Last Children's Day in Prokuplje!

Hey everyone!

So things are going very well hereis Prokuplje! We are very excited to be here, and can definitely see Godworking in these people’s live! Last night, we attended the youth meeting,where Bethany and I spoke. We talked about spiritual growth and the importancereading your Bible and spending time with God. The youth responded with a lotof questions, and we were able to explain about how to make time for a quiettime, the prayerful mindset that it should be approached from, allowing it tochange you, and about not keeping what you learn to yourself, but sharing itwith other Christians to help them also grow.

            Iwas reminded while studying for the lesson that it is not something that we dofor ourselves, but it is God who works in us to give us the desire and strengthto seek Him (Philippians 2:13.) He alone is our source of strength, and we areto look to Him for everything that we do! It’s easy sometimes to try to doeverything on our own, but when we try to rely on ourselves, not only is Godnot glorified, but we will never be able to accomplish half of the things thatGod would have had we just given everything over to Him!

After we finished teaching, weworshiped, and it was very powerful. We sang songs that we knew in both Serbianand English, and praising God in both languages was so beautiful; everyone wassinging from his/her hearts, and the result was an amazing time of worship!

After we worshiped, we got pizzasfor the youth and hung out with them for a while (our limited knowledge ofSerbian made for some very funny conversations!) Talking with the youth is soencouraging, and they have such servant’s hearts! The youth have a key to thechurch that they pass around so that they can help Marijan and Slavica(pronounced “mar-ee-on” and “slaw-veet-sah” (“j” is a “y” sound, and “c” is a“ts” sound)) and they frequently go to the church before or after service toprepare and clean the building. The youth have been an incredibly wonderfulhelp with the children’s meetings, also. They are at the building with us early,setting up the chairs and tables, and they stay late with us to clean up thebuilding every day!

Today was our last day of thechildren’s meetings in Prokuplje, and we ended with a craft and awards forcoming. It was so much fun to play with the little kids and talk to the olderones. There was a lot of “Cait! Cait!”, “Bethany! Bethany!”, and “Daniel!Daniel!” as they tried to get our attention, and lots of hand signals andbroken Serbian followed in trying to understand what they needed; we had a lotof laughs, though, and were able to communicate what we needed to (with thehelp of a couple youth who speak English and a lot of pointing.)

Tomorrow we will have church, andMonday we will go to Dubovo to begin another round of kid’s camps! We are soexcited to see what God has been doing, both in our lives and the lives of thepeople around us. Please pray that we would be open to what He would have usdo, and that He would continue to work in amazing ways! We are picking up Serbianmuch faster than last year, but it’s a slow process, nonetheless! Please prayfor understanding and patience as we continue on this incredible journey!

In Christ’s love,

Caitlin

Days in Prokuplje, Serbia

Hey everyone! So let me just start out with how great God is! Not that I ever doubted that He would take care of everything, but He has taken care of everything! Rodja and his two daughters came down to Prokuplje to help us as translators. Paul, a missionary living here and is from the states, has also come down to Prokuplje to meet us! It has been such a blessing to see all of them!

It has been so great to get to know Paul and how it is to be a missionary here in Serbia. We have learned so much in such a short time! He is so wise as a spiritual leader, and a person all around. He really has a heart for Serbian people, and missions all around! He is definitely a role model for us three amigos!

We have had three days of children’s ministry in the mornings, and they have been awesome! WE have had around fifty kids everyday and they are great kids! A lot of them do not go to Marijan’s church so to have them come is so, so good! We have had worship time, a lesson, a quiz/game, snack time, and more worship. I am so amazed at how they pay attention and learn so much! Just knowing that they are going home singing the song and telling the stories to the people in their home just makes my heart so happy! We are not only sharing the gospel with the children, but also with their families!

We also had a prayer/worship meeting with youth of Marijan’s church and boy was it also a blessing! Even though they were singing in Serbian, and Romski, I knew God was in that service and it was pure worship! Then just when I thought it couldn’t get an better, Marijan sang “Heart of Worship” (in Serbian) while us three amigos and Paul sang in English. I can’t describe how awesome it was. To sing about the meaning of worship while singing with Serbians was truly amazing. Our worship is not to get so caught up in the technical things or sometimes even making it “showy,” it is truly pouring your heart out to God. And this is what everyone was doing! Ahhhh it was so cool!

Well we have three more days of children’s ministry, a church service where Daniel is preaching, a youth service where Cait and I are preaching, all left in this week.

Again, thank-you all for your prayers. This trip cannot have happened without your prayers!

Cao!

-Bethany

First Days

Hello friends and family,

Sorry we are just now getting to update, we have been going nonstop since we arrived in Prokuplje a little over 24 hours ago, and have not established an internet connection in our apartment yet, but we have access at Marijan’s apartment (Roma Pastor).

The trip here was extremely long and tiresome. We had no layovers between flights long enough to sit for even 30 minutes, and in Chicago and Zurich both we had to exit and re-enter security. When we arrived in Belgrade we were short one bag, thankfully it was our supply bag not our clothes. We then looked for Rodja, the Serbian pastor in Novi Sad who was going to accompany us and translate for a week in Prokuplje. He never showed up, and after about one and a half hour of waiting with no way of contacting anyone God sent us Marijan. Rodja’s car had broken down, so he called Marijan who came to get us. It is no surprise that God will always provide a way for His people and His work.

We then began our “3 hour” journey south in Marijan’s car with about an hour of sleep on the plane ride J.  After about 25 minutes driving we had to stop because the oil light in the car came on and it was close to overheating. This became our new routine, with no AC I might add, and 95 degree weather. Stopping every 15-20 miles to let the motor cool down and to add oil, as we baked in the sun.  Along the way we came to the worst traffic jam of our lives. This journey turned into 9 hours!!

The first place we come to in Prokuplje is their church. Just in time for service. After being awake for about 30 hours we arrive, and are prompted to share with the church. We gave brief introductions and I shared I little about telling others about Christ usuing the great commission and Acts 2. We had dinner and took showers with no hot water, both by choice, and because the hot water heater was not yet working.

Today (Monday) we began our children’s camp at a building in the village built by UNICEF that is used for after school tutoring during the school year. Almost 50 children attended!!! This was amazing! Some of these children have never been to church, and they all seemed to enjoy. We told a bible story about creation, then had snacks, and then quizzed over the lesson and sang songs.

This is already reason enough for the struggles that Satan attempted to get us down with. Satan doesn’t need to bother people who aren’t seeking Christ and honoring him, he attacks those who are doing things for Christ. Our time here will be very fruitful for Christ, as we have seen just the first full day. We expect Him to move in our lives and the people around us. We appreciate all the prayers (with out them we would probably be either on the side of the road, or feeling very defeated, but because of you we are here, and excited!!!) and the donations that got us here. Thanks so much!!

Daniel

Getting Ready to Go!

            Hey guys! I want to start out with a huge thank you for all of the support that you have given us! We have definitely felt the prayer support, and your financial contributions have made it possible for us to go on this trip. There is no way to tell you all how thankful we really are and how blessed we have been from all of your support!

            For those of you who don’t know, we will be flying out Saturday morning at 10:30. We will be flying through Chicago, Zurich, arrive in Belgrade at 9 am Sunday, and finally drive down to Prokuplje with Rodja and his family! We are very excited to get going, and would greatly appreciate prayers for safe travel and for clear, fresh minds when we finally arrive.

            Today we had a final planning meeting where we discussed our goals for the trip, and a few specifics on what we would be doing. Our main goal is to encourage the people while we are there and to help raise up new leaders and disciple-makers. Our goal is to make disciples who will in turn make disciples who make disciples, etc. The Bible teaches that every Christian is a disciple maker, and we want to make sure that we are growing His kingdom: a community of the Body of Christ that will be able to reproduce itself long after we have come and gone.

            With that in mind, we ask for prayer for everything. That our conversations would be seasoned with salt (Colossians 4:6), that we would patiently preach the Word ( 2 Timothy 4:2), that we have humility (Philippians 2:3-5), and that above all else, that we would seek the Glory of God in everything we do (Philippians 2:10-11, Isaiah 26:8)

Thank you again for all of your support!

In Christ’s love,

Caitlin

Fundraisers!

Hey everyone! Just to let you know, we will have a rummage sale Friday and Saturday to raise money for our Serbia Mission trip. There is a TON of stuff so come out and support us, please! The sale is located at 406 Manson Rd in Sherwood. The building is off of Khiel, between Moose cleaners and Subway. Hope to see you there!
Also! Caitlin and I will be selling our paintings again this Sunday the 3rd at FBC Sherwood. We have a lot more paintings this time, lots of donated photography, and some drawings that are for sale. We raised the most of the money needed for our trip during this sale last year, so we are hoping for the same results!
Thank you everyone, for the huge amount of support you have given the three amigos. I can't describe how blessed we feel!
In Christ's love,
The Three Amigos!

Final days in Winnipeg!

Hey everyone! Yesterday I was sick so I was not able to go to the campus withy the rest of my group. When they came back, they filled me in on the different things they did and opportunities they had. It seemed like it was a very successful day. Even though many people did not want to talk about church or Jesus, the met one man who was a chaplain here at Red River. He is working on campus here so this was good news!
Today we went back to campus. When we got there it was 10:00 and there weren't many people so we walked around and waited until lunch time. Jordan talked to one girl but she didn't care about what she said and eventually just left. I got in line to get food and then sat down with a girl who was eating by herself. We talked for maybe 30 minutes. It was a casually conversation at first but then I asked if she went to church somewhere. She said she did when she was little but now she is older and chooses not too. Throughout the whole conversation I mentioned going to church and being involved with different Christian things. Each time she would not answer or turn the conversation around. Eventually she left abruptly and I never got to share my testimony with her.
It seems like many people here are very closed minded and honestly don't care about faith. They don't see the point in going to church and anything to do with religion. It makes me really grateful to have grown up in the bible belt and to have gone to church. The culture here is pretty shocking as to how liberal everyone is.
I came back to the church to help cook the spaghetti for the service tonight. And we cooked a ton! The service turned out really good! The girls I met at the park earlier this week were at the service tonight. I really enjoyed talking to them and hearing all about what God has done and is doing in their lives. God knows exactly what I need to hear and see and it's so awesome to see Him do this for me!
We will leave tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. and will be back around 12 in the afternoon on Friday. Pray for our travel!
Beth

Canada Day 7

Hey everyone! So today we went to Assiniboin Park and a few of us face painted while other played games like soccer, kick ball, and flag football!
We had a pretty awesome day! We painted so many kids faces and got into good conversations about Christ with the parents.
Most of the guys played games and they met one guy who was a Christian and one who wasn't. They made some connections with these guys and invites them to our party/service on Wednesday night.
I also got to talk the Canadian girls from Aaron's church and I really enjoyed the conversations! One girl is going to work to stop sex trafficking and another girl is working with inner-city kids who were/are addicted to drugs. These girls really impressed me because they are all doing or looking for God's will in their lives. They are supposed to add me on Facebook and hopefully I can keep up with them!
Some of us cooked Chicken Spaghetti for dinner and my goodness it was delicious! I've missed home cooked meals! We also had some of the youth come and eat with us and hang out!
Then we played some games with the youth and it was super fun!
Tomorrow we will be going on the campuses again so pray for us!
Beth