At the beginning of this whole adventure during training camp, there was a verse that we talked about that I realized I had learned the wrong way. Proverbs 16:9 says “A man’s heart plans his way, but the LoRd directs His steps.” It used to stress me out to think that God had some big picture plan for my life, and it was up to me to figure it out and then somehow make it work to get there. What a relief it was to learn that we are given the freedom to dream and pursue the things that make our heart beat. We set our life in a certain direction, aiming towards certain things, and God reveals things to us one step at a time opening doors as we go. The meaning of this verse has become more and more apparent to me as time has gone on and as this race has been unfolding.
As a team we only got to spend 10 days in Bosnia Herzegovina (BIH), but they were quite possibly 10 of my favorite days of the race so far. Once we were nearing our time ending in Croatia, we started researching and praying into where the LoRd would have us go in BIH. For some reason the LoRd kept laying Mostar on my heart, so I shared it with the team and continued more focused research. We had also dreamed about what kind of ministry we were wanting to do and came up with orphanage/kid ministry, teaching English, and work with refugees. Though we had emailed many places to go as a team which had little response, we stepped forward in faith anyway. We had the big picture plan, but we didn’t know any of the steps.
Upon arriving in Mostar, the feel was automatically different. We ended up finding an Air BnB in an older previous Communist apartment complex. It didn’t take long to notice the bullet holes in the sides of the buildings, bombed out buildings next to rebuilt buildings, graffiti everywhere, and other remnants of the civil war that had happened just a few years prior.
We arrived late Friday night and decided after walking around the town that Saturday that we should try to get plugged in somewhere and try a church. In Croatia we were located far outside the city, but here we were in the center of everything. We googled Christian churches in the area, emailed a contact late that night, ended up making the connection, and walked there the next morning. What we didn’t know, is that it was an international Evangelical church that most of the missionaries in town attended. There were so many connections to be made and wouldn’t you know it, there was work to do with refugees, there was work to do with kids, and there was work to do with college students learning and practicing English.
Throughout these 10 days, our team got to do some incredible ministry. While spending time with these missionaries and with a few locals, we learned so much about the history of BIH, their culture, and their people. There was so much to learn that we can continue to pray for and connections we made that we can hopefully go back to visit:)
The outside of our apartment complex –
Graffiti everywhere!
Craig and Stephanie – Two missionaries from Florida who took us out for coffee, connected us with locals, invited us over for pancakes, and shared incredible stories from their eight years in Bosnia Herzegovina! Such blessings to us:)
Bosnia Herzegovina culture is a coffee culture. This is the traditional way they serve their Turkish coffee right in front of the famous crooked bridge in Mostar. We learned that unfortunately about 40% of the country is unemployed, and many people live together with their families in one home off of one person’s small government pension. Consequently they are a very relational culture and have plenty of time to grab coffee with friends – sometimes for three or four hours at a time!
Keep calm and learn English:) This is the student center where we met many college students and just practiced English through board games, Bananagrams, and Guitar Hero.
There’s always work to do with kids. These kids have been praying for months for someone to come along and teach them how to work the drum – Rodolfo helped them out.
Learning new games and sharing our own personal testimonies as they were learning the story of the Prodigal Son.
The view from an old bombed out bank that was used as a strategic sniper tower during the war.
Christazia and I felt led to go to Sarajevo in hopes to work with, love on, and pray over new refugees from Syria. We only got to meet a few, but as we were figuring out where to go, I stopped these people asking if they knew English. That simple question turned into this brother and sister inviting us to walk with them through their town as they explained so much of the current political situation, the history and impact of the war, testimonies of their personal struggles and losses, and explanations of historic sites, monuments, and cultural differences here in the Balkans. What a beautiful experience it was that could have never been planned.
We have experienced the LoRd’s faithfulness over and over here in Eastern Europe and are excited and expected for the little time we have left here before Asia! Keep us in your prayers!
