DTS 2011 is finished! Four of our wonderful students graduated last Friday. We would like to share with you some pictures during our outreach in Bosnia. More photos on graduation will come soon!

Outreach: Banja Luka Bosnia

Outreach: Sarajevo Bosnia

I can’t tell you much about this city that you couldn’t find out for yourself with a few Internet searches.  Banja Luka is a beautiful as people say and is a friendly a place as one is ever likely to find.

These past three weeks the team has balanced between going out to engage with people and hosting events to draw them to us.  For the going out side, we have spend a great deal of time with the state children’s home here in Banja Luka.  Home to over 100 children, we have put on programmes of events for them, taken them out into the city with us, gone out bowling, played sports together and shared stories.  The home has a strong tie to an Italian foundation so nearly all of the children speak Italian to some degree or other, this has been an immense blessing to our team where two of our number speak Italian; as good as interpreters are, there is no substitute for speaking to the children directly in a common language.  We pray that the relationships made will be lasting.  The team will certainly miss everybody there.

The Romanians in the team were especially warmly received when we arrived at a small village a few hours out of the city last week.  There we held a church service in the sun for a Romanian gypsy community.  It did not take very long to discover that their language had been passed down from previous generations and so, again, we were able to understand each other well.  We sung together, gave bible teaching and afterwards distributed food and clothing sent by an international aid organisation.

At the base here we were fortunate to have a café with a large outdoor area at our disposal.  At the end of the first week we hosted an international culture night to showcase our diverse group.  Part of the preparation was to go into the town and speak to people to advertise the event and make our presence known, and this experience taught us how friendly the young people here are (and that nearly everyone speaks English).  On the night we each presented something from our own culture: songs, poems, dances and discussions.  The evening was a great success with almost every seat taken for the International Quiz, perhaps due to the prospect of fabulous prizes.

Beside being a space for the team to relax, we have also utilised the café to host English conversation classes over the three weeks.  With the focus squarely on discussion and fun, we made some very good friends here in the city.

For me, the theme of this time has been ‘communication‘, due to the unexpected ease that we have been able to speak with everyone we have met.  I’m grateful to God that things have gone so well here and I look forward with excitement to what he has prepared for us as we move on to Sarajevo.

Banja Luka la mai bine de doua saptamani de cand am venit pentru prima data aici ramane inca un oras fascinant. Cu mult verde in natura, dealurile ce inconjoara orasul si multimile de tineri. Cu strazile linistite, casele frumos ingrijite si cafenelele pline. Chiar nu ma satur sa strabat in nestire strazile in timpul liber sau in plimbarile de rugaciune.

Ii seara si trec in revista lucrurile din timpul zile incercand sa gasesc poate ceva extraordinar despre care sa va povestesc, dar nu gasesc nimic despre care sa spun: „cu siguranta vreau sa va spun despre asta“.

Is o multime de lucruri care imi aduc invatatura, apropiere de Dumnezeu, intelegere un pic mai profunda despre noi si despre oameni. O multime de lucruri nici care te fac sa simti ca cresti.

Ramanand linistea si pacea dintr-o alta noape care a venit peste zi.

Diana with the kids

Suntem in Bosnia in orasul Banja Luka pentru trei saptamani. Au trecut deja doua saptamani petrecute cu oamenii de aici si experimentand lucruri noi. Am intalnit diferiti oameni: credinciosi, putini credinciosi sau necredinciosi. Ei ne-au primit foarte deschisi si caldurosi.

Dumnezeu ne-a trimis intr-un loc foarte special unde oamenii au suferit foarte mult. Ei au nevoie de o incurajare si un sfat bun pe care numai Dumnezeu il poate da prin oameni credinciosi.
Stiu ca Dumnezeu lucreaza la viata fiecarei persoane de aici.

Zilnic lucram cu copiii de la un orfelinat si facem tot posibilul ca ei sa se simta iubiti, acceptati si importanti, chiar daca uneori comunicarea e mai grea. O alta lucrare in care suntem implicati este cafeneaua crestina “Ihtus”. Aici vin tinerii pentru “clubul de engleza”, diferite activitati sportive si evenimete. Este minunat sa putem petrece timp cu acesti oameni.

Primele saptamani au trecut foarte repede si cred ca timpul petrecut aici o sa devina un timp placut pentru oamenii de aici, ei avand sansa sa-L cunoasca pe Dumnezeu si sa invete sa traiasca CU EL si PENTRU EL.

Stiu ca rugaciunile noastre pentru oamenii care nu Il cunosc pe Dumnezeu sunt ascultate si o sa putem sa Il facem cunoscut in intreaga lume. De aceea nu ezitati sa-L cautati pe Dumnezeu pentru ca nu exista viata fara EL.

It was year 2000 when I, together with my Slovak team, was leaving Kisac, small town close Novi Sad in Republic of Serbia. It was a short outreach during my study at a Bible school in Slovakia. I would never say that I would have a chance to come here, into this area again. And now here I am. This time God was leading our DTS team from Romania to Banja Luka in Serbian part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, little bite on the south of where I was.

Conflict in 1999 left people in the countries of former Yugoslavia very hurt, hopeless and confused. The outreach in 2000, I served these people and I could experienced that vey strongly. After 11 years, some countries of former Yugoslavia became independent and some hearts started the healing process. But not all of these countries are like that. People in Bosnia and Herzegovina are still very wounded, full of hopelessness and confusion. The pressure from the living three ethnics together on this one place is still perceivable. It is very hard for people from Bosnia and Herzegovina to find their real identity. They long finally to be accepted, loved and valued as they are. All countries of former Yugoslavia need the reconciliation but the most of all the reconciliation needs Bosnia and Herzegovina. They need to forgive and to be forgiven.

Well and this is the situation of Bosnia and Herzegovina into which we came two weeks ago. We started our outreach with different events to build connections and relationships with the people from Banja Luka and it’s surrounding. In this way, we are trying to bring them God’s love and peace. We serve among the children in the orphanage same as among the students and the adults. They all need to know and to experience God’s love and to feel His fragrance. It is big privilege to be God’s fragrance and expression of His love to this people. As is written:

“But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.”
2.Corinthians 2,14-15

Game with children at the Children Home

In the neighboring village

This is the name of the one Slovak movie about life and culture of gypsy people. Gypsy’s community and lifestyle is very different from all other communities in Europe. They are different same way as every other nation is different. They are different and precious because God created them different and loves them as they are. If He would like them to be for example as white Europeans He would create them like that. But He wanted them to be gypsies as they are. God loves them and nothing can change His love, not even our opinion about them. Simply He loves them as they are. We are all love by Him as we are with all our mistakes and weaknesses. Praise God that He doesn’t care what the culture or lifestyle we are. He accepts everyone who comes to Him. Same way as He is passionate and loves anyone of us, He is passionate and loves anyone from any gypsy community.

As we were on the small outreach in Bulgaria, God even more confirmed and revealed me that this is true. During the outreach we cooperate with the church in Varna and in the close neighborhood. And both churches were mostly gypsy churches. It was amazing to see how God is working and raising gypsy’s communities. As we joined the team from these two churches we could also had first hand experience how it looks like to serve among gypsies. We served as in the churches as on the street with the expedition of the food to those in need and also in the conversations with them or by playing with their children.

One day we went on the hill over the Varna and here at the viewpoint we were praying for Varna, the people and churches in the city. The main point to pray was the reconciliation between white people and gypsies in this city and its surrounding area. As we were praying, God showed me that the reconciliation is like a bridge which connecting two sides together. This bridge needs to be built from both sides. It is impossible to build the bridge only from one side. It is the same, as we need to build our relationships with the people. Now I don’t mean only our friends but I mean really all people God will put in the way of our lives, it means also with the gypsies. Problem of reconciliation between white Europeans and gypsies is nearly the problem of every single country or nation in Europe. Sometimes we act like gypsies would not be worthy to go to God. But great thing is that God Himself made them worthy to come to Him through the blood of Jesus Christ. Yes, there will be gypsies in the heaven and it’s true, gypsies go into the heaven. I do believe that every day somewhere some of them enter into the heaven. As we will stand once in front of God and worship Him there will be also gypsies in our midst. We will be united in Jesus as one family, as brothers and sisters in Christ. My heart is rejoicing when I think about the moment when people from every nation, every raise, every language, it means also gypsies, Native Americans, Romanians, … (you can add up here any nations you’re from – God created and loves every single one of them) will stand in front of the Holy God and worship Him. So it is really true that doesn’t matter if somebody likes it or not. Gypsies go into the heaven!

We have just finished our 2 weeks small outreach in Varna, Bulgaria, and Galesu & Poiana, Romania. Check out our photos albumn!

Varna Bulgaria (Small Outreach)

Galesu & Poiana (Small Outreach)