A week without Katie

Hey guys! I meant to update earlier but you know how I am, very forgetful. Last week went well. It was a little bit lonely with out Katie, but I think I managed. Luckily the World Cup is on right now to keep me busy in my free time at night…lol Anyways I have been reading with 4 to 5 readers a day! One of them is new, he is the father of one of Katie’s readers. He is not very interested in the Spiritual side of it, but is sooo grateful for me talking with him. He also lets his son believe in all the Spiritual stuff and all, so that is great! I kinda wish I could have started talking with him sooner, but none the less the seed is being planted and someone else will water and God will provide the increase!

Other mission work I have been doing besides LST is helping out some around the building. I helped organize some pamphlets and go through some things that have not been touched in a while. I am also communicating with a group of OC students that will come here for a few days after I leave. I have been answering their questions and helping them prepare. Ruth and I have tried to come up with some ideas for things they can do while they are here, but neither of us will be here. So Ivan will ultimately have the information for them.

I also feel like I am reaching out to the youth of the other congregations here. One of my readers is a teen who is a member at a church in Zagreb. On Friday, I met her at the train station and went to hang out with her and some of the other girls from a church in Varsdin. Although I could not say a lot to them, it was still really fun. I could tell they enjoyed it. Many of them came on Sunday to worship here in Zapresic too. I feel blessed that I was able to from some relationships with them as well. I hope that I encouraged them for I know there are not many youth in the Church in Croatia.

I will try to update later this week, maybe on Saturday night and then again on Tuesday when I get back. Until then God bless and keep praying for all the work going on in Croatia and around the World!

Stacey

1^st 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.

Same verses in Croatian:

Radujte se uvijek! Bez prestanka molite! U svakoj prilici zahvaljute, jer je to za vas volija Božja u Kristu Isusu!

Reflections Over Croatia

Hi everyone! I am officially back in Texas! I arrived at DFW last night after almost 24 hours of traveling, including 2 4 hour layovers in Germany and Denver. Stacey is still in Croatia for two additional weeks doing LST. I really enjoyed my experience in Croatia doing LST and hope that I can return someday. I grew very close to many of my readers. We had more readers and family members of readers show up to our last party on Sunday night than we have ever had! After the party, I went to one of my readers house I had grown the very close two. I met her husband and played with two of her children. It was very hard to say good by, but we are going to stay in contact.



Last Thursday, my last day of day of reading was one of my busiest. I had 7 readers and met with one of them for almost 2 hours. After my reading sessions with a 9 year old boy I have been reading with, Stacey and I were invited over to his house to meet his dad and uncle. They were very friendly and seemed interested in what we were doing. Stacey told me yesterday via Skype that the father came with his son for the first time on Tuesday night. This is very encouraging!

Although it was hard to say good by to my readers, I plan to stay in contact with most of them through Facebook, e-mails, and letters. I also plan on keeping each of my readers in my prayers. God did many great things while I was in Croatia and I know that he will continue to use Stacey for the additional 2 weeks she will stay and the church members after she leaves. We have planted the seeds and others will water them, but it is up to God to make them grow. This is my last blog entry, but stay tuned for more posts by Stacey.

In Christ,
Katie
So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.

I Cor 6:7

wow its already week 6

Hello everyone,

So I planed on updating sooner, but this time it was not my fault. Our internet has been out for the past few days. It's crazy how much we depend on internet now days! So it is now week six. I can not believe that Katie and I have been here for this long. I feel like I just got here and started to really make connections with everyone. Katie leaves next monday, but I will stay another 2 weeks. I will pick up her readers and start to read with them as well, if they so choose. Today I was blessed by a quote one of my readers said to me. She told me that I helped her renew her faith. That meant so much to me! I am going to miss her soo much. I know I am staying an extra two weeks but she is moving about the time Katie leaves. Reading with her and her eagerness and responses always makes me feel like the whole trip was worth it, just to talk with her. We are friends on facebook and plan on keeping in contact. I love how technology can help you keep in contact with new friends!

Last week eneded well. I felt like several of my readers have stopped coming so regularly, but that is because of the time of year. I know that many people are finishing the last days of school and some who are done are going on vacations and what not. More importantly than the quantity of readers iwth the quality time Katie and I are spending with each one. Katie and I talk constatnly about our realtionships we have built with our readers. We have truely become friends with so many of them. I really do hope that I can stay in contact with them after I leave. I hope to continue to show them Christ through me, even as I am miles away. Actions really do speak louder than words. If I can show them that I care enough to stay in contact after I leave, I think that will make a huge impact on them and show them that there is truly something different about me.

Please continue to pray for Katie and me as our time here draws to an end. Even more so pray for our readers that they may be touched by God's word!

God bless,
Stacey
Luke 10:27
'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'[c]; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'[d]"

Week 5

I'm sorry its been so long since I last posted. Things are going very well in Croatia! Stacey and I are each reading with about 11 readers each. We are continuing to have good conversations and building good relationships. We daily try to act in a way so that our readers and all others we come into contact with can see Christ through us. Occasionally Stacey and I will help our readers do things such as filling out job resumes, studying for English exams or completing homework in addition to studying from God's word. Stacey even bought one of her close readers flowers for her birthday. She said the reader was really touched by this act and said it was the only birthday gift she got. Stacey and I also continue to spend time outside of reading sessions with our readers by doing things such as going on walks and getting ice cream. While some of our readers are still mostly interested in the English aspect of LST, some are beginning to act more interested and asking questions.

Last Sunday night we had a Tex-Mex party to connect our readers to the church and help them practice their English. We had about 17 people in attendance which is the most we have ever had! We had a fairly good balance between church members, LST participants, and guests. The party was very fun. Stacey and I made tacos, dip, and chocolate chip cookies. The food turned out very well, despite the fact that neither one of us can read Croatian directions and we were not 100% sure we were buying the correct ingredients when we went to the store. For a few people at the party it was their first time to ever have Mexican food! I think we made a good impression! After we ate we played a Texas bingo game I made online. It was alot of fun!

Continue to pray for us as we read and build relationships with our readers.

God Bless,
Katie

For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.
Psalms 100:5

week 4

Okay so blame me ( Stacey) for the delay in updates. I know it has been since the weekend, but I have been slightly pre-occupied. I have decided to read through the bible in a month and so alot of my spare time I have been reading the bible. So you can't realy be upset with me... hehe :) This week has had some ups and downs. It has been rainy most of the week so that has been a downer, but we are contiunaly having good sessions with our readers, a major upper. :) On Tuesday, Katie and I went with a reader to a concert in Zagreb. It seemed to be put on by mostly young people playing various instruments. One girl played like a ten minute paino piece by Chopin by memory. It was beautiful! I have been trying to help one of my readers prepare for an interview for a grad school interview coming up. He applied to an American university in Qatar. He is very nervous, but I know he will do well. Pray for him, if you will. Another one of my readers is worried about her job secuirty. I showed her the verse about not worrying what to eat, drink or wear because God will take care of us. I think it helped her alot, but if you will pray for her to. Pray that she has peace and that God will provide for her no matter what happens. I have grown very close to her and she has even brought her teenage daughter a few times. In our free time Katie and I continue to work some in the library. We have almost organized all the English books. If we finish that I think we are going to try and input them into the computer so they have a log of all their books. We shall see if we have time for that. Katie got another reader this week! God is continually blessing us through our readers. Today is Corpus Christi, a Catholic holiday. Our readers had today off of work and school. So I was able to read with some today that I only get to read with once a week or so. It was nice to see them again. Hopefully, I remember to update more frequently next week. Again, I am sorry for the delay. God has been good to us and things have been going well. Continue to pray for us and our readers as we continue to show Christ through us and to teach them about Christ!

God bless,

Stacey

Gal 2:20a I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.