Here in Croatia!

(From left to right and Top:Doug, Chris, Tom, Rich; Bottom:Bethany, Josh(and a guess top too), Emily)

Yes, we made it...Just wanted to start with that for all our concerned parents, spouses, and friends. God was good in keeping us safe and with finding all our luggage present upon arrival. I want to also start by thanking you as you read this note. We are very mindful that this is not a team of 7 but a team of hundreds, each of us having many Christian friends and family members who have joined with us through sacrificial financial giving and commitment to prayer. Please know that your prayers and care for us are a huge encouragment as we seek to serve dear missionaries here and to join with them in declaring the good news of Jesus Christ. It is our desire not only to speak of what God has done in our lives through salvation and ongoing sanctification but to put it on display so that unrepentant Croatians would be more shocked by our difference as Christians than our difference as Americans. We know that the Lord said that they will know us by our love for one another. Would you ask the Lord for us for continued grace to do this?

We are thrilled to be here! For over half our team, this is a return trip. God gave us a love for the missionaries and the ministry here as we served last summer. We arrived Sunday afternoon. After a short orientation time, and prayer time, we met with many of the believing Croatian nationals and missionary families for dinner. It was such a refreshing time...like a reunion...and even more special since what connects us all is our Saviour.

Thank you for keeping up with us on this blog. It's our plan to update it and post pictures often as we serve here the next couple weeks. Please interact with us too via the comment section. We'll try our best to answer any questions you might ask.

Today, we started the morning by preparing crafts for our afternoon kids club. The guys also worked on the landscape of a property owned by the church. The VBS type kids club was a blast with about 12 kids coming on the first day! We sang together and Tom gave the first part of a gospel presentation. Next, we had a craft time. This evening, we ate dinner with Todd and Lynn Dick (and family), Momir and Rebecca Horvatek, and Taylor and Kim Jones (who are visiting also from California).
Here are some of the kids from kids club!

Please keep these upcoming events in your prayers:
Tuesday:
Morning:Doug teaching a class at the church's Bible institute, Team doing landscape work at church property
Afternoon: Team doing a Bible kids club for young neighborhood kids
Evening: Being the American representatives for a community world foods event in town.
Wednesday: Morning: Doug teaching a class at the church's Bible institute, Afternoon: Team doing a Bible kids club for young neighborhood kids Evening: Josh preaching at Emanuel Baptista Church.