sharing the life-changing Message of Jesus
Sladjan writes:
We have already stepped deeply into 2012 and the new semester at the Bible school. Praise God for the 24 students who are currently in the school, studying the Word of God, preparing themselves for ministry and mission after school. Read the whole bulletin here: HUB Belgrade Bible School Bulletin 04 02 12
Dear friends,
Please click here for the latest news from our school.
Please take some time to read this short newsletter. Your prayers for us would mean a lot.
God bless you,
– Sladjan Milenkovic
The Bible School has welcomed the 16th generation of students. They are a wonderfully diverse group of people who are passionate about returning to their home towns following their studies to share with others about Jesus Christ.
The course that they are studying takes them – in a carefully structured way – through the whole of the Bible in year. This teaching is shared by about thirty different teachers who come to stay at the Bible for a week to a fortnight each. Around half of these teachers are from outside the Balkans, and around half are from this region.
This week I am here at HUB to teach through Acts chapters 1-8. It is a deeply relevant book as God takes weak, ordinary people and uses them, by the power of His Holy Spirit, to bring the life-changing Message of Jesus Christ, first to their neighbours and then on to “the ends of the earth”.
The programme at the Bible School is also carefully designed to give each person exposure to the needs on the mission fields of this region. Over the weekend, one team has been in Bosnia and another in South Serbia visiting graduates of the Bible School who are already putting into action the principles found in Acts.
Over the days that I am here, I plan to introduce you to as many of the students as I can…
I’m Dejan from Veles in Macedonia and I’m 19 years old.
When I was seven, my father became very ill with cancer and then he died. I was so shocked by his death that I began to have difficulty even to speak.
We lived very simply together as a family – in a poor situation. Six of us slept in the same room.
It was during this time that my oldest sister who was then sixteen years old met and trusted her life to Jesus Christ. As a result of her connection, I started to meet with her church but as I continued to grow older, I did not live in a way that would please God.
One day, listening to talk in that church, I was struck by a new and a deep sense of my own uncleanness before a holy God. It was then that I began to seek Him and call on His Holy Spirit to rescue and change me.
I have come to this school to learn how to share the Message of Jesus more effectively.
I want my life to be used to share His Message with others wherever I go.
Sladjan and Jaroslava write:“What a fantastic beginning of the new school year! The students of the 1st and the 2nd year, 21 of them, came from different parts of Bosnia, Macedonia and Serbia.
“So much diversity at one place, with so much enthusiasm for studying the Word of God and for preparation for the ministry is something that we believe will make this year in the Bible school an unforgettable experience for them…”
As I write we are driving towards a refugee “camp” where around 100 refugees from Kosovo make their improvised homes. The “camp” is actually an old derelict psychiatric hospital that was recommissioned as temporary accommodation when these refugees flooded out of Kosovo in 1999. With every year that passes, the prospect of returning to their homes becomes increasingly remote.
We have been friends with these people for many years. Today as we spend time together we will be bringing aid with us and carefully distributing it personally. But more than this, we will be sharing about the Lord Jesus – God’s ultimate expression of Love to a broken, lost and hurting world.
On our journey, we are now passing ‘Slavija’ in the centre of Belgrade.
One of the Bible School graduates – Riste – will speak to the refugees and Elenka will explain how Jesus Christ has changed her life.
Pray that we would faithfully continue our friendships, serve in humility, and communicate clearly – through it all reflecting something of Jesus here.
Thank you for praying with us. Greetings from us all.
This morning, we visited a church in Belgrade. We sang with them and to them, chatted, enjoyed coffee and explored the next part of 1 John together. (3:11-18)
SACRIFICING LOVE:
– Love, don’t hate;
– Love: proof of our transformation;
– Love defined: Jesus laid down His life for us…
DOROTHY WRITES:
What a wonderful welcome we received and even though we could not understand the earthly tongue we were able to share a very intimate time of fellowship. What a joy to meet brothers and sisters from around the world. We are truly blessed. We met a visiting team from Seattle and also from the Congo.
After a meal on a floating restaurant in Belgrade, we are driving due East to visit Drago and Jaroslava in Ruma. To read more about them, please click here: http://en.wordpress.com/tag/drago-and-jaroslava/
ALICE WRITES:
Today we are all suited and booted and off to two churches: one in Belgrade and one in Ruma.
The sun is shining and we are all lovely and clean despite the power cut! It looks set to be a good day.
We are currently on our way to Belgrade where we have been asked to sing some songs, I have voted for ‘Our God is a Great Big God’.
In Ruma we will double the size of Drago’s congregation and hopefully provide some encouragement.
We have a guitar on our bus so I’m hoping Andy will lead us in worship as we drive through the glorious Serbian countyside.
As promised in response to special requests here’s how we cooked dinner last night!
2) Suspend “kettle” or “kotlic” from tripod… over fire
3) Heat oil in kettle
4) Fry onions in kettle
5) Add all remaining ingredients and allow to simmer for 3 hours, stirring regularly!
6) Serve with fresh bread and great company…
MARINA DODD WRITES:
It is 12.30 on Friday morning. We have had a fantastic morning, everyone has fully entered into the spirit of the challenge to get this camp site ready for all the children who will be coming here in three weeks time. Then it will be full on for the next 6 weeks or so.
Today we divided into groups to achieve as much as possible in one day. One team is responsible for spreading gravel on to the lane leading to the camp which gets very muddy in wet weather. We are expecting 10 trucks holding 150 tons of gravel during today. Already we have spread out 2 trucks and the 3rd has just arrived.
Another team are laying lino in 4 or more dormitories, this means that the bunk beds have to be moved. (They were only put together last night for our group to sleep on!)
A rotten tree has been felled and the branches moved away.
The kitchen and bathrooms are having a spring clean, we cleaned the girls dorms last night, disturbing spiders that have made their home there since last year’s summer camps.
Some of our group have been busy preparing vegetables for the big pot that hangs over the camp fire. Our numbers are increasing every hour, 4 young people have just arrived from Sth Carolina so the mammoth task of feeding us all continues!
We are having good sessions in the morning and evenings as Andy is taking us through 1 John. It is interesting to be reminded that John, who was a disciple of Jesus, was known in the beginning as one of the ‘sons of thunder’ and now he is coming across as a loving, caring father-figure… We have been seeing how important it is to not have double standards if we say we are followers of Jesus. We cannot claim to be in fellowship with God if we are unforgiving and unloving towards our fellow human beings…
From the back of our minibus, Tim and Christine write…
“Having just sung ‘How Great Thou Art’ it has been very fitting to travel through this serene Serbian countryside.
“Looking at the beautiful lakes of Sumadija you can’t help but get a sense of the wonder of God’s creation. The blue sky and vast fields reflect the gentile pace of Serbian life.”
