I haven’t done any recaps or even given details for that matter about our ministry so far on the race. I am going to fix that directly. Month 1 in Sombor, Serbia, was a huge blessing. With having never left the country before, and never been on a mission trip, Serbia was a great first step. I would describe it as a great halfway point for missionaries transitioning out of the U.S.
What I mean by this is that there were still comforts of home, such as showers, toilets, A/C, ping pong table, local restaurants and coffee. But at the same time I was starting the abandonment process of everyday life back in the states. I couldn’t just hop in my car anytime I wanted to go somewhere, I had to walk. I couldn’t just order whatever I needed off of amazon, I only had what I had brought with me. I couldn’t order my favorite American meals, or even communicate with the locals for that matter. It was a struggle to get them to understand me sometimes.
I was also going from living by myself in the basement of my parents house to living in half that space or less even, but with 12 other people! Talk about invasion of privacy. Not a big deal though because I love community and a family vibe. We were staying in a church where our host, Zoli, was the minister and on the ground floor of the church was a small cafe, where the teenagers and anyone who wanted could hang out.
As far as actual ministry goes, it was more or less the same all month. Every morning for me started out the same, I woke up around 7:00-7:30 and had my espresso and Jesus time around a coffee table in the cafe. At 8:00 we had team time, talking about how we wanted our first month to go, what were our expectations, what were our goals for the race. And a lot of prayer for those things. At 9:00-9:30 both teams would meet in the cafe and have worship with Zoli, his wife Tanya, and sometimes their daughters. Afterwards we would discuss the plans for the day. At 10:00 we would go on a prayer walk around the city for an hour. This means we would walk around the city praying for the city, its people, or asking God who we needed to either pray for or talk to. This was a huge time for growth for me because I had never done anything like that before.
When we got back we started ministry with Zoli. The normal schedule was to work for a few hours, until around 14:00 and then be off and have free time until around 18:00. Our teams were actually painting the upstairs bathroom, cleaning, building a fire pit, cleaning the garage at the church. Anything and everything that needed done as far as upkeep around the church. On a couple different occasions we went and helped out an local lady break up some bricks in her back yard and haul them out.
Once 18:00 came around, it was time for our “real” ministry. That was ministering to the youth. Anywhere from 2-8, give or take, would show up every night and we got to play card games, board games, ping pong, volleyball, anything and everything. In the process of having fun we built relationships and ministered to them that way. Throughout the month different opportunities opened up.
We had a sports ministry which consisted of about 2-4 racers going to a local park and playing basketball, football, baseball and soccer with the locals. Another ministry was a couple racers going to another park and playing the guitar and just worshiping in public. The latest ministry opportunity was that of a local boxing club. This is the one I was involved in.
Boxing was tough! We started at 18:00 and usually went for about an hour or two. It was mostly conditioning and working out which I was excited about. A lot of shadow boxing and feeling like an idiot while punching an imaginary opponent. But through us being there, the trainer actually asked Zoli to teach him english. Several of the guys in the club wanted to hang out with us even though they didn’t know any english. So just through us being there, many chances to minister and spread the gospel through english came up.
We actually left Serbia right as going to boxing was becoming a routine everyday, so I wasn’t able to actually fulfill the need to spread Jesus among boxers. But I am confident that even though we aren’t there, God has planted the seed through us that will continue to grow.
All in all, Serbia was a fantastic first month. I wouldn’t trade it for the world and to have that experience in my life is priceless. I loved the city, the culture, the people and the hosts. They became family in no time. Jesus is a multi-cultural connector and no matter where you go, if you’re with a fellow Christian, you’re with family.
