This month in Montenegro has been super awesome so far. Our ministry is very chill and laidback and extremely relational, which I love. We are basically just trying to build relationships and friendships with people that we come in contact with. We go down to the beach or parks or walk around town and try to meet and engage with people. Our purpose is to get to share Christ with these people and build genuine connections and friendships with them. It’s basically up to us on what and where we want to go and do each day. I love this because it is teaching us to depend on the Holy Spirit’s leading and direction everyday and to trust where we sense Him guiding us.
Montenegro is an extremely unreached country, one of the most unreached in Europe. The country is relatively small, about 650,000 people I think and only about 100 of those claim to really know Christ. That is a startling number. While it is not oppressive here, you can for sure feel the lack of light. All of us have been talking about how crazy it is that we are always feeling so exhausted lately, without any real reason. But then one of the girls on my team mentioned that she thinks it’s spiritual and all of a sudden it made so much sense. This is a very dark place and we are being some of the only light in the area and that is going to be weighing on us spiritually but also physically.
Our teams have been doing a lot of prayer walks here and claiming the ground we walk on for Christ. We have already gotten to meet several interesting people through our prayer walks and our times on the beach. One thing we have been doing is trying to go to the same places several times each week. For instance, going to the same coffee shop, the same grocery store, the same bakery or ice cream spot. This way the people we are seeing are getting used to seeing us on a regular basis and some of their walls are slowing breaking down. It’s so fun to be purposeful with people and love on them time and again and see how that love starts bringing them around. It’s funny, one of the girls on my team had made it her goal to get the grumpy lady at the ice cream shop to smile at her, so she kept going back and finally the other day it happened! It was a small victory but it’s now ground that can be built on.
One thing that has been really surprising and fun is that there are a ton of Russians here! So I have gotten to speak a lot of Russian and hang out with some with them. When we first got here I was having a difficult time with the Russian because we had been in South America for 3 months and my brain was filled with Spanish. I was getting all the languages confused and it was driving me crazy. If I could find someone who speaks Russian, Spanish and English, we would be able to communicate perfectly! So my team prayed over my mind, that the Spanish would go away for now (and come back later hopefully cause I love it) and that the Russian would come back. And, amazingly enough, it has! I’ve been able to remember and speak a lot more Russian now and it’s just so much fun. It brings so much joy to my heart to hear and speak Russian, it’s a taste of home.
Another thing that has been awesome about where we are staying here is that there is an oven!!! Now that may not seem exciting to most people, but no where in the last 4 months has had an oven. I love to cook and bake and it’s actually been harder than I expected to not be able to do much of that. But I have gotten to bake a ton since being here. Last night we had a Montenegrin guy come over and hang out with us. He’s a chef and we asked him if he could have any American food what would it be. Surprisingly he said southern food. So, my team got to work and we made fried chicken (with home made honey mustard), mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, angeled eggs, cornbread, apple pie and sweet tea…all from scratch! It. Was. Amazing. !!! So much fun! It’s so much more exciting to try to cook when you don’t have any measuring spoons or cups and when you’re not exactly sure what ingredients you’re putting in things cause the label is in another language.
I have loved my team’s heart this month. Instead of being lazy and trying to get out of doing things, they have been ‘all in’ to following where the Holy Spirit leads and having their eyes open to those around them. I think they love it as much as I do. This is how we are meant to live everyday of our lives. Constantly looking for ways to love on those around us, even the persons we pass on the street or the lady at the bakery. We are completely aware of the fact that we stand out and we’re using it to our advantage. There is never an off day to loving and seeing those around us. This month is training us for the rest of our lives. Live with eyes wide open. Be ready and eager to share Christ and His love with everyone we get the privilege of coming in contact with. Live with purpose and intentionality and constantly be lead by the Holy Spirit.
