Serving in Serbia
Hello friends and family,
This last month has been a bit crazy! It has been a whirlwind of travel and a lot has happened in a short period of time. After saying goodbye to the majority of students and staff at Tauernhof Bible School in Austria, a small group of 9 of us from the school set out on a two-day drive across a few different countries in Europe on our way to Serbia for a two week mission trip.
Road Trip
We stopped at a pretty famous lake, Lake Bled on our way, and continued the first day until we arrived in Belgrade for the night. We had traditional Serbian food (lots of meat) and the next morning went for a quick run before heading out. We arrived in Prokuplje the next day, where we were based for week one.
Kids Camps
During our time in Serbia, we put on camps for kids to come to at two different Churches. We were in Prokuplje for week one, and a different town called Pirot for week two. Our theme was Ephesians 6, talking about the Armor of God. These kids all came from small Roma communities and didn't speak any English (except six-seven, ronaldo/messi, etc. :) ). We had a couple from our Bible School that were with us who did the translation.
During the week, we shared a skit from a Bible story everyday, as well as acting out songs and memory verses, doing some arts and crafts, and teaching the kids more about following the Lord and putting on the full armor of God everyday. Many of these kids don't have great home lives, and so this was quite relevant to many of them.
Zitni Potok Settlement
In the afternoons, we would drive out to a very small, rural settlement and do the same camp with another group of kids. One-day we put on an olympics event and played a lot of games with the kids, as well as other activities such as face-painting.
Skits
We did a lot of different skits throughout both weeks, as these were some of the best ways to keep the kids engaged and to simplify the messages we were sharing. We put on a Gospel skit, Noah and the Ark, David and Goliath, and Paul on The Road to Damascus. I was involved in most of them and played Goliath a few times :).
Many of the kids understood these very well and I was impressed by how much they learned and were able to share with us. They loved the songs and and memory verses as well, and overall they seemed to be having a great time. For many of these kids, just us being there to love and appreciate them is new for them, as many of them don't experience this at home. When they get older, many have to work with their parents doing hard labor out in their farms.
Preaching at Church
Another guy (Caleb) and I were asked to give a short message to the Church for their Sunday service. This was a first for me, especially as the whole message needed to be translated also, but the members of the Church were thankful and appreciated our message on Romans 12. As a group, we all shared our testimonies as well.
Road Trip Back
We drove back through Croatia and stopped at an Airbnb in Slovenia for our last night together. We stumbled upon this random castle and met the caretaker. It was very interesting to say the least.
Wedding in Switzerland
The next day, we arrived back at Tauernhof Bible School in Schladming at midday, from which I took an 8-hour train through Austria to Winterthur, Switzerland. I was able to go to a childhood friend's (Tabea Kradolfer) wedding and see a few people I knew from back in Zambia days. I was pretty tired from lots of traveling, but I enjoyed being there a lot!
Zambia
The next day after Switzerland, I hopped on a flight down to Lusaka, Zambia. After an overnight flight, I landed and immediately took a taxi 5 hours into the bush in a small town called Luangwa. Here I met up with the team for my month long mission trip in Zambia with Africa Freedom Mission.
I am writing to you after finishing up my time with AFM already in Zambia, so this is a little late, but you will here about that in my next newsletter update.
Thank you for your prayer and support!