For our last night in Croatia, we had dinner at an outdoor restaurant with a beautiful view overlooking Zagreb. In this short video each of the team members gives their favorite highlight and memory from the trip.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Friday, July 3, 2009
Last Days in Croatia: Rejika and Zagreb
We spent our last few days in Rejika, off the Adriatic Sea, and Zagreb, the capital of Croatia. On Tuesday when we went back to Rejika, where we relaxed on a beautiful beach off the Adriatic Sea and met up with a few of the campers who lived near the area. We also had a final dinner with Stevo and Sarah, the missionaries here who lead these camps and much of the missionary work done in Croatia. 
On Thursday we drove to Zagreb (see pictures) to see the city and then met up with an even larger group for pizza and gelato. What was so exciting was how many of the kids we whe ere able to see after camp, many wearing their camp t-shirts, and laughing about the songs and dance moves as they sang them. A few brought friends who are interested in coming next year. It was so exciting to see how happy they were to see us and reunite even though the camp has just finished a day ago, and on top of that, how excited many were to come back next year. These kids just grab at your heart and we will be using facebook to keep in touch with as many as we can. Tonight (Friday) is our last night here in Croatia and we will head back to the States tomorrow. We are going out for a nice dinner in downtown Zagreb which should be fun and sad at the same time. This was quite an experience!
Last Day at Camp
Tuesday sadly was our last day with the youth at our camp. All the campers left Tuesday afternoon to return to their family and friends. It was so sad to see them leave, and many were crying and kept hugging us over and over again, asking if we would return the following year. Many of these youth will return to homes that are either not religious or are not Christian (Catholicism is predominant here in Croatia) and a few in the camp who were Christians even mentioned that they are used to getting made fun of others for their faith. And these children continually received love and attention and acceptance at this camp for an entire week, and to leave that environment and go back into the ‘real world,’ which may include a broken home, can be challenging. The most exciting part was perhaps learning that there were two girls that accepted Christ as their personal savior on the last night of the Story of God (Monday night). And not only that, we believe that all other students moved forward in some form. Some who were not necessarily religious are now intrigued about how different Christianity is from their Catholic backgrounds and thus want to learn more and even return to the camp next year. Others who are Christians, including us missionaries, will continue to work on developing a stronger closer personal relationship with God.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Camp with the Croatian kids
We drove from Rejika to Fuzine on Tuesday where the English camp is located (video footage of the scenery is shown in the previous post). Fuzine is a small (a few thousand people) and very beautiful town. This picture is the amazing view I have from my room.
Our English camp started on Tuesday afternoon, when 31 young Croatians between the ages of 14-20 arrived. The camp lasts for a week. English is taught every morning for 6 days, covering a range of topics and different skill levels. For the most part, students have an intermediate to advanced level of understanding, which is a blessing because we can really get into deeper conversation with them about God. The afternoons are filled with games and activities but the highlight of each day is really the nights, when we dance and sing songs that emphasize love and acceptance by God, and share and discuss the “Story of God”. Every night the Story of God covers a few major ‘hallmark’ events in the bible, and questions are used to provoke theological discussion with these youth around the stories and how they interconnect. They are used almost as a basis to delve into deeper theological concepts and questions like sin, the nature of God, and the nature of us as humans. Our whole team agrees that it is absolutely amazing how it makes the message crystal clear. For example the first two stories highlight the fall of Lucifer and the fall of Adam and Eve and ask questions such as why god would let this happen and what resulted from it.
Our English camp started on Tuesday afternoon, when 31 young Croatians between the ages of 14-20 arrived. The camp lasts for a week. English is taught every morning for 6 days, covering a range of topics and different skill levels. For the most part, students have an intermediate to advanced level of understanding, which is a blessing because we can really get into deeper conversation with them about God. The afternoons are filled with games and activities but the highlight of each day is really the nights, when we dance and sing songs that emphasize love and acceptance by God, and share and discuss the “Story of God”. Every night the Story of God covers a few major ‘hallmark’ events in the bible, and questions are used to provoke theological discussion with these youth around the stories and how they interconnect. They are used almost as a basis to delve into deeper theological concepts and questions like sin, the nature of God, and the nature of us as humans. Our whole team agrees that it is absolutely amazing how it makes the message crystal clear. For example the first two stories highlight the fall of Lucifer and the fall of Adam and Eve and ask questions such as why god would let this happen and what resulted from it.
As you can see in the pictures, these children are so warm, friendly and just simply lovable. It’s been a true treat to see their guards drop as they feel more comfortable with us, and they open up to share their hopes and dreams.
Church in Rejika
On Sunday we went to church in Rejika! We attended a small Baptist church and it was amazing to see how a church that is all the way across the world (and 9 hours ahead) has the same worship, praises and prayers, and style of sermon as our church does in Scottsdale, AZ. While the entire service was in Croatian, almost every song we sang was something we sing at Scottsdale Bible Church. And because the words were projected in a screen overhead (like SBC), we were able to sing along in Croatian. We weren’t able to understand the sermon given by the pastor, but found out later that it was an overview of Philippians, a book we are focusing on during our devotional time at camp.
After church a group of us walked down to a small beach area of the Adriatic Sea. The water is incredibly transparent and had a warm current running through it that makes it comfortable to swim in.
After church a group of us walked down to a small beach area of the Adriatic Sea. The water is incredibly transparent and had a warm current running through it that makes it comfortable to swim in.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Croatian Mountain Video Footage
Here's some beautiful footage of the moutains and hillside of Croatia on our 2-hour car ride from the hostel in Rejika to Fuzine where our English camp is located. One minor note...we had no idea my camera also picked up audio.....
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Arriving in Rejika
We departed at 7pm on Thursday night from Phoenix, AZ and arrived in Rejika at 5:30am on Saturday morning! While it was quite an exhausting trip, on the bright side we were able to watch an amazing sunrise from our hostel on Saturday.
As you can see, the view is quite amazing and we have our window open every night to let the mild, fresh summer air in. We finally met Stevo and his wife, who are both amazing, godly individuals. They are the missionaries supported by Scottsdale Bible Church and they organized and oversee the English camp we are taking a part in. They have 3 beautiful children and their love and trust in God is so evident and inspiring.
We walked through the downtown Rejika area at night and it was quite interesting to see evidence of the old communist regime in some of the stark architecture and how it differs from the newer, more elaborate and ornate architecture that was developed after the fall of communism.
One of our team member interns (Peter from AZ) started to talk with a group of teens who were just hanging out in the downtown area, and they knew exactly who Stevo was! They talked with Peter for over an hour about their spiritual beliefs. It’s amazing to watch how the group went from being very skeptical to wanting to discuss with him why they had their beliefs, their questions, and the spiritual concepts they were wrestling with. The majority of the population there is Catholic although most are passive, agnostic, or atheist. To put this in perspective, here’s a great analogy that Stevo gave us: There are 3.5 million Croatians in Rejika, about the size of Phoenix, AZ. However only 8,000, or the size of Scottsdale Bible Church, are Christians…! Imagine if Scottsdale Bible Church was the only place in the entire city of Phoenix to interact with other Christians…and that is Rejika. It puts in perspective why it is so important for us to be here and reach out to the youth of Croatia now, and I hope we can help them find what they may be searching for spiritually.
And praise God that everyone and everything (like our luggage) arrived safe and in one piece! Other than a really long delay in London, our travel to Croatia went smoothly. And it’s hard to believe that there is a hostel that has the view we do- it literally overlooks the Adriatic Sea!
As you can see, the view is quite amazing and we have our window open every night to let the mild, fresh summer air in. We finally met Stevo and his wife, who are both amazing, godly individuals. They are the missionaries supported by Scottsdale Bible Church and they organized and oversee the English camp we are taking a part in. They have 3 beautiful children and their love and trust in God is so evident and inspiring. 
We walked through the downtown Rejika area at night and it was quite interesting to see evidence of the old communist regime in some of the stark architecture and how it differs from the newer, more elaborate and ornate architecture that was developed after the fall of communism.One of our team member interns (Peter from AZ) started to talk with a group of teens who were just hanging out in the downtown area, and they knew exactly who Stevo was! They talked with Peter for over an hour about their spiritual beliefs. It’s amazing to watch how the group went from being very skeptical to wanting to discuss with him why they had their beliefs, their questions, and the spiritual concepts they were wrestling with. The majority of the population there is Catholic although most are passive, agnostic, or atheist. To put this in perspective, here’s a great analogy that Stevo gave us: There are 3.5 million Croatians in Rejika, about the size of Phoenix, AZ. However only 8,000, or the size of Scottsdale Bible Church, are Christians…! Imagine if Scottsdale Bible Church was the only place in the entire city of Phoenix to interact with other Christians…and that is Rejika. It puts in perspective why it is so important for us to be here and reach out to the youth of Croatia now, and I hope we can help them find what they may be searching for spiritually.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
General Prayer Requests
We depart this Thursday at 7pm for our 12-hour flight to Croatia! Our flight stops at London on our way to Zagreb, Croatia. Our team is very excited and we'd love to share some general prayer requests if you'd like to pray for our team. Here are the main requests:
- Open hearts of the children to the Word of God and the message of Jesus Christ
- Wisdom in sharing God's love and the message of Jesus Christ to the students in a way that will impact them
- Health for the team during the entire 2 1/2 week trip amidst the lack of sleep, limited exercise and different foods, climate, and location
- Safe travels with everyone and everything arriving safely to Croatia, and general safety of everyone during the trip
- Strength and energy throughout the trip, particularly during time with students, during the longs days and ability sleep/relax when time permits
- Unity of the team in demonstrating God's unsurpassable love
While talking to one my friends about the trip a few days ago, he said something that is very inspiring for our team: "We have an unstoppable God so victory is already yours."
I only hope we can take part in making some amazing things happen over there!
Monday, June 8, 2009
Team pictures!
From left to right: Mark, Ian, Luke, Kim, Charis, Amber, Kelly, John, Nicole
From left to right: Charis, John, Kelly, Kim, Ian, Luke, Mark, Amber, Nicole
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Welcome to the Croatia Missions Team Blog!
On June 18th, 2009, the Croatia team will depart for Rejika, Croatia to support an evangelical english camp for two weeks. During this time we will teach english classes, play fun games, and fill the evenings with worship and discussion of the gospel and God's love.
In the following blog we hope to share our stories, pictures, and memories during this two-week trip. Please feel free to post any thoughts, comments, or even prayers!
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