March 8, 2009
Streu News 03/08/09
ZDRAVO everyone!!!
Zdravo is hello in Bosnian. At least that is what our language program has taught us. We are still in the process of making sure that this program is teaching us accurately. Well, we figured it was about time for an WorldStreus update. Here we go…
The Lord continues to blow us away during the process. We want to thank everyone who has taken the time so far to meet with us in person, over the phone, on facebook, etc. It has been such a blessing to share our story with so many and find deeper confirmation in God’s call to missions in our life as we see more and more people believe in what we are pursuing.
We just spent the weekend in the Dallas/Fort Worth area visiting with friends and family. We want to especially thank Kyle and Jennie Jones for opening their home to us and hosting a cookout party with our friends. It was such a great time!
We also got to have lunch with some family (Billy’s side) this afternoon before we started heading back to Lubbock. Thank you, David and Mary, for opening your home as well for our small family reunion. We truly enjoyed our time with all of you this weekend. If you are confused by the pictures, I forgot to take pictures during the cookout at Kyle and Jennie’s. He took a couple of pictures to prove that the whole thing happened.
Before I sign out, I want to give you a rough update of where we are financially. We have been officially raising support for a little over a month, and we have approximately 60% of our one-time costs and 28% of our monthly pledges committed. God is good!!! Please pray that the Lord continues to provide the funds for us. Our goal is to be 100% funded by July 18th at the latest.
One last thing…please feel free to post comments on the site and talk to us. You have to register, but it is free. We love you all and will keep bringing the Streu News!!!
Billy and Jess.
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February 18, 2009
Keep on keepin’ on…
Dear friends, family, and ministry partners,
Sorry it has been awhile since our last post. The main thing to share with you at this time is the Lord’s faithfulness and provision. If there has been any doubt from the enemy in our mind of whether or not we are moving the right direction, God has been at work of freeing us from it.
We have officially been building our ministry team for less than a month, and we already have amazing stories to tell. We want to thank all of our new ministry partners who have already committed to joining us in God’s work in Bosnia. Also, thank you to all of you who have given us time to tell our story. God is good…all the time!!!
If we have not met with you yet, you may be hearing from us soon. However, you don’t have to wait for us to contact you. If you are interested, then email us at worldstreus@gmail.com and we will be blessed to tell you our story and invite you to join in God’s heart for the nations!!!
I will posting our first gallery soon. We are currently working out some kinks in the website, though. You are all amazing!
So that all may know the Hope of glory,
Billy and Jess.
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February 6, 2009
Jennifer Bellah, “Photographer Extraordinaire”!!!
Jess and I want to thank Jennifer Bellah for the heart of ministry God has given her and the way it spills into the gifts God has given her (which is the way it should work, right?). She is an amazing photographer who was pleased to use her gift to be a part of our journey and the work God is doing in Bosnia. We would recommend her to everyone. Check out her work at www.jenniferbellahphotography.com. You will be seeing her work soon on this website.
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January 31, 2009
First Day of Raising Partners
Jess and I just completed our first official day of building our partnership team (supporters). All we can say is, “Wow! God is good!” We were blown away by the generosity and love from our friends in Austin. To all of you that we met with today…thank you! It was such a blessing to get to talk to you about what the Lord has shown us for our lives. We are so blessed to have you come alongside us in the work that God is doing in Bosnia. We love you all.
We can’t wait to see who else is going to partner with us in this. You may soon receive a call from us, so watch out! If you can’t wait to hear our story, feel free to email us at worldstreus@gmail.com.
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January 24, 2009
Send us out, God!!!
I am currently reading a book that Jess has already finished and told me that I should read. It is about a family in Sarajevo, Bosnia in the early 90s. It is the story about what happens to them as the Serbians come in to “cleanse” Bosnia to make a Greater Serbia. When Jess and I watch movies, I am the one telling Jess, “it’s just a movie…their actors…it’s fake blood,” but I have to admit that this book has been churning my stomach. I find myself continuing to read even though my emotions say put it down. While it is fiction, it is breaking my heart and toying with fears at the same time. It is hard to believe what it must have been like for those Bosnians in the midst of being removed from their homes, seeing their friends and family “with no face” on the side of the road as they find the next safest place for them to go. I know that there are some of you that are afraid of anyone going to take the Beautiful News of the Hope of Glory all over the world. Well, I found my mind thinking, “what if it happened again?” What if something happened to Jess and I could do nothing about it. That terrifies me! Well, that brings me to the whole reason I couldn’t help but spill out my heart to you.
I went for a run two days ago and today, and both times I have listened to a song that I believe God has used to truly stir my heart. It is “God of This City” by Chris Tomlin. As I have been listening to the song each time, I have listened to it as a prayer for Sarajevo…a prayer for Bosnia…a prayer for the world. Horrible things have happened in that place, and we wonder where the Lord is when awful events like that happen. You know what…He is there. He is there all along. He does not want those things to happen, but they do. I could try to write you a theological discertation attempting to explain to you why God allows unexplainable things to happen. Ultimately, I truly believe that those events are just that…”unexplainable.” But, I believe in the Word. I believe that it is truth, and it tells me that God is good. He loves us and never forsakes us.
So, our God in heaven was in Sarajevo when those events began. He was there when the war ended. He is there now. I want to be able to show people that He is there. I want to tell them that He is good. I want to help them see that He loves them and wants all men to be saved. I don’t know who all will be brought to trust in Christ, but I rejoice in the opportunity that God would use me to plant a seed. Even if Jess and I never saw a single Bosnian’s eyes opened to grace, we will get to be a part of God’s promise to His people.
Further, who am I to say, “Surely not us, Lord. There will be others to do the work. I need to be smart. I need to keep my family safe. The economy is just too rocky, maybe later. Maybe when we retire.” Oh, that Jess and I could continuously shout, “SEND US OUT, GOD!!!” Perhaps not everyone is “called” to go. But, as followers of Christ, we are all “commanded” to go. I hope that no one reads this as a rebuke because it is not. I struggle daily with my flesh. I can feel its claws come out and hold on for dear life to Wal-Mart, Suddenlink, friends who speak English down the street, the thought of what we would do in the event of an unexpected pregnancy, the worry of what our families might think, and Chick-Fil-A (and these are just a few). We have been watching so many of our close friends get pregnant, and in so many cases think, “We are already older than them!” I could go on and on. The Bible says that the “flesh is weak,” but in other ways, it is much stronger than we want it to be.
Allow me to let A.W. Tozer sum up what I am trying to say: “The man who has God for his treasure has all things in One. Many ordinary treasures may be denied him, or if he is allowed to have them, the enjoyment of them will be so tempered that they will never be necessary to his happiness. Or if he must see them go, one after one, he will scarcely feel a sense of loss, for having the Source of all things he has in One all satisfaction, all pleasure, all delight. Whatever he may lose he has actually lost nothing, for he now has it all in One, and he has it purely, legitimately, and forever.”
While all of the other tribes of Israel received land, God told Levi, “I am thy part and thine inheritance.” Tozer states that God, “by those words made him richer than all his brethren, richer than all the kings and rajas who have ever lived in the world.” I want that. God is enough! Therefore, as I fight with my flesh, I know that God has commanded us to go, and I praise God for my beautiful bride who showed me her heart and dream for His Kingdom goals on earth and convinced me to be a part of that. We are going, and if we lose all, we have our Father in Heaven; and that makes us “richer” than Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Donald Trump, Bono, Oprah Winfrey combined.
So, Christ is the Lord of Bosnia! He is the Lord of Sarajevo, Istanbul, Berlin, Moscow, Cairo, Baghdad, Shanghai, Jerusalem, and the list goes on! And I believe that “greater things have yet to come, and great things are still to be done in this city.” Lord, let us walk in your grace and truth and show the world the Hope of Glory, Jesus Christ. There is NO ONE like You, God!!! SEND US OUT!!!
So the “city” may know Hope,
billy.
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January 24, 2009
While in Bosnia…
We just found out a couple of days ago the breakdown of what we will be doing in Bosnia. It is very exciting, and we wanted to share this with all of you. Please be praying that the Lord prepares us for all that is to come.
First Year:
- we will be matched with a “care family” that will help us practice the language and learn the culture
- language classes 5 days a week (that language is Bosnian, just in case you were wondering)
- training in the Islamic, Catholic, and Orthodoxy faiths
- learning effective tools for evangelism as well as opportunities to go into the community for this
- Bible training 4 times in the year, 2 weeks at a time
- attending weekend seminars 2 times in the year
- being a part of evangelistic outreaches in both Bihac and Sarajevo and trained to lead and organize them
Second Year:
- we will be placed with a church planting team in either Bihac or Sarajevo
We are very excited about the layout of our time there. Their desire is to take us through very intensive training and learning over the first year so as to make ministry over our second year much more effective. God is good, and we are honored and sometimes overwhelmed with joy that He allows us to participate in His heart for the nations.
So that all may know,
Billy and Jess.
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January 21, 2009
Hello world!
This is our new website, and we would like to thank Dwayne Parton for volunteering to make this for us and get us started. We think Dwayne has done an amazing job putting this together for us. If you are ever needing a website developer, I would tell you to send an email to dwayneparton@hotmail.com and see if he is available for the job. You won’t be disappointed. We look forward to having this resource to keep everyone updated as to what is going on with the Streus. In case any of you didn’t know yet, Jess and I are set to go to Bosnia for two years. We will be leaving in August. So, we are now officially building a partnership team to help support us in what the Lord is doing in Bosnia, as well as many other tasks that need to be done before we can go.
If you are interested in learning more about what we will be doing and think that you might want to partner with us in ministry through prayer, financial support, etc., then please email us at worldstreus@gmail.com. You can also leave a comment on the website. We will be in contact with you.
Keep coming back to the website to find updates, pictures, videos, and more as we follow God in His heart for nations and joining His work in bring the Hope of Glory to a broken place.
So that the world may know,
Billy and Jess