When Chuck and Janice, Ed and I left Little Rock on Friday, August 31, we knew we had a full 11 days in front of us. We’ve all been to Serbia before, and we know the joys and the trials of a mission trip far from home, with a culture so different from our own. We love the challenge, the friendships, the blessings. And so far, Summer 2015 is no different.
Our flights (Little Rock to Houston to Frankfurt, Germany to Belgrade, Serbia) and the van drive from Belgrade to Pirot were uneventful. Praise God for no delays, no missed flights, no breakneck runs through any airport. Rodja and Slobodan met us at the airport, and we were very happy to see them.
The drive into Pirot, located in the southeast of Serbia on the border with Bulgaria, is one of contrasts. Rolling farmlands segue into hills, then thickly wooded ravings that rise up in stark, gray bluffs. Tiny tunnels send the road in and out through the edges of the mountain, and then you come into Pirot — a medium sized city that we have noticed has more bicycles than anywhere you can imagine besides the Netherlands!
We dropped our luggage off at the Gali Hotel, and had dinner together and went over the plan for the week. It was great to connect with Marijan and Slavica, Ivan and Danijela.
Sunday morning came with time for jet lagged travelers to roll out of bed, catch a quick pastry at the local “pekara” (bakery) and head out in two teams. Ed & Janice joined Slobodan, Marijan and Slavica for English club for kids. Chuck and LaJuana went with Rodja and Ivan to one of the local homes of church members for Multiply discipleship class. English class kids learned “My name is _______. This is my friend, ________. I feel __________.” They played games with the parachute that was one of the items given by our supporters.
Multiply class members talked about “What is a Disciple”? and “The Command to Make Disciples.” There was lively discussion, and we all enjoyed the morning.
We had a special treat for lunch. Again, split into two teams, we had our mid-day meal with a Roma family in their home. It was delicious, and such an honor to get to share the time with them.
After lunch, we rested during the hottest part of the day. Since we have been walking everywhere, and since jet lag was catching up with us, that was much appreciated. In the late afternoon, we made home visits in the largest mahala (Roma neighborhood) in Pirot, where around 3,000 Roma people live. During these visits, we prayed, shared how God is working in our lives or insights we’ve gained from our recent Bible reading, and enjoyed a sweet time of fellowship at two different homes of believers.
Sunday night ended with dinner starting around 9:00 pm. We had Serbian pizza at what was purported to be “the best pizza place in Pirot.” We agree! Serbia team — we think it could even rival the pizza at Segafredo in Prokuplje. We’ll try theirs again when we’re in Prokuplje at the end of the week. 🙂
Monday morning was much like Sunday — English and Multiply.
Next, we attended a Roma wedding. Actually, two Roma weddings. The story is so sweet! These precious couples have been going to one of the home churches Ivan leads in Pirot. They want to get baptized. But first, they felt like they needed to get something right. See, their whole “marriage” has been a sort of common law marriage — not official in the eyes of the state or made under God’s blessing. So they decided to get married. We first went to the government building, where they very solemnly took vows and signed the registry.
Then we celebrated with them with lunch at a local restaurant — an uncommon treat for them. There, Marijan performed the religious ceremony, binding them together in God’s eyes. It was beautiful as they laid their hands together on Marijan’s Bible and prayed together there in the restaurant.
We branched off in different directions from there. Rodja and I had a long talk about Linking Partners’ work, and also about some things that had been on my heart for a long time. It’s no coincidence that tomorrow in Multiply we study “bearing one another’s burdens.” Ed, Chuck, Janice, Ivan, and Slobodan went on a different adventure. They bought bicycles that Ed & Chuck will ride while they’re here, then leave for the use of church planters and leaders after we’re gone. A note of interest: Ivan has ridden 5,000 km (3,000 miles) on his bicycle SINCE November! We’ve been talking about entering him in the Tour de France!
We wrapped up our mission work Monday with home visits. Ed and Chuck each visited a separate home and talked and had prayer with the families there. LaJuana and Janice went together with Slavica and met for a couple of hours with a lovely group of 13 women — from teenagers to grandmothers — where we talked about the role of a woman in the church, in marriage, and the importance of women in a marriage — after all, God likened women to the church, and Christ loved the church enough to die for her, so we were feeling quite loved and special.
We ended the evening with a repeat of last night — great pizza again. Then a nighttime stroll through the city, ice cream, and walking back on an age-old cobblestone path by the river. Now we’re tucked in and ready to rest up for tomorrow — English & Multiply, then a Baptism! Thanks for your prayers for us. We’re certainly feeling them. We’d love it if you’d leave us a comment on this page!
