Big Hopes and Big Prayers for Novi Sad
Hello from Novi Sad, Serbia!
Church Retreat
Thank you so much for your prayers and encouragements for our church retreat last month… It was fun and powerful and culture-setting and everything we wanted! We spent two nights at a small retreat center about 30 minutes away from Novi Sad and focused on our time on what it means and what it looks like to build strong foundations (1 Corinthians 3:5-15). Highlights include a lot of meals and coffees together, really powerful worship and prayer Saturday night (including Sloba and I laying hands on and praying for everyone individually) and seeing people starting to understand how and why Jules and I lead the way we do and disciple the way we do.
Since then, we’ve had amazing 1 on 1 and small group conversations about discipleship, evangelistic Bible studies, and how everyday we have a chance to build strong foundations now that affect generations of Serbians for eternity!
Up Next: Ashlyn Beagley, Outreach, & Easter
In a few weeks, Ashlyn Beagley is joining us from Mountain View Community Church for a 12 day trip! Ashlyn is a full time photographer based in Fort Collins and wants to use her slow season to serve internationally.
As she and I were talking and praying about her trip, I was reflecting on Acts 9: Dorcas serving the church with good works (in Dorcas’ case, good works meant sewing tunics and other garments for widows). For Ashlyn – that means photography. And we’ve got really cool opportunities for Ashlyn to serve here with her gifts!
While Ashlyn visits, we hope to organize 2 photoshoots (1 in Novi Sad and 1 in Kisać, a village 25 minutes away where Sloba lives) and to offer a professional family photo for our church and for any of their friends, neighbors, and family members! That’s a huge gift here in Serbia: we think that’s something a lot of people would cherish, but few have the money to hire a photographer. Ashlyn has graciously and generously offered to shoot and edit 1-2 photos for anyone who wants one!
Our hope is that an event like this breaks some of the walls down that keep our friends and neighbors from interacting with a Protestant Church (Protestantism is considered a cult here). We hope to be a blessing, to give people a gift and a memory that they can just have, and Lord willing lead them to give glory to our Father in heaven after they see our good works (Matthew 5:16).
There’s a ton of work that needs to happen before Ashlyn arrives. We need to find and arrange good locations, teach and encourage our church in how to invite their friends and neighbors to the event, and teach and encourage our church on what good follow up looks like, including an invitation to our Easter Service!
Answered Prayers And Praises
1. Church Retreat! Thanks for being such a significant part of prayer and preparation with us.
2. Micah’s Parents Visited Last Week! It was their first time meeting Emina and Jamie was so excited to have Nonna and Papa in-person and not just over FaceTime.
3. Health: After an exhausting month of every member of our family sick for weeks (including Micah visiting 3 hospitals in 1 night before receiving treatment for an ear infection) we all seem to be recovering, sleeping well, and ready to tackle the next season of life and ministry here.
Prayer Requests
1. Church: Please continue to pray for a strong, healthy culture of loving Jesus, loving each other, and loving our neighbors and city.
2. Stefani, Marko, and Jovan: two of Julie’s disciples, Miriam and Estera, recently started beginner Bible studies with friends from school who have been attending our youth night for a few months. All of them are interested in knowing who Jesus is and Stefani in particular said she is beginning to understand who He is. Please pray for Stefani, Marko, and Jovan’s salvations!
3. Sloba’s Family: Please continue to pray for physical and spiritual protection for Sloba’s family. We pray everyday for both protection and salvation for Sloba and Ceca’s son, Silvan.
4. Ashlyn, Outreach, and Easter: Please pray that Ashlyn’s trip, our photography outreach, and our Easter service are incredibly fruitful!
4. Peace, Justice, and Safety in Serbia: If you haven’t seen the news, Serbia has been in significant civil and political turmoil since a tragedy in Novi Sad killed 16 and severely injured another (the sister of a girl in Julie’s small group and one of the first women we met on our vision trip). Led by students (who have protested school for 4 months now) the protests are bringing hope to many who have felt hopeless for decades. If you’re interested, you can read more here.
Thank You!
Thank you for your continued prayers and for reaching out to us. Our American phone numbers are still active and you can also find us on WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook. We’d love to connect with any and all of you individually.
As always – a Little Extra Photo Fun…
Our mission is to share the gospel and mobilize healthy churches to reach the next generation in Serbia and the Balkans. Click the link below or please reach out individually if you’re interested in supporting us financially.