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.
As for the people, I have felt warmly welcomed by the members of the church and have been very well taken care of by my Montenegrin family. Violeta, my college-age Montenegrin sister, has been gracious to me, helping me pronounce words like “napolje” and teaching me rude words to call her older brother. 
I am very thankful for her.
…which brings me to Serbian, or Montenegrian, language lessons. I have a teacher, and I am finding that as much as I have studied the theories behind language learning, actual second-language acquisition is tedious. A friend at church gave me a Serbian bible and encouraged me to read it aloud to “break my tongue.” There is no stranger feeling than to hear foreign sounds coming from one’s own mouth.
Because of my marbles-in-mouth attempt at speaking, I am daily encouraged by words that a wise friend spoke to me before I left the US. My friend quoted the words of another believer long ago: “At all times, preach the gospel; if necessary, use words.” This is a comfort as I try to shed the success-driven indoctrination I received from my home culture. I need not rush to speak, to prove myself a good missionary.
I simply have to live, as I would anywhere else, as Jesus would live in my place.
I am continually reminded as well of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), particularly the places where Jesus exhorts us to do our good deeds before God only, not seeking any recognition from people. To do so is a resounding statement- there is One who sees, only One who truly rewards. He is real, and as an act of faith and trust, I will live before Him.
What an honor it would be to stand before King Jesus (as every person on earth one day will), to whom all authority has been given and who alone rightfully sits as Judge, and to know that only He knows your greatest moments, the times where you really served and loved like He Himself did.
He is real, and He sees, and it is an honor to honor Him because He is worthy.
Soon I will post some pictures, including one of the only hippo in Montenegro. Yes, that’s right– I said hippo.
My thoughts exactly.
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