1) Please continue to pray for good Christian mates for my Slovene brothers and sisters. That issue is a constant struggle here. However, just within the past couple months God has brought together two of my Slovene friends within our Bible study group. That couple has been a blessing to each other as well as to the rest of us. It's always best when we let God work!

2) Just this past Friday we had another "youth group" meeting. It has taken a while, but the kids are finally starting to identify with this church group and they are taking me up on the challenge to invite non-believers to our activities! This is a huge step! On Friday myself and one of my friends (who is an international student from England) led the teens in a discussion about The Prodigal Son. At first it was hard to get them to talk, but as the devotional continued the teens started entering into the discussion more and more. The evening turned out to be not only fun, but insightful. Even if you progress in baby steps, you're still moving forward! Praise God for that!

Brittany

Tue, 8 May 2007

Dear All,

I am sending you highlights from the ministry happenings of March and April. March Highlight- By far the greatest highlight of this month was the Baptism that we had at church. Both of the young ladies that I have recently started Bible studies with were baptized along with a few others. It was a truly amazing service. Those that were being baptized invited friends and family, many of which were not Christians. The packed, small church witnessed one of the greatest joys in the Christian life as well as a great message of Good News. Thank the Lord for this service! (I have attached a few pictures of the Baptism)  

April Highlight- This Easter season has been a true blessing. The services and Bible studies leading up to Easter Sunday were inspiring and very challenging. The Lord really used this time to help the Christian community to grow and strengthen. On the Tuesday before Easter the guys that lead the Tues. Bible study, put together a beautiful version of the Stations of the Cross. We started in the center of town (called Old Town- the oldest part of the city complete with cobblestone streets, narrow alleys and overlooked by a castle.) and made our way up to the castle grounds. We did this at night and it added something very special. On our way up the hill we stopped every-so-often for a scripture reading and prayer. During the whole procession my friend Chuck; dressed in a robe, crown of thorns and carrying a cross, walked a few yards in front of us. We also had another cross and the rest of us took turns carrying it up the hill. It was an amazing way to reflect on the passion of Christ. It was a quiet solemn activity, but it had such depth. It was also interesting to see the reaction of folks as we walked through town. Some even stopped to listen to what was being said. This one activity had a strong impact on many who participated, myself included. It made the rejoicing of Easter morning all that more exciting! (I have attached a few pictures of this event)    

Reflections and Observations:

A Team Effort- One of my main observations over the past couple of months has been the effect of the “team effort” concept in Slovenia . I am reminded of 1 Corinthians where Paul says, “What after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe-as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.” (1 Cor. 3:5-9). What is being done in Slovenia and many fields throughout Europe , is a team effort. The work that we are doing in this country today is building upon the foundation of other Godly people. It is my prayer that the people we minister to don’t become disciples of one person or another, but that they become disciples of Christ. I pray that as we work among the Slovenes our lives point to Christ and he will make things grow!  

Ohioans Like to Travel: A few weeks ago my friend Bojan came up to me before church and said, “ Brittany there are a few people from Ohio over there that you should meet.” He pointed me in the right direction and there I ran into three guys from non other than Lancaster , Ohio ! I was pleased to see people from home to say the least (they even asked if I missed the smell of the Mead!). After a few moments of talking, I found out that one of the guys, Lincoln, is in the Army and was currently stationed in Italy . Lincoln ’s dad and friend from home had come to visit him, because Lincoln ’s unit was being shipped to Afghanistan the next week. Please pray for Lincoln and his family. Also pray that our church continues to be a welcoming place to any traveler that passes by. Right now we are also home to 6 international University students and 2 embassy families.  

Your prayers and support are a constant source of thanksgiving!

Lord Bless,

Brittany