Word from Sandrina

 

As we were on our way, traveling through Bosnia in October, I was filled with fresh excitement in spiritually exploring the land.

When God spoke to my heart some thirty years ago about the Balkan nations, in particular former-Yugoslavia, He filled me with a love and zeal for the people groups of this region of Europe. Through the years, especially the years immediately following the Bosnian Civil War (1992-1995), I longed to return and live in Sarajevo.

Now, finally, as that desire seems to become soon a reality, one might think that I would be very thrilled. To my big surprise during the trip in October, I had to battle a mixture of emotions. Deep in my heart, I knew the Lord was calling us back to live in Sarajevo and to pioneer a new church, but I was struggling. While visiting with Bosnian believers from city to city, hearing again about their daily experiences and challenges dealing with life and ministry in their nation, I began to question my own expectations and motivations. I was confronted with the fact that I had changed, also, through the years. Evolving from the pioneer church planter in pre-war Bosnia, willing to sacrifice everything including my life to birth the church in Sarajevo, to now becoming one who has settled into the comforts and security of Americanized christianity and lifestyle.

Having now visited Bosnia in both April and October of this year, I have begun to filter through my impressions about both the physical, social and spiritual conditions of the nation. Sarajevo is not the same Sarajevo I knew before the war. With the nation and it’s capital city more ethnically divided than ever before between Bosniaks, Serbs and Croats, the spiritual oppression is heavy. After four years of barbaric warfare – neighbor killing neighbor, hatred, unforgiveness, bitterness, hopelessness – it seemed those demonic spirits were calling out their names to me. I was not sure if I truly wanted to face again the spiritual warfare. Thoughts would come to me, saying, “Why should I go to Bosnia? Why should I live in such a dark place and have to give up my comfortable life?”

One day I would feel excited, the next day I felt I wanted to fly home as soon as possible. As I battled with those thoughts and emotions, I realized I was in a warfare with spiritual principalities of darkness who are ruling Bosnia and Sarajevo, and also in a battle with my own flesh. One morning in Sarajevo, during my morning devotions, God led me to the Biblical story of Jonah. Jonah did not want to go to Nineveh because he saw the people as his enemies. He didn’t want God to save or bless the enemies of Israel. Jonah was very nationalistic, and he felt God should be the same way. And above all, why should Jonah leave the comfort of Israel and go to a people who are not his own? Feeling much like Jonah, I was asking myself in light of Bosnian history, “Do you really want to give up the comfortable life? And live with a people who keep killing one another? Muslim, Orthodox, Catholic, all against one another – who are you to preach to them? Who is going to listen to you? What difference can your life make?”

How do we respond to exchanging our ‘comfort zone’ for a ‘war zone’?

Then I read Jonah 4:9-11, and saw the selfishness of Jonah. While he awaited for God’s destructive judgment to fall on the 120,000 inhabitants of the ungodly city of Nineveh, God caused a vine to quickly grow and give Jonah a comfortable shade to sit under. However, the Lord caused the vine to quickly die, to which the prophet complained about. That word pierced my soul. I saw my own selfishness and ‘coldness of heart’ toward the 400,000 inhabitants of Sarajevo. If God’s love was so great for a city of 120,000 inhabitants, how much more is His love for a city of 400,000. With only 150 Protestant believers in the city, only 500 in the nation, surely He has only begun to show His love and power for salvation and healing.

“Then God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant? And he said, “It is right for me to be angry, even to death!” But the Lord said, “You have had pity on the plant for which you have not labored, nor made it grow, which came up in a night and perished in a night. And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than 120,000 persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left – and much livestock?” Jonah 4:9-11 (NKJV)

“Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.” Isaiah 6:8 (NKJV)

“When He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest, therefore to send out laborers into His harvest.” Matthew 9:36-38 (NKJV)

When Old Friends Meet

Have you ever met someone for the first time, and you felt you’ve known them all your life?

Such was our feeling in meeting Andy Mayo for the first time during our visit to Sarajevo in the month of October. Andy is from England and has many years of experience in ministering throughout the Balkan region. He, with his wife and children, lived for around a decade in Serbia, where they have been very influential in discipleship and leadership training. One additional area of ministry that Andy enjoys is songwriting.

Andy was visiting Sarajevo in October to share his testimony and music with university students during special meetings organized by Enisa Dedić and her team from EUS-F BiH.

We were impacted by, and appreciated so much, the heart and spirit Andy walked in, regardless, if he was speaking and singing in front of the group or conversing one-on-one with a college student. You could tell he loved being back in the Balkans, and loved the people he was with. Many of his songs were written from his experiences in the Balkan nations, and his passion for the region is translated through the words and music he has captured on his CDs. Andy writes:

“What’s the story behind this music?”

“Stories. There’s a depth of communication when one person tells a story, shares a poem or sings a song to another…

These songs resonate with a revolutionary story… You see, I have become convinced that there is a God who reaches out towards us. One so magnificent and perfect – unknowable in our natural state – yet One we long to relate with from the depths of our soul… Without His choosing to reach out to us, we would just be left with a dull aching sense that “there must be more”. But He has introduced Himself – He has come here…

These songs are about the touch of Jesus on a person’s life. Many people have caught a glimpse of a cliché, kitsch “Jesus” and dismissed Him, not realising that they are in fact dismissing only a caricature of the real thing.

The aim of these songs is to urge you to look again at Jesus – the real Jesus – and to realise that He claims to be “God here”. More than that, He is “God come to the rescue” to bring us into relationship with Him. He is “God with His arms held open”.

I’ve made a whole site for those who want to think more about this. Originally a page here at Turquoise Tracks, there’s now enough material to warrant its own site: GodOnaTrain.com“

You can also listen to a taste of Andy’s music by downloading or ordering, if you like, through the following link: http://turquoisetracks.com/shop/

 

Wolves for Shepherds

Two men stood before one another after four years of battling one another in the mountains of Bosnia, the heartland of the Roman province of Illyricum. One was the supreme military leader of the Roman Legions; the other a regional warlord who believed in his ‘what if?’ moment. It was 9 AD when Tiberius, the future emperor of the Roman Empire, asked his defeated foe Bato the Daesitiate why he had rebelled against Roman rule over Illyricum. The expected motive surely must have been a feeble and barbaric attempt to gain power, wealth and riches. The reply was: “You Romans are to blame for this; for you send as guardians of your flocks, not dogs or shepherds, but wolves.”

The pagan Roman worldview of rulership was ‘master/slave’; in contrast, and in what is truly a Biblical viewpoint, Bato expressed governance in terms of ‘shepherd/flock’. Bato expressed the heart cry of every individual, for which we were created, which is to be shepherded. We do not want to be ruled, we want to be shepherded. The task of shepherding is not confined to a ministry offered by a religious institution, but is the essential value of all levels of leadership in society.

There is no way of knowing if Bato was familiar with the prophets of Israel, but God definitely deals in like terms with this issue in Ezekiel 34. The three basic tasks of a shepherd are 1) to guide to, 2) to provide for, and 3) to protect from.

Here are a few thoughts on Ezekiel 34 [KJV]:

SHEPHERDS IN NAME, SHEEP AS GAME

1 And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks? 3 Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock. 4 The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them. 5 And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered. 6 My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them.

SHEPHERDS PRAY, WOLVES PREY

7 Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord; 8 As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock; 9 Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord; 10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them.

SHEPHERDS GATHER, WOLVES SCATTER

11 For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out. 12 As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. 13 And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country. 14 I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel. 15 I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord GOD. 16 I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment.

SHEEP’S WOOLLY, PIG’S FOLLY

17 And as for you, O my flock, thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams and the he goats. 18 Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures? and to have drunk of the deep waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet? 19 And as for my flock, they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet; and they drink that which ye have fouled with your feet. 20 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD unto them; Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and between the lean cattle. 21 Because ye have thrust with side and with shoulder, and pushed all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad; 22 Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle.

ONE SHEPHERD, ONE FLOCK

23 And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. 24 And I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the Lord have spoken it. 25 And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land: and they shall dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods. 26 And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing. 27 And the tree of the field shall yield her fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase, and they shall be safe in their land, and shall know that I am the Lord, when I have broken the bands of their yoke, and delivered them out of the hand of those that served themselves of them. 28 And they shall no more be a prey to the heathen, neither shall the beast of the land devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and none shall make them afraid. 29 And I will raise up for them a plant of renown, and they shall be no more consumed with hunger in the land, neither bear the shame of the heathen any more. 30 Thus shall they know that I the Lord their God am with them, and that they, even the house of Israel, are my people, saith the Lord GOD. 31 And ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord GOD.

In 6 AD, when Bato the Daesitiate rejected Roman rule of his home province of Illyricum, a new Roman province was established that year called ‘Judaea‘, where a young Boy was being taught how to read the words of Ezekiel.

Instead of executing Bato, Tiberius sent him to the Italian city of Ravenna to live out his days. It is in the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia in Ravenna that the mosaic Christ The Good Shepherd (top of page) was placed over the north entrance. It pictures Christ with His sheep, holding an imperial Roman staff joined to the Christian cross, symbolizing His rulership of heaven and earth through shepherding. The ‘What if?’ Bato dreamed of for his Bosnian homeland would be established for all nations from out Judaea, and be celebrated in the city of his death.

I wonder if Bato the Daesitiate lived long enough to hear about the Good Shepherd? ‘What if’ he …

"What if?" Moments

 

Our PAST affects our PRESENT, but does not define our FUTURE.

We make decisions today that shape our potential destiny, and provides the opportunity for others to draw from our hope and faith. The action of one influences the vision of many, creating a ‘what if?’ moment. Bosnia has had it’s fair share of ‘what if?’ signs at the various crossroads in its history. The difference in us knowing and not knowing of them is because someone chose to walk the less travelled path.

The earliest known settlement in the Sarajevo region of Bosnia was the indigenous Butmir Culture, which developed in what is today’s Ilidža area of the valley. There is evidence, as was prevalent in that period of human history worldwide, the Butmir Culture worshipped fertility gods and sacrificed children. The Butmir Culture, dating from 2400 BC, disappeared with the coming of the Illyrians around 1000 BC. The Illyrians took over all of the Balkans, and were divided by many subgroups. The Illyrians that inhabited the region of Bosnia was the Daesitiate tribe, who enjoyed political freedom for about 300 years, till the Roman legions invaded the region. The Roman process of annexation of the Bosnian region lasted from 229 BC till 9 AD.

And this brings us to our first ‘what if?’ moment in Bosnian history.

In 6 AD, when the Romans were planning the imminent destruction of the Germanic tribes in central Europe, the first emperor, Augustus, ordered the mobilisation of Illyrian auxiliary forces for that purpose, whose leader was Bosnia’s first warlord, Bato the Daesitiate - who said ‘no’. He took his ‘what if?’ opportunity, and changed history.

For four years, Bato the Daesitiate (along with Bato the Breucian and Pinnes of Pannonia) led the Illyrians in their struggle against their Roman occupiers; the supreme commander of all Roman forces was future emperor Tiberius. Nearly half of all Roman legions were required for this war fought in the mountains of Bosnia, and it became known as one of the most harsh and critical wars in the history of the Roman Empire, in which the Romans committed brutal atrocities. In September of 9 AD, Bato the Daesitiate surrendered to the Roman legions. Perhaps the most important consequence from The Great Illyrian Revolt was that Rome never regained the strength or will power to conquer and occupy Germania and northern Europe.

What if?’ moments are dangerous, risky and costly. Like a rope bridge hanging over the valley between the status quo and the dream, between bondage and freedom. In the end, your failed attempt may well be the bridge for another’s success.

But, what if …

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1

Prayer Walking

 

During our time in Sarajevo, we have prayed a lot, and have also walked a lot. You can pray without walking; you can walk without praying. However, there are times when the two can be combined for a unique intercessory experience of a prophetic nature. The LORD spoke to Abram one day to get out of his prayer tent, and take a walk through the promised land:

 

“And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, ‘Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, [then] shall thy seed also be numbered. Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.’ ” (Genesis 13:14-17)

Several lessons about the benefits of ’prayer walking’ are taught here:

a) Overcomes Disappointment - The relationship with his nephew Lot had just been broken, and Abram was disappointed, hurt and doubtful. There are times to rest, but not to become stagnate. Abram needed encouragement, not pity. The LORD is a God of movement, a God of advancement, a God of development.

b) Increases Vision - We are called, not to close our eyes and hide, but to open our eyes and look beyond our immediate surroundings, beyond our immediate circumstances. Looking down hinders our ability to move forward because we become fixed to where we are standing. Looking up gives expansion to our field of sight and is limited ony by the horizon.

c) Affirms Authority - Abram needed to be reminded of the boundaries of the promised land, and that he had been given the spiritual authority and responsibility to seeing the promises of God fulfilled for the land.

d) Connects Generations - It’s not just about us, but about those are to come through us into the promises of the LORD. We carry spiritual seed within us and are to give birth to the next generation. Fatherhood and motherhood are important roles in the kingdom of God. Remember, Lot was the closest thing to a son that Abram had, and with Sarai barren, Abram was feeling hopeless. Abram was in need of seeing the generations yet to come.

e) Empowers for Multiplication - Abram needed a math lesson. Addition is good, multiplication is better. God normally begins with addition, but then He empowers for multiplication. One apple seed is planted and when it grows into a mature apple tree it yields year after year apples filled with multiple seeds.

We see with Nehemiah (2:11-16), that the LORD directed him to go alone in the night hours and inspect the walls of Jerusalem, which had been destroyed. It was during those hours of ‘prayer walking’ that a strategy was born in his spirit and heart for the rebuilding of the city. During the years 1987-1992, before the Bosnian War, we had invested a large portion of our time and energy in ‘prayer walks’ and intercession for the city of Sarajevo and the nation of Bosnia. Spiritually mapping a city, region and nation is not a short-term project, but an ongoing ministry. The hours we have spent this trip walking the streets of Sarajevo have allowed us to revisit promises given during those pre-war years and to receive fresh ones, also.

One of the principles we learned in those earlier years was that whoever controls the gates controls the city. It was in this gate (picture on left) and wall that we began to discover the true extent of occult practices in Sarajevo. Before the Bosnian War (1992-1995), Sarajevo was known as the ‘Jerusalem of the Balkans’, but in reality was the occult and spiritual counterfeit center of the Balkans.

The physical and the spiritual are intergrated, and we must open both our physical and our spiritual eyes to move from impressions into the prophetic. While ‘prayer walking’ is healthy, both physically and spiritually, it must be understood in the context of spiritual warfare as an active intercessory function.

Leave a COMMENT: We would love to hear of your own experiences in prayer walking and intercession for your neighborhood, city and nation!

Q&A with God

God loves question and answer time with us. As we have travelled through Bosnia, and walked the streets of its cities, we have been asking many questions. Some questions are more important than others, but thankfully God cares about each one of them. In Psalm 25, verses 12-15, we are able to eavesdrop into one of king David’s Q&A sessions with the Lord. His question is one of utmost importance, and one that may well define our lives and ministries when personally applied. In our context, the importance is two-fold: Firstly, does this passage describe our lives, our conduct, our reputation here in the Balkans? Secondly, are we praying for this passage to be a reality in the lives of future believers of the church we will plant next year in Sarajevo? I will highlight these verses in the context of Sarajevo2013, but the principles are relevant for all our lives regardless of our home address or our public ministry.

THE QUESTION.

¹² Who is the man that fears the Lord?

Unless we understand the value of having the fear of the Lord in our lives, discipleship will be impossible. I will say it again: Without the fear of the Lord in a person’s life, they will be impossible to disciple in the ways of the Lord. Discipleship, without the fear of God, is a waste of time. Without the fear of the Lord, we will be disciplining unbelievers, disciplining the unholy, disciplining the rebellious. As ministers of the Gospel, we are not to discriminate to whom we preach the Gospel, but we must have discernment whom we are to disciple.
My prayer: “Lord Jesus, build the Sarajevo2013 church with men and women who have the fear of the Lord as their foundation.”

ANSWER #1: THE STUDENT.
Him shall He teach in the way He chooses.

Having a teachable spirit and attitude is essential for discipleship.
My prayer: “Lord Jesus, build the Sarajevo2013 church with men and women who are hungry for Your Word, thirsty for Your Spirit and hearts that are yielded to Your will.”

ANSWER #2: THE DISTRIBUTION.
¹³ He himself shall dwell in prosperity,

The most basic principle of managing wealth, prosperity and resources is revealed in Genesis 12:1-3, where God taught Abraham the purpose of blessings: you are blessed to be a blessing to others.
My prayer: “Lord Jesus, build the Sarajevo2013 church with men and women who will faithfully develop and manage their spiritual gifting and material resources for the purpose of generously blessing others to the glory of Your Name.”

ANSWER #3: THE INVESTMENT.
And his descendants shall inherit the earth.

Our calling is generational; we are called to invest our lives into raising the next generation, who will explore, conquer and establish.
My prayer: “Lord Jesus, build the Sarajevo2013 church with men and women who will be intentional on serving the younger generation of believers in Christ as spiritual fathers and mothers.”

ANSWER #4: THE SECRET.
¹⁴ The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him,

We should position our hearts and spirits to receive the ‘secret of the Lord’, which is a prophetic revelation of what the Lord is doing in our lives, our families, our churches, our communities and our nations. The ‘secret of the Lord’ is revealed only in the secret place when we are one-on-one with the Lord. Do you share your secrets just with everyone? No, only with those who safeguard your heart. It comes in a place of intimacy, a place of surrender, a place of closeness.
My prayer: “Lord Jesus, build the Sarajevo2013 church with men and women who will know You in the depths of their hearts, who can receive in their prayer closets and carry from there the secrets of the Lord for their generation.”

ANSWER #5: THE COVENANT.
And He will show them His covenant.

A generation without understanding of the covenants of God is destined to become enslaved to depression, aimlessness and unfulfillment.
My prayer, “Lord Jesus, build the Sarajevo2013 church with men and women who will faithfully honor and protect the covenants of marriage and parenthood, and live out their daily lives transformed by the New Covenant established by Your redemptive blood.”

ANSWER #6: THE FOCUS.
¹⁵ My eyes are ever toward the Lord,

Our eyes must be focued upon God every day of the week, every hour of the day. Being a ‘Christ follower’ is not like following someone on Twitter or FaceBook account; it is not a part-time interest or hobby. It is having a real 24/7 personal relationship with the Lover of your soul, with the King of your life, with the One who knows you inside out.
My prayer, ”Lord Jesus, build the Sarajevo2013 church with men and women who are not distracted by the things of this world, but who value more the eternal reward rather than the temporal satisfaction.”

ANSWER #7: THE BATTLE.
For He shall pluck my feet out of the net.

From the moment we fear the Lord more than we fear man, the battle is on. The demonic powers of darkness will set traps to ‘steal, kill and destroy’. The promise given to the one who fears the Lord is deliverance at the moment when the enemy is wanting to spring the trap.

My prayer, “Lord Jesus, build the Sarajevo2013 church with men and women who will daily wear the armour of Christ and faithfully fight the good fight.”

Shabbat Shalom

Eliezer Papo and I first met in the spring of 1988, through a series of God-ordained circumstances, which began a lasting friendship. He was the young rabbi of the 500-year-old Jewish community in Sarajevo, and I was a young and hopeful church planter from America living in the heart of communist Yugoslavia. During his first visit to our home, our three-year old son Johan came in from playing outside. Johan stopped in the doorway of the living room and stared at the stranger. When Eliezer greeted him, Johan rattled off a long sentence to him in Bosnian, and ran off again. I beamed with pride that my three year old had such a confident command of the Bosnian language, which I myself was struggling to learn through language classes at the university. Eliezer said to me, “O, your son speaks so well the Bosnian language. He just cussed me out with the perfect accent.” I would later get payback when visiting his home for the first time, and his pet monkey peed on my leg.

Eliezer’s father became a member of our church, Biblijska Vjerska Zajednica RAFAEL, in the autumn of 1990. Sadly, his father died during the war a couple years later.

The Sephardic Jewish community has been an intricate part of the history of Sarajevo for over 500 years, having fled from the Inquisition of Spain and Portugal (1492 – 1497 AD) into the Ottoman province of Bosnia. In fact, Bosnia was the only region or country at the time within Europe that welcomed the Jewish refugees. The Ashkenazic Jews of Hungary entered Bosnia in 1687 AD after the Austro-Hungarian empire ran the Turkish armies out of Hungary. During World War II, around 10,000 Jews were murdered in Sarajevo. The several thousand Jews of Sarajevo that remained alive after WWII were divided in their decision for the future: half left to live in other nations, and the other half stayed on to live in Sarajevo. Those that stayed, for the most part, became atheist and joined the communist party.

During the Bosnian Civil War (1992-1995), the Jewish community in Sarajevo, through their social program La Benevolencija played a significant and unique role in supplying medicine for the besieged city and helped around 3,000 people to escape the death and devastation during those years. The Bosnian postal service this year is honoring their heroic work through issuing a series of stamps.

 

Logavina

One night in the summer of 1991, three of us remained at the Cultural Center Logavina after an evening prayer meeting. We had been renting the building for our church (Biblical Faith Fellowship ‘RAFAEL”) since September of the previous year, and had just finished some interior renovations on the facility. In the foyer, we built a cafe (called Noah’s Ark) and bookstore (pretty cutting-edge back in that day for a church to have!), and had an office, several meeting rooms and a large theater room. The director of the center, Dzevad, kept an office for himself.

On this particular night, at around 11 pm, the dynamics would change. As the three of us stood in the cafe talking, about to lock up the building, we suddenly heard the sound of a convoy of trucks pulling up beside the building. Soldiers entered the building, and without acknowledging our presence, quickly moved about to identified the various rooms of the building. Other soldiers began bringing in crates filled with machine guns, ammunition and various equipment. We quickly joined in to help unload the trucks. I was told that the Cultural Center Logavina had been designated by the Bosnian government to become the Civil Protection HQ for the newly formed muslim army, with the assignment to protect Bascarsija/Old City of Sarajevo. The commander would be arriving the next day, and we would be told about our status in the building.

 

 

The following day, I decided to make a ‘pre-emptive strike’ so that we would know where we stood with the commander, if he was going to kick us out of the building or not. Dzevad, the director, didn’t know what was going on and had left the building out of frustration because his office had been chosen as the command center for the militia’s commander. When the commander arrived, he was immediately escorted to his new office. I waited for about an hour to allow him to get settled in with his staff, and then brought in to them freshly made Turkish coffee. Without hesitating, I set the coffee on the desk in front of the commander, and quickly introduced myself and told him about RAFAEL and ‘our’ building, during which time he stayed focused staring at his military maps. Then I said, “I have one request.” At that he lifted his face up to me and our eyes met for the first time. “What would that be?”, he asked. “I would appreciate it,” I said, “if your soldiers wouldn’t smoke in my cafe.” After a few seconds of contemplation, he responded, “Dobro.” (“Good.”). I left his office knowing we were in.

We spent the next 10 months or so, till the war started in the spring of 1992, sharing Logavina the building with the muslim militia. The benefit was two-fold:

• 1) As a church, we had 24/7 security!
• 2) The men serving in the militia lived in this part of Sarajevo, and many heard the Gospel for the first time as they would listen to our worship and preaching.

 

 

Logavina Street would become memorialized after the war when journalist and writer Barbara Demick published “LOGAVINA STREET: LIFE AND DEATH IN A SARAJEVO NEIGHBORHOOD”.

A book review says: “Logavina Street was a microcosm of Sarajevo, a six-block-long history lesson. For four centuries, it existed as a quiet residential area in a charming city long known for its ethnic and religious tolerance. On this street of 240 families, Muslims and Christians, Serbs and Croats lived easily together, unified by their common identity as Sarajavans. Then the war tore it all apart.

As she did in her groundbreaking work about North Korea, Nothing to Envy, award-winning journalist Barbara Demick tells the story of the Bosnian War and the brutal and devastating three-and-a-half-year siege of Sarajevo through the lives of ordinary citizens, who struggle with hunger, poverty, sniper fire, and shellings.

 

Logavina Street paints this misunderstood war and its effects in vivid strokes—at once epic and intimate—revealing the heroism, sorrow, resilience, and uncommon faith of its people.”

Miss Irby

 

September 15th, on the 100th anniversary of her death, a memorial serice was held in Sarajevo to celebrate the life and contributions of an extraordinary English missionary: Miss Adeline Paulina Irby (known affectionally in Bosnian history as “Miss Irby”). Born in 1831, she grew up in a weathy family, and was provided with the highest education. Through her studies, she became increasingly dissatisfied with book theory, and desired to learn through work and experience. While living in London, after her parents had died, she became friends with Georgiana Muir Mackenzie from Scotland, and the two of them set out to explore 19th century Europe.

In 1859, while travelling through what is today Poland, they were arrested by Austrian officials, accused of being Russian spies and Pan-Slavic sympathizers! These two young 20somethings did not even know what Pan-Slavism was, nor who these Slavic peoples were that the Austrians were so afraid of. They were determined, upon their release, to find out the answers to these questions. A year later they began another journey, but this time their destination was the Turkish Ottoman Empire. Once having received their visas, they would travel freely for three years throughout the Balkans, which were provinces of the Ottoman Empire. They travelled through the Balkan region (Bulgaria, Bosnia, Serbia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Albania and Greece) of the Ottoman Empire.

In 1864, they published a book about their journey, which you can freely download (pdf file) by clicking: “Travels in the Slavonic Provinces of Turkey-in-Europe.” The three chapters delicated to Bosnia are definitely a great read, and will give you insights that are still relevant today.

Miss Irby would spend the rest of her life serving as a missionary to the people groups of Bosnia. She raised funds to feed thousands and opened schools for girls. Her death on September 15th, 1911, was mourned by the entire city of Sarajevo. She was a woman who loved God, and loved the Bosnians, ministering according to the needs she saw. She lived, died and was buried in Sarajevo.

Within three years of her death, political events in Sarajevo would lead the Bosnian generation she had left behind into the sufferings of World War I (1914-1918). The children of that war would grow up and fight one another in WWII (1939-1945). The children of that war would grow up to face the death and destruction of the Bosnian War (1992-1995). Bosnia is a land of warfare; otherwise it wouldn’t be Bosnia.

Upon her death, the city of Sarajevo named a street in her honor. The street, “Ulica Mis Irbina”, runs behind the Bosnian Presidential Offices, as a constant prophetic reminder of her spiritual legacy.

Destination Sarajevo

We left Zenica by early morning bus for the one hour ride to Sarajevo. The weather has been exceptionally warm for this time of year in Bosnia, and there has been no complaining from us about that pleasant fact.

Upon arrival in Sarajevo, we were greeted by Enisa Dedic, General Secretary of EUS (Evangelical Union of Students), which is a Bosnian organization which gathers college students to help them encounter God personally, and which serves the student population through a variety of activities. Enisa and her staff serve university students in Sarajevo, Zenica and Banja Luka. Our connection with Enisa began when as a teenager before the war, she received the Lord in our fellowship; over the last two decades she has been a spiritual pillar for the Body of Christ in Sarajevo and Bosnia.

Enisa brought us to the place where we would lodge at for the week. Once we were settled in and rested, Sandrina and I hit the streets for an hour walk toward the oldest part of Sarajevo: Baščaršija, the bazaar of the Old City.

It was a great joy to meet up with pastors Sicko and Marija Alic, from Zagreb, for a special lunch and coffee together. They were visiting Sarajevo for two days to minister at their new Rijec Zivota (Word of Life) Church, which started about eight months ago. It was actually back in the late 1980′s at Baščaršija that we first introduced them, and … well … the rest is history.

Baščaršija (Turkish for “main market”) allows the visitor to step back into history as one strolls pass its shops and cafes. Built in the 1400′s by Turkish conquerors, Baščaršija is presently only one-third the size it once was, having been reduced through the centuries by earthquakes, fires, wars and modernization. We are especially fond of the Old City area, as we lived there between 1988 to 1990 in an apartment, and also our church was located there from 1990 to 1992. Baščaršija is considered the historical, cultural and religious heart of Sarajevo.

 

Baščaršija – Old Market Place in Sarajevo

Waiting Upon God

One of the most important lessons in life is to take time to WAIT UPON God.

“But those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.” - Isaiah 40:31

On DAY 10, Pastors Dario & Sylvia left for Serbia to return back to Zenica the following day. We spent the day in Zenica resting, reflecting and waiting on God as we prepared to leave for Sarajevo the next day. With already a week and a half travelling from Zagreb, Banja Luka and to Zenica, there were many sights, impressions and conversations that we needed in our minds and hearts to filter through.

WAITING is not WASTING. We can become so busy, even with the things of God, that we lose contact with God’s purpose and desire for us. He desires us; not what we can deliver for Him. There are times when we need to slow down before we can speed up. Life gets very complicated at times, and it seems that the simplicity of waiting upon God can be put off for another day. Before we know, we have excluded private, intimate time with God from our schedules and we wonder why He seems so distant at times. It is we, not Him, who have worn ourselves out. Yet, in spite of us, He remains faithful and loving, continually inviting us to spend time with Him.

We received this simple revelation many years ago: missions is an invitation from the Lord Jesus for us to walk with Him on His journey; not about us bringing Him along for the ride on where we are going. The Lord Jesus arrived to Sarajevo, to Bosnia, to the Balkans long before we were even born. No, we are not bringing Him, He’s inviting us to explore the wonders of His Kingdom invading earth.

• Ministry in the Balkans (also where you are) requires spiritual strength, and renewing one’s spiritual strength comes from waiting upon the Lord.
• Ministry in the Balkans requires the eagle’s perspective, and flying upon the eagle’s wings comes from waiting upon the Lord.
• Ministry in the Balkans is running into the battlefield, and the ability to hear the battle cry comes from waiting upon the Lord.
• Ministry in the Balkans is walking on the path of righteousness, and walking that path is taking time to wait upon Him.

How do we wait upon the Lord? Here are a few suggestions:

• Giving God His portion of our daily schedule to be one-on-one with Him
• Talk with Him daily; that means speaking to and listening to Him
• Read a portion of the Bible daily
• Seasons of fasting (one meal, one day, three days, one week, etc.)
• Prioritize your lifestyle to reflect His holiness and presence

Promises

Basically before the Bosnian Civil War (1992-1995), there was the following social structure: the grandparents were traditional and religious, the parents were mostly communist party members (though not necessarily atheists) and the younger generation, left without an identity, enjoyed pursuing the trends established by their peers in the Western nations. Now nearly 20 years later, you find the following structure: grandparents who are nostalgic for the shallow stability of the communistic era, parents who are war hardened nationalists and the post-war younger generation who have made tradition and religious expression once again fashionable.

It is amazing how the gift of youth is able to creatively emerge from the most discouraging of environments and adapt, and how the gift of age is able to wisely guide through the most challenging of adventures and adopt. The generations need one another. They thrive off of one another.

The Prophet Joel foretold a promise for the generations:

“And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.” (Joel 2:28-29)

While the generations of Bosnia may each be in a different season of life, there is a promise from God that is for all regardless of age: the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The greatest need in Bosnia is to experience the promised gift of the Holy Spirit so that the Word of God, the Bible, would be preached in power, that the people would have Kingdom-focused vision and have a God-given dream. The protestant / evangelical church body overall in Bosnia is few in number and young in years, yet spiritually positioned for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit that would change the spiritual landscape of the nation.

^“For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us. Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.” (2 Corinthians 1:20-22)

Shalom from Zenica

 

While we commonly refer to a Jewish house of worship as a synagogue, actually the Greek word simply means a ‘meeting or assembly’. It is not the number of stones that make up the walls of the building, but the number of hearts beating with life and faith that assemble for the purpose of worshipping God that defines what is a ‘synagogue’. During my only visit (so far) to Jerusalem, I witnessed a ‘synagogue’ being formed right before my eyes. As I sat on a bench watching people in the small town square in the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem, Jewish men from all walks of life suddenly began assembling together in one corner of the square. They quickly pulled men, who were walking by, until they had a circle of ten men (the quorum needed) and then proceeded to recite the Scriptures and to pray. That was the most basic, foundational expression of a ‘synagogue’. The Hebrew term for synagogue is Beit Knesset (House of Assembly) or Beit Tefila (House of Prayer).

Like everything else in life, we build upon the foundation. God is not against us building and developing on top of the foundation; in fact, He takes pleasure in our creativity of expressing His glory. However, we must always be connected to the foundation, lest what we build falls apart when tested.

A little over a 100 years ago, the Synagogue in Zenica was built. At that time there were more than ten Jewish men in Zenica who constituted a ‘synagogue’ without a building, yet they invested in constructing a building to give exspression to their spiritual community, their faith, their identity. Today the beautiful building serves as a museum operated by the city; there is no ‘synagogue’ to gather inside the Synagogue.

The concept of the ‘synagogue’ was a fore-runner of the ‘church’, which means ‘called out’. We refer to a building as being a ‘church’ in the same way we refer to a building being a ‘synagogue’. Yet the significance of neither is in the physical structure, but in the spiritual strength of faith that believers live out together every day of the week.

1 Corinthians 3:10-17 reads:

“According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.”

Picture from the early 1900′s

Balkan Lifestyle

 

As we walked along the River Bosna that flows through the center of Zenica, we noticed these two words in English painted onto the stones of the riverwalk: LIFESTYLE CONVICTS.

LIFESTYLE means: The habits, attitudes, tastes, moral standards, economic level, etc., that together constitute the mode of living of an individual or group.

CONVICT means: To prove or declare guilty of an offense, especially after a legal trial.

This ‘writing on the wall’ was a stark reminder to us on how we should live our daily lives. In 2 Corinthians 1:12, the apostle Paul wrote about the importance of a godly lifestyle in the ministry of the Gospel:

“For our boasting is this: the testimony of our conscience that we conducted ourselves in the world in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom but by the grace of God, and more abundantly toward you.”

Our lifestyle, our conduct both with believers and with unbelievers, will establish either a testimony against us or a testimony that glorifies the Lord. Our lives are not our own, but are to be a reflection of His holy presence. This verse is foundational for our lives and future ministry here in Bosnia, which desperately needs the grace of God. However, the river of God’s grace flows strongest between the riverbanks of SIMPLICITY and SINCERITY. Our focus is to keep our ministry SIMPLE. The Bosnians jokingly have a saying, “Why keep it simple when it can be complicated?” Along with SIMPLICITY, we need GODLY SINCERITY. Ministry requires being filled and led by God’s love and compassion for people, not walking with selfish ambition and false humility.

While walking the streets, our thoughts have been at times turned to the question, “What did the people gain from the civil war of twenty years ago?” Did it make a true difference for the betterment in people’s lives? The generation that fought one another, how do they cope with the memories of hatred, sufferings and death? How does the generation of teenagers and 20-somethings, who have no memories of the war itself but who live with the consequences of it, find their identity? Without the grace of God invading their hearts, will they be left to repeat the path of their fathers?

2 Corinthians 5:9-11 reads: “Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are well known to God, and I also trust are well known in your consciences.”

While deciding on to live in Bosnia once again or not, the Lord impressed on us like a film clip of this generation of Bosnians standing before the judgment seat of Christ. “Why did you not believe in Me?”, the Lord Jesus will ask. “No one told us of You,” will be their reply. And then their eyes will turn to us and they will ask, “Why did you not come and tell us?”

Hello Zenica

 

In January 1991, a young man was invited to the Bible study we were having at our home in Sarajevo, and he gave his life to Jesus Christ that Wednesday night. He was so touched by the singing and worship that he took a songbook home with him to begin learning the songs on his guitar. The next week he came back to the Bible study carrying his guitar and the songbook. He asked, “May I play along in the worship?” We replied, “Of course; which songs did you learn this week?” He said, “All of them.” Such was our introduction to Dario Kapin.

Dario would remain with us for nearly one year before heading to Sweden to study at a Bible college in December of 1991. During 1991, he grew in the anointing of worship and preaching, leading many of the street outreaches we held in Sarajevo. In the face of ridicule and rejection by family and friends, Dario held firm to his calling to ministry. His mother at that time was involved with witchcraft, and opposed his faith in Jesus. Dario learned very quickly that having a personal relationship and faith in Jesus Christ will mean spiritual warfare.

After his studies in Sweden, Dario moved to Serbia, where he met and married Sylvia, and ministered for a number of years before moving to the city of Zenica in Bosnia. They have two beautiful daughters, Rut and Deborah. Dario and Sylvia have been pastoring for around ten years in Zenica, and have established themselves in this predominate islamic city as servants of Jesus Christ and bearers of His Gospel. Through these years they have sown the seed of the Gospel through radio/television programs, and hosting large HOPE concerts on the main walking street of the city.

Banja Luka to Zenica

Psalm 17:8 reads: “Keep me the apple of Your eye; hide me under the shadow of Your wings.” On Wednesday, October 3rd, we travelled by bus for over 4 hours from Banja Luka to Zenica, which means the ‘apple of the eye’. Zenica, a city of around 90,000, located 70 km/43 mi NW of Sarajevo, lies near the epicenter of Bosnia.

Little seems to have changed in it’s charm over the past two decades, and in fact, Zenica was spared the physical destruction from the Bosnian Conflict (1992-1995) that the rest of the nation faced. It was not the suffering from constant shelling and sniperfire that the citizens of Zenica endured, but from the pains of hunger & starvation, as the city was blockaded for years.

During our years living in Sarajevo (1987-1992), Zenica was the first city outside of Sarajevo that we visited on a regular basis for prayerwalks, street evangelism and concerts. Back in early 1990, even before we had a registered church, we were given permission by the Yugoslavian Communist authorities to hold the first ever Christian concerts in two prisons. The first was the maximum security prison for men located in Zenica, and the second in a women’s prison east of Sarajevo. We had a worship team from Holland called NEW WINE who performed in both prisons; words can not describe the level of grace, compassion and anointing released to the prisoners during those concerts.

Every city has a purpose and destiny on it that God wants to develop and increase. Although Zenica seemingly throughout Bosnian history has been on the sideline, it’s time to shine forth is coming and the Balkan nations will take notice.

Banja Luka

After the Bosnian conflict (1992-95), the nation was basically divided administratively between the Bosnian Serbs (who control the northern and eastern areas) and the Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats (who control the central, eastern and southern areas). Banja Luka is the second largest city in Bosnia, and the administrative center for the Republika Srpska (Serbian Republic of Bosnia). It is an attractive city with many tree-lined avenues and parks with nearly 250,000 inhabitants, and dates before Roman times. In Banja Luka, we enjoyed fellowshipping with pastors Bane and Daniela Erceg. They are the proud parents of two wonderful children, Jovan and Jana.

As a young man, Bane received Jesus as his Lord and Savior during our time pastoring in Sarajevo before the war. As a teenager, he had long black hair and was very quiet. We remember him at that time taking the bold step of performing in skits and illustrative dramas. Now he is preaching and teaching the Word of God, training new believers and publishing a Christian magazine. He has planted two churches in Bosnia: Banja Luka and Doboj. Daniela comes from Serbia proper, which lies to the east of Bosnia. She comes from a spiritually influential Christian family in southern Serbia, has an anointed voice for worship, and is a great mom and wife.

The name ‘Banja Luka’ appeared first in the Middle Ages and one of its translations could be ’Valley of the Ruler’. In the center of the city is a castle, a medieval fortress, from where one can oversee the city. The Serbian people are a warrior nation, and warfare has always been a major theme in its history. A Serbian proverb says, “A man without enemies is worthless.” If William Wallace had not been a Scot, he could well have been a Serb.

Zagreb to Banja Luka

On Monday morning, October 1^st, we began the day having breakfast with Damir (Sicko) and Marija Alic, who are the pastors of Rijec Zivota (Word of Life) in Zagreb, the main church of their network of 16 churches in Croatia. We were blessed in attending the previous evening their church service and worshipping with hundreds of believers. Of course, for us, it was another trip down memory lane and a further reminder of God’s plan to equip Bosnian believers in the harvest.

We came to know Sicko (who was from a Muslim family) around 1987-88, when he was pioneering a church in the coastal city of Dubrovnik, Croatia. During his trips to Srebrenica, Bosnia, to visit his family, he would stay at times with us in Sarajevo, and we would likewise visit him in Dubrovnik. On one such trip, while he was visiting Sarajevo, we introduced him to a beautiful girl from Sarajevo, Bosnia and they eventually married. After a few years in Dubrovnik, Sicko and Marija moved to Sarajevo to work with us right before the 1992-95 civil war broke out, during which they were able to escape and resettle in Zagreb. Today they have a lovely family, and are leading one of the strongest ministries in the entire Balkan region.

We finally made our entry into Bosnia by taking a four-hour bus ride from Zagreb to Banja Luka, which is the main city for the Bosnian Serbs located in the NW corner of Bosnia. Although it may be the same sun shining down on both the Croatian and the Bosnian sides of the border, there is a distinct atmosphere present in the mountains and valleys of Bosnia. It is a land that travails, that struggles, searching out for its own identity as an orphan among the nations.

Craziness in Zagreb

 

It is a crazy thing we are doing, and God is responsible for it. Yes, He is and thankfully so.

To have a vision for planting a church in Sarajevo, Bosnia, (or anywhere else in the world) is a very noble thing. Yet, to have no launch team or local Bosnian believers yet, to not have a meeting location secured for the new church or even a house to live in, to have no support base built yet or any guarantees humanly speaking, is pure craziness. Such is the work of the Spirit in the face of the wisdom of this world, which considers it foolishness to have only the security of faith, faith in God alone.

The definition of encouragement: the expression of giving approval, support and hope; comforting, cheering on and inspiring. To encourage someone is “to put on them courage”. You may ask, “What is courage?” It is the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear. The root of courage is the Latin word ‘cor’, which means ‘heart’. Hence, encouragement deals directly with strengthening the condition of our heart in facing challenges.

Today was our first Sunday back in the Balkans and we were further reminded of the faithfulness of God as we met more Bosnians who are serving the Lord here in Zagreb. Several were from the original church we had pioneered in Sarajevo 20+ years ago. Mišo, a former drug addict was there. Bruno, who is now a worship leader. In true Bosnian style, they all hinted to us we were crazy for wanting to return to Bosnia, and that they could not be more excited for us, for they all sense the harvest is ripe in Bosnia.

So thankful for the love, friendship and hospitality shown to us by the Havel family during our weekend visit to Zagreb. Boris, Vera and their son Natan, were so generous toward us in opening their home and sharing their hearts and lives with us.

It was with Boris in 1990 that we registered the original church (Biblijska Vjerska Zajednica RAFAEL) in Sarajevo. It was with great courage and risk that he put his name to the original registration papers. We went from being a ‘underground church’ under the Communistic Yugoslav regime, to becoming a final Gospel voice in Sarajevo before the civil war broke out in 1992. Boris is one of my heroes in the faith, and I am encouraged by his ‘crazy’ journey with the Lord.

So the Balkan journey begins ...

 

It has been said that a journey begins with the first step; and so our journey back to Balkans began with the first step, the first flight.

After 36 hours of travelling (including delays & layovers) via NYC, Amsterdam and Paris, we finally reached our first Balkan destination: Zagreb. This city of one million inhabitants is the capital of the nation of Croatia, which has four million citizens in total. While the Roman Catholic faith is the predominate religion, it is estimated that 8,000 Protestant/Evangelical believers are spread across the land.

We spent our first full day meeting with several church leaders, all of whom are originally from Bosnia, but who for many years have lived and served the Lord here in Croatia. Our relationship, our friendship, with most of them has held firm for nearly 27 years, and we are encouraged by their levels of commitment, sacrifice and faithfulness to seeing the Balkan region changed by the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

We finished the day meeting with Marina, a lady from Sarajevo, who is visiting friends in Zagreb. Marina became a believer in Christ back in 1988. She was one of a group of physically handicapped people who lived in a retirement home in Sarajevo, though she was a young lady at the time, and became a believer in Christ through a Bible study we had started at the facility. She has held on to faith in Christ, even through the hardships of the Bosnian War (1992-1995) when she was shot by sniper fire and faced starvation, and now through many years of spiritual isolation. We rejoiced in seeing her, and she rejoiced in the news that we would once again be moving to Sarajevo and starting again a church.

Seeing Marina was a reminder that God has an inheritance in Bosnia, and that every soul deserves the opportunity to make a decision for Christ. But if no one goes and shares His love with them, how are they able to respond? Ministry is rather simple if we were to take time to think about it.