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.