In the beginning of this month, I was really struggling with motivation to do ministry. I was feeling tired and just burnt out. Our ministry this month has been really f l e x i b l e and one of those months where we get to shape what we do. As you all know I love structure and this month has been the opposite of that. So, I’ve been challenged this month in that area, which is a great because it gives me the opportunity to GROW!
We are staying at a Church called Protestant Christian Fellowship and it is the biggest Christian Protestant church in Serbia. The church is a light in the city of Novi Sad surrounding a lot of Orthodox Churches, which is the predominate religion here in Serbia.
Our ultimate goal this month, is to help the church in any way we can. One of the ways they’ve asked us to help is by building relationships with the youth here in Novi Sad.
The past week we’ve gotten to do a handful of FUN activities for ministry which has helped s h i f t my perspective to be more positive and encouraging.
Thursday, we did a prayer walk around the city of Novi Sad and talked with different people. Michelle and I met two girls in high school named Kristina and Alexandria. They were super nice and we invited them to a coffee date on Sunday.
On Friday night, we got to host a game night for all the youth in the church. It was a super fun night with lots of laughter. We played Uno, Mafia, and 4 on a couch. The students loved all these games, especially 4 on a couch.
Saturday morning, we helped with an event that was held at the church. The pastor of the church is a leader of an organization called Royal Rangers, which is similar to boy and girl scouts in the States. Our team got to lead a bible lesson and games for the kids. My favorite part was the game in which the boy were competing against the girls to see who could put together a tent the fastest. It was fun to watch them work together and have fun.
Later that day on Saturday, the church hosted another event that we helped out at. This event was a time for homeless people around Novi Sad to come to the church and have a warm meal and shower. As a team, we got to talk with them and hang out. They were all super nice and loved practicing their English with us.
Over all, our time so far in Serbia has been great. Our team is starting to get our footing in ministry. This week we will spend our ministry days doing more prayer walks and outreach in the city, along with preparing and planning for our workshop we will host for the youth on Saturday. I am personally leading a class on Photography, and helping my teammate Jillian lead a dance class. I am excited to see how these worships will allow us to connect with youth here in Novi Sad.
Please continue to P R A Y for my team and I that God leads us to the people He wants us to meet and connect with.
Thanks for reading!
-B
