July 7, 2010

Here is the latest update from David. Sorry if I kind of skip around. I am combining a few days of reports into one.

Chris and Dalton made it back to the US safely, as did Joe and Grant Page. Praise for their safe travel.

The last day of camp was great and there were a lot of seeds planted in the hearts of those who attended and all said they would come back next year.

Everyone is still talking about the Go Texas party and what fun they had.

Joe and Grant Page headed home Monday and they are trying to get the pitching machine before he leaves so they don’t have to pay a broker. As of today, they still do not have the machine and are trying to get it released before David leaves on Friday so he can show the Storks how to use it properly.

The work on the new field is happening every day and plans are to work on removing rocks every evening. David will be there to work with the Storks. Last evening they picked up a lot of rocks and there are many more to pick up. Monday afternoon they were going to build two dugouts. They are really excited about this.

David went  with John (on e f the Storks) and his family Monday afternoon to their vineyard in the mountains. It was a nice day. Much cooler there in Sisak where it has been extremely hot. They had a great visit and John’s family asked him to pray.

Sunday evening David had the chance to visit with “Political” Marco and Branko, Stefan’s dad. They had a great visit. He also has several lunches and dinners in the next few days with several Stork members and their families. Pray for the opportunity to share Christ’s love at the visits.

The rest of the mission team heads to Rijaka near the coast to do beach reach and have bible studies at the drug rehab center. When they get there Sun. evening, they will go to church and then to the drug rehab. Everyone will be gone from Sisak except David. Pray for their safety and success in sharing Christ with all they meet.

David  went to the Catholic church Sun. evening with Stefan’s mom and got a history tour afterwards. Pretty neat time! Then they had a great time walking the streets of Sisak and enjoying the company of several Storks and Stefan’s family. David had an incredible time with Stefan’s parents last night for dinner. They had great conversation. They are both very, very thankful to all of us who care so much for Stefan here in the states. Sjvetlana says she can hear the joy in his voice after he has been to visit one of our homes and it makes her so happy! Pray for his sister, Manuela, as she is traveling through France with her drama group for the next two weeks.

Most of the team went to Moscencia for church Sun. morning. David, Joe and Grant went to Bethel which is Baptist church downtown and where they had the BEAT. David wanted to show their support as he has been able to the last few years. It was great. They asked him to give and update and it was a wonderful time to share the purpose of our mission and that is “to love them till they ask why” and several have begun to express interest in why we are here!

Alen Mahac shared with Dalton the other day about his desire to not drink any longer and a possible interest in knowing about this relationship with Christ we talk about. Had a great time sitting around the table talking and sharing how God has touched and grown hearts. Afterwards they took Stefan home and he asked for us to bring a peaceful end to a great evening with prayer and right there in his apartment complex parking lot, he prayed the most awesome God felt Holy Spirit led prayer a person has ever heard. Joe and David were in tears when he finished. It is such a wonderful thing to observe all the hearts being touched and moved. Not only in the hearts of Croatians, but also in the hearts of our mission team.

Today, David worked on the field in the morning then had lunch with Stana and Vladimir, one of the pastors there. They had a wonderful time together. They shared their life story and told how Vladimir’s father was communist and wanted to kill him for becoming a Christian. They struggled and had to take out several loans to pay for their home and after the war during the change the loans somehow were written off.  They knew God was taking care of them. Their son, Luca, will be going August 7^th to Tennessee. He will paly soccer for Union University. Please pray for safe travel for him and for peace for Stana and Vladimir as he prepares to come to the US. Also, when David arrive at their home, Vladimir gave him the biggest hug. Luca later told him that that was only the second time in his life he has ever seen his father hug someone outside his family. David felt very greatful for that hug.

The weather here lately has been very warm about 102 and the mosquitos are TERRIBLE! Today, David said they had some rain and then a little front came thru and cooled things off. He was happy about that.

Tonight, Johnny (Ivan), Luca, Stefan, Timi and Mario will all spend the night at Jankos house. They plan a night of fellowship, great discussions and praise and worship song. The boys are all looking forward to just hanging out together with their Christian friends. Pray that David and the rest of the team are an encouragement to them.

Praise that for next year, many people have asked that we bring members to stay with them in their homes. John’s family said they would like to host up to six people, Coach Daniel said he would host 5-6 people and Janako can host 9-10. Ivan’s family can host a couple also. David would like to work on putting together a team to come build out Janko’s home so he can accommodate more people. This is something Janko has prayed about doing for many years. Pray he can get the permits, materials and financing he needs to do this. It is awesome to see how many people there are wanting to be a part of this mission.

Pray the pitching machine gets out of customs. Praise for safe travel for Joe, Grant, Chris and Dalton and that they made it home safely. Pray that the team will be an encouragement to the Christians there in Croatia and also to each other. Pray for the possibility of Janko expanding his home. Also pray for the many hearts being touched and the seeds being planted

Debbie for David