My team is in Bosnia this month with the honor of connecting with organizations and ministries in the country to see if they could be potential new partners for Adventures in Missions. During the month we don’t have a set contact or location, so we basically are asking the Lord to guide our steps to meeting people and finding places to lay our heads in budget.
During a prayer time while preparing for our time in Sarajevo, one of my teammates felt called to a valley. Eventually, that led our team to a missionary couple in Vares, a small, valley town between two mountains. On the 45 KM drive into the town, Mario told us how coffee is a culture norm, is used to welcome people into their home, is used to sip on at a café all day– I knew this place would capture my heart.
After 10 years of being on their church board, Mario Opacek and his wife Dejana moved from Zenica to the town of Vares a couple years ago. Mario explained that this war-torn town has been struggling since the end of the Bosnian War in 1995. The town still has a lot of buildings that are destroyed from the war; including unusable factories and a mine. Most of the world does not know the town exists; and most of Bosnia considers it a forgotten place that is not worth rebuilding. It is one of the poorest parts of the country with 80% unemployment causing extreme poverty.
In spite of the difficult situation, Mario and Dejana have been ministering joyfully to the poorest families. Their primary focus is on the children through an after school feeding program, tutoring and mentoring. They have a place near the bus station that kids can come after school for a snack and to play games. During the winter, their place provides shelter from the cold and warm food for the children. The kids feel very welcomed there; and even stopped by to play foosball while we were meeting with Mario.
They also are helping people during home visits, creating a playground for the kids and encouraging families to start businesses.
This part of the world continues to be a difficult place for ministry because of the strong cultural and spiritual resistance combined with the ethnic tension carried over from the war. In spite of this, it is beautiful to see people like Mario and Dejana who are going into forgotten places and loving people boldly—who are telling and showing the people of Vares that they have not been forgotten about and are worthy. People who are an active expression of God’s love for the people of this war torn land.
During our visit, we were able to see the charming town, row of cafes, and old mine. We drove up to a mountain look out over the town and pray that God would continue to be light there.
Please pray for Mario and Dejana and the other pastors serving in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
