No more nights filled with the music of the clubs drifting into the windows while Pastor Marijan and his family try to sleep. Now they look out the windows of their new home onto the beautiful hills surrounding Prokuplje. They have been working from early in the morning until late in the evening for the past several weeks, to get their home livable. The home they bought had been started, but never finished. They had to bring in electricity, water, cover and plaster the walls, tile the floors, hang cabinets, build a bathroom . . . so much work! Take a look before renovation:
And now see how far they have come:
After a quick stop in Prokuplje to see Marijan and Slavica’s home, we headed east to Pirot. Our trip to Pirot is a continuation of an answer to prayer from the summer of 2013. Ivan and Alan showed up at Marijan’s flat, searching for someone to help them start home churches in the city of Pirot, where there is no evangelical church at all. If you followed our blog during the summer trips of 2014, you saw the first steps — two trips to Pirot, meetings in homes of people interested in starting churches in their homes, and the joy of worship together for the first time in ten years!
After we met in the first possible home church site, we made a very special purchase. Ivan (in the striped sweater above) has been walking into town, over 7 km, every time he visits this home group. We stopped at a shop and now, Ivan has a new bicycle — he said it was like getting a Mercedes!
How many of you, dear readers, would be in church meetings if you had to ride at least five miles via bicycle for every meeting?
From the center of Pirot, we drove out into the outlying village where Ivan lives, Novo Mala. They gathered one representative from five of the eight families who want to be part of the home church starting in Ivan’s home, mostly women, as the men were still working yesterday when we met. Marijan gave each family two copies of the New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs — one to read in their home, and one to give to a friend. We gathered in Ivan’s kitchen/dining area and worshipped together. Three new professions of faith were made during that time together, and we left blessed beyond measure! Now, on to Temerin, and meetings with partners from Belgrade, Novi Sad, and Kucura!
