen to build His church here. The team's time here was truly an example of what Kingdom partnership is meant to be.

My new place in Sarajevo

2008-07-17T08:42:00.000-07:00

Well it has been a crazy few months with teams and moving to Sarajevo but I thought I'd take a few moments to tell you about my new place and show you a few pictures.

I am living in a great little one bedroom apartment in a neighborhood called Mojmilo (my dear one in English) which is named for the hill we are located on. It is a small, peaceful neighborhood with just 8-10 buildings and a nice square and small shopping center in the middle.It was once used to house Olympic athletes and then later become a sort of artists' colony. It was one of the first areas of Sarajevo to be fired on during the war and remained an area of heavy bombardment throughout the war. There are still some signs of this throughout the neighborhood just as there are everywhere in Sarajevo.

I've included a few pictures from my place and my neighborhood. I've also included a picture of my first guests in my new place, the Eikosts and some dear friends from Mostar.Though it isn't easy to see from the pictures, I have an incredible view of the mountains and the nearby city of Ilidza where my co-workers, the Eikosts are partnering with a Bosnian couple in a new church plant. I will be assisting at this site to some extent but will also be doing a lot of mentoring and relationship building at the "mother" church which is located in Sarajevo proper about a 10 minute drive or 20 minute tram ride from my place. It is quite exciting for me to be in a larger city again as I have the heart of a city girl even if I was born in a small town.

Well, in just a few days I'm off to camp to help cook for three weeks so check out this site in a month or so for some exciting new stories from camp. Ciao for now!

The Wild West comes to Tuzla

2008-07-02T11:19:00.000-07:00

I've had lots of fun in June as teams from my home church, Eagle and my brother's church, Cody Missionary Alliance have visited BiH this month.

The group from Cody arrived on June 20th and departed on July 1st. The team came to Tuzla to assist us with our annual Kids' English Day Camp. It was a great time and the team did a fantastic job of introducing the kids to the history of the Wild West and Yellowstone National Park through lots of fun crafts, drama, songs and games.

The team also spent lots of time with our volunteer workers who were all present or former students of our English school, Svjetionik. Some of the team members went out almost every evening to watch the European Football (Soccer in American English!) Championships or to just enjoy a stroll on Tuzla's walking street. As many of you have heard from me before, an evening stroll and a cup of coffee in one of the local cafes are more or less the national past times in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

It was also an extra bonus that my brother, Dave and his wife, Julie were able to be a part of the team. It was great to let them see Tuzla where I'd been living for the past 2 1/2 years. They also got to meet some of the people from the Sarajevo and Ilidza churches with whom I'll be working in the coming years. It was great fun to have them as my first overnight guests in my new apartment in Sarajevo.

I just want to wrap this up by saying a huge thank you to the team from Cody for the incredible effort they gave to prepare for the English camp as well as for the way they worked so hard to learn Bosnian and understand the local culture. God bless and I hope we'll see some of you here again some day!

Turning to the Son

2008-05-15T20:00:00.000-07:00

These past few months have been filled with lots of travel and excitement. In May, I had the privilege of attending Srcokret which is a play on the Bosnian word Suncokret (sunflower). Srcokret was a youth conference held in Zagreb, Croatia for all of the youth of the Balkans. The Bosnian worship team had the opportunity to lead worship for one of the sessions, as well as, preforming on one of the squares in the center of Zagreb during the open air concerts. It was exciting to see nearly a thousand young adults gathered together from all parts of the former Yugoslavia to intercede for their cities.

The sessions focused on turning our hearts toward the Savior and committing ourselves fully to what Christ desires to do in our lives and through us in the lives of others. Please pray that God will use these young lives to bring hope and revival to the Balkans!

The sounds of the city

2008-04-28T03:27:00.000-07:00

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

2008-04-14T09:33:00.000-07:00

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.

Hope for Bosnia-Herzegovina

2008-02-05T16:08:00.000-08:00

As I have been traveling from church to church sharing about our work in Bosnia-Herzegovina, it seems that the same question constantly comes up. "What hope is there for the future of Bosnia-Herzegovina?" The truth is that Jesus and the Truth of His life, death and resurrection are the only hope for real change in the hearts of the Bosnian people.

As I have contemplated this question and thought about what is most encouraging to me in a situation that often seems impossible, I have come to realize that the next generation is what gives me the most hope. As I think about the church in Bosnia-Herzegovina and the young couples that are now raising their families according to His Word, it is amazing to think that this is the first generation in Bosnia-Herzegovina that has ever been raised in Christ-centered homes. This reality is so exciting to me. As we see the Bosnian church grow into its second and third generations, I believe that we will begin to see the future of Bosnia-Herzegovina change as well. This is incredibly exciting to me. Please pray for these families that God will provide for their needs and they will be blessed for the often difficult choice they have made to follow Christ and to raise their families according to His Word.

Try, try again--Where have I been?

2008-01-16T06:09:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I admit that I am really bad at keeping my blog updated since it has been almost 10 months since my last post. But since it is a new year, I'll try to be better about posting more regularly. You can also check out some of my albums by adding me as a friend if you have Facebook. I truly am trying to be better about posting more regularly and hope that my third attempt will be a keeper.

I've included a few pictures from some of the great places I've been this year; California, Orlando, western Montana, Idaho, Indiana and Cody, WY. It's been lots of fun traveling (and really tiring) and meeting so many amazing people. I have been so blessed to be able to share what God is doing in Bosnia-Herzegovina and to see what He is doing here in the States. Thanks to all of you who have been a part of my whirlwind tour of the good ol' United States. It's been tons of fun.

It is hard to believe that in just 3 weeks my 10 months of Home Assignment will be over and I'll be boarding my 25th airplane of the year to begin my journey back to Bosnia-Herzegovina. Please pray that this trip will go well and that I'll be able to get all my visa paperwork finished and turned in a few days after I get back.

New life

2007-03-10T09:05:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I was privileged to attend a conference for former drug addicts who are now in the process of resocialization. Some have been out of the rehabilitation centers for a few months and some for years. The common link for most of them was that they had been in a Christian rehabilitation center and had accepted Christ while they were there. I say "most" because not everyone in attendance were former addicts and not all of them have come to call Jesus their Savior.

You may ask how I ended up at this conference. Am I hiding a deep secret in my past that none of you know? No, though there were some who thought that might be the case when I left university and my study of law for a life of Christian ministry. However, I was there to cook and to lend my support to my friends who were organizing and participating in this event.

In the past year, my ministry in BiH has brought me the new (and often difficult experience) of working with former drug addicts. This is because our church of a little more than 40 regular attenders at one time had 12 ex-addicts attending. Five of those former addicts are in my home group. Thus my inclusion in the conference.

Throughout the difficulties of this year, God has blessed me with some new friendships as I have sought wisdom and many times simply encouragement in dealing with the struggles of addicts in resocialization. I have seen some beloved brothers and sisters fall and return to their old lifestyle. Praise God that most of them are now back in the Christian rehabilitation centers and by God's grace will hopefully return to us one day---renewed in His Power. And little by little I have become a strange part of the Balkan circle of ex-addicts turned Jesus followers and the people who are standing with them as they struggle to become a part of the society from which they were once outcasts.

Most of my two days was spent in a tiny underequipped kitchen cooking up something special with my dear sister, Elvira, for a small army of 60 conference participants. However, God blessed me with several opportunities to join the group for worship. But the greatest blessing came on Sunday during our final time of worship and the Word together.

A young man who has only been attending my church for a few months went up front to praise God for the blessing he had received by being a part of the conference. He told how during the conference he had received the 2nd gift of his lifetime, a Bible. Something he didn't have. It is difficult to express the joy I felt at that moment. I decided that even if I had barely slept, didn't eat for two days (too busy feeding everyone else) and was so sick with the flu that I could barely focus on this dear man's face, I would do it all over again just so he could get that Bible. I saw him three days later with his wife at another church event. He was still glowing from the joy he'd experienced at the conference.

As we continued to worship together that day and the pastor shared his message, I realized that as difficult as the two days had been for me, I was abundantly blessed to be a part of it all. The message was about seeing the bigger story that God was telling, beyond our individual lives. We were encouraged to remember that each of us has a role to play in the story God is telling but the story is not about us. We're not the stars. The star of the story was Jesus Christ who died and rose again to free me and you and everyone that was in that room with me last Sunday.

I was overwhelmed that as I played my role in that day's "episode" of His story, I was given the privilege of seeing the many Balkan lives that He had transformed as brothers and sisters from BiH, Croatia, Serbia and Bulgaria joined together to worship His Name. I was seeing victorious lives who were abundantly thankful for all that they had received. It was a blessing that is indescribable with mere words. It will definitely remain as one of the highlights of my first term in BiH!