I am with you!

Travel Day #47

Prayer room of "Dom Molitve" in Slavonski Brod

Hello my dears!

After a very blessed time of focused prayer in Zagreb, we spent a very nice time  with Luna's dad in Rijeka with good times of sharing and some interesting outings. We were able to enjoy a few great days on the beach, in the midst of God's wonderful creation: meeting many colorful people and watching many colorful fish while snorkeling. Junia has hardly forgotten anything about our swimming lessons (Swim To Fly App) during the long Corona break and snorkeled and swam like a dolphin.

In Zagreb we were allowed to pray for the leg of a neighbor/friend of Luna's grandmother. The next day he was excited that it was noticeably better and so we were invited to pray again for him and his wife and to share the gospel. We also got him a Bible. It's almost ironic: almost all Croats call themselves Catholics, but hardly anybody has a Bible at home, let alone has ever read in it! Well anyway, the man is not sure whether he is saved or not. Both of them need to let the gospel sink in and we will see how Jesus will continue to work in them.

We have been camping here in Slavonski Brod since Saturday at the house of prayer. We feel deeply connected with the leaders in the Spirit. We took turns with the time in the prayer room, but we also have had great times as a family. The prayer room is that kind of place where you can feel the walls are soaked in prayer. On Tuesday evening we both took part in the intercession / worship prayer. It was very beautiful and powerful. Funny enough, pigeons live right under the roof of the building! They are, after all, a biblical symbol for the Holy Spirit. :-)

We realized that we need to keep practicing going out on the streets and talking to people, and so that's what we did yesterday and this morning. We were able to pray for a man with a lot of stress and high blood pressure and got the phone number of someone else who seems open. This man knows a woman near Zagreb who has been very ill for a few months, has children and can barely make ends meet with the little money she receives. He humbly asked for prayer for her. So either we will contact the woman or ask someone nearby to pray for her face to face. We have again realized that it is important to share the gospel even when there is no need for (healing) prayer. In this area we are both unsure of how to explain everything well in Croatian. But God will give his grace and his Spirit. And your prayers will help us get better. ;-)

You know, we need practice for everything we do, whether it be (healing) prayer or passing on the gospel or the gifts of the Spirit. Only if we practice it will we get better at it, our faith will grow and we will experience that Jesus is with us in the midst of the wolves, as he promised. Because the harvest is ripe, we must "beg" God in prayer that the workers will be "driven out" (literally translated) into the field (Luke 10:2). And that's us; we have been driven out. That is our mission and our calling.
A quote that encouraged us to continue yesterday after our excursion is in Torben's book "The Call of Jesus - Finding the Person of Peace":

"So, do not be afraid! Take the first step, and you will see that Jesus is with you! Jesus' Word to you and me is, 'Go!' We should go out as lambs among wolves. He did not say, 'Stay here because there are wolves out there.' No, He said, 'Go!' Yes, there are wolves out there, and they will never disappear. They are there to put fear in you, and that is just how it is. Remember this the next time you are going to take a step and go to someone or open your mouth to speak about Jesus with people you know or do not know.
You might feel the fear is coming. You might feel like a little lamb and just want to say, 'Baa,' while your legs are shaking like a little newborn lamb trying to take its first small steps. But then remember Jesus' words, and instead of saying, 'Baa,' say, 'AMEN', knowing that Jesus ist going with you! Then, boldly take that first step in faith!
I do not know what your wolves are that are trying to stop you from obeying Jesus, but I do know that if you 'Go', you will see that Jesus is with you each time. Open your mouth and keep doing that. Tell people about Jesus, and He is with you! Jesus never promised us that it would be easy, and He has not promised us that He will remove the wolves. He has promised us that He is with us when we go and that everyone who confesses Him in front of people, He will confess in front of His Father Who is in Heaven."

"Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven."

Matthew 10:28-33

Some days ago we prayed for the sick mother of young man selling water melons on side of the street and today we stopped by him again. She wasn't doing any better, but we gave him encouraging evangelistic literature and our phone number. He also immediately started to look through the book with interest (we had the impulse to give him Joyce Meyer's book "Peace - Cast all your Cares upon Him", in Croatian) and he had some questions about our beliefs (whether we were Catholics or belong to a certain preacher). Then we were able to practice speaking to two new people who, however, did not need prayer and were in a hurry / no longer wanted to hear, but preferred to talk themselves. But one of these men thought it was great that we offer this to people and we were able to buy fresh raw milk from him. 😄

When leaving Rijeka, Luna had the impression that we would return and today this was actually confirmed.
A few days ago, the Spirit urged her to contact a missionary in Split who was on The Last Reformation (TLR) world map. He contacted us today and on Saturday we will get to know new brothers and sisters in Rijeka, some of whom are made up of the TLR / DMM (Disciple Making Movement) team Croatia and some of them are new believers. We're looking forward to it. So we are going back to Rijeka tomorrow. We are curious to see what God has prepared there and whether it is the place to which we should move or not.

Please pray for our good old faithful car. It has now gone for 196,000 km and is actually still going great. However, earlier during the trip to the melons the motor went off and didn't start again. After we prayed and Harry replugged the starter, it started again with no problem. On our journey the car often has to cope with relatively steep mountains, especially on the coast (it's a good thing we got a new clutch last year!) and of course with the temperatures (our air conditioning is no longer very effective when temperatures rise above 30 degrees 😂). Yes, either it will continue to drive well and without problems, or God will give us a new car. We actually like our little Renault a lot. There is a saying that fits this sitution well: A moving car is easier to steer than one standing. ;-D

In any case, we notice how good it is not to have any pressure to go back to work on Monday because the school year begins. So we can react on a very short notice to how the Spirit is directing us, which is great in our current situation. We hope to learn to listen to God's voice better. It is also really nice to take enough time for relationships with individuals in the family and (new) friendships.

The doors are still closed for New Zealand. We called Immigration last week and asked if we would get the money for the visa reimbursed, since it is not our fault not to have entered the country and whether it would be extended automatically since it expired on August 10th. The lady told us that reimbursement was not possible and also did not know whether the visas issued would be extended. Auckland is currently in lockdown again for at least the next three days, since four new corona cases have occurred from an unknown source. It doesn't sound like NZ will open its borders again anytime soon. We are curious whether this path will open up or stay closed. We actually wanted to use that time in NZ to prepare for Croatia. Yet we can also see now that God has already prepared us very well over the past six months and has clearly shown us what our calling is here. Maybe that's why the way to NZ will remain closed for the time being.

So much from us here in Slavonski Brod. May God's fire burn within you so that you can be light in the darkness every day.

Many greetings from Harry, Luna, Junia and Amos!

PS: Amos started going to the toilet all by himself yesterday and has just done his big business in the toilet of his own accord. Hallelujah !!!!! 🤩