Day 7 - RESURRECTION

Sunday was our last day in Capljina. What a powerful ending to an amazing week. The entire week seemed to just build upon itself, like a well played symphony. I am probably getting into dangerous territory here, to use a musical metaphor, as I know nothing about the finer arts. But, the beauty of the week deserves an analogy no less beautiful. Our visits to those in the depths of grief were like requiems, but were greeted with cultural praises sung accapela to our glorious Lord. There is so much hope and joy within the hearts of these beautiful people. As a prayer team, who knew that we would learn so much from them about prayer! They spend so little time on petition and so much energy in praise, adoration and thanksgiving. It made us all wonder, "What could we possibly offer these amazing followers of our Lord and Savior?" They have experienced so much of life's crucifixions. But, we serve a mighty, sovereign and big God, who changes our life's crucifixions into His resurrections! And, this was the crescendo! We watched as this played out so magnificently before our eyes, culminating on our last day, in the Sunday worship service followed by the baptism of one of our own team members, Jamie Rotella. I have included a video of this glorious celebration along with one of my favorite pictures from the trip. Both, to me, represented the resurrection of Christ Jesus, one in a man, and one in a country - the flower growing out of the destruction, for me, symbolized the resurrection we experienced in this magnificent week which all of you helped us to experience. Thank you to all of our supporters!


“I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies.” John 11:25

DAY 5 - NEW HOPE, part 3

We have one day left in Capljina and what a blessing we received today as we walked the city and prayed over different sites. This has been a customary ritual of each prayer team that has come to Capljina over the years from Northpoint. We visited many of the same buildings and ruins. One used to be a factory, which once represented industry and commerce that kept this city thriving. Now it is used by the youth as a place to run and feed their addictions to drugs and alcohol. Another, however, was prayed over 3 years ago by a prayer team which included, Deb, one of our group members. It looked much worse than the demolished factory, then, but this year it is a beautiful 4 star hotel - an answer to prayer, a symbol of hope! We pray that each prayer team that comes to this place will continue to see the fruits of the prayers showered down over Capljina, faithfully, year after year, by our prayer teams, and every day by Pastor Bernard and the people of the Evangelical Church.

"...but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength." Isaiah 40:31a

Day 5 - One in Heart...One in Prayer, part 2

Together we gather in homes with the families of the Capljina church…share our stories and pray with one another. There is a bond in our hearts that only Jesus provides.

We stand united with Zora, our dear sister who just lost her husband Stipe, who requires heart surgery; Tiho, Lidija and their family as they suffer the pain of losing their son Ervin, 32 in a car accident this past January. He left three children and wife Mila…crushed and broken. How it broke our hearts to see the tears of this young widow and we prayed for God’s peace and comfort to envelope her and the children; and Robert, Emina and their family who have suffered so tragically (losing three of their children) and yet they shared that the 'finger of God' can be seen through it all…they count it for gain…as Christ revealed Himself so clearly to them. They cling to the promise that they will once again see the smiles of their little ones and share in Christ's kingdom forever. Before we arrived the team members were asked to find a scripture verse representing our trip to Bosnia and Herzegovina. God spoke in these verses.

I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. Phil 1:3-8

DAY 5 - PRAYER WALKING, part 1

Okay, okay ... We've been getting some requests for pictures of us, so here we are! This was on a side trip to Mostar where the famous bridge is located (see our very first post from March). And, yes, we got to see someone jump from the bridge. It was great! We have had a couple of opportunities to visit other areas of this region. It has been fascinating. Today we will go to Pocitelj. We have also gone to Medjugorje, where the sighting of the Virgin Mary supposedly took place back in the 1980's. Today, we will also be going on a prayer walk to cover the entire town of Capljina in prayer. We all talked at dinner last night about how we feel as if this town is just on the verge of a spiritual explosion. Yes, there is darkness and oppression and much spiritual warfare, but the enemy doesn't work where there is not a threat! He definitely doesn't like what is going on here. It is all good. We serve a Big God! And, he is mighty to save. He is definitely at work in Capljina. Slava Bogu!

Day 3 - Open House

Today we had an Open House at the church.  Two of them, actually: the first from 10-12 and the second from 4-6.  We had high hopes for the Open House, and we had been praying a lot for it.  In the photo of the building with the graffiti, you can see two small posters (they look small in the photo) that we hung a few days ago -- it tells the public of the Open House.  The posters are a stark contrast to the graffiti and the broken windows.

Before I tell you about the Open House, though, I want to share with you a bit from Oswald Chambers' devotional for today -- a few of us had read this devotional this morning.

He says, "We have a commercialized view [of successful service] -- we count how many souls have been saved and sanctified, we thank God, and then we think everything is all right."  He goes on to say, "One life totally devoted to God is of more value to Him than one hundred lives which have been simply awakened by His Spirit." 

So we kept that in mind as we prepared for the day, and it helped as during the morning session, only two women came to pray for health issues.  Not as many as we would have liked, and yet after we prayed with and for one of the women, she made a decision for Christ -- she has been coming to the church for a long time, but she had never given her life to Him.  But now she has.  And now we pray that she will be that "one life totally devoted to God."  If we had had 10 or 20 show up, I'm not sure we would have had the same result.

The afternoon session went well -- more showed up and the prayer time was intense, open, and fruitful.  What an awesome day -- and it's not even over yet! 

Jim

DAY 2 - FIGHTING FOR THE FUTURE

This morning, we spent some time in prayer at “Novi Most” (New Bridge), a Christian organization geared towards building healthy relationships between the children of Capljina. This is a town where segregation is all these children have ever known. Since the war, the walls between ethnic groups have only grown stronger and taller. Serbs, Muslims, Bosnian and Croat children either attend different schools or attend the same school in different shifts. At “Novi Most,” these children have an opportunity to gather after school and learn English, Computer skills or just have fun being young, without the constant reminders of the unforgiveness, persecution and intolerance that undergirds their day to day life. The bullet holes in the red brick primary school and the graffiti which reads “our school,” “our language” on a building once used for detention and torture (now possibly the new location for Bosnian children to be schooled) are a couple of examples of the remnants of a past still all too present in this region. We had the opportunity to spend some time with a few teenagers tonight, during their English class. One asked, “What did you know about Bosnia before you came here?” My answer was, “Nothing. All I knew of was the war?” Perhaps this is part of the problem. There is so much more here . . . lives to invest in. God’s people are here as they are everywhere, and it is Pastor Bernard of the Evangelical Church and the folks at “Novi Most” that saw this vision and cast it. “Novi Most’s” mission is not only to teach skills but to help this next generation, the hope of Bosnia, develop their potential and leadership and build bridges across ethnic divides. It is their hope that these children might, thru this experience, also come to have a relationship with Jesus Christ, and that a bridge between “Novi Most” and the church can be created as well. This may not be the case for all, but seeds are definitely being planted. Please pray for Mick and Ali Holstead and their efforts at the Novi Most Centar, Capljina. There are many obstacles and the progress is slow, but they are making a difference . . .for Capljina . . . for Bosnia . . . for eternity.

“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these.” Matthew 19:13

DAY 1 - THE STORM AND THE SEED

We arrived yesterday to beautiful Croatia and drove 2 hours into the country of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Wow! This is a gorgeous part of the world. The beauty of the area is only surpassed by that which emanates from the hearts and souls of the people we've met, so far. Their warmth and authenticity is captivating, especially as we begin to understand more and more of the story of the captivity that they have all endured and from which so few from this area have been delivered. Pastor Bernard shared, in prayer, this morning the metaphor of Peter taking those steps out of the boat and how often it is too easy to be distracted by the height of the waves . . . seemingly insurmountable. Yet, he is a humble man, so full of faith, and truly has an intimate relationship with our Lord and Savior. He knows how faithful and how much bigger our God is. In just one day, we have already experienced how much bigger our God is as well, and how wide and long and deep is His love for us, all of us. In a land where division along ethnic and religious lines runs deep, our Faithful father has planted a mustard seed with this church, and it is our sincere prayer that from this seed a mighty garden will grow for all of the people of Capljina, and eventually, become a movement that will transform this hope-deprived country. Please pray for Pastor Bernard, his congregation and this community . . . their strength and endurance and encouragement.

"The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches." Matthew 13:31-32