Mission to Montenegro newsletter

In our morning service, Stan is preaching through Colossians. From Col. 1:9, he opened up the richness of Paul's prayer for these believers "that [they] may be filled with the knowledge of [God's] will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding." 

In the evening, we continue to be blessed with the unfolding picture our eternal future described in Rev. 22: There shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. Hallelujah!  

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Please pray for the salvation of those who hear God's Word preached--those coming and those who listen online.

Please pray for the spiritual growth of all believers here, that our love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment,  that we may approve the things that are excellent, that we may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ,  being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. (Phil. 9-11)

Please pray for Stan and Peter (co-Elder) as they formalize details of foundational documents relating to church membership and the legal status of the church to own property.

Please pray for progress in getting our own church building--for land, for (a) building, for finances.
 

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By God’s wonderful mercies and the working of the Holy Spirit, three young people in their 20s have recently come to Christ:  two ladies (Ms. K and  Ms. A) and one man  (Mr. I).   They’ve all been active in growing in their faith, reading their bibles, going to EUS bible studies *and* coming to church on Sundays.  Additionally, we’ve continued to have some regular visitors coming to church as well, particularly M, another young man.  Soli Deo Gloria!

Please pray for these young adults to continue on, knowing that difficulties will come, to stand firm on Christ and His true promises.  Pray for us to be as welcoming as possible, standing alongside them as they move from their old life/ways to being a believer integrated into Christ’s body, the church.  
 

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The Christmas Shoebox Outreach took place! This year the boxes were delayed  so they didn't arrive as planned to give out before Jan. 7th (Christmas).  However, the entire month of January has a ‘holiday air’, so by no means were we ‘too late’ in handing them out on Jan. 30th. 

Many Helpers for Christmas Shoebox Outreach!

We were granted the free(!) use of a small theater by the government to give a presentation and hand out the Christmas shoeboxes.  EUS and the church worked together to hand out 500 boxes over the course of one full day split up into five sessions, each session consisting of an introduction, a 15 minute talk about Jesus’s life (with visuals), info re: follow-up course for those wanting to know more, a song, and finally the handing out of gift packages.

Although 13 children were signed up for the follow-up course The Greatest Journey, only two actually came; two who are young cousins of Ms. K.  Although sad that more didn’t come, we are not surprised—non-Orthodox churches are still widely considered a sect, and we are sure that many of those who eagerly signed up were pressured by other family members and neighbors to not come.  

Please pray for the children who came, for the children from church who are also attending, and for the instructors engaging with the children—that God would use these Greatest Journey classes for HIs glory and to build up His church.  Pray, too, that the false notion that we are a sect would be suffocated and that more people would be open to hear from those preaching the true gospel.

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On a personal note, in early February we made a mini mid-week getaway to Tirana to celebrate our 43rd wedding anniversary.  We enjoyed terrific weather, a lovely location, good food, and good times.  We were much blessed!
 

Join us in giving thanks for all the good things the Lord is doing!  May His name be ever more glorified!

We so appreciate your earnest prayers, your sacrificial support, your quick notes and cards, and the blessing of working together for God's name to be exalted here in Montenegro.  

One with you in Christ,

 

Stan and Vicki Surbatovich

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Vicki's Snapshot:  Perspectives

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As mentioned in last month’s Snapshot, before we moved to Montenegro, we had people giving us all kinds of warnings— each well-intended — based on their perspectives born out of life experiences here in MNE back in the 80’s and 90;’s—the war years.  

That reminiscence last month reminded me how at times, in those early years, I was perplexed on how radically different I understood or ‘read’ a situation or event from the locals we knew.  I’ve now learned and continue to learn, how much ‘reality’ depends on our subjective ‘life experience filtering" lens. With divergent cultures and life experiences, we simply had different lenses.

However, one particular ‘misreading’ stands out in my mind even all these years later....

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Back in the 90s, I was using a textbook to learn the language which gradually introduced famous Yugoslav authors and their writings with select chosen passages, simplified but still recognizable.  One day at lessons,  I read a highlighted passage by famed author Ivo Andrić out loud for pronunciation practice, translating into English as I went. 

When I finished, Milijan (my language tutor) asked me what the passage was about.  I found the request strange because I had just translated the passage, and fairly decently at that!  So I reiterated the gist:  a peasant sitting under the tree, the lord of the manor coming by,  they greet each other on a pleasant day, and then go about their respective business.  I found it very pastoral and charming.

“No, no!”  Milijan shook his head. “That is not what it’s about.” (I was stunned.  And annoyed.  Reading comprehension had always come easy to me.)  “Read it again,” he suggested. “What is it really about?"

Confused,  I scanned the words of the passage; the story is the same. It really seemed to be about a lovely afternoon of neighbors passing by; what else could it be?  

Milijan, finally convinced that I was blinded to the real meaning, began to patiently explain it to me.  The whole passage built up tensions between the peasant and the landlord, and the situation was on the verge of exploding. Pertinent points I had missed:  the peasant daydreaming  under the tree (and not working); the peasant not immediately noticing the landlord (as he continues to daydream);  the peasant remained sitting in the presence of the lord.  Even the fact that the peasant had pleasantly agreed with the lord when greeted with “Good morning” by replying “It is a good day” portended that all was not right. In fact, not much later in the complete story there is much carnage and destruction of property.  I was astonished.

That was the first of these memorable “Read the passage and tell me what it is really about” episodes.  One day, when I read yet another pleasant (to me) passage that turned out to have a sad/troubled/gruesome ending, I just had to ask my burning question:  “Don’t you have any great literature that’s a happy story?  With a  'they-lived-happpily-ever-after' ending?”

Milijan’s somber face and quiet reply pierced my heart. “No, no we don’t.”  

I wept then and weep now for a nation walking in darkness, without hope, without the knowledge that a future of "no more sorrow, no more tears, no more curse, forever in the presence of the Beloved” is a real possibility and not just a fairytale.  But it's why we are here: that God’s gospel love story may be proclaimed, heard, and embraced throughout the land.