When I met Aleksander, or Alex as he calls himself, I wasn’t sure if my time in Serbia would present me with an opportunity to learn about him. He seemed very shy. But as we walked down the streets of Pozarevac, I asked him questions about his life. He was surprisingly at ease with our conversation. He even seemed downright delighted when I asked if I could feature him and his story on my blog.
Alex is 18 years old. He is finishing his last year in high school. The average American senior would be deciding between their top 5 universities and preparing for their first semester in college. For Alex, however, this preparation is a bit different. He has a desire to go to seminary. The Lord has given him a passion for high school age kids. This is so evident in him just through the way he describes his high school experience. The problem for Alex is that in Serbia, there are no seminary schools.
Alex tells me that he doesn’t like high school that much. He is different than most. When I asked him why, he told me that he is the only Christian that he knows of at school. He enjoys talking about his walk with Christ to his friends but none of them have come to know God yet. This is so discouraging to Alex.
So I asked Alex what he wanted to do for school since seminary isn’t available in Serbia. His answer was “Go to America of course.” His desire is to somehow get to the US so that he can pursue his dream of becoming a youth pastor. I listened to his story in awe of how an 18 year high school senior, lives in a city where he can literally count (and name) the number of Christians in the surrounding area and still manage to live his sold out for Christ
It never ceases to amaze me how God weaves our stories together. Throughout the course of our month, Alex’s life touched our teams. He was our translator for every church service and ministry outreach. He walked us home every night (quite protective of his “little sisters” as he calls us). He even spent his free time with us playing games and putting together puzzles. I have never met a kinder person.
In the process of learning about his dreams, one of my teammates, Jessica, saw an opportunity to help. Jessica spent much of her free time researching the things Alex needed to do to go to school in America. She spent countless hours researching credentials, scholarship opportunities and host family options. The hardest part was figuring out how to get Alex connected with a family to live with. After much prayer and consideration, Jessica approached her parents as a potential host for Alex. They were so open and welcoming. Jessica explained they were ecstatic with this idea.
At the moment, Alex has a place to stay, the grades to get accepted and the motivation to get him where God is calling him to go. The only thing Alex is in need of at the moment is the money to get to America. Alex’s plan right now is to go to community college in Michigan for two years to save money. He will be working part time to pay for his school. He then plans to transfer to a 4 year university to study English and writing. Once he has graduated and accumulated his bachelor degree, he will go to seminary to get his degree in theology. These are the steps that Alex knows he needs to take to do what God wants him to do someday.
Below is a video of Alex. He is a courageous and pure hearted individual who needs your help to fulfill his calling in life. We know it was no mere coincidence that we are the team that came to Pozarevic, Serbia this month. We have seen God do amazing things. One of those things is to help a teenage boy step into the plans that God has for him. The Lord is using us as tools in Alex’s life. We are asking you to be apart as well.
