For the first time in 10 months, no one is telling me what to do. We’re currently in Albania and its our team’s second no-host month, and I’m getting to reflect on the Lord’s faithfulness in our first no-host month in Serbia.
Our team was told mid-Bulgaria that we wouldn’t have a ministry host in Serbia. We wouldn’t go in with a ministry partner, a place to live, or even knowing what city to go to. We were given the opportunity to pray about what God wanted our ministry to look like and where He wanted us to be. We came together and talked about our desires to serve in a city with English speakers and to be on a rural farm.
Even though the idea of no-host month was a little scary initially, the Lord was so good to provide peace and excitement for us. He gave Shelby, our team leader, and I clear vision and direction that joined individual desires on the team and the team’s vision as a whole.
As a side note, when Shelby and I asked the Lord to give us words for the month (separately), He gave her “community” and “flock” and He gave me “fellowship” and “sheep” so that’s pretty cool!
God provided a way for us to stay in a nice apartment in the city center of Beograd and on a farm in the mountains, originally quite over budget, totally within budget and with the nicest Airbnb hosts. Sometimes, things seemed pretty discouraging (like over-budget lodging and places being booked), but the Lord taught me that it’s okay to ask people for help- both of our Airbnb hosts offered to provide extra beds/bedding for us, discount their homes, and let extra people stay for no additional cost. Praise the Lord for real!
We stayed in the city for a little over a week and on the farm for two.
Here’s what no-host month held for us (this is just an overview, so please ask questions!):
Belgrade:
- We became BFFs with a girl who works in a local gelato shop. We got to hang out with her several times and talk about personal beliefs and gelato types and fencing.
- We befriended with the local florist and I got to talk to her about the Bible and she’s so kind! And we always had fresh flowers on our table, which was a blessing.
- We individually got really cool ministry ideas – fundraising to get food for the homeless population in the city, free photo shoots in the center, prayer walks around the mosques and fortresses, writing poems for people in the city, making cookies for people we’ve met, etc.
- We found an English-speaking church that has led to the development of some super sweet friendships and connections for our time in Zlatibor.
- Met a few Baristas and have been able to talk about church, faith, restaurants in Zlatibor, hiking, orthodox celebrations, and all kinds of fun stuff.
Zlatibor:
- We had a surprise great-grandma (Baba Ljubinka) living with us and got to get to know her, show her pictures of our families, and laugh with her.
- Because Baba didn’t have a Bible, our team wrote out the book of Romans for her in Serbski.
- We went on a 10 mile hike on a rest day and met some English speakers and got to smile and laugh with them, and it was so fun
- We made a lot of baked goods for our Airbnb family, taxi drivers, and strangers. We wrote some greetings and Bible verses on notes to hand out with the cookies, and I could tell some people were really encouraged by tourists learning to write in Serbski and by the Bible verses.
- We had some down time between learning to milk goats and baking and playing with the new farm puppies, so we set aside a full day to pray for our squad
Thanks for your continued prayers and encouragement. I can’t believe we’re in our final month now! See you all soon! Much love!
