I have wanted to go to Bosnia for 12 years. It’s weird, I don’t know what made me choose there, but when a 13 year old Katy May was watching the Winter Olympics and heard the country Bosnia and Herzegovina she said, “I will go there someday.” I never knew I would have the chance to go there this year but God knew and when teams were being picked for ministry sites, my team was chosen to go there. This is what I learned about this place I’ve wabred to visit for so long.
There is so much brokenness in this country. The spiritual depravity is evident and the hurt that the nation has gone through is overwhelming. In the 90’s, after coming out of communism just years before, there was a countrywide civil war. Brothers against brothers. Neighbors against neighbors. It wasn’t safe to be outside because the snipers in the mountains could get you. It was said at a crimes against humanity museum in Sarajevo that they put tunnels around the trolley so people could get from one place to another but one section couldn’t be covered and everyday while traveling through that area, the train would get silent and the reality of possible death was clear.
But still even more heartbreaking than all of that was that there are only 400 Evangelical Christians in all of Bosnia, 150 of whom live in Sarajevo. The depraviry of not knowing Jesus was so prominent, you could feel it in the air as you walked the streets. People lacked smiles on their faces, and joy in lives. It was like walking through the upside down grey world in Halloweentown.
So here we are in the gorgeous, historically rich city full of brokenness, working in a children’s center and we find out it is illegal to evangelize to anyone under the age of 18. Coming from africa where I just got done eveangelizing to everyone I came in contact with for three months, it was a bit of a shock and left me wondering how do I show Jesus to these people without using the name of Jesus? It made me think of a quote by Bob Goff that my old team leader Josh would share with us, “Share the Gospel, and when necessary, use words.” Here was my chance. I couldn’t use words to show Jesus, so I had to use my actions.
I got to love on those kids the way Jesus would love on them. I got smile at people in the streets or on the bus. I got to have conversation with the funny man who owned the fruit stand down the road. I got to laugh and sing silly songs with teenagers. I got to feed and hear stories from the retired community. I got to experience Jesus in a whole new way and for that I am thankful.
I know that I will be back to Bosnia. You can bet on that. It became one of my favorite months and the Lord isn’t finished with me there.
You can watch a clip about ministry by clicking the link below…
