Teaching English in Hrvatska Kostajnica

This experience in Croatia has been a bit different than we expected. They usually have about 75 students, yet for some reason God saw fit to only send 14, 1 of which stayed till the end of the classes. There are 4 girls in level one, 5 in level 2, and 1 in level 3. I can only speak for my class, level 3, it has been a joy working with Paula. She was a student in level 1, at the Petrinja church when I came 6 years ago. Her mother, Kristina, who is level 2 this year again was in my level 2 class at Petrinja.

Paula and her mother have given their lives to Christ since we left in 2013. Here is what Kristina told me about how she came to believe. She said that she was clearing the clutter from her home. Like we all do or should do from time to time. She was given a Bible and a card that I made for her as a gift from me. She said she had not touched it in years, so she threw them in the trash. As she continued to clean something urged her to retrieve the Bible and card. She did. She started reading the Bible and going to church and she came to believe that Christ died on the cross for her and has risen from the dead! Paula followed her mother to church also becoming a believer.

Now they both have a ministry in the Petrinja church and Kristina works at the local church camp, Zelena Dolina. She is a wonderful person.  Paula and Kristina have been leading music during chapel for our every night. John King has been teaching the lesson and Karlo has been the translator, he was a level 3 student last year.

The English classes will be over tonight. Most of the team will be heading home on Saturday or doing a little more traveling in Croatia. I will be spending a few more days in Sisak, seeing sites and teaching my friend Stana about Zentangle. She is very excited to learn and I am happy to teach her.

Please pray that God will continue to bless this area and lead someone to be a pastor here. There are several people here who long for a Bible teaching church to be close to them. I believe God has great plans for this area. Pray also for our team members as they return home or travel.

Thanks for reading. God Bless You!

Plitviĉka jezera- Plitvice Lakes

On Saturday June 22, we went to this National Park in Croatia. The day was wonderful even if it didn’t start or end that way. The area where we parked was near one entrance to the park, but they had already sold out of tickets for that entrance. We were told that we could walk to the second entrance which was about 2 km down the road. Not only was it about 5 km or 3 miles but it was ALL up hill and the shoulder of the road was not like the shoulders in most of America. Needless to say, I was tired before we started… even my mini me was tired, hot, and needed a towel to wipe her forehead.

Mini Me, "I am not sure if my guide really knows what she is doing. She better not drop me!"

So, off we went on our adventure through the park. It was nice to see the all the falls, and the very blue and clear water. The foliage like always was green and the flowers were vibrant. The path was cool and covered for the most part. I think if there was a way, I would live there with the canopy of trees and sounds of the rushing water. To have a house in this area would be awesome.

The shade in this place is awesome....

Parts of the path were being traveled heavily, I am saddened by how many people are so “pushy” and want to be first all the time. I am glad that this did not diminish the awe of the wonders of God I was able to enjoy. His beautiful creations are what I love so much about traveling. Even though a few people get in the way of this beauty and cause it to be obscured, God always finds a way to shine through. I marvel at this wonderful truth, that even if there was an enormous wall a hundred miles wide and thousands of miles long that Satan tried to use to block the wonders of God, He would still find a way to let them rise above that wall.

Doesn't that water look inviting... I want to take a swim!

After walking through the park, we went to a little town named, Rastovaĉa, which was supposed to have water wheels, but we did not see any. We did have lunch at a little Italian restaurant, it had a window where you could see that the building was set back in the mountain. It was a nice meal.

Vegetarian Pizza... for one in this country!

It was supposed to rain all day, but God in His awesome kindness allowed the rain to hold off until we were almost home. I prayed that God would allow it to stop so we could get in the Hotel…. What an awesome God for His answered prayer. I will leave this adventure here…. Enjoy the rest of the photos. Thanks for reading and God Bless You!

This guy was going the wrong way!

Look a House!

There was a lady visiting the park with her parrot! He was lovely!

This is the best selfie I took all day!

I like this guide better! She travels faster! I don't know what happened to the other one I think she fainted a while ago!

I am exhausted.... can we go now!!!

There are many more photos I will post them on Flickr when I get back home!

More Exploration...

I am going to try to add as many photos as this slow internet will allow with out frustrating myself and boring you.  So here goes.....

Croatia is a beautiful country, most of the foliage is vibrant and full of color. The mountains are majestic and are lovely through the haze of clouds and fog and in the brilliant blue sky. Even after a rain this world seems to liven up. The buildings are a mix of "new"ish, old, and very old. If you look closely at the buildings in the pictures you may see places in the walls were the remnant of war lingers. Some of the homes and building the owners have tried to preserve history and others try to cover it up. While there are some building that go unaltered from age and war because no one came home to claim it, or no money was left to make it beautiful again.





The people are proud of who there are and all that they have come through. Whether it be the wars of long years past, or the recent war that tore at the very fabric of their modern lives. The days are filled with reminders of those wars and the tragic events that took place. The first person to be killed in this area during this war was Gordan Lederer. He was a reporter and photo journalist, who was shot through his camera. This is the memorial to him, there are a number of memorials like this through out the country. And I believe this leads to the patriotism of his fellow countrymen.





Okay so I am going to end this one here.... it has been more than 2 hours I have been working on loading the photos... there will be another part to this exploration post.... Thanks for reading! God Bless You!

The Fruit of the Spirit!

Galatians 5:22-23

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”

This week in our devotion time together we have been looking at the verses above. We have had some great discussions and guidance through the presenter as he seeks to bring what God has laid on his heart. It has made me think a little on my own and isn’t that exactly what the Word of God does in our lives…. Brings us new revelation as we read and study it.

So, here are a few thoughts I have been having as we have been studying this passage.

One of the questions that always seem to come up when these verses are thought about or reflected on is how do we get the fruit of the Spirit? Or, how do I know I have the fruit of the Spirit? How do I keep the fruit of the Spirit in my life? There are many others you may have heard or have yourself, but I will try and give my take on these three….

The first and second question are basically the same answer, how do I get the fruit of the Spirit in my life?” “How do I know I have the fruit of the Spirit?” The easy answer is if you are a Christian, that is if you believe all that in stated in I Corinthians 15: 3-5, that Jesus died for our sins according to the scriptures, that He was buried and rose again according to the scriptures, and that witnesses saw Him… If you know beyond a shadow of doubt that these things are true… then you should have the fruit of the Spirit. I say this because…. In Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me…”, in II Corinthians 5:5, “Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.” God gave us His spirit when we became His child, so if you profess to be a child of God, a Christian, then you have the Spirit in you and the fruit of that Spirit should be manifested in your life.

The last question is one that is not so easy to answer. “How do I keep the fruit of the Spirit in my life?” I am not sure I have the right answer, but this is what I think….

I am assuming that anyone reading this will know who King David is… How he was a shepherd and then became king after Saul. His life was not by any means a bed of roses. He ran from Saul for many years, and this caused him great sorrow, he was depressed much of the time. He also did some things as king he should have been “impeached” for, but God knew he was a man after His own heart. No, he was not a Christian as we are Christians, but he was a man that God had poured His Spirit and being into. Now here is the thing, do you think the Spirit of God was manifested in David’s life when he was depressed and running from God? Do you think when he took Bathsheba as his wife after he had her husband killed the Spirit was manifested in his life? So, if a man after God’s own heart struggled with having the Spirit of God manifested in his life, why would we be any different?

Now think of the word I used in the paragraph above….. manifested. David still had God’s Spirit, he was still a child of His, His life just didn’t always show it. So, the question shouldn’t be, how can I keep the fruit of the Spirit in my life, but How can the fruit of the Spirit be manifested in my life through the good and the bad times. Or why are there times when I don’t seem to feel those fruits in my life?

One, answer is humanly, YOU can’t…. but the spirit can. See, I am coming to realize that if I pull away from the things, I know help me to be in the presence of my God, then His Spirit shrinks in me and can not shine. So, the way to keep the Spirit is to be in God’s presence. How can this be done daily, hour by hour, minute by minute? That my friend is an awesome question…. I have been and will continue to formulate a way to do that… here are a couple of verses to think about…

Philippians 4:8-9

“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there be any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy – meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the peace of God will be with you.”

I Thessalonians 5:16-18

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.   

Thanks for reading. God Bless you!

Experiencing New Things

I will say up front the internet it really slow and not available in my room so these posts will take a while to do and will most probably not be very good looking (not that they ever are), I don't have the mental strength to fight this or try to do the programming needed with the other issues...Sorry... 

Sometimes we get fearful of things that should never make us fearful. Going to new places, talking to new people (especially when you don’t know the language), and eating new foods. There are so many things outside of our “world” that we should experience, just a few were listed above.

Even though I have been to Croatia before there are new experiences to have every day.  Like ordering food, it is easy when you have a menu that tells you the English, but it is not so easy when it doesn’t.  I had the 3^rd one on the list… Chicken on a spit and boiled potatoes. It was very good, and the prices were awesome!

There were a lot of interesting things that went on in the hotel in Sisak. There was a party almost every night a couple of them were weddings. When they rent the party rooms at the hotel it is for ALL day and night. The music was loud at times but it was cool to hear traditional wedding songs and Croatian songs. There was also a unique elevator in the hotel, only 4 people should get in it...

One of the things I had wanted to do the last time I was here was eat at McDonald’s. I think that is something I will try to do in every country I visit (if I have the privilege to visit others). I was able to go to McDonald’s this time. It is unique and very efficient the way they run the stores here… you order at a kiosk and they will bring your food to you if you are dining in or you pick it up at the front. The only other reason to go to the counter is to pay cash. Here are some of pictures or the experience.   I enjoyed a Caesar Beef Burger it was very good. I also had curry dipping sauce for my fries, also wonderful! Wileen’s burger was almost to big to bite into.

I have walked a few places since arriving and taken photos. I will post them at the end.

We are now in Hrvatska Kostanjnica, the reason it is called Hrvastska (Croatia) Kostanjnica is because right on the other side of the river from this town is the Bosnian Kostanjnica. There are many things to see here and I will try to capture it all as time goes by.

Upon arriving we had lunch at Djed, a wonderful restaurant on a mountain here.  They had really good food. I wish we had eaten outside because the scenery was wonderful!

hotel we are staying in

Classes began on Monday, the attendance was not what was expected. In fact, there are no level 3 students yet. I hope at some point some come, but  if not I still know God has me here for a reason. Please pray for each of the students who are coming. Pray that they have fun, learn a lot about English, and mostly about God! Thanks for reading! God bless you!

More Photos

school where we teach

School where we teach

My room

my room