OM Bosnia prayer update summer 2008: Bosnia & Hercegovina

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Bosnia-Hercegovina (BIH)

OM Bosnia prayer update summer 2008

Bosnia & Hercegovina | OM International

OM BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA PRAISE AND PRAYER UPDATE

June/July 2008

YEAR OF PRAYER CONFERENCE IN SARAJEVO
CREATIVE OUTREACH IN BIHAC
TWO MEN ADDED TO GOD’S KINGDOM
NEW PLACE WITH NEW OPPORTUNITIES
PRAISE AND PRAYER, POP-CORN STYLE

1. YEAR OF PRAYER CONFERENCE IN SARAJEVO

Over 200 people from all over Bosnia-Herzegovina gathered to Sarajevo on June 20-22 to worship, pray and intercede for their country. There were lots of local Christians as well as many visiting groups from other countries. People came from all over the country, from different denominations.

SARA, the coordinator of Year of Prayer writes: “Our prayer focus for most of the weekend was on the churches and ministries of Central Bosnia. A special focus throughout the time was on the summer camps run by the Evangelical Church. The conference was full of times of anointed worship, prayer, fellowship with one another and encouragement. On Friday night, we saw several people come forward to be prayed for during a spontaneous missions call. On Saturday, groups went on prayer-walks around Sarajevo. Other participants could choose between workshops about prayer or dance in worship. Many of us were working around busy schedules, lack of sleep, and long travels. In the end, there was tremendous blessing in the place of humbly coming before the Lord as a community of believers on behalf of BiH. As children of God, our ultimate reality lies in the spiritual realm. We know that there are things being moved in the spiritual world that we cannot yet see with our eyes. We know that God is at work, and that if we have faith, even as small as a mustard seed, then we can move mountains. God is moving. He is building our faith. The time is coming when we will see with our eyes the things that are shifting in the spiritual realm. Whether you were at the conference in body, in spirit (praying with us) or are simply finding out about it now, know that we are bound together in this journey. As we continue to pray, believe and expect great things in, and for, this land, God is building His church.”

PRAISE GOD:

for safe travels, the hospitality of the believers in Sarajevo, the great diversity of denominations and towns represented
for the Franciscan Hall that we were able to use for our meetings (the local churches are too small to hold 200 people)
More than anything, for HIS presence as we prayed and worshiped together!

PRAY:

that the believers would be filled with faith and encouragement
that we would see breakthroughs and miracles during this year
for the leaders of the churches and ministries
that the fire of prayer would continue to burn in our personal lives, as well as our churches

2. CREATIVE OUTREACH IN BIHAC

20 young artists from America, Canada and England spent two weeks in Bihac. While some of them attended the prayer conference in Sarajevo, the others did a 3-day program for the children in the local Gypsy community and painted a mural in a community centre. During the second week, all of the participants were in the park of Bihac, running creative programs twice a day.

CAROLINE, the leader of the outreach in Bihac, describes it: “At one end of the park a group of teenage girls are gathered around one of our artists as she practices her craft. Conversation flows easily as they discuss art, God, life. A few meters down, boys and art materials are strewn about as they receive instruction & encouragement from another artist. Meanwhile the band is playing secular music mixing in occasional worship songs. Many sit on the rock wall to listen. Dancers float by, enticing others to join them in a dance. Some have the courage and find themselves in a group dance with 20 or more. Balloons figures are made for children (as well as a few adults!); spiders and soccer balls, flowers and cats are being drawn on faces and arms; photographers are snapping away, offering printed pictures for those who will return the next day—and with it all, more conversations—about life, about God. The music stops and a drama begins. The messages are simple and clear to those with some Biblical understanding. But since most who are watching/listening are from a Muslim background, explanation is needed—and given. Jesus is freely preached from the microphone. People listen, a few walk away. The drama ends and the dancers begin—a dance filled not with sexuality and invitation, but with worship to the Giver of Creativity. Meanwhile, conversations are happening everywhere: in 2’s and 3’s, small groups, families, bike riders who pass by. Some people talk about their frustrations, their worries, their disappointments, their unwillingness or inability to forgive. Some even cry. Through it all, there are eyes of compassion, words of comfort, encouragement and seeds of eternal truth are planted in willing hearts.”

PRAISE GOD

for the favor we had with town government and for the permission to use the park
for all good conversations that happened during these days
for all the creative gifts and talents that these people had
for protecting us and giving us good weather during all of the programs

PRAY

that people would think about what they saw and heard
that many would read the books they received
that Jael and Caroline would know how to best follow up with the contacts that the team made

3. TWO MEN ADDED TO GOD’S KINGDOM

MUHAREM (name changed) is a young man from other ethnic background. We know him for some years already. But there was no regular contact, every once in a while he would just show up at our door. 6 months ago he started coming to our church-meetings and kids’ clubs. He just suddenly liked hanging out with us! He was open to talk about God and even prayed out loud, but had no clear understanding about Jesus. When the outreach-team came to Bihac, Muharem spent every day with them. He came with us to the prayer-conference in Sarajevo, there God got hold of his heart. He broke down, weeping and praying. The team-members gathered around him and ministered to him. Later he came to them and said that he also now believed in Jesus. We already see changes in him! Caroline has started Bible-studies with him, he is hungry for fellowship with other believers.

PRAISE GOD for saving Muharem!

PRAY

for wisdom on how to disciple him. It is a challenge, as he is a young single man and there is nobody his age in our church. There are only three other men here, but they are all married and quite a lot older than him.
Right now he is in the Christian youth camp of Evangelical churches. Pray that this week he would get good teaching and find some good Christian male friends

The other man is PETAR (name changed). His wife and son are both believers and have been in our church for 4 years. Petar has always been very supportive about our work, but never wanted to come to our meetings. He would say that he has his religion (Catholic). Last year he suddenly wanted to receive a Bible! At the same time, we started having Bible-studies in his home with his wife and son. He decided, he wanted to be a part of these too. He would never pray, but he gladly accepted others’ prayers. One night some of the outreach-team members had dinner with them. Petar said: “I see all of them have this special peace. I don’t have it. I want it too!” Caroline talked to him, they prayed together. And some days later he could confess that yes, now he really is a believer!

PRAISE GOD for helping Petar to find Jesus

PRAY

That he would have deep hunger to read the Word of God
That his wife and son could help him grow in his faith
That we would be able to be good leaders and older sisters to him

4. NEW PLACE WITH NEW OPPORTUNITIES

The OM-ers in Dobrinja (Sarajevo) found a new place for their reading-room. With more space, it can now be combined as office, reading-room, space for courses and other activities. They moved into the new place in July and named it “Dobrinjski Kutak” (Dobrinja Corner). They have many ideas for using it. STACY, one OM-er with a small son, is thinking of starting a group for moms with young kids. While kids play together, the moms can talk. The first meeting should be already this week!

CLAUDIA, the team-leader in Dobrinja says: “We need wisdom to plan good strategies to offer the community an open door. We still have a few things to fix at the new space. We are also waiting for the telephone and internet company to come and install phone-lines, so the office can be set up.”

PRAISE GOD for finding a suitable room

PRAY

For wisdom and right ideas on how to use it the best
That Stacy’s moms’ group would start well and become a place for many God-led conversations
Stacy has had dental problems last week. Pray for complete healing and energy so that she can start the moms’ group

5. PRAISE AND PRAYER, POPCORN-STYLE

OM-teams have often long prayer-meetings. To keep people focused, they try different styles of praying. Popcorn-style means, everybody pops up short, one-sentence prayers. The praying finishes when everybody stops “popping”. We have no space to tell you all possible stories. Therefore, the following prayer-points from both teams come in the “popcorn”-style too! If you are interested in hearing more about any of the following, please write to us and we will be happy to tell you!

DOBRINJA:

PRAISE GOD

For opportunities to help with a Youth With A Mission kids’ camp in Dobrinja
For energy that God gave, while organizing the prayer conference and moving the reading-room

PRAY

For Sara and Claudia’s processes of renewing their residency permits
For good contacts with kids during the YWAM kids’ camp
For finishing the set-up of the new space

BIHAC:

PRAISE GOD

For successful outreach
That we could sell our old car
For Muharem and Petar
For our teenagers, who were great leaders in the kids’ camp

PRAY

For ED and MONICA, they are going on furlough to USA next week
For JAEL and CAROLINE, as they will be the only ones left in Bihac
For the three teenagers who are now in the youth camp
For everybody who goes to the family camp next week
For more workers to join us
That God will help local believers to start taking more initiative
For God’s guidance on how to move on with the house-churches

When God’s people pray, HIS hands will move! THANK YOU for standing in the gap for Bosnia-Herzegovina with us! THANK YOU for being such a vital part of our work here. When YOU pray for us, God will work here as well as in your lives. May the God of Blessings overwhelm you with HIS goodness!

On behalf of OM Bosnia-Herzegovina, Jael Puusaag

For any further information, contact Annelea Blignaut (our Field Leader): This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Check our web-page http://www.pray4bosnia.co.cc