Talk about dry ground. Montenegro is BEAUTIFUL, but there is almost no growing church going on, at least where we are. But God is working! We came to Montenegro with NO place to stay, we knew no one, and had no idea where we were going to sleep, but God provides! We piled off the train and the friend of a friend of Anna happened to be a pastor in Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro, and he met us at the train station and took us to his church. It was such a God thing. Fourteen clueless Americans in a country that speaks Serbian and we’re totally taken care of. Vladimir, the pastor, said he knew a missionary from Kosovo in a coastal town called Ultsinj and he could send one team there, so my team took off for Ultsinj. The drive was unbelievable, this is the most beautiful country I’ve ever seen.
The missionary in Ultsinj is named Bukurija, and she is amazing. She is very spirit led and totally dedicated to prayer. Most of our ministry here has been relationship building with locals, as well as LOTS of prayer and worship. When we first came here there were three Christians in the city, but now, our last day here, there are seven! It has been amazing to see God work through us and through Bukurija. In just two and a half weeks, we have seen the number of Christians DOUBLE in the city. Ultsinj is about 90% Muslim, and the call to prayer can be heard in the streets five times a day, but you can tell that despite the apparent foothold that Islam has in the city, many, many people are searching for something more. Bukurija comes from a Muslim background, so she has a great perspective from which to share with people. Ultsinj has been an amazing place to learn about waiting on the Lord and listening for His voice as we played beach soccer with local kids, talked with shop owners and bar-tenders, and prayed and worshiped with other believers. Tomorrow we are leaving for another coastal town, Bar, to meet up with another team to do ministry together for our last week and a half in Montenegro. I can’t wait for this new transition, although it will be sad to leave Bukurija and Freddie and our friends here
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<—-Freddie
<—-Freddie
