HUB news – July 2017

Dear brothers and sisters, friends, supporters…

We are rejoicing that we can greet you this summer and share with you even a small part of what is happening in the ministry of HUB and the Bible school.

With a mission conference and gathering former students of HUB and many guests we’ve finished 21st year of the Bible school.

studenti 21. generacije HUB-a

A year of many blessings and life together is over and we are glad that we could share our lives with students for this time and see how God has taught them and built them up while they were studying God’s Word and serve to many.  Pray for this group of people and their further steps.

Enrollment of the 22nd generation

Enrollment is now open for the new school year and new students. We pray that God will bring the right people who will study next school year here.

The HUB Bible school by now has finished over 350 students and many of them are included in the mission work, church ministry, christian organizations, etc.

HUB Bible school in Serbia

HUB is still the only one interdenominational evangelical school in Serbia that offer full time intensive studying. Only in the first year of studying, students have over 900 classes of teaching, while studying all the books of the Bible with over 50 teachers, they have at least 30 days of practical ministry and countless hours of traveling, serving, visiting churches, etc.

During this school year we have visited over 50 churches with the students, where we could serve. We pray that the HUB Bible school will continue to be a blessing to many while equipping people for a ministry in Balkans.hub

Summer at HUB

DSC_0746 Someone said that Belgrade is a city that never sleeps. We say that HUB is a place that is never empty.

So this summer also at HUB we are hosts of many camps and retreats.

We are especially inviting you to pray for our Camps of Hope. Camp for families with kids who were treated for malignant diseases is from 13-17th August, as well as camp for families with kids with disabilities from 20-24th August.

We still have a need for volunteers who will serve with us to these families.

My little café in Opovo

A year ago, from dreams to reality! „My little café“ in Opovo has been opened for 9 months now and we truly see that it is a real thing that through this work, as believers, we can be closer to the community, meet new people, be more visible and more accessible. As people of God, we can offer many things and as ’’the greatest missionary’’ of all times, Jesus, we walk and meet new people every day and offer them an opportunity to see us and get to know us. That is a zone with less comfort, than in which we maybe  used to be, but that is a zone where God is calling us to be.slika kafe

We organize in the cafe many events, creative and educational workshops, musical nights, … We pray that this place will be a good model and that something like this would be expanded in many cities and villages in our region and wider. So, we still continue to „dream“ dreams and pray for what is from God to stay!

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This is just a glimpse of what God is doing through the ministry of HUB. Thank you for your faithfulness and for standing firm with us. Pray for us while we continue further on! God is great!

Yours in Christ,

Sladjan and Jaroslava Milenković

with the HUB team

HUB Bulletin – Summer 2016

Dear friends,13517416_1159252527458754_4910541142569211513_o

Heartfelt greetings from HUB and all of us. I hope this email reaches you well.

We wanted to look back onto the past period we’ve had here at HUB, and share a little of what God’s doing here.

We just finished our last semester of the school year and the students have gone back home.
The 20th generation of the Bible school left and we can’t wait to see how God will use them while they continue on in ministry. We’re thankful to God for giving us the opportunity to serve them here and help them acquire a lot of knowledge, experience and many blessings. It’s amazing to see how God have been working in them in this past year.

20th years of HUB – GOD is faithful !

Veran je Bog

We had a huge event on June 18th here at HUB. Praising God for his faithfulness in these past twenty years of the School and the ministry of HUB here in Serbia.

We gathered with around 500 other people from all parts of our country and region to praise God for the abundance of faithfulness in our ministry, and especially in the lives of many through our whole region. It’s amazing to see what He has done! Watch this short and exciting video that we recorded that day – https://youtu.be/T095-gKQ4XA

zgrada

 

HUB Summer camps !

As always – we’re expecting a “hot” summer here. HUB will, again, be a host to many this summer. We are glad that we can offer churches and organizations a good place to organize summer camps and our hospitable staff team and volunteers.

Apart from that – again at HUB, we’re organizing a family retreat for families with children that were treated for cancer, and also another camp for families with children with disabilities. This is something that we had at HUB last year that was really amazing. The volunteers, the staff team and the guests were all blessed by what we’ve experienced at camp in those days. We see that HUB can contribute so much to those families. We are honored for opportunity to be their “hands and feet” as they are experiencing unforgettable moments here. Pray for those events.

HUB team!

ElenkaOur Elenka Kraljik, has spent almost 17 years at Hub serving others. She is leaving HUB and moving to Belgrade where she will live and continue to serve at an adult disability care center. She’s been visiting that place with the HUB students for a long time, and has many dear friends there and her wish was to be able to be there “full time” – to continue serving others and be a salt and light to people with disabilities.Pray for God’s guidance and strength while she continues her life there.Also, pray for the further development of the HUB staff team – that God may bring the right people who will be a part of this ministry.

New good titles in Serbian

As HUB we published a couple of books in Serbian – which was our wish and vision, to omot za biltencontinue to publish good Christian literature, for it to be accessible, as an answer to the great need that we have here in Serbia and in our region. We already have a new book translated that we’re publishing in Serbian, by John Piper – Seeing and savoring Jesus Christ. We also published a book by Vaughan Roberts – God’s big picture, and also Dig deeper by Nigel Beyon and Andrew Sach.

Our wish is to publish more books like that, so if you, in any way, want to help us with this, contact us, please. It’s a great blessing to have access to good Christian books.

Community center – café club – in Opovo

Our prayer, for a long time, has been to start some sort of public work in Opovo, a place where some of us on staff live, and a place that’s closest to HUB. Although HUB geographically belongs to Belgrade, the closest place is town Opovo.

HUB with the students and lecturers really has the potential in many ways to minister and be useful to many. We visit many churches, organizations, and serve people in different ways, and so we want to be able to serve more the locals here. We rented a place in the very center of Opovo, for the needs of this café club, where we will organize different workshops for youth, parents, elderly, also have lectures, music and movie nights… There’s always going to be someone there that will welcome our guests, talk to them, etc.

The church and Christians should be an active part of the society and be with the people – so that they could be the light. Please, pray for these new and large pioneering steps which we are making in faith. If you want to know more or want to be a part of this exciting beginning, let us know, your help and prayers for this are very much needed.

New, 21st year – enrollment

The enrollment of the new student generation is in progress. We are excited for the new people and the new school year. We want to thank everyone who is faithfully supporting and praying for this school that it might exist, progress during all these years, accept new students and enable them to get a good quality biblical education.

Thank you for everything! It’s great to know that many of those who love us pray for us faithfully and support us.

God is good !

Yours in Christ,

Sladjan and Jaroslava Milenković

With HUB team

Write us, keep in touch with us. There are so many things we want to share with you.

Our Facebook page is www.facebook.com/hub.serbia

Email: info@hub.org.rs

Tel: 00381.(0).11.88.086

 

 

 

NEWS from the HUB ministry – please read and pray

HUB Prayer Bulletin – November 2015

Zrenjaninski put bb, 11213 Belgrade, Serbia, www.hub.org.rs;

www.facebook.com/hub.serbia

THE NEW, 20th generation of students are here !

The year 1996 sounds so long ago now, the year when two young people, Andy and Faye Mayo came to Serbia and started the Bible school, back then located in the North of Serbia, in Bački Petrovac. How much effort, courage and faith was needed to start something like this in this region!  Who could have even thought what the future would bring, what further steps the School would take and where God would lead us.

God is amazing! We have been witnesses of His guidance, grace and care throughout all of these years. We give thanks to Him for having been so faithful to prosper and develop the Bible school ministry, and for making it a blessing to nations across the Balkans. So far, there have been altogether 350 students of the Bible school, and today we can see them as leaders, servants, and initiators of many things in churches, organizations and mission fields across the region. Amazing!

Many of you who are reading this have been a part of all this. You have been praying and supporting this ministry all these years. God has blessed many people through you. Thank you for your faithfulness and endurance over the years.

Here we are now, with our 20th generation of students. We have 22 students here, who go forth through what God calls them: to study the Scripture, to grow spiritually, and to become equipped to take the gospel all over the world.

This is the vision of the school and our prayer for them – we want churches strong, the Gospel proclaimed, and God glorified!

igor

“The HUB Bible school is a place of an immense importance for my spiritual growth and knowing God. I would recommend it not only to those Christians who are preparing for ministry, but also to every believer.Igor Mudri, student, Serbia

Magdalena biltenThe most blessed time of my life is precisely this year that I’m spending at HUB. I’ve experienced  a real spiritual refreshment, a true peace and joy in many areas of my life. I am blessed through the growth in knowing God and His word, through the improvement in communication and fellowship with the students, and knowing myself, my gifts and my new visions for ministry better. Magdalena Nikolova, student, Macedonia

HUB Kamp nade

HUB ministry through summer camps !

For the first time at HUB, we organized family camps for parents with disabled children and children treated for cancer.

11900000_989238021126873_5788022543152046539_nWhat a privilege to serve them and be a part of something like this! From volunteers to each family and child, we were all so blessed that it’s hard to express with words. After much work and many preparations we expected it to be good, but it even exceeded our expectations. We would like to go on with this and have such and similar camps in HUB next year too. Please pray for this, join us in this, encourage others to pray, support us either by volunteering or helping a family financially, so that they can be here. We trust it will be a blessing for you.

We believe that serving these families and children who are going through the most difficult life experiences is precisely what Jesus would do.

Here is an impression of some families after the camp:

„It was only at your camp that we felt like people. Only at your camp did we feel that someone really cared. Only at your kamp sa invalid.camp did the emotions become overwhelming. You and your volunteers treated our children like people, and the amount of faith, hope and love that you gave to us parents had to bring about all those tears, and then a feeling of huge gratitude. You did it all with measure, sincerely, without condescension and connivance. Only people pure and persistent in their faith can do that.“

At this link, please, take a look at the video with a song that marked our summer camps.

SaraSara

Thank you so much for praying for Sara and our family. God stays faithful and we are happy that she’s recovering well. There are no signs of disease, which is fantastic. Even though many things we are now facing and those that are coming are not easy, we are convinced that God gives us strength and guides us step by step. We want to be and stay faithful to Him for Sara’s and our future. Please keep praying for Sara, for us, for wisdom, for patience in our further steps and plans in every day and every challenge that we face. Thank you wholeheartedly.

Thank you for standing with us and HUB and Bible school ministry all these years. God is faithful and meets all our needs according to the riches of His glory (Philippians 4:19).

In the end we want to pray for you with the words of Apostle Paul: ’…be strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience…’ (Colossians 1:11).

Your sincerely,

Sladjan and Jaroslava Milenković, with HUB team and students

Massive flooding in Serbia and Bosnia

Over the last few days there has been massive flooding in Serbia and Bosnia.

Some have been killed and thousands have had to leave their homes. Graduates, students, former Bible School team, their friends and churches have also been heavily impacted by the floods.

Sinisa in northern Bosnia explained yesterday, “It is a catastrophe here. I am in a village near Banja Luka helping with the clean up.”

Sladjan, leading the Bible School said today, “This is a tragedy on the scale of the aftermath of a war – may our people seek after God at this terrible time…”

Kreso in central Serbia said today, “The ground floor of our home has been under 1.5m of water. The water is receding to leave everything caked in mud. Many of our neighbours are in great difficulty…”

Sasko and Ira explained, “We would like to… provide the families with the basic things that will help them go back to normal life again, but even more importantly, our hope is to continue visiting these families and share the Good News of our Lord Jesus Christ with them.”

We are going to prepare a fund to send to those helping those caught up in the floods in Serbia and Bosnia.  As is our usual practice, all of the gifts that we receive will go in their entirety out to the Balkans to be used  by those on the front-lines.

We will divide any gifts received between the following groups to use in relief work:

  • BANJA LUKA (Northern Bosnia) – Sinisa and Olja – Banja Luka Christian Fellowship
  • SARAJEVO (Central Bosnia) – Slavko – Evangelical Churches of BiH
  • HUB (Belgrade – connected across the region) – Sladjan and Jaroslava and the Bible School team
  • BELGRADE (Serbia Capital) – Sasko and Ira – International Church, Belgrade
  • BELGRADE (with interest across the rest of the country) – Dane & Ondrej – Baptist Union of Serbia
  • NOVI SAD (Northern Serbia) – Danny and Vera – Novi Sad Christian Fellowship

Please pray on for those caught up in these floods and for all of those seeking to serve their neighbours and point to the Lord Jesus.

– Andy and Faye Mayo

www.OakHall.org.uk

Please use this link to reach details of how to give.  Please reference your gift, “flooding”.

18 new students in the 18th generation of the HUB Bible school.

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Sladjan and Jaroslava write…

Dear friends, brothers and sisters,

18 new students in the 18th generation of the HUB Bible school. What a great start! Praise God for the good work that He is doing.

Please keep praying for this ministry. It is great to see these wonderful people from Serbia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Croatia who are eager to get to know God better through the Scriptures.

An amazing year of fellowship, experience, joy and studying is ahead of them, and us in the team will have a privilege to serve them and be a part of what God does here.

Thank you for your prayers. God is faithful! God is good!

Yours in Christ,

Sladjan and Jaroslava Milenkovic with the HUB team and HUB students

Praying for the work in Serbia

Thank you for being connected to the Oak Hall in Serbia website and for praying as the work continues.

Praying for Bible School Graduates – With over three hundred Bible School graduates across the region, there is much news to share!  A growing number are publishing to you directly through this site – we hope that it is giving you useful, prayer-fueling information.

Praying for Family Milenkovic – many of us are praying for Sara as she begins chemotherapy this week – please click here for all the recent posts about Sladjan, Jaroslava and the family.  These are very challenging days and the family continue with great grace and courage supported by your prayer.

Praying for the Bible School team and students – led by Riste and surrounded by an amazing team, the Bible School is continuing extremely well.  There is an exceptional group of students studying this year.  Riste is regularly posting news here so that we can pray as the students study and travel across the country.

The best way to keep connected to the news is to “subscribe” to the blog by entering your email above…

You can leave comments that will be read by all who visit the site – the comments that you leave are often a great encouragement.

Our prayer together is that the Lord Jesus would be honoured as we stand with each other for His glory wherever He has placed us.

Thank you for being a key part of this work.

– Andy Mayo

Milenkovic family news – January 2013

prva zajednicka

Our dear friends,

Warm greetings from the Milenkovic family.

After a longer period of time we are writing to you with the news on what is happening with us. Sara and I have been back home since a few days ago. We are thankful to God that the family is reunited after a log time, together with the new member, Sofija Lena. The two months of our life in America passed, and how was it? It was good and hard and sad and joyful. There were many situations in which we could only pray to God to give us strength to endure, while thanking Him for bringing us to a place like St. Jude hospital. Sara had great care there, and other life conditions, and a possibility to keep enjoying the things that make a child’s life. We are thankful to our brothers and sisters there who made an effort, visited us and cared about us, making us feel at home as much as it was possible.

Because of the side effects Sara would sometimes feel very weak and exhausted, eating poorly, losing weight, but what she’d never lose was her cheerful spirit and courage to cope with everything. In these few months she has become a more mature person. It even seems that she took the hair loss easier than we did. Other than all of that, we tried to life lives as normally as possible. We would go to church regularly and meet many wonderful people. Sara enjoyed her Sunday school classes. We would go to the Zoo, shopping, watching cartoons and skyping with our family back home every day. We are staying home four weeks altogether, that is, until February 3, where Sara’s chemotherapy will start, which would last about 5 months. Sara is in a category of high-risk patients, which is why she was taking high dosages of radiation, and it is going to be the same with the chemotherapy.

Our battle with the cancer has only started. We believe God that He could end it today, but we trust that same God that He knows all our days and our future. We know that sometimes sufferings which seem so painful to us bring a purpose which is so much higher and more wonderful. How did God see His own Son’s pain and death? Could He have saved Him from the cross and death? Who can listen to a child’s cry and not respond to it, or watch His own child’s death, being able to stop it, and still not do it? It is God, because He knew that precisely this death would bring blessings to mankind through the millennia.

We pray every day that God would give us strength to trust Him even though we are sometimes overwhelmed by the feeling of helplessness and a desire for an instant solution. We will do everything that we can to provide the best care possible for Sara, but we know that it’s all in God’s authority and His hands

Today is Sara’s 9th birthday. We rejoice that God gave us Sara to have her through all these years and that she is with us. Sara bought a bracelet to her mother, on which it is engraved that every day is a gift from God. This is true for both her and me and all of us. If there are a few more days ahead of us to live, it is a gift from God, and if not, again, it is all from Him.

We would like to have Jaroslava, Jana and Lena join us in America at the end of February or the beginning of March. There are many things to arrange about visas, traveling, accommodation there. Please pray for all this to be possible so that we can all be together during this long and probably more difficult period for Sara.

Things at HUB are going great. Last semester finished and 5 students finished their one year long education at the school. The rest are continuing their education and in a few days only, a couple of other students will join them. A youth camp at HUB finished yesterday, where we were able to be their hosts. What a privilege it is to serve others! Thanks so much that you keep praying and supporting the ministry of HUB and the Bible school.

Thank you for praying faithfully for us as a family and for asking us about the news. Thanks to all those of you who sent us emails, letters, presents, greeting cards etc. So much care and love, from those we never even met. We usually were not able to respond and personally thank you for it, but we do thank you now wholeheartedly.

May God help us all in this New Year to have Him closer and more dear to us than ever.

Yours,

Sladjan and Jaroslava, with Sara, Jana and Lena

Milenković

Vesti od Milenkovica – januar 2013.

 

 

13.1.2013.

prva zajednicka fotografija

Dragi naši prijatelji,

Veliki pozdrav od porodice Milenković.

Posle duže vremena javljamo vam se sa vestima o tome šta se dešava kod nas. Sara i ja smo se vratili kući pre nekoliko dana. Bogu smo zahvlani što smo posle duže vremena porodično na okupu, zajedno sa našim novim članom Sofijom Lenom.

Prošla su naša 2 meseca boravka u Americi. I kako je bilo? Bilo je i dobro i teško i  tužno i srećno. Prolazili smo kroz mnogo situacija u kojima smo samo mogli moliti Boga da nam da snage da izdržimo, dok smo u isto vreme zahvaljivali Bogu što nas je doveo na mesto kakvo je St Jude bolnica.  Sara je tamo imala odličnu negu, uslove za život, mogućnost da i dalje uživa u onim stvarima koje čine detetov život. Zahvalni smo braću i sestrama tamo koji su se trudili, posećivali i brinuli oko nas i učinili da se tamo što više osećamo kao kod kuće.

Zbog sporednih efekata zračenja Sara je nekada bila jako slaba i iscrpljena, slabo je jela, gubila na težini, ali ono što nije uopšte izgubila je njen vedar duh i hrabrost da se sa svime nosi. Za ovih nekoliko meseci postala je tako zrelija osoba. Čak i gubitak kose joj je, čini mi se, lakše pao njoj nego nama. Pored svega trudili smo se da vodimo živote što je moguće normalno. Redovno smo išli u crkvu, upoznali mnoge divne ljude, Sara je uživala na časovima u nedeljnoj školi, išli bi u zoo vrt, kupovinu, gledali crtaće i svaki dan skajpovali sa našima kod kuće.

Kući ostajemo 4 nedelje, tj. do 3. februara, kada se vraćamo ponovo u St.Jude gde će Sara početi sa hemoterapijama, koje bi trebale trajati narednih 5 meseci. Sara spada u kategoriju visokorizičnih pacijenata zbog čega je primala visoke doze radijacija, a tako će biti i sa hemoterapijama.

Naša borba sa rakom je tek na početku. Verujemo Bogu da je On može već danas okončati, ali tom istom Bogu verujemo koji zna sve naše dane i naše sutra i znamo da nekada patnje koje nama izgledaju tako bolne, donose neku svrhu koja je mnogo veća i izvrsnija. Kako je Bog gledao na bol i patnju svog sopstvenog sina? Da li ga je mogao spasiti krsta i smrti? Ko može da sluša vapaj deteta i ne odgovori, gleda smrt svog deteta, a može da je spreči, a ipak to ne učini? To je bio Bog, jer je znao da će upravo ona doneti blagoslove čovečanstvu kroz milenijume.

Svaki dan se molimo da nam Bog daje snage da mu verujemo i ako smo nekada savladani osećanjem bespomoćnosti i željom za instant rešenjem. Mi ćemo činiti  sve što je u našoj moći da Sara ima najbolju negu, ali znamo da je sve u Božijoj vlasti i Njegovim rukama.

Danas je Sarin 9. rođendan. Radujemo se što nam je dao Saru da je imamo svih ovih godina i što je i dalje sa nama. Sara je mami kupila za Božić narukvicu na kojoj su urezane reči: „Svaki dan je poklon od Boga.“ Ovo je istina i za nju i za mene i za sve nas. Ako imamo još koji dan ispred nas da živimo, to je dar od Boga, a ako nemamo, opet, sve je od Njega.

Želeli bi da nam se Jaroslava sa Lenom i Janom, krajem februara ili početkom marta, pridruže. Puno stvari treba rešiti oko viza, putovanja, smeštaja tamo,… Molite se da ovo bude izvodljivo i da možemo biti svi zajedno tokom ovog dužeg i verovatno težeg perioda za Saru.

U HUB-u stvari idu odlično. Prošli semestar je završen i 5 studenata je završilo svoje jednogodišnje školovanje. Ostali nastavljaju već za nekoliko dana i njima se priključuju još nekolicina novih studenata. Juče je u HUB-u završen jedan omladinski kamp, gde smo mogli da budemo njihovi domaćini. Kakva privilegija da služimo drugima! Hvala mnogo što se i dalje molite i podržavate službu HUB-a i Biblijske škole.

Hvala što se verno molite za nas kao porodicu i što nas pitate za vesti. Hvala za sve vas koji ste slali mejlove, pisma, poklone, čestitke, itd. Toliko brige i pažnje, čak i od onih ljudi koje nikada nismo ni upoznali.  Uglavnom nismo uspeli da odgovorimo i lično zahvalimo na tome, ali iz celog srca vam sada zahvaljujemo.

Neka svima nama Gospod pomogne da nam u Novoj godini On bude bliži i draži više nego ikad.

Vaši,

Slađan i Jaroslava, sa Sarom, Janom i Lenom

Milenković

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Milenkovic family news. Sofia Lena has arrived! News from Memphis

Dear friends, brothers and sisters, our faithful prayer supporters,

We are happy that we can greet you with some wonderful news. Yesterday, on Nov 22, 2012, Jaroslava gave birth to our third daughter, who weighs 2850 g and is 50 cm long. Her name is Sofia Lena.

Yesterday, here in America, it was Thanksgiving. It is a big holiday with a lot of feasting. We spent it with a wonderful family of our friend Richard Hall. As the name of the holidays says, it is a day when people give thanks for all the wellbeing that they’ve had during the year. As Christians, even in the greatest storms of life, we always have reason to be thankful and no life circumstances can take that away from us. What contributed to mine and Sara’s joy was this wonderful news that we got the fifth member of the Milenkovic family. We are thankful to God that everything went well, and that He gave us another precious gift.Image

It’s been almost two weeks since Sara and I arrived here to Memphis. I have to say that everything is far above what we had expected. Sara has a fantastic care here. The doctors and all the staff, the quality of care, accommodation, the conditions of life etc. are truly extraordinary. This is a place of miracles. Children from all over the world come here for treatment. There is a huge campus with hospital buildings, which looks like a big village. Everybody says “hello” to each other, everything is in peace and in great, even cheerful atmosphere, even though all of us who are here with our children are going through the most difficult times of our lives. We could say that Sara’s at the best place possible in the world.

The days behind us have been pretty tiring because Sara was going through many diagnostic procedures and preparations for the further therapy. A few days ago her radiotherapy started and it is going to last the next 6 weeks. The good news is that there is no cancer in the bones and the spine, which often happens with this type of tumor. After this therapy and a few weeks break, she will undergo the chemotherapy which will last 4-5 months. Sara’s been handling all this really well and she’s really happy to have such good care here. One of our fears was how she was going to emotionally handle going so far away from home. But she is so thankful to be here and is saying that we’re at the best place possible. She trusts the people around her even though she often doesn’t understand them.Image

Sara has started school that she has here in the hospital. For now, she only has individual classes of English language, before she starts attending other subjects as well. We have been put us into a beautiful building, where all the families with the children who are treated in the hospital are accommodated. We have a comfortable apartment here.

We have such wonderful friends here in Memphis who are wholeheartedly open to help us and serve us while we are here. We are thankful for them from the bottom of our hearts. Life with them here, far away from home, will be much easier.

Thank you all from across the world and Serbia who are praying for us and helping us, our family back home and the ministry of the Bible school. Thank you for being with us and for the fact that we can see the wonderful and mighty hand of God in all this. Please keep praying for us, for Sara and her recovery. We do not know the future and it’s not in our hands. Even though we are often scared of thinking about what might be out there and what all may happen, we trust the Lord and pray that He would give us strength and faith in Him, day after day and that is it. Today’s lifestyle somehow teaches us to live and behave as independent people who can do anything, but in circumstances such as this one we learn that we are actually not the gods of our lives, but that we always need the One who loves us immensely and who gave us to live our lives, who gave us our families and everything, and upon whom everything depends. Such is our God.

May the peace of the Lord dwell in your and our hearts as we begin or continue to trust Him.

We love you.

Yours,

Sladjan, Jaroslava, Sara, Jana and Lena

 

Sara’s update 3/11/12

3/11/12

Dear friends, prayer supporters, brothers and sisters,

It’s been a while, but we’re writing to let you know about our daughter Sara’s situation.

We are thankful to God that Sara’s been recovering well after the surgery and a long time spent in the hospital. Other than the occasional vomiting and tiredness, mostly everything is fine. Sara and I are now back home after a full month and we are finally all together as a family. We find the usual things, that we’ve had all this years, so precious now: lying on the bed all together, talking, laughing, enjoying every moment… Thank God for these moments, for which we only now can see how meaningful they are.

Unfortunately, this all is not the end. The tumor which has been removed is malignant, which means that we need to continue with the further radiation and chemotherapy. We have a great battle in front of us, with an uncertain outcome for us, but not for God. We trust God who has been leading us in these tough moments. He knows and is in control of everything.

We prayed that God would open the door of the St. Jude hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, USA, and that Sara’s treatment would continue there. Although the chances were not great, we have just received the news that she’s been admitted. Praise God for this news! Let us pray that God would keep leading our steps about visa and all the practical steps which are necessary to take so that we could go there as soon as possible.
We also contacted another hospital, in Munich, Germany, which is doing a different kind of treatment and we’re waiting t see what they think.

Please pray for our further steps. It is hard, because it seems that Jaroslava, whose 9th month of pregnancy has started today, will give birth to our third daughter without Sara and me around. It’s going to  be hard to be separated, especially in these moments when we all should be together. The best thing would be if we could all go and be with Sara and each other, but that’s not possible for now.

Thank you for continually praying for us. Please keep having us in your prayers and encourage others to do it too. Pray for Sara’s doctors and her further treatment and curing, and above all, pray that God’s will would be done in everything.

We have to say that every email of yours, every letter and encouragement that we’ve received are such a precious gift for us. Even though we couldn’t answer to them, we read those precious words that you wrote withe joyful hearts and often with tears in our eyes. Thank you so much for it.

We love you and thank God that we can go through all this with you, our friends, brothers and sisters, as with a big family.

May God bless you.

Yours,

Sladjan and Jaroslava, Elizabeta Sara and  Aleksandra Jana Milenkovic

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