Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Team Bosnia- Final Day


As I write this final blog of our trip, I am sitting on the airplane flying homeward. While I am beyond excited to see my wife and hug my children, I can’t help but feel sadness over the end of this fantastic journey. We arrived nearly two weeks ago, hoping and praying that God would use us to bless the church, encourage believers, and grow faith in our own hearts. I can confidently say that those things have all happened, and so much more. We have truly left behind not acquaintances, but friends- on the Alliance team and in the Sarajevan church. I am honestly having a difficult time putting into words what has happened over these days.

We spent our last day in Bosnia taking a day long trip to Mostar, about 120 kilometers from Sarajevo. A beautiful three-hour train ride through the mountains brought us to the second largest city in Bosnia. Here, we met up with Mark and Vivian Shady, who are international workers with the Alliance and also directing the Bible School. This is THE only Bible School in the entire country and plays a pivotal role in training new leaders for the church. Continue to pray for Mark and the school in Mostar- they face significant challenges in funding and in transitioning their classes to meet the needs of the Bosnian church.

After touring the school, we strolled through the streets of Mostar. This is truly one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. As Marian Waller put it, “I have to keep pinching myself to remember I’m not at Disneyland. It’s real!” The Stari Most bridge is the largest single-arch bridge in the world and attracts thousands of visitors to this city. After Sarajevo, Mostar was probably the most significantly war-damaged city in the country. Buildings still in rubble are a common site. Our stroll through the city led us to a hole in the ground. This is actually the future site of the West Mostar Evangelical Church. It remains a hole, however, because for 11 years their efforts at getting the proper permits and paperwork have been thwarted at each turn. Pray in faith with us that one day believers will worship in this place!

We chose to grab the bus home, which gave us some extra time to enjoy a “farewell gelato” at a local cafĂ©. Even though we arrived back in Sarajevo after 9 PM, we still met a group for dinner. It was our last chance to chat with Petula Myers, who served as our host throughout the trip, and Laura Eckman, another Alliance worker who helped us quite a bit. Also, Pastor Sasa of the Malta church joined us, along with another member. This spoke volumes to me of the depth of relationships we have established, as these guys really wanted to have one last meal with us. We pray for continued connection with them, as they strive to be light in a dark country.

The evening was spent packing, and this morning after some final coffees and strolls, we headed to the airport with full hearts and grateful spirits. We are especially grateful to all of you who have journeyed with us. Whether you checked the blog once or daily, whether you prayed for a moment or for hours, we are honored by your partnership with our team. We felt as though we were ambassadors for all of you, and in some small way you made a difference in Bosnia as well. Thanks for reading, thanks for praying, and thanks for continuing to keep Bosnia and the believers there before the Father.

Journey On-

Nick

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Team Bosnia- Day 11



What a great day! Today was one of those unique opportunities where we had the time to receive more than it felt like we gave! We attended two different churches in the morning and other than bringing greetings, we just entered into worship with them. (Caleb also played some guitar at the Ilidza church) It is a joy to see the local church doing her thing!

This afternoon, we did some team debriefing and spent time talking through trip highlights. It's hard to believe we're already at that point! But we have so much for which to be grateful.

Tonight was an absolute highlight. At the Malta church, two of their young singers/worship leaders released a CD they have put together, all with original songs. It is one of the coolest combinations of Euro Pop/Techno/Worship I have ever heard! The two artists are both in their early 20's and have come to Christ in the last 5 years. They are a glowing representation of the church here and how God can change lives. Be praying that Mirela and Alen would have a powerful impact on people here. Their hearts are to see their friends and family find Jesus as they have! And wow did the crowd come out- probably close to 100 people, which for a church event in Bosnia is really astounding. I will have 5 copies of this CD to sell- first come first serve!!

Blessings-
Nick

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Team Bosnia- Day 10

A Girl Named Irma

Today, a few of us had the opportunity to have coffee with Irma, a Bosnian whom we met on our last trip to Sarajevo. It was good to see her again! As we sat, she shared her story, which I do not remember hearing before...at least not like this.

Irma was 6 years old when the war began. She talks about sitting in their basement and hearing bombs fall outside. The family got to where they could tell how far away a particular bombing might be. When they would hear sirens, they could tel if it was an air raid, or just mortar fire. They would play all day in this basement, and pretend they were eating chocolate. Each day, they would wait for their dad to come home from the front line, hoping he had picked some wild strawberries for them.

About 6 months into the war, Irma's mom gave birth to twins, two months early. By this time, the hospitals had all been badly damaged by bombing, and what maternity care they had was make-shift and limited. When the twins were born, the doctors told her Mom, "Pick one. We are only able to care for one." The mom couldn't do it and said, "You choose." One baby was cared for, and one died the next day. When she took the baby home over a month later, he still weighed just over two pounds.

Irma's family would survive the war, and in 1994, she, her mom, and her little brother walked through the Tunnel of Life (see yesterday's post) into the mountains where they escaped to Croatia until the war was over. Their dad remained to fight and avoid being prosecuted as a deserter. When the family arrived in Croatia, Irma got to go to school without fear of death. She said she couldn't believe it when she walked into her classroom and saw books, a chalkboard and desks. These were luxuries she had only heard about in Sarajevo.

Irma returned to Bosnia after the war. Life since then has not been easy. Three years ago, her brother was killed in a car accident. She has struggled to find work until just recently. Her fiance has been looking for a job for years. (But he just got one! He starts on Monday!) Yet amongst all this, Irma found faith. She and her fiance George attend the church in Krsevsko Brdo, where they hope to be baptized next month. Jesus has become for them hope which they have found no where else. What you and I view as an unimaginable childhood, Irma sees as "just life", and she is grateful to be where she is today. Irma's story is typical of each person we have met here in Sarajevo. Please pray for she and George- they and others like them are the church, both present and future, of Sarajevo.

The open house tonight was a blast. Maybe soon I will post a video of Caleb singing some helium-induced choruses that brought the house down. Overall, the attendance was less than expected, but those who came were joyful and grateful. Many of the believers attended, which the Alliance team took as a positive sign that they are embracing Izvor as a good, neutral space to invite their friends. We had a great time serving food, pouring drinks, and just chatting with our new friends. Pray for continued connections between Izvor and the community.

Pray for Caleb as he preaches at Ilidza tomorrow! May his message on faith be God's word for them in that place.

Peace-
Nick

Friday, September 23, 2011

Team Bosnia- Day 9

Prayer works! Yeah!

Today was another good day! I will share an encouraging story at the end of this post that will keep you praying until we come home. But first, a run-down of our day.

We spent the morning preparing Izvor for the big open-house celebration tomorrow night. Between the 8 team members and the Alliance team here, we moved tables, wrapped gifts, purchased and replaced light bulbs, ironed more table cloths, baked cookies, mixed dips and cut up chocolate (they don't have chocolate chips here so you cut up the bars). All in all, we made good progress.

After lunch at Cheers (actually a British themed restaurant, not like the one in Boston), we headed out on a field trip. First, we saw the re-upholstery business that the ex-addicts group has started as a way of providing income for their families. What an honor to pray with and over these great guys whose lives have been changed by God! After that, we went out and saw the "Tunnel of Life", a small corridor the people of Bosnia dug underneath the airport during the war. For a period of several years, this was the only way to get goods in and out of Sarajevo. Many believe had it not been for this secret tunnel, the siege by the Serbs would have been successful. Unfortunately, we arrived 15 minutes too late and did not get to see the actual tunnel. Bummer! But we did pray that the local believers would be a tunnel of life into Sarajevo today.

Next, we drove up the mountain for another high point prayer time. It has been powerful to stand on the hills around Sarajevo, often within feet of where Serbian tanks had been stationed, and to pray life and freedom over the city. Finally, most of our group returned to the Mostar church where we joined the local believers for their Friday night prayer time. We all love hearing the passion of the believers as they pray here. (I say "most of our group" because the gals all returned to Izvor to do more cooking. Our hosts planned an aggressive menu!)

Okay, now for some encouragement. Yesterday, Petula Myers (of the Alliance team) was very discouraged because plans for a film seminar had begun to fall apart. One of the most well-known cameramen in all Sarajevo is planning to host a 4-day seminar at Izvor to teach high school students about film. But as of yesterday, every high school in town was responding negatively to the request to send students. As I heard Petula share this frustration, I knew we needed to pray. And what hit me as odd was that I sensed we should pray for the benefit of Vesna, who is the office administrator at Izvor. Thus far, Vesna has not given her life to Jesus. She likes God, and Christians, and Izvor, but hasn't yet concluded that Jesus is the only way. I knew we needed to pray so that she would hear prayer and know that it works. Well guess what- by noon today, four high schools had called to say they would be sending students! One school even wanted to send 30 students! (The class has room for 18-20) Some of these same schools had told Vesna just yesterday that they would not participate. Vesna told Petula over the phone, "Tell Nick thanks for praying! That really worked!" How exciting is that? God chose to answer a prayer so that Vesna would see how powerful He truly is. Please continue to pray for Vesna, and for the film seminar. It will not be a "faith based" seminar at all, but an opportunity to bless the community and build relationships.

Well, that's all for now. I sense that we are growing a bit weary, so please pray for stamina, energy and joy. We are loving the trip, but foreign travel can start to get to you before you realize what's happening.

Can't wait to tell you tomorrow how the open-house goes.

Peace-
Nick

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Team Bosnia- Day 8



Well, friends, it is late so this update may be on the short side. Here's a quick run down of what we did today...

We began our day by prayer walking around the center of the city. We walked through the main areas of city government and commerce. Overall, the team felt greater freedom to pray and sensed God's power at work in this city.

After prayer walking, we went and visited the Bosnian version of Celebrate Recovery- a ministry to drug addicts. This ministry has truly been an area of fruit for the local church. Though we have talked often about how few people are coming to Christ, this drug recovery group is seeing people come to Christ regularly. On such person was Tanya, who now works as the receptionist and also cleans at Izvor. Two years ago, she hit bottom and reached out to some former drug addicts she knew who had changed. They told her about Jesus and this program, and now her life has been radically changed. She is a thriving member of the Malta church. Please pray for her and her son, as they have both been diagnosed with Hepatitis C. Pray especially that her son would be healed as a powerful testimony to her family, who are still antagonistic towards her faith.

After visiting here and grabbing some quick lunch, we went up to the site of the 1984 Winter Olympics opening ceremonies. The reason for this trip was actually the view across the valley. During the war from 1992-1995, the Olympic stadium became the city morgue. They had 10,000 bodies at one point and nowhere to put them. (This is only a fraction of the total deaths during the war) After the war, they used a pulley system to move the bodies into a massive cemetery- Serbs, Croats, and Bosniaks all sharing the same field. To see this hillside of tombs is almost beyond words. We took some time to pray over this area.

Then, we went to a great fortress that overlooks the northeast end of the city. It's a great place to pray over the city. You'll see some shots from here if you are EHA this weekend.

We ended the day with some time of preparing for the one-year celebration open-house at Izvor. They have invited over 200 people to attend. Please be praying for this night- Saturday. It is a significant point of connection for the Alliance team and the Bosnian community. Pray that relationships will be deepened and that more and more people will be led to connect with what is happening at the center.

Pray for the team- it seems that energy is lagging a bit, and Jim and Lora have come down with a bit of a bug now as well. Ask God for strength to finish well!

Thanks for partnering with us. Each and every one of your prayers are valuable to us!

Nick

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Team Bosnia- Day 7
















How do I begin to describe what this trip has been like? How do I describe the hopelessness that a lot of the young people feel about the state of their country? How do I convey the underlying distrust and the very distinct underlying ethnic and religious lines people have set up in their lives to guard themselves? When I look at the city of Sarajevo, I could easily give in to hopelessness and give up on the area and on the people. However, when I get into prayer with the rest of the team, whether we are walking around the city or in a room praying for the city and for specific individuals, I get a glimpse of what God wants for Sarajevo. When we meet with the different pastors and hear about ministries that are going on, and we hear their hearts crying out for a people group to be saved, then I get excited for Sarajevo. When friends daily meet together for coffee in Sarajevo, I am reminded of the early church, who met regularly to eat together and to praise and worship God. Would you pray with us for the city of Sarajevo? Would you pray that God would continue to move and soften people's hearts? Would you pray that God's light would shine in a very dark place? God's word tells us that darkness cannot abide where light is. Would you pray that Sarajevo would be filled with God's light? I am excited for the potential in Sarajevo, Bosnia!!!

Izvor is also holding an open house on Saturday. At least 150 people have been invited to come to this open house. While we are working on preparations for the open house, would you join us in praying that connections and relationships would be made? This is not an evangelistic event, but would you be praying for the people who come to the center? God is doing amazing things here!! Come join us!! -Nathan

(PS- The photos are of 1)Karen Dinius, Allianc worker, posing with kids school supplies EHA sent, and 2) our team praying together at Izvor.)

(PPS- While I truly appreciate the five people who responded to the last post, I think I failed to convey my true intent. I am hoping to spur on thoughts, conversations, etc, on ALL our posts! Therefore, I will now offer a Bosnian souvenir to the person who most faithfully interacts with the team blog between now and when we return. May the most faithful prayer warrior prevail!)

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Team Bosnia-Day 6




It is hard for me to believe that we have reached the halfway point of our trip. Usually I would say that it has gone by so quickly, but this time I truly feel the opposite. I feel that our days have felt so full and so significant that I am amazed we still have 6 full days to spend here. Awesome!

This morning, our group split into three teams and prayer walked through the heart of the city. We met up again at the Holiday Inn, which was the international and press headquarters during the war. Lunch was spent at a little fast food spot run by friends of Todd and Karen Denius. Todd and Karen are Alliance workers, and they have reached out to this couple from their apartment building. Pray that these friends would continue towards Christ!

After lunch, we went up the Avaz Tower, the tallest building in the Balkans (see picture). We rode the elevators 35 floors up where we then spent some time praying over the city from above. The symbol of this building is the dragon, as shown on their floor tile which heads this entry. What is strange to me is that the city of Sarajevo when viewed from the air is laid out in roughly the same shape as this dragon. What is more, the Avaz Tower is the central communication (radio, tv, etc) company in all of Sarajevo. Add to all of this that the tower itself is located at the heart of the dragon on a map, and it seems like a spiritually significant place. Darkness has had a grip on this city, but we are proclaiming that Light has come and Jesus is Lord in this city.

Would you join us in that prayer?
Please continue to pray for Caleb- he still feeling under the weather. We need him back!

Tomorrow, we have been asked to head up the small group time for the Malta church. They have three small groups that will meet together for a message and discussion. Pastor Sasa is out of town and asked me to bring a message and for Caleb to lead some music. I think this is pretty great progression- we have gone from hardly knowing Sasa to being left in charge when he leaves! God's favor, my friends! Pray for continued effective ministry with this church.

Finally, blogs are meant to be interactive by nature. They are intended to invite feedback, questions, interaction, and encouragement. From our web traffic, I know many of you are checking in. THANKS! But no one wants to comment...so, I will bring home a Bosnia souvenier for the first five people who post a reply to this blog. (And you must post more than "Praying!") Leave at least one complete sentence and the goodies are yours.

Blessings!

Nick

Pray for Caleb!


Hey all-

Pray for Caleb today! He woke up this morning with some kind of stomach bug and has spent most of the day in bed. I know it kills him to miss out on our prayer times and seeing the city. Add to that how he feels physically and it's just all-around rotten. He hopes and thinks it's a one-day bug, and we hope to have him back on track tomorrow. We would appreciate the prayers for him!

Thanks-
Nick

Monday, September 19, 2011

Team Bosnia- Day 5







Hello to all of our faithful followers! Okay, hopefully you are following Jesus, but we also appreciate that you are following us on our trip and praying with us as we go.

I had hoped to have others share some thoughts and reflections by now, but we have been so on the go that you'll just have to put up with me for now!

Last night (Sunday) we joined with the Malta church for their service. It was really great to worship with them- they sing loud and love being together! All of the guys on the retreat are from this church, so having that connection with them made the night significant. I appreciate your prayers for all of the preaching I did- I felt that God showed up each time and somehow I found energy for each message.

Today, our team again "split" for different purposes. Most of the team returned to the small church in Ilidza to help with their second-hand store ministry. As many of you might have guessed already, Pastor Caleb was all over this opportunity! But what the guys really did, rather than getting to sort through cool Bosnian second-hand stuff, was lift boxes; over, and over, and over. I asked them how it went. They said, "we moved boxes for four hours." So I asked, "did you feel you were a help to them?" "Oh yeah- we made a huge difference!" And they were pumped to do so! The gals got to serve by cooking everyone (our team of 6 plus their 6 helpers) a "mexican" lunch. Bosnians rarely get mexican, so this was a real treat. But our gals confessed that all of the supplies were bought here in Sarajevo and it wasn't all that authentic. I'm sure the meal was still very much appreciated.

While most of the team sweated for Jesus, Noel and I took a curvy drive up into the mountains to see the only Christian camp in all of Bosnia. The director had invited us to come and see what the vision was for this ministry. I see it as a possible opportunity for our church to get involved in helping do some building projects. The photo you see above is the only permanent structure on site. It has only one useable room- a make-shift kitchen out of which they feed as many as 150 people in a given week. The other structure you see in the photos is their gathering area. Everyone who comes stays in tents- rain or shine! Pray with us for the ministry of the camp and for our potential future involvement. Think about this- 4 million people- one camp. Wow.

Tonight, two of our guys and the two gals did English speaking practice with two different locals. They said it was a great time of conversing. You can pray that these conversations might spark someone to ask more about Christ and faith- we'll be doing these practice sessions with locals the rest of the week.

We are well, but missing all of you. One final prayer request is that God would continue to direct our team, and our church, as to where we should direct our time and energy. There is so much to do in Bosnia and we want to go where God would lead. Ask Him for some direction. We feel pointed in all directions right now.

Peace to you from Sarajevo, a truly beautiful place-

Nick

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Team Bosnia- Day 4



We are back from the mountains, so I am finally getting to update again. It is now Sunday afternoon here, and we are preparing to participate in the Malta church service tonight. This is a young church and probably the largest in Sarajevo (50 people or so). I will be preaching for the 6th time in 3 days, so you can pray for continued energy. God has been so good to me in that way so far.

The guys really had an amazing time at Jahorina with the Bosnian men. We were at an area very close to the 1984 Cross Country skiing Olympic Venue. A beautiful mountain retreat cabin that was built by a former missionary from Germany. 10 guys from the Malta church came with us, many of them young men who accepted Christ through a drug rehab program. They were a great group and really open to us. A highlight was playing paintball in the woods with us, and believe me when I say they showed the Americans no mercy. We all have welts to prove it. I’ll post a picture soon.

The gals also had a great weekend. There were about 35 ladies at the pampering seminar, and several of them had never come to the church before so that was very encouraging for the international workers. The beads and supplies that we sent over were very appreciated.

This morning we helped lead the church service at Ilizda, a small church in the west end of Sarajevo. When I say small, I mean that your living room is likely larger than where we met. They have a faithful group, mostly ladies, who meet each week. They also have a vision to reach a people group that they feel are completely unreached. Pray for Pastor Zelko and this church!

Thanks for praying with us! We will hope to have other team members post their thoughts, as well as more pictures, during this next week we are here.

God is good!

Nick

Friday, September 16, 2011

Team Bosnia- Day 1

We are in Sarajevo and doing well! We have had limited time and wireless access up until now, so I apologize if any of you have been checking for info and not found it.

Our first day went really well. Flights were all on time and with a minimal amount of turbulence. One highlight was seeing Novak Djok0vic (the world’s number one tennis player and a Serbian) at the Munich airport. He’s much shorter than I expected.

Yesterday afternoon, we had an orientation at the Center, Izvor. It was great to be back in this room where we had done a kids club 14 months ago. In some ways, it feels like no time has gone by at all. After this, we had some time to tour downtown and the old city. During this time, we glimpsed Penelope Cruz, who is shooting a movie in Sarajevo. She is also shorter than I expected.

Our evening was a real highlight. We got to sit in on a 100-year celebration of Miss Irby, believed to be the first Christian worker to come to Bosnia. They have a street here named after her, and memory of her was fading into extinction until one of her great grand nephews came to Bosnia and found a street with his last name on it. When he explored further, he found a rich history of his relative who had started schools, educated women, and transformed the spiritual landscape of the city in the late 1800’s. The local church of Sarajevo put on this celebration in a theater at a brand new shopping mall. Dignitaries from across the city, including the British Ambassador, came to honor the work of Miss Irby. It was a powerful opportunity for the local church to talk about the transforming power of faith in Christ and the true meaning of the Bible. Pray for continued impact of this event! (I must also confess that as we battled jet-lag, various team members nodded off from time to time. We hope the locals didn't notice too much!)

Today, we are preparing to “split” our team as the guys head into the mountains for a Men’s Retreat with a local church and the gals stay in Sarajevo for an event tomorrow night with the ladies. Pray for good opportunities to bless and encourage the believers here. I hope to update you from the mountains tomorrow, but we’ll see!

Thanks for praying and journeying with us. God is at work!

Nick