Can you believe that I’ve been on the Race for five and a half months already? I feel like this journey has just begun, but we’ve officially crossed the halfway mark as of this month. At this pace I’ll be back stateside in the blink of an eye!
Currently I am staying in the tiny town of Sombor, Serbia.
When we arrived here Sombor was sheeted in snow and the air was crisp—a satisfying juxtaposition to the seemingly never-ending heat and humidity I had experienced the past five months on the Race. And what a prime opportunity for snow angels and spontaneous snowball fights!
But I immediately noticed there was something different about Sombor… and it wasn’t just the weather.
The air is heavy here and a darkness hovers in the clouds.
Homes and businesses line the streets in muted color as they slowly crumble away.
People pass by with lifeless expressions on their faces and emptiness in their eyes.
When we stepped out of that van on our first day here, we stepped right into the pages of an empty coloring book, where all the characters are walking corpses.
Serbia has a strong background in Eastern Orthodoxy. You could even say it is a part of their national identity. However, here to be Orthodox usually means you are bound by tradition and ritual practices rather than having an intimate relationship with Jesus. To be protestant or any other non-orthodox Christian is viewed as traitorous to Serbian faith and identity. Here, non-Orthodox Christians tend to be highly persecuted for their faith.
Sombor itself seems to be quite hardened and people are not very interested in spirituality. Those who say they are Christian, in general, do not seem to have genuine relationships with the Lord. Most people I have spoken to say they do not like Sombor and long to leave, but they are not motivated enough to do so.
A major part of our ministry this month is to start off every morning by walking through the neighborhoods of Sombor and praying over the town and the people living here. Although it is so evident that Sombor is spiritually lacking, God continues to remind us that it is not lacking in hope. He has big plans for this tiny town.
During our first prayer walk through the city my teammate and I stopped to pray over a school. While there she got an image of a box of crayons (yeah, weird, I know). But God was using that to show her that Sombor is like a coloring book, He is the artist, and we are his crayons. He is going to use our team this month to bring color and life to this city. I was reminded of the same thing when I was out on my own and found a giant brick wall coated in thick black paint. Over time, one brick after another had been stripped of its blackness and covered in colorful paint. Although darkness covers this place, Sombor will become a colorful masterpiece one person at a time.
As our time here in Sombor continues to pass away, so has the snow. And with the melting of the snow, trees have begun to blossom and plants have sprouted up from the earth. Each new sprout and every new blossom is a beautiful reminder that right now it is winter in Sombor, but spring is coming. That is a promise. There is hope. Out of Sombor will blossom beautiful things.
It may seem like Sombor is dead. That it is a city full of walking corpses. But if there is one word for this month and this city, it is HOPE. There is hope for Sombor. God is bringing this place to life. He is raising this city from the dead.
These bones will sing His praise!
