For the last week and a half of our time in Montenegro, my team made the short journey to the coastal town of Bar. Bar is one of the top entry points for human trafficking in Western Europe, so we’ve been covering this city in prayer 24 hours a day for the whole time we’ve been here. Our team is working with Team Unwritten, an awesome group of people, I’m so pumped to be working with them. Apart from 24 hour prayer (it works out to about 2 hours per person per day), we’ve also been doing ministry with gypsy kids in the area, running English classes, and playing soccer with some local kids. Bar is even more beautiful than Ultsinj and stands as a testament to God’s power and beauty. Socially, there are very distinct classes here and there seems to be no crossing over. There are the really poor gypsies, another class of gypsies that live in Old Town, and there is everyone else. The poorest gypsies are among the most destitute people I have ever seen. Their houses are built of sheets of metal and wood leaned up against each other. To get to the gypsy village, you have to cross a beam suspended across a river of raw sewage and trash. There is little hope for the dozens of kids that live here. They cannot go to regular school because of the cost and descrimination and with no education, there is no way out of their current state. They go into the city every day from 11am until 4 or 5 in the afternoon to beg. Every day. It is very sad, but we were able to go in and do a Bible lesson, skit, some music, and just play with the kids and give them some love. We also spent some time with the gypsies in Old Town. These families are better off economically, but not much. The same general hopelessness lives here too. Everyone is reserved to the fact that this is life and there is nothing better that is possible for any of them. It has been hard seeing such hopelessness and knowning that we are only here for a week and a half. The amazing thing is that people living in Bar are pretty well off. They would probably be considered middle class in the U.S. and yet they seem unaware at best or simply unconcerned at worst at the plight of children living just a few hundred yards from them. The inequality here is astounding, but through it all, I can see and feel God working. I know that even though I feel like I’m not doing much, being here is the most important thing and if I’m worried the whole time about not doing enough, that’s part of me that is not being in the here and now. I know that the biggest things these kids need is God’s love and some basic physical stuff like food, and I can help give them both of these things, so I give all I can, and then give them up to God, because He cares for them far more than I ever will. I pray that God will raise up leaders among them that follow Him that will be able to lead the others out of destitution and into the marvelous light of God’s provision and love.
These weeks have been really good for bonding with others on the squad too, mixing our teams provides the opportunity to really get to know some great brothers and sisters in Christ and to encourage and be encouraged by them. We leave tomorrow on a 24 hour bus ride to a squad debrief in Istanbul. Thank you so much for all your prayers, they are deeply appreciated. I love all you guys!
Adam
My Good Buddy from Team Unwritten, Dan
