So, after a crazy month of traveling from Cairo, to Bahrain, to Malta, to England, to Ireland, to Germany, to Italy, through Croatia, we have finally (phew!) settled in to Mostar, Bosnia. It definitely feels good to unpack those bags.
We arrived last Saturday, and moved in to dormitories in a Bible college, on the Muslim side of Mostar. The red team will be living here, and working with a church situated on the other side of the river – the Croat side of town.
The bible college is a great place to stay: cute rooms, comfortable beds, great views out the windows, and free wireless!
On Sunday, we worshipped with the church we’ll be partnering with while we’re here. We were blessed to have our new friend Julianna translate the sermon for us, from Croatian into English. At the end of the service, there was an open time for testimonies. One woman shared that her sister, who had been resistant to Christianity, finally opened her heart to Jesus and is experiencing a newfound freedom from fear in her life.
The second woman nearly ran to the front of the room to share that she’d been struggling with intense back pain for quite a while. During the sermon, which was about the blood of Jesus, she prayed and prayed that Jesus would heal her back. While singing the last worship song, her back was completely healed and she was freed from pain! The joy was so radiant on this woman’s face, she was so thankful and excited to share with us God’s miraculous answer to her prayer! Praise the Lord!
After church, we decided the weather was too good not to have a reunion picnic with all the world racers, so we headed down to the river with our food, blankets and swimsuits (for the wilder at heart!). I was happy to be behind the camera while others tested their mettle in the freezing cold water.
The river water comes straight from the snow melt, and was described by the swimmers as “shockingly cold, painful, and invigorating.” No thanks. The scenery is good enough for me!
The town is so pretty, the hills so reminiscent of where I grew up in Southern California, its hard for me to fathom that I’m actually in the middle of a former war zone. Since moving in, we have been learning little by little what tragedies this
picturesque town experienced during the war. The evidence remains – destroyed shells of buildings, walls riddled with bullet holes. We all remind ourselves ‘safety first’ to not stray from the beaten path, as there are still live mines in the hillsides and abandoned buildings.
I am especially saddened by the fact that Croatian soldiers used the symbol of the Christian cross as a sign of their victory in war; to the many Muslims in Mostar, the cross now symbolizes hate, fear and death.
Please pray that God would really work through us during our time here- both in the city of Mostar, and during two weeks of camp outreaches that we will be doing in Croatia. God is doing some great things among His people here, but there is strong resistance in this community where Christianity is considered a cult.
Also please pray that we would continue to be strong and not lose heart in the face of our continued challenges. Pray that our time with the Lord would be fresh and renewing, that He would fill us up that we might pour out His love to others.
