Znam gdje smo!
October 30, 2009
Here’s the most recent from Christina Melton in Montenegro –
Znam gdje smo!
(translation: I know where we are!)
I believe it is time for an update. I have been in Montenegro for a full week now, and thanks to the month and a half that I spent here in July/August, I feel like I am beginning to settle in rather quickly.
My suitcase is unpacked, and I can successfully walk to the church and to the downtown area without getting lost. Thankfully the weather has been perfect– low 70’s with sun during the day, mid 50’s with a strong breeze at night. This is supposedly unusual for Oktobar, but I am not complaining. 
Podgorica is a bit of a unique city to walk about. It is the nation’s capitol, and as such it contains official government buildings, banks, 12-story apartment buildings, busy intersections, a mall, and a university.
At the same time, 3 rivers run through the city, which is seated in a valley and surrounded by rolling mountains covered in tall, thin topiary-like trees. When I walk over the bridge in the evenings, the sun is beautiful as it sets over the mountains; yet upon turning the corner, I face its reflection in the mirrored windows of the giant T-com office building.
So far I have simply been trying to get a feel for the area– where to buy a belt (all my pants are larger when they dry on a clothes line), when to bring a coat, how to anticipate a sudden burst of rain. Interactions between salespeople and customers are markedly different than in the southeastern US, and I am trying my best to “do as the Romans do,” so to speak. Read more
She’s there!
October 21, 2009
Christina is now in Montenegro.
Yesterday morning people from Athens met at the church to send her away. We had a great time of fellowship and prayer. Here is the group that met then:
Then the Lord again encouraged Christina: when she was at the airport in Atlanta, she ‘just happened’ to bump into Olga Goncharenko (Director of Spring of Revival, our program in Belarus) and her family as they were leaving Georgia to visit New England. Christina was very blessed to see them there.
And here is the note Christina just sent:
I made it! I am alive in Podgorica and so happy to be here, though i miss all of you guys SO much. I just feel really at home.
My travel was easy and I got to watch the sun rise over the Alps on the plane this morning.
And I have all my luggage!!!
Anyway, I love you guys and miss you all, and I will keep you all updated as things unfold! Yay!
Sorry that this is not more eloquent, but I am VERY jetlagged…
love, peace, etc
christina
New Pictures from the Minsk Family Home
October 14, 2009
The Minsk Family Home is moving into its second month! We are very thankful that God has brought this to pass.
Currently, three girls live there full time, two others will probably move there soon, and ten others visit regularly (weekends, evenings) for fellowship, ministry and training.
So, even though only three live there now, about 15 graduate orphans are being served because we now have the flat.
Alesya Kuleshova, the counselor, is on left of the first picture –
Montenegro: camps, cars and other news
October 9, 2009
Here is a report from Vladimir and Marijana Cizmanski; Vladimir is the pastor of the Brethren Assembly in Podgorica, Montenegro. Stoneworks missionary Christina Melton will go there on October 20 for a three-year commitment to serve the church.
And this is my prayer, that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern that is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ – to the glory and praise of God.
Philippians 1:9-11
Dear Fellow-workers,
We want to report on the teen camp we had this summer. We know that intercessory prayer is a vital factor in many aspects of our work and in bringing about changed lives. This time we had 15 participants – 11 from Podgorica and 4 from Niksic. We are thankful to the group of 8, from Stoneworks, who came from the USA to assist us with their presence, lectures and practical help in running this very important event.
The camp took place in the mountains as last year. Unlike the previous group, these teenagers knew each other as they had already been attending our Saturday children’s clubs. We can see that as a result of this on-going work with them the Word of God has penetrated into their young hearts and had a significant impact on their young lives.
The theme of the camp was “How to take the right decisions.” One of the subjects was: “What would Jesus do in my place?”
During the day two girls got into an argument and when I approached one of them and talked to her about the problem she asked: “What would Jesus do in my place?”
Without waiting for me to say anything she replied: “I know, He would forgive, but that’s very tough!” This disguised a second question: It’s not easy to forgive – it’s painful and costly.
But we still talked about the decision to forgive and about how it is not a question of our feelings but our will. There were lots of opportunities to get to know each other better, to chat, for spontaneous teaching and sporting activities.
Another girl lost a pendant in the shape of a silver heart. It meant a great deal to her as it was a present from her mother. We thought she must have lost it in the mountains when we had walked up to a viewpoint overlooking the river Tara. So we all set out to look for it in the bushes, grass, brambles and rocks beside the narrow mountain track. Read more
Christina’s new blog
October 4, 2009
Christina Melton, missionary to Montenegro, has just started her blog, listed on the sidebar of this page. Here is her first entry:
Almost there…
So I am less that 17 days from flying out of the United States, and all I can think about is “how in the world can I get my mandolin to Montenegro?”
You see, I feel somewhat like a middle school student picking teams in gym class. Space is limited, and I have to decide which winter coat I will take, which shoes, which pair of jeans. Losing my luggage has made me less attached to my “stuff,” but there is sentimental value to some items for which there is simply no room in the inn. The running shoes– a must. The flats? Not so much…
But I don’t want to talk about clothing or material items. Sorting is only making me realize how incredibly close I am to leaving the life that I have only recently become comfortable living. Read more
