3 more days 'til the party begins!

Our summer team from the States arrives in Bosnia Wednesday night!  We are very excited for a number of reasons.  Not only are the InterVarsity staff who will be in Sarajevo our former co-workers, they're also some of our best friends--Adam, Tina, and Nicole.  And this team is going to help us meet new students, build relationships, and share Jesus.  As an added plus, our former supervisor and good friend Rob will be coming for a week to see firsthand the partnership IV USA and EUS Bosnia have been in for the past 9 years.

Be praying for this month...it'll be action-packed for us.

We can't wait to show off our country, meet students, and be encouraged by the company of old friends!

Why does every major Sarajevo supermarket/household store name sound like a villain from Transformers?

1. Mercator
2. Inter-Ex
3. Merkur
4. Obi
5. Konzum
6. Filox
7. Robot (seriously)

We're not crazy here, right?  Agree?

Home sweet home! (well, one of them...)

Returned last night after traveling for the past 2 1/2 weeks, for vacation and work...and during that time, we:

-crossed through 4 countries,

-stayed in 8 different locations,

-tried MANY new foods,

-got sick three times, Jess 1 and Deron 2 (the second one ongoing),

-made two trips to doctors in foreign countries, each with injections,

-filled 6 prescriptions.

It was a full time.  And after all that fun stuff, we are SO glad to be home in our apartment in Sarajevo.  Which got us thinking.  We have a lot of "homes" now.  Sarajevo is one.  But we have three different wonderful families living in three different corners of the USA, none of which are in the same town where we left our close friends and church community.  So that makes 5 places we could call a home of sorts.  Whew.  We are blessed and thankful for them all!  And right now, we're happy to stay. right. here. for a while.

Which is ok, because our InterVarsity team from SoCal is coming to us next week!

Here's a picture from our travels.  We'll spare you one from the days we were sick.

The Kingdom isn't ours to bring, and that's a relief!

Last weekend we held EUS' first (at least in recent history) "Student Leader Retreat."  The idea was to gather students from each of EUS' cities who could become leaders, for a weekend of growth and visioning.  We hope to have this become a regular event a couple times a year.

It's much simpler and more impressive on paper. :) The reality is, there aren't many believing college students in all of Bosnia, and fewer who are leader potentials!  We knew this during the planning, of course, but still, when Friday arrived and we realized there would definitely be more staff in the room than students it was hard to keep our spirits up.  What was the point?  Had we screwed things up?  Not pushed students hard enough?  Not been convincing enough?

But then the Lord began to speak to me through Psalm 127, which I had read that morning.  "Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain."  I was reminded that the very situation in Bosnia right now dictated what we were witnessing: there just aren't many leaders in the church in Bosnia!  That was in fact the reason we're holding a leader retreat...we hope to begin growing the next generation who will lead Gospel ministry in this country.  In the mean time, we can't manufacture results and "create" a roomful of people.

And we don't have to.  The Lord builds the house.  Jesus is the one who brings the Kingdom.  It's his responsibility, because it's his house; his Kingdom.  He is the one we ask to change hearts, raise up leaders, and redeem this fallen world.  That doesn't mean we don't try.  We strive and pray and witness and disciple.  But we do so all along knowing that we are just workers he chooses to use, but that he is the power to make things happen.  As Paul told the Corinthian church, it's God who brings the growth.

That truth frees us from pressure to fake it, to pressure people, and to stretch ourselves in the endless effort to create "results."  Instead we ask the King to bring His Kingdom, and to help us be faithful in our part.

Books we've been reading lately

We find ourselves giving book recommendations often, to students, family, and friends.  Here are few of the ones we've (though mostly Deron, who's writing this) really enjoyed recently, in no special order...happy reading!

1. The Reason for God, Tim Keller.  Keller manages to balance being one of the smartest guys you've ever read with being incredible humble and normal sounding.  In this book he tackles a number of the most common objections to following Jesus that he hears in his Manhattan church.  So many times we said "wow, he put that so well!"  A fantastic read...for personal growth, and for explaining faith simply and genuinely.

2. The Bourne series, Robert Ludlum.  Did you know the books follow a completely different storyline from the movies?  Great spy stories, great plot, and interesting in their 70s-era technology and scenarios (no cell phones, computers, etc...)  I'm done with the first 2, and about to start the 3rd.

3.  True Story, James Choung.  This book turned around my brother in law's faith, and has done the same for many we know.  A refreshing look at the Gospel focusing on the Kingdom aspect of Jesus' ministry.  If you've ever said "Isn't following Jesus supposed to be more than just 'praying the prayer'?" read it.

4. There Is No Me Without You, Melissa Faye-Greene.  My sister got this one for us as she prepared to bring her adopted daughter home from Ethiopia.  It's the true story of an Addis Ababa woman who finds herself unexpectedly opening an orphanage for the poorest of poor children, including HIV-positive orphans.  Amazingly moving, beautifully written, informative and better because it's true...it made us start praying about adoption in our future.

5. The Complete Mexican, South American, and Caribbean Cookbook, various.  A ton of great recipes, and full color pictures.  Try the Cuban chicken pie...fuhgeddaboudit.

6. Total Church, Tim Chester & Steve Timmis.  The premise: churches should be reshaped around a core of Gospel (the Word as our guide) and community (people really in each other's lives, all week long, building deep relationships).  I agree passionately with about 85% of what they say, and found myself reading numerous sections out loud to whomever was around me.  The chapters on evangelism and apologetics alone are worth the price.

7. Cross-Cultural Connections, Duane Elmer.  No, it's not just for Americans in Bosnia!  We live in a multi-ethnic world.  And Jesus wants his church to cross cultural lines as part of our witness.  This book, full of great examples and stories, gives pointers on getting to know people, recognizing your own cultural lenses, and enriching your life through new experiences!  And yes, if you read it you'll know a lot the thoughts in our heads every day here.

8. The Kite Runner & A Thousand Splendid Suns, Khaled Hosseini.  C'mon, don't tell me you haven't read them yet?!?  Unbelievable look at reality on the other side of our world.  Uplifting and heartbreaking, beautiful and tragic.  Get 'em.

9. unChristian: What a new generation really thinks about Christianity...and why it matters, Kinnamon & Lyons.  Exactly what the name implies.

10. The Bradt Bosnia & Herzegovina Travel Guide, Tim Clancy.  'nuff said.

Loving nature

Lately it's been hot in Sarajevo, and sunny every day.  (Well, not quite every day.  We get bizarre lightning-and-thunderstorms in the middle of the day.  The other day Jess and I were walking back from the office, and 4 blocks from home the skies opened up.  We had umbrellas, but by the time we'd gone 2 more blocks our shoes and pants were soaked through and the lightning and thunder had no sound delay, meaning it was within a mile or so!)

So as I was saying, the weather's been AWESOME!  I can't get over how much I appreciate the sun after a long, gray winter.

Yesterday I returned from 2 days visiting David, the EUS staffer I supervise in northern Bosnia.  I really enjoyed the 4+ hour drive by myself, and couldn't resist stopping numerous times to take pictures.

Then David and I carved out time for the best mountain bike ride I've been on in my life...a steep and long climb, past tiny mountain homes, along single-track paths, and then descending through dense forest.

This country is so green, and full of beautiful mountains.  If/when it gets discovered by more tourists, it's gonna be a hit!

(click the pics to enlarge)

Just give us a minute, we'll get there!

Last week Jess was sick, so I went to our Bosnian lesson on my own.  I had a fun hour-long conversation with Sandra, our tutor, about EUS' partnership with InterVarsity USA.  At the end, Sandra said that my grammar was clearer and better than ever before.  That brought up an observation about life as a language learner...

Now when we speak Bosnian, we speak SLOW.  Sentence formation, as well as finding the right words, is arduous.  We have to try to explain deep topics using limited vocabulary, which means we talk for 5 min to say 1 min worth of content!

That means it takes a patient Bosnian to sit with us while we ramble along.  We've found that friends who we know better are easier to speak with.  We are more likely to be calm and speak carefully, and ironically the words then come easier and we make less mistakes!  But when we're with a new acquaintance or someone who is impatient, we get nervous and stumble.

Moral of the story: if you can be patient with us, we'll get our message across...it just might take a while!