Dearest Friends,
Stones
There are stones everywhere I look. They litter the fields. People stack them into walls and use them to build houses. They arrange them into elaborate patterns , making paths and cobblestone type streets. Some people paint scenes on them and sell them in the shops.
There are so many stones here,but the biggest stones are not in plain view. They are not used to build bridges. The biggest stones here are people’s hearts. They are hard with unforgiveness . Terrible things happened to people during the war years. There was so much suffering. One of my friend’s here said , "Only Jesus can heal such hard hearts."
There is little interest in Him. Their laws state that you can not share Christ with children. Some pastors will not have children’s work as a result. Still, there are those who courageously tell the children about nada, the Bosnian word for hope.
I really need you to pray. I am here alone but never alone. I need you to ask God to open doors that everyone says are closed. I have already told them that God is bigger. Ironically, we seem to have more openness with the Muslims. Please ask God to specifically open a door into a gypsy village. Please pray for programs in 2 areas of Mostar where my friend wants to start a work. Please ask the Lord to call people to the training. I need you to storm the gates of heaven for these children. Please pray!
This Place Called Mostar
This is a beautiful city that has suffered so much. After the war, this place was a pile of rubble. Everything was destroyed. Twenty two years later, there are still buildings that were bombed and stand only as shells. I was told not to go for walks in certain areas because there are still mines in those places. I saw so many bullet holes in buildings.
The greatest damage to this city happened inside of people. There is no more war ,but there is no trust between groups of people. They can not even agree enough to form a city government. Many live their lives ruled by hate. The true believers stand in the middle, painted with suspicion by whatever group they came from. There are rumors that they sold their religious tradition for money.
Beautiful mountains surround this place. A river runs through the town. There is such beauty in God’s creation and so much ugliness in the way people treat each other. I would be no different except for Jesus. He is the answer that they can not see. Already, I ache for this place and its dear people. Thank you for sending me.
In Jesus, Linda