Selma (name changed) is one of the believers in Bihac, Bosnia-Herzegovina. Over the past few months, her life has been quite a whirlwind! It started last summer when she suddenly needed surgery. She did not have health insurance, so the doctor sent her home to recover. Some days later, the landlady kicked her out. It was about unpaid bills. A friend of Selma's took her in. Initially it was supposed to be a temporary situation: Selma was hoping to get a flat through the Centre of Social Welfare. But months passed and still there was no answer. Winter was approaching quickly.  The family with whom they were staying started causing them a lot of problems. Both the husband and the wife were heavy alcoholics. There was constant fighting and quarreling in that household! Selma was thankful that they had provided her a place to stay, but she kept praying that God would get her out of there fast!

It was already February. Selma still had heard nothing from the Centre of Social Welfare. But the tension at home was becoming intolerable. One day Selma called us in tears, “If we don't pay the rent by tomorrow, they will kick us out. But it is winter and there is nowhere to go!” The rent did not get paid. And sure enough, Selma's family had to move out the next day! An old granny was a good friend of hers, and although the granny's house was very small, she invited Selma and her family to live with her. At least it was a peaceful place! Two days after they moved in, the granny had a heart attack and died! Her last wish was that Selma's little son should have a safe place to live. Granny's sons decided that Selma could stay in the house without paying rent. What a miracle! Selma was allowed to use all the household things, there was enough room for them and above all, it was peaceful. There was even a washing-maschine and enough firewood! She thought, now finally her problems had been solved...

Two months went by. Selma had built good relationships with her neighbours and the landlords. Sometimes she and the new landlady even read the Bible together. Everything seemed to be going well. There were no fights - even Selma's alcoholic husband did not cause any problems. But then one day the landlady showed up and announced, “You need to be out of the house in two weeks time!” Selma was shocked. Didn't they say that she could stay there permanently? What was the reason? And where was she supposed to go this time? The landlady did not say much. She just wanted them out!

But from then on, Selma was carried by God's presence. Yes, she was sad and broken over such a betrayal. But she always found peace from sharing her burdens with God. She would stay up later at night, sit in the quiet hallway and tell God about her pain and sorrow. With God's peace, she was then able to sleep well through the night.

She also saw God providing a new place for her. When the landlady told her to start packing, Selma went outside to cry. At that very same moment a neighbour passed by. Hearing about the problem she said: “I have an empty shop-room in my house. You can move in there for the next few months.” At that, Selma started crying out of thankfulness! She said, “At the very same moment when I lost one home, God provided another roof over our heads!”

Over the next few days, OM team members helped Selma clean up the new place. It was just two empty rooms. The first one had a lightbulb and TV plug. The other one had place to build a sink and toilet, but there was currently nothing there - just a hole in the floor. A maintenance guy was supposed to come and fix it. But a week later, he still had not shown up. Selma's family took water from an outside pipe behind the house and used a bucket as a toilet. Another friend gave her some old furniture: two couches, a small table and a cabinet. That made the room somehow liveable: at least they had something to sleep on and a place for their things.

But in the midst of this all, Selma continued to shine with God's light. She kept telling us how God's peace was overwhelming her heart. She started to write down prayers to God. They were full of praise for God's salvation, and lifting up the names of the Father and His Son. Instead of complaining about her situation, she  chose to focus on Jesus and what He had done for her. She  even prayed for the salvation of the landlady who broke the promise and kicked her out of thegranny's house! Her husband was angry with Selma, “Why do you even care about that woman any more? See what she did to you!” Selma answered, “Well, she did it because she is not saved. Jesus needs to change her heart. And God has a solution for us as well!”