Transition

As I have been contemplating this post "fear" has settled in. Not really fear... but awe in what God has in store for me, for Croatia, for Indian Bible Academy. I am not leaving Croatia behind totally, if God wishes for the ministry to continue with our team, He will see that happens. I have other ideas in my mind also, but God has to give is blessing on that.... Pray that God will lead in these areas.

I have posted most of the photos from the trip on Flickr. If you want to look at these that would be great. Enjoy. There is also a video of one of the songs everyone loved to sing.

So right now, I am sitting in another hotel room getting ready for the Summer Seminar for abeka. At Indian Bible Academy this is the curriculum that we use. I have taught using these materials before in another private school, and I used the materials last year at IBA. I hope I will receive some insight into ways to better use the materials in a combined class room. I will be teaching all grades K-7. Not all at once, k-4 in the morning and 4-7 in the afternoon. there are more 4th graders this year than the other grades. So being here will be a blessing.

One of the things the Lord has impressed on my over the last few months is that He wants me to be a disciple maker. Actually, He wants all Christians to be doing this. This command should be well know to followers of Christ!

"Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[b] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”" Matthew 16-20

I do teach, and talk to others about Christ, but I can't say that I have purposely put forth an effort to disciple. I have been reading The Disciple Maker's Handbook, by B. Harrington and J. Patrick. This was suggested by my pastor in pursuit of learning to be a disciple maker and I am almost finished reading it. It is a very good and "quick" read even as I am a slow reader.

Here is the idea that I feel God has impressed on me. I want to teach my students at IBA to be disciples. Many of them may not have given their lives to Christ yet and one of the first things we will talk about is the picture of Christ throughout the whole Bible. Then to lead them in seeing the fruits of the spirit through the lives of people who lived their lives filled with the spirit or examples of those who lived the opposite. Here is an example: Abraham and Sarah can be an example of Faith and an example of impatience. Sarah was impatient about waiting for God's timing and then was jealous when God blessed her handmaid. Yet, when God was faithful and Issac was born Abraham believe God and was willing to sacrifice him, knowing that God would provide and keep His promise.

I also found in the book a poem written by someone who is unknown. I plan to have it posted in my room and have the class read it daily...

"The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are read by more than a few. But the one that is most read and commented on is the gospel according to you. You are writing a gospel, a chapter each day, by the things that you do and the words that you say."

What does the word gospel mean? "The teachings or revelations of Christ", "a thing that is absolutely true", or "a set of principles or beliefs". The Greek word used in the Bible is "euangelion" which literally means Good News. Think about that and the poem above. Many people see you and are reading your good news.... What is your good news? That God is good in the good times and the bad, that you can have joy, peace, love, faithfulness, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, and self-control, no matter the situation. Or that God is only in your life when you need Him, that He is someone you talk to on Sundays and in the bad times. Or maybe you think God is only God on Christmas and Easter. My life and yours speak volumes to those around us, I pray that my life speaks the right message to my students and all those I meet. I pray that I can teach them to live a life that speaks volumes about God to ALL those they meet in their lives. Please pray for me in this endeavor for God to make disciples for Him.

Thanks for reading. God Bless You All!

 

 

Architecture

46 “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say? 47 Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: 48 He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was [j]founded on the rock. 49 But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great.” Luke 6:46-49

The architecture around Croatia is probably not unique, I am sure other areas in Europe have the same styles. The one thing that is very different is that the modern building are not replacing the old for the most part. It isn't nostalgia that the people seek that cause the building to lie dormant, the buildings may not have been reclaimed after the war. The family that owned the building may not have had enough funds to rebuild. The architecture is one of my favorite pats of this country.

Jesus said that people who hear all He was saying and does them is like a man who builds his house on a rock, his foundation was dug correctly and was made to be stable. The person whose house is build this way is less likely to lose his house when the storms come. Life is like that also, when we build our lives on the One who is life giver, when the storms of life come we are less likely to be tossed to and fro, or lose our footing, we can stand strong against the storm.

19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. Ephesians 2:19-22

If our lives are built on the right foundation and our foundation is on the chief cornerstone, Jesus, we can stand against anything that comes our way. It doesn't matter if it is good, bad, or ugly, we can stand. I want my life to be built on Christ and for that to be evident, I am not sure that it is. My foundation hasn't really been rocked yet, and I am not sure I want it to be. If it is I pray that I can stand strong in the face of all that comes my way.
The school that we held class in had remnants of time past in the foyer, things that had been excavated around the village. The following photos of those things. I think most of them came from what looks like and old church. Does that mean that it was not firmly planted on the Chief Cornerstone. No, time passes, no one lives forever in this physical life. There will come a time when time will pass us by, if Christ tarries. The real question for me is will I have something, even a little piece of me left behind to reminded the world I was here...

Thanks for reading. God Bless You!

Food!

There are a lot of photos of food I could post here but I will pick only a few, the rest will be posted in my Flickr account soon. I want to share something throughout this post that is of more importance. Here is a verse to start that conversation...

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”  Matthew 4:4

Everyday I try to make sure that my spiritual needs are met first. I have Bible and prayer time set aside in the mornings. Many time I don't want to eat regular food, I am just not hungry. There are times when I don't want the spiritual food of God either, most of the time that is when I know I have things in my life that should not be there. I still read my Bible and pray.... On this trip we not only shared physical food with each other, but we had devotion and Bible sharing times also. On this post I will try to share some of that with you also.

Of course on a long trip across the pond, and in lay overs in airports food is definitely available. This trip was not an exception. There were snacks and meals on the planes and I tried to find things in the airports that were wholesome to eat.


John King was the person who was leading the devotion time. He chose as his topic the Fruit of the spirit and we discussed these in depth throughout our time together in Croatia.  His scripture reference was...

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.  Galatians 5:22-23

I already shared some of what was on my heart after one of the first days of devotions on June 20th. We had 9 days of devotions and there are 9 fruit of the spirit listed here. We studied each in depth but studying the word in other parts of the Bible and what it meant. It is not always easy to manifest or allow all of these to show in our lives. I struggle with most of them, and that is because I keep trying to put self in it instead of letting the Spirit guide me.

At the hotel where we were staying they served use a continental breakfast and lunch (dinner).Most Croatians as I have said before only eat twice a day, they have a snack in the evening. The meals they served were very good. I don't think there was one I didn't like, I do need to say that not eating pork or beef during this trip was not possible. Every meal had a salad and a soup of some kind pretty much. Sometimes the soup would be the meal. The salad might be cabbage with vinegar, a bowl of pickles, beets, or cucumbers. I did not go hungry. We even had dessert a few times.

One of the other things we talked about during our devotion times was promises of God that we claim on a daily basis. We all shared at least one and some shared more. One promise that I have been claiming in the past few years (at least since my 2nd heart attack) is....

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11

As you can see it is fairly important to me if I have it as a tattoo. The reason is and I have written about this many times in my blog posts, that if it were not for God and His intervention in my life I would not be here. He knows the plans He has for me and my work here on other is not done! So I claim this promise to apply to my life and I am reminded of it every day.

The Food at Stana's house was also amazing! I would be HUGE if I ate there everyday! I love her loving hospitality, her love for Jesus and others is shown in her cooking and sharing her home with others.
The rest of the food photos will be posted soon... I took a lot of photos this trip. I have one or two more post I would like to make about the trip. I will begin transitioning this blog to Just a Mission of Teaching.... That is what the web address states anyway and that is my Mission, my ministry... My work here on earth is not done, there are some children I need to teach and love this year.

In closing remember you don't neglect to eat food at least once daily I hope, please do not neglect letting God's word and fellowship with Him be part of your life also. We can not live by bread alone! We need spiritual food also!

Thanks for reading! God Bless You!

Last Day Here....

But not the last post. I am hoping to talk about many things as the Lord led through out this trip and hopefully many more trips to come. God has been so good to me. He is good all the time but I can see how His hand has touched this trip immensely.

The last few days I have been staying with Stana and Vladimir Perković. They are wonderful Christians and have great hospitality. Vladimir was sick as I mentioned a few post back. He is doing much better, today he rode his bike today. He says he felt a little shaky, but I think it is amazing.


Stana is a wonderful cook, she has kept me fed well these last few days. Don't get me wrong all the food I have eaten has been good, I plan to write a post just about the food. Her food is made with the love for Christ, she truly wants to fill your hunger for your body and hunger of your soul. I have come to love her and her home. In Croatia there is usually only breakfast and lunch. If you eat at night, it is finger food or leftover soup. And believe me you MUST in Stana's home eat breakfast, even if it is just a piece of bread with butter.



Stana has a marvelous garden, as most Croatians do. I don't think there is a yard that does not have some sort of garden, whether for food or for beauty. Stana has both.







Yesterday, we watched the sermon from last week at Kinder Bible Church together, Stana, Wileen, and I. It was fun to stop the video and explain what was being said in a way that Stana could understand. She really loves the Lord and wants to be a witness for His love and mercy. This morning she asked which Psalm was spoken about in the video, I told her Psalm 139, she read it in Croatian to me. It was a good time for reflection about what God has to say about us.


Stana found out that I teach Zentangle. She had purchased a book about this doodling technique and tried to teach herself, yet when she found out I could teach her, she insisted I become her teacher. We did a few "tiles". I could not find the right pens here or even any white card stock at the store I was taken to, but I managed to find a Stabilo 0.4 pen and some drawing paper. It was fun to teach her with limited English. Neither Stana or Vladimir are fluent English speakers and I am can not speak Craotian except for a very few words. 

So, as I said today is my last full day in Croatia. My flight from Zagreb to Frankfurt was canceled, but I was able to change my flights around to be able to keep my connection in Houston, baring no other problems. I will be flying via Munich. Some people visited us at the  Perković home before I left. Milos who is the Pastor of the Sisak Church came by, so did Ellen and her husband JD, who joined her after the English classes were over. Kristina and Paula were the ones who gave me a ride to the hotel where I am currently finishing this post. Before we left the  Perković home Stana prayed a wonderful prayer in Croatian Thanking God for all He has done through this ministry and for safe travels for us. I am so glad I was able to spend this time with her and Vladimir.



Thanks for reading. God Bless You!