A NEW SEASON

Last week, we attended the Rosh HaShanah (Biblical New Year) celebrations at Sarajevo’s oldest synagogue, and tomorrow night will begin Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement). Yom Kippur is a day to examine ourselves before the LORD, cleanse our hearts and minds from the dross of the past year and allow God to work afresh in and through us. We are now beginning our 2nd year in Sarajevo, full of hope and love for this city and the nation of Bosnia-Hercegovina. Thank you for standing with us!

 OUTREACHES

Sandrina assisted our good friend and sister in the Christian faith, Sabaheta Trklja, who went to a small village near the town of Srebrenica to bring school supplies for the children. The Muslim village was affected by the flooding and landslides back in April, from which a number of homes were destroyed. Sabaheta, at the request of the village imam, prepared 30 backpacks filled with school supplies – this act of love for the children of the village was a great blessing to many still in shock of the devastation around them.

We went with a team from Sarajevo two hours drive northward to the predominately Serbian Orthodox town of Doboj to help Pastors Bane & Daniela Erceg distribute aid relief to families affected by the April flood. As a church, they distribute every two weeks aid relief (food and hygiene parcels) to 100 families at a time. In Bosnia, over 100,000 homes were damaged or destroyed by the flooding and landslides in April, affecting over 1 million people. Doboj, the most severely damaged town in Bosnia, is still in recovery. Pastor Bane’s small church of 30 believers are the only ones they know of still giving out relief – all other humanitarian organizations have moved on. Winter is approaching, and the greatest need is winter clothes and shoes.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE MINISTRY OF RANKO & SABAHETA TRKLJA, YOU CAN EMAIL THEM AT : rankotrklja@hotmail.com

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE MINISTRY OF BANE AND DANIELA ERCEG, YOU CAN EMAIL THEM AT : bd@blic.net

EDUCATIONAL SEMINAR by the PRO-LIFE CENTER ‘LIGHTHOUSE’ in the Bosnian town of Visoko.

 SPECIAL GUESTS

During July/August, the team ( which Sandrina is a part of ) from the Center For Life ‘LIGHTHOUSE’ in Sarajevo was invited to hold eight pregnancy workshops in the Bosnian town of Visoko in cooperation with the non-profit Roma/Gypsy organization called “Be A Friend To Me”. Topics covered during the workshops included the sanctity of life, alternatives to abortion, information about STD-s, healthcare during pregnancy, etc.

Wonderful ten days with our daughter Lydia and her boyfriend Lennart. Lydia ministered a powerful message of resting in the presence of the LORD.

Jim and Connie Kingsbury, from the USA, came and ministered for two weeks – they were a great help and encouragement to us and the believers.

DARKO & STELLA KREINER, from Slovenia, ministered to us on the theme ‘The Greatest Story Ever Told’ – an overview of the main storyline of the Bible.