Two new births in Ruma!

 

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Ruma

Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We would like to take this opportunity to share two very important events that have occurred during the past month.

As mentioned in the title, I would like to share the news about the two births – one in our family and one in our church.

Every birth is a very important and positive thing. New life brings joy, blessings and prosperity. So it is in this case!

 

                                                           Luka has been born!

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          As a family we are so glad that we got another child. Luke came as the sixth member of our family. All about Jaroslava’s pregnancy and delivery went well. Now we enjoy the wonderful gift that the Lord has given us.

 

                                                               Marko’s birth!

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Last month has been rich with the new beginnings.

I would like to tell you a little bit more about Marko. Marko is from Ruma and he is 34 years old. Last month he has been born also! Let me explain. Marko had actually been born 34 years ago, but last month Marko has experienced the new birth. He met and accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. It was an honor and a privilege to baptize Marko. Marko’s baptism confirmed his faith and trust in Jesus Christ. I had a chance to talk to several Marko’s friends and they told me they were amazed by the change he underwent in such a short time. We rejoice and praise God, as Marko became part of our great Christian family.

As a church and as a family we would like to thank you for your continuous support for the work to which our Lord Jesus Christ has called us.

Drago and Jaroslava

News from Nis

My name is Karolina and in 1998 I came in Serbia as a missionary from Czech Republic. As a former student of the Oak Hall Bible school I serve with my family in South of Serbia, in the town by the name of Nis. Here are some specific stories of the work we do here as a church.
Four years ago we made our first contact with ladies from the local safe house, a refuge for woman and children who are victims of domestic violence. God led us and we were able to make contact with a few women, and there began a long journey together with them.
We have been actively involved in helping these and other ladies, particularly with their re-integration into normal life after leaving the safe house. Some of their greatest needs are friendship, understanding and acceptance. Sometimes the help they need is to drink coffee with them, to encourage them or just to talk about their children, life and work. Often they need practical help, for example someone to drive their sick child to the doctor’s,help with moving house, painting their flat or repairing the washing machine; also, many of them lack the resources to pay for those services. Sometimes they need someone to look after their children while they complete important paperwork, other times they need a child picked up from school.
One of those ladies, Milena, became a Christian after a few months, and she is now an active member of our church. She is a hero in her very hard life. She has now finally found a permanent job, and her daughter, Ksenija, is starting school in September. We have other ladies and their children from a similar background coming to our church or some of our activities. One lady comes regularly with her 4-year-old son, she is Russian and we are the only family she has here. We have also been able to help her with the necessary papers to get permanent residence in Serbia.
Parallel to this ministry is our work with children and teenagers. For more than four years we have organise regular workshops for children, with weekly craft sessions and monthly activity days, which are great fun and include a Bible activity, craft and games. Over the last two years we have also had regular meetings and activities with teenagers. About half of the children and teenagers we work with are from unchurched families and one of our main aims is to show them God’s love and compassion and to create opportunities to talk with them and their parents about the gospel.
We are so encouraged by our church’s first children’s summer camp in August 2013. We had 20 children, six of whom were from unchurched families and spent seven days in the countryside. We had daily Bible lessons, English classes, games, sports activities and so on and are delighted with the response from those who went.We now plan to continue this exciting work in the school year 2013/14.
We are so grateful for your prayers and support of the work in our town, Nis. Thank you so much for being a part of the mission here!

summer camp

YA68 – Oak Hall in the Balkans Wednesday

Today we drove from Sarajevo towards the East passing over the mountains towards the River Drina. At Zvornik we crossed into Serbia and then drove north to Ruma.

In Ruma we met Drago and Jaroslava along with Pero. Drago and Pero shared with us about the way that Jesus Christ has freed them from their heroine addiction. Now planting a church in this city, this dynamic team are connecting with others who have struggled with the same kinds of traps – and are pointing them towards the liberation that Jesus can bring…

Two more hours East and we reached Belgrade and the Bible School. Brilliant to be welcomed by Sladjan and the team…

Here are a few shots from our day:

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YA68 – the 68th Oak Hall journey to the Balkans

The 68th Oak Hall journey to the Balkans is currently underway… Like no other Oak Hall journey yet, we are visiting four capital cities in three different countries.

SATURDAY 24th Aug
On Saturday we flew to Zagreb and took a coach south across the border to Bosnia – here we are staying in the capital of “Republika Srpska” – Banja Luka.

SUNDAY

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Meeting with Banja Luka church.

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Meeting Mile…

MONDAY
After a morning in the city we take the train south…

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Waiting for the 1:35 train…

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South towards Sarajevo…

TUESDAY

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High above Sarajevo.

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In a few hours we leave to drive through the mountains towards Pale, Visegrad and over the border towards Ruma and Belgrade…