One month on the field has come and gone. Although things were off to a rough start, as my previous blog described, everything only went UP from there! I had the privilege of spending the first week and a half with Team Iron Life in Belgrade, Serbia. We lived with an amazing couple, Remi and Deborah, who welcomed us into their home and their hearts. They are both from England, but have been missionaries in Serbia for several years. They have a heart for the people of Serbia and see a great need for the Gospel to be truly lived and displayed there. Remi and Debbie allowed us to be a part of their every day lives and invited us into ministry with them. This consisted of morning devotion, street evangelism, bible studies, relational ministry, prayer meetings, church services, and connection groups for university students.
It was amazing to see how the Lord lined up divine appointments everywhere we went. From the local parks to the city center and the ice cream stand, we started conversations with people that became a catalyst for further investment throughout the month and more. In Serbia, the primary religion is Eastern Orthodox, but very few people actually have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Open conversation about God is not always welcomed, but we saw the Lord open so many doors for us to minister. Sometimes the most important part is establishing that friendship with someone and letting them know that you really do care. We did not go to Serbia to “sell” Jesus to anyone, but we went simply carrying His presence with us. It was HIM who drew people in. It was HIM who ministered with love. It was HIM who laid on our hearts who to go to and who to invest in. HE alone knows the hearts of people. He can see what we cannot.
As my friend, Maja, said, “nothing is an accident.” We were SUPPOSED to meet the people that we did and encourage them with the love of Jesus Christ. They were divine appointments!
One street we would visit regularly was right in the city center of Belgrade. It is there that I met Milan and Maja. Milan is a spray paint artist and there is always a crowd of people gathering around to see him at work. He is brilliant! As we stood and watched his handiwork, Maja, his wife, came over and we started chatting. Immediately, I knew I was supposed to connect with her. We made small talk and she shared a little about her life story. Crowds began to thin out and we were getting ready to leave, but I told Maja I would come back and see them the next night so we could talk some more. This started our friendship and I knew somehow God was going to use it. The next several nights, I went back to city center to meet with Maja and Milan. Every time we connected our conversation went deeper. My last night in Belgrade I went to see them. As Maja and I said our goodbyes, she smiled, and tried to get the right words out in English, “nothing is an accident,” she said. She believed that it was not an accident that we met and that God sent us to encourage her. Through our conversations together, we were able to connect them with Remi and Debbie and tell them about the local evangelical church in Belgrade.
I was so encouraged by my time in Serbia, not just by seeing God move THROUGH us, but also by seeing God move IN us. I believe that God is ALWAYS moving and He is ALWAYS inviting us to grow deeper in relationship with Him. I carried this with me as I left Serbia and went down to Macedonia to visit Team Akal Esh in anticipation of what God had next.
Team Akal Esh greeted me with open arms and lots of welcome signs as I arrived at the bus station in Bitola, Macedonia. Very quickly, they made me a part of their team. We shared deep conversations about theology, studied the bible together, and spoke truth to each other through feedback nearly every day. As we ministered through the local church in Bitola we were each impacted by the fervent dedication and strength of the few believers there. We heard stories and experienced first hand the persecution of believers in Macedonia. They are made fun of and labeled as weird or crazy because they speak openly about having a personal relationship with Jesus. Many nights we would go out on the street together and set up a table to give out free bibles. This was really significant because the Eastern Orthodox church does not encourage people to read the bible on their own, but rather to believe what they are taught by the leadership in the church. We encountered several people who were angry that we were handing out bibles and would shake their finger at us or speak harsh words. In the end, however, we were encouraged by the amount of people who took the free gift of the bible who may have never owned or opened one on their own before. It was not an accident that we were out there handing out bibles when they walked by. God’s Word is POWERFUL and LIVING and ACTIVE. We believe fully that there will be people who open their new bible and hear God SPEAK for the first time. To TRULY hear Him speak right to their hearts; to the places that no one else can touch.
Pastor Josip and his wife, Billiana, have faithfully followed Christ and been so obedient in the midst of persecution and condemnation from others. They have continued to share the gospel with people in Bitola and surrounding towns in hopes that more and more people would receive freedom in Christ, enter into a personal relationship with Him, and walk in obedience to the Holy Spirit and not man. We wanted to be a blessing to them and encourage them as much as they had encouraged us by their steady faith. Throughout our time there we shared testimonies, words of encouragement, interceded and prayed for the country and the local church, led worship, taught english to youth, and spent time fellowshipping with members of the church and lifting them up.
I do not have the words to adequately express how humbling it is to meet people such as Pastor Josip’s family. People who have gone a majority of their lives being ostracized and looked down on by others because of their faith. They believe the TRUTH and have a passion to see others set free even when those very people are the ones dragging them through the mud. This is Jesus. Isn’t this what He experienced?
“He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.” -John 1:11
He was rejected by the very people He had created. He was in the beginning WITH God and came to earth to be persecuted by those He loved more than anything. What does that look like for us in our lives? Are we loving our neighbors well? Are we loving our enemies well? Do we love those who persecute and mistreat us? Would we be willing to lay down our lives and our comforts for the sake of the Gospel? Would we set aside our pride and speak openly about Jesus if we knew we would have fingers pointed at us and suffer persecution?
Pastor Josip and his small congregation in Bitola are not discouraged because they know what they have is REAL and they know WHO they have! They have tasted and seen that He is GOOD and it has set their hearts and their feet on a solid foundation!! Oh Lord, give me faith like that!! Help me to continue going forward in the midst of persecution and rejection! You alone are worthy!!
