“God Does not Send us to a Place, but to People”

Hello from team Croatia!

Well, it sure has already been a great adventure! We spent a full week in Switzerland meeting with the other missionaries we would be working with through Movida missions. There are around nine of us on this Croatian trip, and we are from 7 different cultures– not only Canada and America but Chile, Argentina, Hungry and Germany and Switzerland. We all get to come together from around the world, to do the work of God in one place. A quote that has been a bit of a theme for us is, “God does not send us to a place, but to people.” We are here to build relationships, and in building them, must give. I think that is the most beautiful thing we can give is ourselves.

View from an adventure walk in Switzerland

When we first got to the Movida headquarters, we met other missionaries who had just returned from working in Spain. We heard their stories and learned about what it was like to be doing street ministry, to help us prepare for this trip.
God has been overwhelming us with His beauty. This is the first time for all three of us to be out of North America and truly, there are not enough words to describe it.
Things have been a bit difficult so far. The night before leaving for Croatia (Feb 28th) Leanne got the flu and was extremely sick, but thanks be to God, she was healed in less than 24 hours and could endure the 12-hour car ride the next day.

Emma Catching up in her journal about everything that has happened

Croatia is very different than Switzerland. Our first stop for a week is Câkovec. It has many gypsy communities surrounding it so we are able to do work close to home. The first day of working with the people of these communities went well. The children longed for our attention and loved when we would play games or hold their hand. Emma had to stay behind because she had become sick as well. We know it was hard for her to do, but God can do miracles, and when the time is right for her to join us, she will.

A gypsy community near Câkovec

The most recent time of working with gypsies was much more difficult. It is hard to speak to people about something that means so much to you and have them not care. The younger children were more interested in hearing what we had to say, so the soil of their hearts was more receptive to the seeds of God’s Word.

Some of the children we ministered with near Câkovec

At one point, Nicole was unable to join us because she too became sick! Every one of the CLBI team members has become sick, but by the grace of God, they are getting better!
Having the language barrier is a challenge, but thanks to translators, we can truly speak the love of God to whomever we come across.