In our morning service, Stan continues to preach from Jeremiah, having just finished Ch. 6. He went deep into the reality that God calls out to those who are going astray despite their 'religiosity': Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. (Jer. 6:16) But to no avail: They said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
We thank God that He does open our eyes and shows us the good way in Christ Jesus who said Come unto me and I will give you rest. Hallelujah!
Additionally, Stan and Peter (co-elder) have resumed taking the opportunity to visit church families on Sunday evening in lieu of regular services.
********************
Please pray for Stan as he studies and prepares to faithfully preach and teach God's Word. May God open eyes to see the Good Way in Christ Jesus and be saved.
Please pray for the church to grow in our love for God and to please Him with all aspects of our lives, lovingly serving His people through the many "one another" commands He has given us as well as reaching out to the lost.
Please pray for Stan, Peter, and others who are serving the church, to be wise in leadership and to be sustained with joyful perseverance.
Life is full of surprises and here are three from this past month:
Surprise #1: A former missionary to Montenegro (who needed to leave the field due to family health issues) has established The Balkan Gospel Partnership. The founder understands the current challenges of churches here as initial church plants are 'growing up' and facing new challenges beyond outreach to unbelievers.
The Partnership is developing tools and resources aimed at building up an understanding of what it means to be a biblical, well-functioning Church and how each member can contribute. We are thrilled with this timely emphasis on the ministry and role of the local church in Montenegro and the part it can play in maturing new leadership here in Nikšić.
Please pray for God to raise up the next generation of leaders from Montenegrins, for men and women with noteworthy moral character, but particularly men able to faithfully preach the Word and lead the church. *********
Surprise #2: We recently had to say good-bye to a young Christian man (MT) most unexpectedly. MT was in the country on the standard tourist visa (good for 3 months) and helping out with EUS as well as being a delightful, regular participant in church activities.
A week+ ago he was stopped by the police while walking (he's from Mexico and so looks 'foreign') and although all his papers were in order, he was taken to the police station and interrogated. With nothing to hide, MT answered every question and in the process, he mentioned "helping out" (innocently enough) and was told that tourists can't "help"-- that is considered "work" and people here on a tourist visa can't “work" in any capacity. He was given 3 days to leave the country although his visa allowed him to stay until June. (Note: MT can return in 6 months but will he want to?)This all happened within the past 10 days, so it is a very new development. We will be looking into clarification on how to best proceed so people can come visit *and* participate in ministry activities.
Please pray for continued freedom to welcome the many people who come to help out and serve this needy land.
*********
Surprise #3: Last week we had a Church council (business meeting) and we were wonderfully surprised at how well it went. How so? Well, first of all, Peter ably led us through an expansive agenda.
Also, this is not the first church council we've ever had--I think it is the third official one. In the past, there was some complaining about things that weren't being done. This time there was some recognition of the care and ministry that is taking place.
Lastly, it seemed that people came and shared with a spirit of constructive criticism--not pointed accusations-- but with actual suggestions and possible solutions *and* a willingness to take part in them.
We attribute it all to God and His grace in maturing us as His people. Join us in giving thanks to God! The Holy Spirit is at work. Soli Deo Gloria!
Bits & Pieces:
- This coming week we will be hosting a small team from New Covenant Church (Georgia) who were here 3 years ago and presented an excellent parenting seminar. Several times this group has wanted to come back, but this is the first time that has worked out for everyone. This visit is for the purpose of reconnecting with local believers and giving encouragement.
- We are especially excited that one 'encouragement' will be in the form of a Teen Night (May 28th) for young people in the church. Pray for young people (especially those on the 'edges') to come, for good fellowship and good teaching, and that this be the first of many such gatherings in the future.
- We are set (DV) for a week of recreation & refreshment *away* from Nikšić and our ongoing responsibilities in early June. Rejoice with us in this opportunity and pray for our brethren here in NK in our absence.
In closing, we want to say once again how truly blessed we are to be co-laborers with you all in seeing God establish His church here in Nikšić. We truly could not be doing what we are doing without you.
We appreciate your earnest prayers, your sacrificial support, your quick notes and cards, and the blessing of working together for God to be exalted here in Montenegro.
One with you in Christ,
Stan and Vicki Surbatovich
Vicki's Snapshot: Cultural Differences: May Day and Other Holidays
We moved to Niksić in March of ’96 and slowly settled in our new home. We bought a car. We procured furniture. The tulips in the garden bloomed. (An exotic thrill for this Southern Cal. gal used to bougainvilleas!). Easter came and I learned about egg dyeing and Vaskrsenje greetings. Our April showers tapered off and May sunshine arrived, along with my first May Day….
I was standing in the little kitchen of that first home, preparing breakfast when I began to notice an off odor. Had trash spilled? Some small bit that had fallen out and was decaying somewhere? I hunted around the kitchen, the living room, the hallway, but to no avail. And sniff, sniff. The stench was growing stronger, more pungent. I opened the front door to check outside and gagged. The beautiful blue morning sky was gone, overcome by acrid, oily, black plumes of smoke.
I slammed the door shut and hunted down Stan so we could find out together what was going on. But he already knew. “Oh, it’s May Day celebrations. A day to celebrate Workers. You’re just smelling the tires being burnt in the dumpsters.”
I was confused. A holiday celebrated by burning tires which made it totally unpleasant to be outside? (NB: Americans celebrate Labor Day with picnics and parades, so Tire Fire Festivities made no sense.) But then Stan explained that burning tires was a protest activity by unhappy laborers wanting to draw attention to their unsatisfactory working conditions. I didn’t think making life more miserable was the way to do it, and I dreaded May Day coming around.
It was only several years later that I learned of the famous annual May Day Hike to Mt. Vojnik (described in a previous snapshot)—a tradition I heartily endorse! I’m also happy to report that tire-burning protests have definitely dwindled over the years and people are far more apt to celebrate with a BBQ. (Still smoky, but now it’s a yummy smoke!).
For us, figuring out how to celebrate holidays in another culture was not a straightforward endeavor. First off, since we didn’t grow up celebrating such holidays as May 1st (Labor Day) and Njegoš Day (Nov. 13), we would actually forget that a holiday was coming up. Unlike in the US, there was not much done in terms of decorations in anticipation of holidays: for Easter and New Year’s, holiday items showed up just the week before; for these other holidays, nothing was done).
More than once we planned on paying bills or going grocery shopping or running errands, only to have our plans foiled—but we also ended up (sadly) with no plans for marking the holiday either. (NB: I’m very grateful for my high-tech Reminder App which I currently put to good use.)
This problem of ‘losing out on holidays’ also worked in the other direction.
That first year or two we were very aware of such holidays as the 4th of July (American Independence Day) and Thanksgiving (4th Thursday in Nov), but no one else was.
Celebrating July 4th, 1996
We could (and did) invite people over, but for them (and later for us) life went on as normal with work obligations, school, extracurriculars such as sports and music classes, bill collectors knocking at the door—all of which made Celebrating a whole lot harder without having a special day and special food (eg. No turkey for Thanksgiving!!) set apart. Without an “American community,” American holidays just…. slid by.
Along with the the issue of “missing holidays," we faced another problem as well. Holidays celebrated internationally such as Christmas and Easter, are also holidays in Montenegro -- however, they differ not only in traditions (to be expected) but also have different dates.
This incongruence set us up with a mini-tension of *when* to celebrate: Do we celebrate on the day our families Stateside are celebrating or when locals around us are celebrating? How much of our heritage do we retain and/or honor and to what degree do we embrace the new? (NB: We landed on celebrating both days of Christmas (Grandparents wanted to hear from Grandkids on Christmas!) and just the local day for Easter.
Now one Holiday tradition that is quite different from the US and one which I completely embrace is that Montenegro officially designates many holidays as 2-day holidays which means 2(!) days off work and school. There are a number of these two-day holidays: May Day (May1, 2), Independence Day (May 21,22), Statehood Day (July 13, 14), Njegoš Day (Nov. 13,14), New Year’s (Jan. 1,2), and of course, Christmas (Jan. 6-8) and Easter (different every year).
I find it lovely that so many holidays come with an extra day. All the work put into the first day means the second day can be far more relaxed: Eating leftovers, visiting with friends and family, and (weather permitting) enjoying Montenegro’s Wild Beauty. Plus, I find these multi-day celebrations point me back to those biblical celebrations that lasted not two days, but an entire week. Oh Yes! Come Lord Jesus!
