So about a week and a half ago, we got together, just the two of us.  It didn’t take long until she asked the question I was waiting for, and yet not exactly sure how I would answer it.  That question was, “So, why are you here again? And how does it all work with your organization and everything?” So I started explaining a little bit about OM and our partnership with the Evangelical churches in Sarajevo.  But about halfway into my explanation, I felt a little prodding in my spirit that said, “Jess! You’ve been waiting for this question…use it! Tell her what you believe.” So I did.  I can’t say that it was the best explanation of what it means to be saved by grace.  But she didn’t stop me before I finished, and she followed up with some great questions, trying to figure out what the difference is between what we believe and what the Catholic Church believes.

Our coffee lasted two and half hours.  We discovered we definitely have some things in common, and I’m looking forward to many more coffee dates.  I’m not sure how the Lord might use this conversation in the future, but I know it was no accident.

Please continue to pray for our boldness in sharing the Good News!  There is so much hope wrapped up in the story of Jesus Christ, and hope can hard to find here.  Pray for Ljilijana too: that her curiosity will increase and her heart will soften at the same time.

In His Grace,

Jess

A couple of months ago Jess and I bought a season pass for skiing.  It was very affordable, and with the equipment we were able to borrow, it seemed like a great idea.

However, life just gets crazy sometimes…on top of that, the weather doesn’t always do what you want it to do.  We kept finding ourselves going out of town, and the weekends we were in town, we were very tired or there was no snow (or we didn’t have a ride to the mountain).  Also, we had to give our borrowed equipment back.

So, last weekend we decided to sell the ski pass.  With the season coming close to an end and Bible School right around the corner, it seemed our most logical option (Bible School takes place in another town over the span of two weeks).

A couple of weeks ago, we started asking around to see if anyone would want to buy our pass that had hardly been used.  Last weekend, one of my Bosnian friends sent me a text message saying he found someone that wanted to buy it.  Well, I finally talked to my friend on the phone at close to 10pm that night, and he told me that the guy would meet me at 9 in the morning the next day at the supermarket by our apartment.  Selfishly, the next day was the first FULL day off we had in awhile.  I was looking forward to sleeping in and doing nothing.  But, of course, I had to say okay.

The next morning I woke up five minutes before 9 and planned to go the supermarket, sell the pass, and go right back into the bed and sleep a little longer.  Well, it didn’t happen that way.  As soon as I met up with the guy, he asked if I had time for coffee.  I couldn’t say no.  I had met this guy a couple of times in our favorite coffee shop and knew that this could be a good opportunity even though my bed was calling my name.  So, I said okay.

All of this just to say…this coffee time was a wide open door to share the Gospel with this guy.  He told me a story about a ski injury he had last year.  He had collided with another person and sustained a head injury.  If he would have been hit a couple of inches from where he was injured, he would have died.  He told me that he believes in God and thinks He had something to do with this.  However, he then began to tell me about how all of us are energy and stuff like that.  So, I told him that I believed in God too, and asked if I could share with him what I believed.

I don’t know if anything will come from that conversation, but I truly believe that God was in it and ordained it.  I remembered that it seemed like Jesus was never in a hurry.  He welcomed the interruptions that came at him.  Sometimes we just need to slow down because we never know what could happen in an interaction with someone.  We should all make ourselves available to be interrupted every once in awhile.

Nermin has been a friend of the team for awhile.  One of the other guys on the team met him before Jess and I got to Sarajevo, and has been able to get to know him well.  One day, I was introduced to Nermin and we instantly found it very easy to talk to one another.

Nermin speaks very good English and actually lived in the U.S. for a couple of years.  I have been able to go to coffee a few times with him to talk about Bosnia, America, language, politics, and religion.  Nermin and I do not share the same faith in Christ, but it has been amazing to watch a good friendship form here.

This brings me to our most recent coffee chat.  It started like any other chat, but it eventually took a turn for the spiritual side.  Let me attempt to share our conversation with you in a nutshell.

We talked about the reasons wars are fought and why people hate each other.  We talked about how it seems that almost every war is so focused on temporal things like land and power, and that the only things that last forever, like God and our souls, are the things that are ultimately attacked.  This moved us into talking about how these temporal things cannot truly bring us joy.  This easily opened the door to talking about Christ again.  Now, I have been able to present the Gospel to Nermin before, but this time was different.

Honestly, I wasn’t saying many new things that I hadn’t said to Nermin before, but I feel like God is really moving in his heart.  Nermin wanted to show me that he truly understood what I was talking about.  He asked me for a pen and drew me a picture that most of us have learned in church in America.  He drew a chasm separating man from God with a cross bridging the gap.  I couldn’t believe it.  Then, he drew another picture with the same chasm separating man and God.  But, this time he wrote the words “Muhammad, Quran, and Deeds” in the middle.

I explained again to him that only Christ can bridge the gap (again, remember that I am summarizing our conversation quite a bit).  Nermin eventually tells me, “Billy, I am lost and I don’t know what to believe.”  I told him that I will never force him to accept Christ as the only way to Heaven.  I told him that no matter what he decides I will ALWAYS be his friend.  Nermin said, “Thank you.  I really want to talk some more about all of this.”  He has told my teammate and myself that we need to have some late night talks about religion and faith.  How exciting is that?!

So, please pray for Nermin’s heart.  I truly believe that he is very close.  My teammate that has known Nermin for awhile has already reached out to him quite a bit.  It has been great for us to work together and encourage each other here.  Please pray that God gives us wisdom and courage as we continue to love Nermin.

Sorry for the long story, but I couldn’t help telling you.  God is at work here and we continue to be so thankful to partner with you in ministry.

In Christ,

Billy and Jess.

Our awesome web designer has been able to put a media player on the left panel of the website.  Now, we can continue to record some songs for you and add them to the playlist.  I will add a post each time we add a new song.

We have just added “Preko Planina i Mora.”  You know this song in English as, “I Could Sing of Your Love Forever.”  Please remember that we are working on our language and we still miss up on the songs at least once every time.  But, I’m sure you don’t mind.

Here are the words in Bosnian:

We hope that you enjoy the song.  We love you all and always love to hear from you.  Also, our web designer has added the option to add comments to the posts, so feel free to talk back (however, we get to approve the comments, so make your comments wisely

So that all may know,

Billy and Jess.

This is a true story that I wrote into Bosnian for language class.  I thought that you would enjoy a new funny story in a different way.  It is a good way to let you see some more of the language (and maybe even learn a little bit).

Love you all,

Billy and Jess.