Gina's Bosnia Trip Summary
Dear Family & Friends,
I‘m home safe and sound from a wonderful trip to Bosnia-Herzegovina! The trip exceeded every expectation I had. We were able to build great relationships with the students and continue relationships with the church. Thank you so much for making it possible! I want to take a moment to share a few stories with you and show you how your financial support and prayers are making a real difference in Bosnia.
Our team of three went to teach English at the Evangelical Church in Capljina. The church is the only one of its kind in the area. It’s tiny by our standards, with the typical attendance only around 35. People in the city think it’s a cult because it’s not Catholic or Muslim, the two predominant religions in the region. The pastor wasn't even sure anyone would attend the classes. We were very excited to have ten students, five of whom didn’t attend the church.
We quickly realized the students were too advanced for our lesson plans. Fortunately, they wanted to practice conversational English, so we shifted out attention to question and answer sessions. We’d ask them about life in their country and help them work through the answers in English. They were delighted to share both the positives and negatives of their lives. We were amazed at their openness. It was the perfect way to build relationships, much more effect than a traditional class would have been. God knew just what he was doing!
Now for a couple of stories…our driver for the week, Skippy, became a believer just ten months ago. He had been a soldier in the war and experienced the atrocities of the genocide firsthand. After the war, he used heroine to cope but still felt empty. He turned to a traditional church for help. He said he only found the same politics that had fueled ethnic hatred, prejudice and ultimately war. He was eventually introduced to the Evangelical Church and risked his reputation to attend...finish reading here
Click the image below to see pictures from the trip.
I‘m home safe and sound from a wonderful trip to Bosnia-Herzegovina! The trip exceeded every expectation I had. We were able to build great relationships with the students and continue relationships with the church. Thank you so much for making it possible! I want to take a moment to share a few stories with you and show you how your financial support and prayers are making a real difference in Bosnia.
Our team of three went to teach English at the Evangelical Church in Capljina. The church is the only one of its kind in the area. It’s tiny by our standards, with the typical attendance only around 35. People in the city think it’s a cult because it’s not Catholic or Muslim, the two predominant religions in the region. The pastor wasn't even sure anyone would attend the classes. We were very excited to have ten students, five of whom didn’t attend the church.
We quickly realized the students were too advanced for our lesson plans. Fortunately, they wanted to practice conversational English, so we shifted out attention to question and answer sessions. We’d ask them about life in their country and help them work through the answers in English. They were delighted to share both the positives and negatives of their lives. We were amazed at their openness. It was the perfect way to build relationships, much more effect than a traditional class would have been. God knew just what he was doing!
Now for a couple of stories…our driver for the week, Skippy, became a believer just ten months ago. He had been a soldier in the war and experienced the atrocities of the genocide firsthand. After the war, he used heroine to cope but still felt empty. He turned to a traditional church for help. He said he only found the same politics that had fueled ethnic hatred, prejudice and ultimately war. He was eventually introduced to the Evangelical Church and risked his reputation to attend...finish reading here
Click the image below to see pictures from the trip.
posted by atlantaclimber at 11:34 PM
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