Mission to Montenegro newsletter
Blog entry for 16 November 2012
November Mission to Montenegro Newsletter
Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Eph 3: 20, 21
Oh, how great is Your goodness!
We have had a very blessed month in the Lord with so many good things to share:
- We reached an agreement with the landlord for an acceptable sign which was not at all a certainty. Rejoice with us! For the time being, the landlord has decided to sit on his decision to sell or not to sell until at least after the new year. We now realize that getting a place of our own (whether this or another) would be a very good next step for our growing fellowship.
- Peter Williams, a Christian philosopher and debater, spoke at the university on the topic of "Morality and the New Atheism." By God's providence, the Philosophy Department helped promote this event amongst the students and many attended; the best part is that several students left contact information for follow-up purposes.
- Three new families have moved to Montenegro as missionaries desiring to see new churches raised up. They are currently in the capital city of Podgorica learning the language. We feel a close kinship with one family in particular because the husband (Jesse) first came to Niksic on a college mission trip about six years ago and spent a week+ with us. He left with the desire to return one day, and now that day has come. Praise the Lord!
- We have begun planning for the Samaritan's Purse Christmas Shoebox distribution. One of our own, Jelena V., has gone to a mini-conference on effective follow-up after the giving of the boxes. Jelena has also written a brief drama outlining the Christmas story to accompany our presentation.
- Our daughter, Milijana, is in the process of applying to university for Fall 2013. She has finished taking all her required SAT, SAT II tests for which we are very grateful as we have to travel out of country to accomplish this.
Stan and Vicki Surbatovich
Mission to Montenegro
Prayer and Praise Bulletin Points:
- Praise God for the agreement reached with our landlord. Pray for the means to purchase a place of our own.
- Praise God for the contact with new and unbelieving students. Pray for ongoing relationships to be built and for the student bible study and outreach activities.
- Praise for the sending of new missionaries here to Montenegro. With currently only 4 registered churches in the whole country, this is proportionately a great increase! Pray for our brethren as they work hard to learn the language (grammatically challenging!) and for the Lord to direct them to their place of ministry.
- Praise for the yearly blessing and opportunities associated with the Christmas package distribution. Pray for us as it is a major project, and for the Christmas drama directed by Jelena V. as many children here know absolutely nothing about Jesus's birth, life, or reason for coming to earth.
- Praise for Milijana's success with required testing and the wonderful ability to submit college applications online! Please pray that God would guide and give us all wisdom as she seeks "next steps" after her graduation this coming spring.
- Please pray for all the regular ministries of the church: preaching of the Word, prayer meetings, student Bible Study, Ladies' Coffee fellowship, and individual mentoring.
- Please pray for Randi and Anton, to continue to be effective in their witness and ministry as they increase their contacts and opportunities amongst university and high school students.