Mission to Montenegro newsletter
Blog entry for 18 September 2020
September 2020 Mission to Montenegro Newsletter
Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.”
Lamentations 3:22-24
Grace and Peace to you in the name of God our Father!
Between migraines, dental emergencies, and Covid-19 increasing its foothold in the local community, it has been a bit of a challenging month. Sometimes just living each day with grace and joy by the mercy and strength of Christ is a victory. Soli Deo gloria!
Services have continued, some in person, some via Zoom, some solely through our Youtube Channel or Facebook Page. We are glad we have so many options.
- In the morning service, Stan preached Exodus 26, highlighting the truth that God meeting with His people in the tabernacle in the wilderness is just a foreshadowing of God meeting with His people face to face in the new heavens and the new earth; a glorious promised secured for us by the blameless life and sacrificial death of the Lord Jesus which rent the veil in two. In our evening Zoom meeting, Stan most recently covered Hebrews 7:26, showing the superiority of Christ's fitness as The High Priest. We've much appreciated the serendipitous intertwining of covering Exodus and Hebrews at the same time.
- At the end of August, before the physical challenges arose, we thanked God and prayed for Andrija, (Andrew) a celebration which was postponed since March due to Covid-19. As a fellowship, we rejoice with his parents and older sister Iva Sara and commit ourselves to seeing him grow in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
- Unfortunately, progress stalled on both the book translation and recording of the series of shorter (5-10 min) videos covering basics of the Christian faith for the benefit of seekers and new believers. However, the plan (Deo volente) is to begin the recordings next week.
Upcoming Ministry and Prayer Requests:
- Please pray for the regular ministry of the Word as Stan (and others) preach and teach throughout the week at church, via Zoom and other social media, and even in (very small) groups. May hearts be quickened and lives changed to the glory of God.
- Please pray for the video series: For Stan who will be speaking and for the tech team (Peter and Danijel) who will be recording and posting. May God use these humble means to bring people to Himself. Please pray for the book translation progress, especially as we seek to find a local publisher.
- Please pray for continued health and strength for us and BabaC (Stan's mother who lives with us). We feel we are being wise with precautions but are not cloistered, so there is some level of risk as Covid-19 is increasing here in our city; so much so, the Covid ward here in Niksic is currently at full capacity. Please pray for the health care workers who are serving us all.
- Please pray for the members of our own fellowship: for unity, for reaching out to one another, for perseverance in grace and charity, for the financial needs as well as the emotional needs of those hard-hit by closures and disruptions, especially the families with school-aged children as they have much to juggle.
- Please pray for wisdom to know when and how to resume larger events. All the events of spring and summer (conferences, camps, teams) were tentatively postponed to fall/early winter. However, now that we are approaching autumn, the likelihood of being able to safely host such events is diminishing. Pray, too, that we might find and embrace opportunities to reach out to our community, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothing ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
With great love and appreciation for your ongoing prayers and support,
Stan and Vicki Surbatovich
