CROATIA!!! Day 3

Sunday morning.  The Lord's Day.  Time to worship with our Croatian brothers and sisters in Christ.

Of course it doesn't matter what time zone, country, or continent you're on.  The kids are going to be slow getting ready.  I related to someone the other day that moving the family (at least the Gardner variety) in the morning, no day in particular, is like moving a camel.  Sometimes it goes and all is well with the world.  And then there are the other times.  There are times when the camel decides it doesn't want to move.  You can yell at it, kick it, beat it with a stick and it still won't move.  In fact it might decide to make loud, obnoxious noises at you.  And then it might decide to spit on you.  In fact the camel will move when it darn well decides to move.

And then all is well with the world once again.

So we made it to church on time this particular morning.

the church was packed Sunday

Just before leaving for church we finally decided what song to sing.  It was an FFH song with a soundtrack.  It's a good song, easy to sing, great harmony.  No problem.

The service was great.  It was kind of structured between a Romanian service and a Heritage service.  There were a couple of testimonies, one from Fiona (an Edge girl as they were called, all from the UK.  Kelsie can handle that one) and one from a Croatian guy (probably 18-22 in age) that were interspersed with singing and corporate prayer (many people pray) and then the sermon.  This particular morning the sermon was done by Sergei, an intern who is studying to be a pastor.

Becky, Miro, and Kim lead worship

Did I mention our soundtrack failed?  It started and Kelsie was singing right along.  Then it started skipping just a little.  Kelsie would have to adjust slightly to stay with it.  Finally on the chorus when we were all singing it stuck in one place so we ended up turning it off and finishing without it.  Tim said later that it was better acapella anyway.

One thing that I think works very well for this new church is a time of refreshment and fellowship.  Somewhere before the sermon started they break for muffins and juice or water.  It began when the weather was really hot and they've kept it up since then.  It was a good time.

After the service we had lunch at a local restaurant and then back to Kim's for a little rest before the evening concert.  Yes, we only had about an hour because we had to leave for Slavonski Brod at 4 pm.  Somewhere in there we had to start getting ready to leave Monday morning for Plitvice Lakes National Park because we knew it would be close to 10 pm before we got back to Kim's flat.

So maybe you can begin to see why the blog is so out of date.

Outside the retirement center

Sunday evening we were singing at a retirement center at 6:30 pm.  It was nothing like I expected.  The place was extremely nice. I was thinking nursing home but this was really nothing like that. The people were anywhere from 50 upwards and very responsive to our singing.  Kim H. said that many of them were there because they had chosen to move out and let their kids have their homes.

Our concert hall for the evening

And the sound.  The sound was quite good.  It was a narrow, tall room with natural reverb that was sweet.  Some local guys in a band were kind enough to leave their mics, soundboard, and speakers set up for us already so all we had to do was add the keyboard, one more mic, and monitors.  We had to rig things a bit because their board didn't have enough inputs but it was just enough to work.  Their microphones were very good.  I didn't catch the brand.  It wasn't a common one but they were very responsive and had a good tone.

Our interpreter interprets

We had a new intepreter in Slavonski Brod, Lena.  Bless her heart.  We really worked her.  All of our songs had been translated into Croatian and passed out Saturday night at the concert.  Unfortunately the copies didn't make it to Brod.  We only had one copy so Lena had to summarize the song lyrics before each small set.

So honestly I don't know if we reached anyone with our message.  That is in God's hands.  It always was.  I think we at least encouraged and blessed the teams of missionaries in the two cities.  Charlie, the team leader in Nova Gradiska, said that we brought a level of legitimacy to the baptish church there and I can see how that might be the case.  The people seem friendly enough but it also feels like a closed society where new ideas and especially new religions are viewed with much skepticism.

Lim, Andy, Daniel, and Soffet  from the village

Andy and his wife Lim picked up Daniel's soccer balls after the concert.  They are starting an outreach to a local Roma village starting in a couple of weeks and were thrilled to have the balls and pump to use.  Pictured with them is a representative from the village that plays the piano and attends the SB church.

Most of our sound equipment had been borrowed from from the church in Brod so we unloaded it at the church then drove back to NG.  By the back roads it takes close to an hour so it was about 10 pm when we got back as expected.

Did we have supper?  Beats me.  Maybe Kim will remember.

Signing off,

Randy

CROATIA!!! Day 2

Saturday morning brought the best news for the two older kids!  We get to SLEEP IN !!!  They were so excited about the opportunity to not have to be anywhere at a certain time and sleep a little bit.  So, we let them sleep for ALMOST as long as they wanted.  However, as long as they wanted would probably have been all day.  :)

Buying lace at the market

After a lazy morning, Kim H. and I (and Daniel)  got ready, had breakfast and went on our way shopping.  I wanted to get a few souvenirs from Nova Gradiska before we left, so she took me to her favorite gift gallery.  INDEED , I found a few souvenirs.  We walked along the korzo and went to the local market.  Everyone seems to buy their vegetables at the market from different vendors.  It reminds me of a flea market in a way, but everything is fresh, local and reasonable.  It was also an open air market.  I found a lady who Kim has befriended that speaks very good English and makes beautiful lace and fabric work.  I purchased a couple of pieces from her and was VERY pleased with what I found.  :)  Kim and I met up with Randy, Kelsie and Dustin in the korzo, as well as teammate Tim for drinks at a nice little coffe shop.  We enjoyed the chit-chat and time of getting to know Kim's family here.  They are indeed a family and they support one another and encourage one another in their walk with Christ.  That was an encouragement to me to see.  It's nice to fellowship with believers of like faith!

I stopped by the bakery on the walk home and purchased some crescent dogs for lunch.  Believe it or NOT, Dustin was ready for lunch!!!  Kim and I made a salad, had a great time chatting together in the kitchen while we cut vegetables for our salad.  Yummy, fresh veggies from her garden.

The concert time was approaching and nerves were a little on edge.  Randy was speaking and making a gospel presentation during the concert, so he was especially concerned and dare I say a little nervous.  WE left the house at a little before 5 with our van stuffed to the gills with concert equipment.  The big stage was bare and we had to provide the sound equipment, microphones, piano, etc., so we needed a couple of hours to set-up before the big show.  Showtime was at 8!

The set-up went well, only one major problem.  The kids hadn't eaten since lunch and they were starving.  So, I sent money with Aunt Kim and she took them to get some food.  They returned with bread, meat and cheese to make sandwiches for us all.  Yum!  A quick bite and it was time to get the show ON THE STAGE!!!

A small crowd had began to gather as we were setting up.  As we began to sing, play and share, more and more people started hanging around.  This was an outdoor stage, platform in the middle of the korzo, so you could hear us before you could see us.  It was a wonderful experience.  People clapped, twirled, danced, sang, but Praise the Lord, no hecklers!  I was relieved about that.  Believe it or not there was plenty of opportunity for that, but the Lord kept them as well as the rain away from us.  We got through all the concert, complete with translations and a few MINOR mistakes and felt wonderful about the time we shared.  I think the crowd was a blessing, the team was a definite blessing to us, and the Lord truly blessed our voices despite the allergy issues we were all experiencing.

Praise the Lord for the clearness of the gospel presentation, the clarity of the translations and the beauty of the weather.  Several crowd members stayed around to chat with us for a long time afterwards.  One young man asked me if we were famous in America.  He said, do you have statues of you in America ?  You famous back home?  I humbly answered that we were indeed NOT celebrities in America but were indeed servants of Christ and wanted to share the gospel with the world.  We felt like stars here with all of the cameras and big stage, but alas, we are just humble servants of the ONE who gave the gifts to us!

We packed up, loaded the van and got home around 11.  By the time we shared ice cream around the table and thoughts from the evening, it was REALLY, REALLY late.  But, despite the weariness of our bodies, the lateness of the hour, it was all COMPLETELY worth the sacrifice.  What a privilege and pleasure of being short-term missionaries to the town of Nova Gradiska.

Kim

Thoughts from Randy:


My original intention was to do some photography around the korzo in the morning light.  Instead I elected to rest and prepare for the evening.  I was able to get some quiet time by myself on Kim's small porch for prayer and more thinking about what I would say when presenting the gospel during the concert.  It was a really good time and I felt great afterwards.  The Lord moved my heart to feel good about all of our preparations.  I was still a little nervous as the concert time approached later in the day but it wasn't much. 


I still took a little time while the girls were shopping to do some photography around the korzo and park.  The light just wasn't as good.  No big deal. 


I enjoyed talking with Tim at the cafe.  He's a super guy (ignoring his preference for the ACC) and is staying real positive even though his wife must stay in the U.S. until their baby arrives this Fall.


The concert went well I think.  We had a few sound issues but overall it was good.  I was very concerned about not having monitors for an outdoor concert, especially with most of our songs being played on a keyboard.  If you can't hear the piano you've got real problems.  Thankfully a local music store guy came through with some powered speakers.  We had to daisy-chain them from the mains but it worked ok since they had a separate volume control.


The gospel presentation was very similar to something done by Mike Richards during VBS (thanks Mike).  At the time of VBS I was really searching for the right way to organize our songs and to present the gospel.  When Mike presented the gospel the last night of VBS using the black, red, and white shirts I knew that was it.  I organized our songs roughly based on that progression with a few extra songs here and there.  Here is our song set along with the gospel presentations:

1.  Born to Praise the Lord
2.  Doxology
Introductions
3.  Grave Clothes
The story behind It Is Well
4.  It Is Well
BLACK - sin, added my testimony at the end
5.  Sinner Saved By Grace
6.  Out of His Great Love
RED - blood/cross, atonement
7.  The Precious Blood
8.  Power of The Cross (O To See the Dawn)
9.  Trust & Obey
WHITE - forgiveness
10.  In Christ Alone
Closing comments
11.  O The Deep, Deep Love of Jesus

Reviewing the program with Miro

I think it went a little over an hour, maybe 70 minutes, with no breaks other than my speaking and the translation.


Speaking of which, my translator was Miro, the pastor of the new church in Nova Gradiska.  He did a fantastic job and appreciate all of his help this past weekend.


It was a really long, exhausting day as Kim said but well worth it.


Randy


p.s. Our first Croatian fan has posted a couple of videos at http://www.youtube.com/user/MaranathaWorld

CROATIA!!! Day 1

After a nice restful evening, Friday morning greeted us with a wonderfully warm, soft,skin  pampering shower.  Oh what a wonderful feeling of softer water pressure, constant temperature and I felt extremely spoiled after my shower.  Thank the Lord for wonderful, warm water and friends willing to share the simple pleasures of life!  :)

Kim H. walked next door to the bakery and picked up some yummy, delightful pastires for our breakfast.  We had chocolate and apricot "donuts".  They hit the spot and we were ready to head out for the morning.

One of the newest project Kim and her team are working on here in Croatia is of particular interest to us and our family.  They are working on a new outreach to the Roma people who live in a village outside of Slavonski Brod. Their recent survey provided them with enough information to begin their outreach.  They discovered there are approximately 450 children living within the village, a ripe field just waiting for harvest.  Randy and I really wanted to see this village and see if there was an opportunity to perhaps share some of Daniel's soccer balls with them.  We drove to Slavonski Brod, following Kim, and enjoyed the drive between the two cities.

This area is indeed a picturesque community and countryside.  It was a beautiful drive for us despite the AGAIN rain.  When we arrived in Brod, we were met with lots of traffic and road construction, two of Randy's favorite things to encounter while driving in a foreign country!  :)  We were following Kim and suddenly she pulled up onto the sidewalk and parked.  I thought this was where she was parking the car she had exchanged with her teammate Andy, but, instead her words were the following.  "The 12:00 bell just chimed, I'm assuming we need to feed a 6'3" stomach."  She was right, of course, Dustin was ready for lunch!!!  So, we grabbed some "kabobs" from a local kiosk and headed on towards the Roma village.

The village was much nicer and bigger than I had expected, a little more upscale than some we had seen in Romania last week.  Lots of kids were around, despite the dreary conditions, and lots of stares from the inhabitants of the homes.  A big white, fancy van goes exploring around your village, people take notice.  The people appeared friendly and indeed, the kids had two soccer fields.  Due to the rain and muddy conditions, we opted to not get OUT and kick a ball around.  We left the village and headed back into town to the "I Club".

Inside the internet cafe in SB

The I Club was started by a teammate of Kim's named Andy and his wife Lim.  Andy is spearheading the new ministry with the Roma's so we wanted to talk with him about Daniel and the potential of the soccer ball ministry.  This was a fun time for the boys because the I club is actually an internet cafe with Wii, Playstation, Nintendo and Ping Pong.  We chatted with Andy and Lim, played a little, rested a little, and then headed back to NG.  Andy was indeed interested in the soccer ball outreach, and Daniel will be leaving the other 12 balls with him to distribute to the Roma children as he deems appropriate.

Friday had been a busy day with lots of running around and meeting people.  We ended the day by dropping Daniel off at the place where Kim's team had been hosting baseball camp.  They were playing soccer since the rain had cancelled their final baseball game.  Daniel played soccer and we came back to Kim's to practice a bit for our upcoming concert, well, actually her church.  The church was hosting a party at 7 for all of the children that had participated in the baseball camp the previous week.  Pizza, drinks and entertainment brought lots of local Croatian kids to the church.  It was fun to interact with them, meet the girls that have been working with the team this summer, and fellowship with new friends at the church.  The entire team was there at the social, so we did indeed get to meet everyone.  A great time and a great day.

Time to practice again!!!  We came back to Kim's, turned all the sound down really low on the piano and bass and closed the doors up tight!!!  It was well after 9 by this time, but felt it necessary to practice again with Kim accompanying us on 3 songs.  Practice went very well, and at around 11:30, we decided to call it a night.

Blessed day, blessed night, and new friends!!!  It was a great day!!!

Kim