Dearest Friends,
The Last Two Days
In the last 2 days, we have seen and been a part of many wonderful things. More, we are really enjoying Croatia and the adventure of learning about a new place. Rejoice, laugh, and thank God as you read this list.
1. Today we did a show in a field in a Roma village and heard children asking Jesus to rescue them.
2. Children in the village asked if I was a queen where I came from. When we asked them why they thought that , they said I looked like a queen. This is very funny since I am wearing clothes that I got at the missionary clothes closet in Atlanta and a coat I got at a charity shop. It is all perspective.
3.Yesterday, we had a wonderful show at a school for mentally handicapped children and teenagers. They loved the program and were very responsive. Their director gave me a beautiful toy cradle that the students made and painted in an afternoon program that runs after school. They even interviewed me for their school newspaper. This was another opportunity to talk about Jesus. The last thing she said to me was, " Come to us again soon.". Pray for this place and the children there. I know they can understand the Gospel.
4. We did a program at a state orphanage where they had mostly teenagers. They were all trying to be cool and acted very distant as I was telling the story. Many of these children had been placed in state care because of what was going on in their homes. They had been badly hurt so I understood why they acted as they did. Still there was a lovely moment when you could see their walls fall down and they truly began to listen to how Jesus could rescue them. Please pray for theses orphans to meet God as their Father.
5.Early in the morning we were in another field in a Roma village where around 70 children and parents gathered. It was very sweet to see so many people standing in the cold to hear about Jesus. They heat their homes with wood and many of the homes have outdoor bathrooms. It is not the easiest life, but even in the cold , they came. My joy was perhaps even greater than theirs as we did the show. Children in places like this are always the ones that I ache to reach because they are often forgotten.
6. I have been walking every day in an effort to improve my health. Yesterday, I walked down to the Sava River and looked across the water at Bosnia. How amazing!
7.The food is great! We have eaten a breakfast pastry filled with meat called burek. The soup we ate tonight was called grah which sounded like a Klingon dish to me. HeeHee. Mlinci is a tasty pasta.
8. The puppets are now singing in English and Croatian. They are very smart and God is using them to make many children smile.
Prayer Requests
Tomorrow, we leave Slavonski Brod to travel to northwest Croatia where we will be working from Saturday to Tuesday. Please pray for it not to rain as all shows in the Roma villages are outside.
We will be working in very poor areas and they come with many issues which could affect our work. Please especially pray for the children and adults to listen well. These are very broken places!
In Jesus, Linda, Lim, Andy, Sergei, and Zeljka