Everyday life and Gods power in the middle of it!
Since last blog, our work really settled and every day life is rolling. However, many good things are happening and we are full of excitement and joy over being able to share the gospel with students in Niksic.
Student meetings
Since last blog we have hosted three student meetings.
At one student meeting, we had invited Jeff Buxton from Bar to come and inspire students to create good CVs when their in the future want to apply for jobs. In daily life, Jeff runs a company together with his wife, Jennifer. Still this way of optimizing your chances to get a job is new in this culture and therefore we wanted to provide this chance for students to learn.
The next two meetings were more traditional and classic. Danijel was leading an evening where we looked into the question: Am I good enough for Heaven? And the week after, Pete pointed us to the topic: The value of life. Both topics were created after the questionnaires we did at the first event at the university and they created good conversations and discussions between the students afterwards. In general, we are often faced from students with the idea that "if you are just a good person, you will go to Heaven". Jesus is very clear about this in the Bible. We are not able to save ourselves, only him. We try to point the students to this point!
Every week, we also meet up with student one-to-one. Sometimes, we have bible studies with them, other times we want to just drink a cup of coffee with them. Maybe this sounds simple. However, it is such an essential part of our work. A huge part of our work is to invest time in people: time to listen, time to share life, time to share faith, time to laugh and just show students that we want to be their friends. This have made us think about the following: Is time maybe the most important thing we can give to eachother in our modern times? We feel lucky that we are able to use time on people, to give them the gift of spending time with them. We are learning so much through that!
If you want to see more about what we are doing through a whole year in EUS, watch the following video:
Two new initiative
This year, we have taken two new weekly initiatives.
Sašas has really felt deeply that a good way of meeting students and connect with them is through different sports activities. Right now, the first thing we are doing is to meet up for weekly football games where we share a devotion or testimony with the people showing up. This also gives us a chance to spend time with some of those many students who attended Camp Monty this summer! This is only the beginning of something that hopefully will grow in the future.
The other thing is an activity we do together with the local evangelical church: Board game nights every week. In Montenegro, there is no traditions for grown ups to meet and play board games together, but slowly some students have enjoyed meeting with us. Using board games to get to know each other is nice. Step by step you are opening up for each other and every times you get the chance to practice mildness when you are not winning the game.
Gods power in our weakness
Sometimes in our work, we are faced with the fact of feeling weak and humbled. Feelings that we as humans in the world do not like and want to ran away from. However, the Bible talks about this topic in another and encouraging way:
"Three times I (Paul) pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me: My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weakness, so that Christ may rest on me." (2. Cor. 12,8-9)
And a little later in the same book:
"For to be sure, he was crucified in weakness, yet he lives by the Gods power. Likewise, we are weak in him, yet by Gods power we will live with him in our dealing with you." (2. Cor. 13,4)
In the first part Paul experience that God has given him a thorn in the flesh. What that practically was, no one can say, but that he got it to be humbled for the Lord, we see in the text. He pleads God to take it away, but instead God talks to him in encouraging words. We, sometimes, experience a weakness and frustration in our work with students. We so deeply want to experience them giving there lives to Christ and in the same time we are not able to open their heart and create growth - only God himself is. When we see our own weakness in this, we are also able to find strength in the one who can give it, Jesus! In the other quote we see, that Jesus went through the greatess weakness than anyone ever will face. He though death by going through it on the cross and go back to life three days after! Through him, we can enter eternal life in Heaven. In our weakness his love and mercy are shown. Jesus actions challenge us and transform us to shine in the middle of this worlds darkest areas.
Prayer request:
Student meetings
Since last blog we have hosted three student meetings.
At one student meeting, we had invited Jeff Buxton from Bar to come and inspire students to create good CVs when their in the future want to apply for jobs. In daily life, Jeff runs a company together with his wife, Jennifer. Still this way of optimizing your chances to get a job is new in this culture and therefore we wanted to provide this chance for students to learn.
The next two meetings were more traditional and classic. Danijel was leading an evening where we looked into the question: Am I good enough for Heaven? And the week after, Pete pointed us to the topic: The value of life. Both topics were created after the questionnaires we did at the first event at the university and they created good conversations and discussions between the students afterwards. In general, we are often faced from students with the idea that "if you are just a good person, you will go to Heaven". Jesus is very clear about this in the Bible. We are not able to save ourselves, only him. We try to point the students to this point!
Every week, we also meet up with student one-to-one. Sometimes, we have bible studies with them, other times we want to just drink a cup of coffee with them. Maybe this sounds simple. However, it is such an essential part of our work. A huge part of our work is to invest time in people: time to listen, time to share life, time to share faith, time to laugh and just show students that we want to be their friends. This have made us think about the following: Is time maybe the most important thing we can give to eachother in our modern times? We feel lucky that we are able to use time on people, to give them the gift of spending time with them. We are learning so much through that!
If you want to see more about what we are doing through a whole year in EUS, watch the following video:
Two new initiative
This year, we have taken two new weekly initiatives.
Sašas has really felt deeply that a good way of meeting students and connect with them is through different sports activities. Right now, the first thing we are doing is to meet up for weekly football games where we share a devotion or testimony with the people showing up. This also gives us a chance to spend time with some of those many students who attended Camp Monty this summer! This is only the beginning of something that hopefully will grow in the future.
The other thing is an activity we do together with the local evangelical church: Board game nights every week. In Montenegro, there is no traditions for grown ups to meet and play board games together, but slowly some students have enjoyed meeting with us. Using board games to get to know each other is nice. Step by step you are opening up for each other and every times you get the chance to practice mildness when you are not winning the game.
Gods power in our weakness
Sometimes in our work, we are faced with the fact of feeling weak and humbled. Feelings that we as humans in the world do not like and want to ran away from. However, the Bible talks about this topic in another and encouraging way:
"Three times I (Paul) pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me: My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weakness, so that Christ may rest on me." (2. Cor. 12,8-9)
And a little later in the same book:
"For to be sure, he was crucified in weakness, yet he lives by the Gods power. Likewise, we are weak in him, yet by Gods power we will live with him in our dealing with you." (2. Cor. 13,4)
In the first part Paul experience that God has given him a thorn in the flesh. What that practically was, no one can say, but that he got it to be humbled for the Lord, we see in the text. He pleads God to take it away, but instead God talks to him in encouraging words. We, sometimes, experience a weakness and frustration in our work with students. We so deeply want to experience them giving there lives to Christ and in the same time we are not able to open their heart and create growth - only God himself is. When we see our own weakness in this, we are also able to find strength in the one who can give it, Jesus! In the other quote we see, that Jesus went through the greatess weakness than anyone ever will face. He though death by going through it on the cross and go back to life three days after! Through him, we can enter eternal life in Heaven. In our weakness his love and mercy are shown. Jesus actions challenge us and transform us to shine in the middle of this worlds darkest areas.
Prayer request:
- Please pray, for more students to attend our weekly Wednesday meetings.
- Please pray for students to join and connect with us through sport, board game and Conversation Club.
- Please pray for the women bible study group
- Please pray for our one-to-one meeting with students.
- Please pray for the next couple of months because many from our times are going away for shorter or longer time.
- Please pray for Martina (Danijel's wife). She has started the children's work in church after more than a year of prayers for that. Pray for her to has wisdome to lead the children and show them the truth of God.
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