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In September, Ken Millwood (TEN Partners Manager) visited partners in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Here, he shares his experience of the trip.
It was a privilege to meet partners when Ian Watt (Country Champion for BiH, pictured left with me) and I recently visited. As my first trip to the country, here are my initial impressions.
Sarajevo is a literal crossroads between East and West. Ian and I stood on the meeting line at Ferhadija Street. To the east, all the buildings are in the Ottoman style, and to the west they are Austro-Hungarian. I found Sarajevo to be a mix of cultures, ethnicities and religions.
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Up in the mountains, a stunning view of Sarajevo in the valley contrasted with the abandoned bobsleigh run from the 1984 Winter Olympics in the other direction, now covered in street art.
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As we travelled up to Banja Luka in the north, I saw more amazing scenes of rivers and mountains, leafy trees and green fields. But on the hillside above the towns and villages were graveyards with fresh gravestones like incongruous white teeth. A constant reminder of the 1992-95 conflicts.
Migration and peer pressure are huge challenges to the Church in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and church membership overall has shrunk. Active evangelicals number about three hundred in a population of over three million. One partner commented that the church is in ‘survival mode’. Partners are seeing fruit in their ministry, but it is hard work and slow. For anyone from a Muslim or Orthodox background to follow Christ is seen as a betrayal of their family and national identity.
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Pray for encouragement for the leaders who have been faithfully serving for many years. Ask God for a breakthrough, for new believers to be rooted and grounded in the truth, and to stay in the country to build the Church there and encourage each other. Pray for God to give beauty instead of ashes (Isaiah 61:3).
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Good News in The Public Square
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During the summer, Radovis Evangelical Church in North Macedonia had several outreach events. They hosted a Christian music event with a group from Croatia who played in the city centre.
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Pastor Robert Salamanov obtained all the permissions needed, and the church was able to include the event as part of the city's Cultural Summer programme, which was advertised by the municipality. Robert writes:
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When the evening came and the music event started, the secretary of the municipality and the director of the cultural centre [who were there] came and thanked me so much for bringing a musical Christian group, and at the insistence of the director of the cultural centre, we had a meeting together the next day. He was very grateful. Many people were at that music event.
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Other events included four days of evangelism, where the team drew pictures to share the gospel. Robert explained what the picture depicted, and the team distributed them.
Robert and Krasi also invited Pastor Dragan and Biljana Manevi from the church in Resen to come and share the gospel with people, using their Bible Bike. Together, they distributed free coffee and Bibles to people in Radovis.
Many people came and were touched by God. Robert got to share his personal testimony with many of the local miners, where he shared how God performs miracles and frees people from everything and every addiction.
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A Different Kind of Battle
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Last month, the Rainbow Rehabilitation Centre in Novi Sad had some visitors. Team USA U23 Greco-Roman wrestlers, who were in Novi Sad for the World Wrestling Championship, spent time with the men at the centre. The visit was part of their Wrestling for Peace global campaign to engage with communities. This is what the team shared about their visit:
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Two days before the competition began, Team USA took time off the mat to enter a different kind of arena — a center where men are courageously battling addiction. Athletes and coaches introduced themselves not as champions, but as fellow fighters. They know that to wrestle is to struggle—and to overcome. When taken down, it is a fight to rise again.
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Source: Standing in Solidarity with Serbia (wrestlingforpeace.org)
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The USA team gave each man in the programme a medal to acknowledge their fight against addiction. Pastor Dusan Beredi (Bera), who is part of the team leading the programme shared, 'Their visit deeply moved us... this gesture reminded us that our efforts are seen and valued.'
Writing about Rainbow, Bera had this to say: 'The [Rainbow Rehabilitation Centre] is thriving. Our capacity is almost full, with 24 students currently in the programme (the maximum is 30), and four more are expected to join soon. God is working in the hearts of our students.'
Here is what a former student of the Teen Challenge programme in Slovenia, that Rainbow works alongside had to say:
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Drugs and alcohol became part of my life—a life that looked successful on the outside but was collapsing inside due to addiction.
Today, I live free, grateful for the grace and new beginning I have found in Jesus Christ.
Arpad
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Thank you so much for your support. We hope you have been encouraged by what you have read. You really make a difference.
Be blessed!
The TEN team.
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