As I continue to write my account of what God has done in our lives over the last 20 years, I am astounded at His responses, and sometimes, his lack of response. It is definitely a growth in my gratitude as I rehearse all that He did in our lives when we responded to the call to "go." There are tons of hardships and struggles, so it isn't an easy journey, but a fulfilling one. I recently heard a comment about church planting and the Great Commission in Matthew's Gospel. We are instructed to make disciples, not necessarily plant them in a church. That was eye-opening to me. Our calling has been to both, but disciple making was so much more successful.
We received terrible news that Mariela's family in Honduras lost their home in the recent hurricane last week. For a time, Mariela's little brother was missing, but was later located. Merle helped Josh (who is from Albania) add a back splash to their kitchen counter, and Josh lent his motorcycle to Merle so he could take Lydia on a ride.
Zlatan's father recently passed away in Bosnia. The typical notice that is posted publicly in Bosnia is at the left. He returned to Qatar for his work there as a professor of Sport. Zlatan is not a believer, though more responsive with all the problems he has faced over the last several years.
Former teammates, Tom and Kristie, with their daughter Tamra, came to have dinner and visit as they were traveling through to Florida. It was good to catch up. They were living part time in Budapest, and Indiana, but it was decided that it would be better if they station out of the States. Of course, it also relieves the pressure of travel, especially with Covid, but they now have the limitation of being only stateside as they work online.
Dejan's mother, in Sarajevo, is improving, but he could still use financial relief. Above right, Dejan visits with Asima from our house church group.
Another of our colleagues in Bosnia has passed into eternity, Andrew Stanley. He, and especially his wife, Grethe, organized and promoted the Daughters of the King Conferences. Many Bosnia women enjoyed and grew spiritually from these yearly conferences immensely.
Max and Liz are pictured next. She came to visit last month, after Max passed in the Spring. On the right is a picture of Liz and Max in Bosnia with Merle on his stilts playing Uncle Sam for the Independence Day celebration they had at their home in Zenica. On the far left in the photo, is Eileen who passed away in Bosnia a few years ago. These are some of the faithful servants of the Lord who gave so much of themselves for the nation of Bosnia.
Luke is in Tulsa, OK working, living with a friend, and has enough hair now to stick up. Here he is doing a hand stand in downtown Tulsa. Taylor visited Lydia in Toccoa and they visited Tallulah Gorge. Merle and I worked on the rental house, painting the deck and fixing the plumbing in the tub, and brought all the old college textbooks and ancient letters from the attic back to our home in Jonesboro, including a long bow and poisoned tipped arrows from my mission trip to the Yanomami Indians in Venezuela. Finally all our earthly stuff is under one roof. More to sort.
We plan to be heading out of the country in January after Lydia heads back to college for her second Semester, unless we are further limited by COVID. We will need a renter or couple for our fully furnished home. Know anyone very responsible? If God is leading you, we need funds for airfare to return to our overseas mission field. As you consider your end-of-the-year giving, please remember us.
Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, I will give people in exchange for you, nations in exchange for your life. Isaiah 43:4
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