Settled in Montenegro
November 26, 2009
Christina Melton reports in from Podgorica, Montenegro –
It is difficult to believe that I have only been in Montenegro for a little over a month! It feels as though I never left here, though I was in the US for over 2 months between my last visit and my time here now.
My focus this last month has been simple, yet not easy: adjust!
Between jet lag and culture shock and my inability to speak much Serbian, my transition should have been more difficult, and I should feel terribly tired and isolated.
However, praise God for doing more than we can ask or imagine! I have been SO completely blessed by the family I live with here, the Pavetić family. They have made me feel like I am at home here, and though I miss people back in the US, I have a wonderful adopted family here that watches out for me and, to be honest, keeps me pretty entertained!
My older brother here (Zeljan) and his wife (Alla) are about to have a baby and move into a new house, and my little sister (Violeta) is in her first semester of university. My Montenegrin mom (Slavitsa) is an excellent cook and actually irons my underwear after it dries on the clothes line!
I am so blessed by them, and I pray that I will be a blessing to them also.
I have also had the opportunity to meet several believers here who are around my age, thanks to the Young Adult conference that took place in early November. I got to help with the worship team a little bit, and I met people from all over Montenegro. Read more
Belarus — Growth and Faithfulness
November 25, 2009
Olga Gonchrenko reports –
The month of October was very special for us all our family (Olga, Yasha, Thomas and Stephanie) traveled in the United States, visited churches, shared about the ministry and made new contacts.
It was also a great time to see many of you in person and to say how much we appreciate all that you do for the ministry and for the country.
We want to thank all of you who made it possible for us to make this trip financially, hosted us, fed us, and drove us around.
We had a great time and I believe that the trip was a success and fruitful.
Minsk Family Home
A few days after coming back we had two day women’s conference. I was jet-legged, but still made it to the conference with the girls from the Family home. It was a great time with about 800 women participating, great testimonies and message. All the girls really enjoyed that. Just to be in a church with so many women together was very exciting.
Now all the girls from the Family home attend church, most of them gave their lives to Jesus before coming to the Family home, but one girl Katya came to our church for the first time this past October.
She gave her life to Jesus and it’s so great to see how she is growing spiritually now. She attends ABC classes (basic truth about God) as well as she participates in different activities (prayer time, Bible lessons) at the Family home. Besides, the girls go to the orphanages to spend time with the children.
Another exciting event was that our Family Home was visited by a few girls from Equip office (John Maxwell ministry). They came as a part of a team that did seminars in the church on Leadership (I was helping to translate for the church) and one evening we invited them to Family home.
The atmosphere was so warm and open, that all our girls opened up and shared their life stories; how they lost their parents and came to orphanages, about their siblings and about the changes that God is making in their lives now. I was so blessed to be there at that time.
We prayed for them and encouraged them to go on with their studies as it’s hard for them and we constantly help them with studies and encourage them.
Serbia and Hungary
November 24, 2009
I’ve just returned from a trip to Budapest for a conference and a visit to Serbia where I spoke at a church. I traveled with John Bull, a Stoneworks missionary based in St. Petersburg. The picture above is of the Danube flowing through Budapest, taken from the Citadel overlooking the city, with the foothills of the Carpathian mountains in the background.
We attended the Free Methodist European missions conference. The European director and good friend, Jerry Coleman, invited us to attend. We met missionaries and local leaders from 14 countries – from Bulgaria to the Canary Islands.
It was a great conference, and I’m hopeful that these new relationships will lead to future partnerships in ministry. I was especially blessed by meeting missionaries from Ukraine and Romania. I was also asked to play my guitar for two services, and it was good to be able to minister in that way.
We were all very encouraged in our work, and it was great to see and experience spiritual unity with brothers and sisters from so many countries.
After the conference, we drove to Bachka Petrovac, Serbia to visit a church. Last summer I met one of the elders, Jan Dudas, in Montenegro, and he invited me to visit when I had a chance. I was very happy to be able to speak at their church on my birthday.
Their hometown is a small farming village (about 6000 people) in north Serbia. The town is 90% Slovak, so they all speak Slovak as well as Serbian, and quite a few people speak English.
This part of Serbia is a sort of Bible belt – many churches there were established over 100 years ago and survived through the communist regimes.
My relationship with Jan (pronounced Yahn) is very good; his family is great.It would be great for Stoneworks to send a missionary there to serve that church. Jan was the best man for Vladimir Cizmanski, a dear friend who is the pastor of the Brethren Assembly in Montenegro (where Christina Melton serves). I believe that God is setting us all together as living stones.
Above at left I’m with John, Jan and his wife Nada, and their three children.
John and I drove quite a distance – about 1300 miles each way. We drove from the Balkans through the heart of central Europe and the Baltics: Hungary, Slovakia, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia. I have a sense that Stoneworks may have more ministry opportunities in these areas. I continue to search out ministry possibilities in Estonia and look forward to seeing how God opens doors for future ministry in Central Europe and the Balkans.
Fear and Rejection
November 23, 2009
Christina Melton writes –
I read my last post about how the weather was so perfect and walking was nice and blah blah whatever. And the week I did not write about: sick with no voice, windy rain, cold, tired, rude taxi driver, lots of potatoes… and still really thankful to be here.
Week 3 is settling week. I have a book for language lessons, my Montenegrin mom is back and cooking (yay!), and I have my voice back. There are plans in the air for the direction of the worship team here in PG, and hopefully we will nail down a good direction to start heading with the teens sometime this week.
Saturday was the annual pan-Montenegro youth conference. Unlike in the US, “youth” here refers to anyone 18 to 30ish, sometimes older, whereas “teens” are what we would call youth in the states. My work is with teens, but I attended the youth conference because, well, I am a youth.
I enjoyed meeting believers from other towns, and while there were not a ton of people who were able to attend, several cities were represented, including Belgrade and Sarajevo, which are outside of Montenegro.
I had the privilege of being part of the worship team for the conference and stuck with keys and percussion, which is good because I just get to listen and follow. My southern-US vowels are an obstacle when it comes to speaking Montenegrin (or the Ijekavian dialect of Serbian, depending on who you ask), so the thought of singing at this point is laughable. I am thankful that other people already do that well here. Read more
Visit to Rita’s Brother
November 10, 2009
Here’s a great post from Megan Berger (at right, below), Stoneworks missionary in St. Petersburg. Visit Megan’s blog to see more about her good work.
Last Saturday, I was able to go with Rita to visit her brother Misha who lives in a home for mentally handicapped children.
Misha struggles with a learning disability. This home is about two hours outside of the city so Rita and I took the metro and a bus to get there.
At first, I was really afraid but I knew I should go to support Rita. Once we got there, I struggled with the smell, it was horrible, but the second I met Misha my heart melted and nothing else mattered, but making him smile.
Just watching Rita, I saw such love and motherly characteristics. I pray that Misha will be able to be moved closer to the city so Rita could see him more.
We sat with Misha for a while and talked with him. Rita brought him some hot chocolate and candy. He was so happy and the whole time we were there, Misha held my hand and petted my hair.
It just made me so happy that I came and I smiled the whole time.
Challenge
November 2, 2009
Here is a recent post from Liz Hulley –
Looking back at previous blog posts, I noticed that I often post something from Oswald Chambers in October. I wonder why that is. Perhaps the autumn brings about a kind of desperation that makes me reach for something uplifting.
“The challenge to the missionary does not come on the line that people are difficult to get saved, that backsliders are difficult to reclaim, that there is a wedge of callous indifference; but along the line of his own personal relationship to Jesus Christ.
‘Believe ye that I am able to do this?’ Our Lord puts that question steadily, it faces us in every individual case we meet.
The one great challenge is – Do I know my Risen Lord? Do I know the power of His indwelling Spirit?”*
I don’t have a problem asking myself “What would Jesus do?” I think it is a good idea to follow Christ’s example.
However, we can get into a pattern of striving to make ourselves like Christ, by our own means.
Maybe it’s better to ask ourselves, “Do I trust God in this situation? Have I surrendered this to Him, or am I still trying to do it all myself?”
*Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest -reading for Oct. 27th
The reality of it all…
November 1, 2009
Here’s a recent post by Megan Berger –
I was looking through some pictures on my camera today and found this one that Rita took. I think this picture shows that doing missionary work is not always easy and we get tired.
In this picture, I look really tired, but even though I am tired I rejoice in the opportunity the Lord has brought my way. I know I sometimes complain because I am tired or I am frustrated because I don’t understand things.
But I must say that no matter what I go through, I know and really see the Lord working here.
I believe that when we put our needs and wants aside, God shows you what really matters.
