Why Do I Do This?

One of the most common questions I get on these trips (along with "Why have you never married?") is why I keep doing this. As a variation, one of my readers recently asked me if I didn't find it boring to study the same lessons with people over and over, year after year.

A simple answer to why I keep doing this is that I believe it is what God has called me to do. However, while this answer is true, in some sense it's a cop-out. What leads me to believe that God is calling me to do this? I can give several reasons why I believe this, but I think the most central answer is that I can see him working more while I'm on an LST project than at any other time.

First, I see God working in the lives of many of my conversation partners. On numerous occasions, both this summer and in past summers, readers have mentioned how they have been thinking about a scripture we have discussed, or they have seen something that reminded them of a conversation we had shared about the Bible. While others may interpret this differently, I interpret it as God working in their hearts. I want to emphasize that this is nothing I have caused - I simply have the opportunity to observe and perhaps share in what God is doing. In some cases - most notably, here in Varaždin, where I've worked several times - I've had the opportunity to see these conversation partners come to know and experience God in wonderful new ways.

Second, I see God working in the lives of my teammates. Nick has shared with me how God has answered his prayers in powerful ways. He has also shared how the LST experience has helped him to have a better perspective on the variety of ways God works in people's lives.

Third, I see God working in the churches that invite us. This is particularly true of the church here in Varaždin. I have seen tremendous spiritual growth in this church since my first visit nine years ago. I am especially encouraged to see how they have grown in welcoming visitors. I have no hesitation to invite readers to church activities, as I know that they will immediately be made to feel welcome.

Finally, I experience God's work in my own life. Over the years, I have learned how to trust God more and more to direct my conversations with my readers. Furthermore, I continue to receive from my readers insights into scriptures. As a simple example, a few days ago, one of my readers pointed out to me that the Bible never says that the angel Gabriel was visible to Mary (though, in fact, this depends on the translation). I've probably read this text with over 200 people in the last 20 years and never noticed this. While a single observation such as this may seem insignificant, the accumulation of such insights over the years has helped me to grow in both my understanding of scripture and my knowledge of God. How could I possibly find this boring?

All of what I have said is based only on what I am able to see of God's working. I am convinced that he works in many ways that I don't see, wherever I am. Specifically, I'm not saying that God works more through an LST project than through any other activities in which I've been involved. What I am saying is that I see his work more clearly while I'm doing this work.

As I close, I'd like to express my appreciation once again for your prayers regarding our work. We are facing an important transition in a few days, as Nick will be going home and Morris will be arriving here on Monday. Please pray that this transition goes smoothly, and that God will continue to use us to his glory.

The End of Week 2

Dobar dan, or good day. We are now at the end of our second week here in Varazdin, Croatia. We have had an amazing second week here getting to know the local church members and the readers. I still can't believe how welcoming everyone has been and how excited they are to have Rod and I here. I also can't believe that I only have a week left before I have to return to the States, it seems like I only just got here and already I'm going to have to start saying goodbye to my readers. Fortunately I know they will be in very good hands when Morris arrives to take my place.

We started off this week on Saturday by having lunch with Joy, a woman who has been working with some of our readers for the last few weeks. Getting to visit with her and learn about her mission work in Croatia for over 20 years was really good. She really has a passion for doing God's work in Croatia. On Sunday we spent time getting to know even more of the church members at worship service where Rod gave a sermon about how Jesus called the common people and he calls all of us to follow him. I want to say thank you to Saša for translating it into Croatian for him. After church on Sunday we got a special treat. The church was going to Ravna Gora, or flat mountain, to have lunch and celebrate the end of their Alpha course. Considering I would have to drive almost 8 hours from home to even see a mountain, I thought this was great. Many of the church members actually walked up the mountain, but Rod and I chose to ride up in Mladen's car.

From Left to right. Mladen's father, Josip, Mladen	Church members resting after hiking up the mountain
Fellowship among the church members and the Alpha class.	Splomenka showing her lack of fear

On Monday we resumed our reading sessions and continued to read with our readers about Jesus and to get to know each other. Many of my readers have opened up to me and shared their lives and their beliefs with me and in turn I have been sharing myself with them. Overall, I think our reading sessions are going very well. I know I am certainly learning a lot about my readers and Croatia, and I hope they are learning about me as well. I would like to ask for prayers for some of our readers who are without work as I know that is weighing very heavily on them. In addition one of my readers, and her mother, who is reading with Rod, just lost a relative yesterday and I would like to ask for your prayers for them as well.

On Wednesday night we hosted our first party after a class on Revelations. Rod decided to do a Bunco party which if you don't know is a very simple game played with dice. he modified the rules a bit so that after every round each person had to tell something about themselves. The party was reasonably well attended with 4 of our readers and 8 church members in attendance. After the game ended, the readers and the church members enjoyed the refreshments we provided and visited with each other. Overall I thought it went pretty well and a reader I saw this morning who was there said he really enjoyed the party and was looking forward to the next one.

Rod explaining the rules	Three of our readers in a group with Mladen
A group of players watching the roll of the dice	Fellowship and refreshments after the game

Tomorrow Rod and I are going to take our first two day break and head for the coast and the city of Pula where we plan to visit the Roman arena(Colosseum) and some of the other old Roman architecture. We'll be back on Saturday night so that we can prepare for worship on Sunday morning and another week spent with our readers starting on Monday. I'm especially looking forward to next week because I know it will be the last chance I get to spend with my readers and want to make sure it's good for both them and myself.

Doviđenja (goodbye) for now

Each Project Is Unique

This is my fifth LST project in Varaždin and my eighteenth LST project overall. Each of these projects has had its own unique character due to the variety of people involved and the variety of ways God has been working in their lives and mine.

This year I have the privilege to provide English conversation for fourteen unique individuals. This group includes both men and women whose ages range from late teens to early 70s. Eleven of them I had not met prior to last week.  Among these eleven are:

• a middle-aged woman who lost her husband suddenly eight years ago, but who has confidence that she will see him again;
• a young woman whose father died last year;
• a young man whose older sister died fourteen years ago;
• a divorced woman whose step-brother is dying in a hospital and whose mother has been in a vegetative state for seven years; 
• and a middle-aged man whose mother died suddenly a few months ago and who wants to know God's plan for his life.

The nature of our conversations gives Nick and me many opportunities to encourage, comfort, and pray for people who are dealing with life's challenges and struggles. However, I've often failed to take full advantage of these opportunities in the past. God has been challenging me recently to be more sensitive to people's needs and to be open to however he wants to use me in ministering to them.

My prayer is that both Nick and I, as well as Morris when he arrives, can follow God's leading so that he can use us to make a difference in people's lives. I invite you to join me in praying for these people.

The Project Begins

Our home for the project

Hello from Varazdin, Croatia. Rod and I are now on our third day here and already God is doing amazing work. After Mladen, the local minister, picked us up at the airport, we had lunch with him in Zagreb so that we could get acquainted. Afterwards, Mladen brought us to the church in Varazdin which will be our home for the duration of our project. After acquainting ourselves with the church building we went into town in order to change money and to pick up a few groceries.

Wednesday morning we started our day with a devotional designed to remind us that we are here to spread God's word and not our own as well as to reinforce that we should be concentrating on our readers as opposed to doing what's comfortable to us. Afterwards, we had some free time which we used to explore some more of Varazdin. We again met Mladen for lunch where we discussed the details and expectations of the project.

Rod presenting at the Information Meeting

Wednesday evening the project itself really started in earnest. At 6pm we had our information meeting with our readers. We had 26 people attend the meeting so Rod and I both had 13 readers signup with each of us. After the meeting, we got to meet the local congregation for the first time during a great video bible study of how we know that God is the Creator. The local church members were very warm and welcoming to us and they were glad we were here. After the study one of the members of the congregation asked me if I would read with her grandson and Rod received a message from a past reader wanting to study again so we are now at 14 readers each.

We started today off with a devotional dedicated to giving thanks to God for all that he has done for us. We discussed the many things that we were grateful for including the safe travels, the good turnout at the information meeting, and the very warm welcome we received from the local church members. After the devotional we started our reading sessions, both with a very full calendar. Mine so far have gone very well with some good conversations. I am looking forward to continuing to meet with readers today and tomorrow before we take our first free day on Saturday. On Sunday we will worship with the local church and then join them for lunch out of town at a gathering to celebrate the end of their Alpha classes.

We would like to ask that you continue to pray for us and for the work that we are doing here in Varazdin. Pray that we continue to share ourselves and God's word with our readers.

A Look at Our Team

As our project will begin next week, I thought it would be good to give a brief introduction to our team and what we will be doing over the next several weeks.

Left to right: Rod Howell (me), Morris Crisler, Nick Brown

I am a faculty member in the Department of Computing and Information Sciences at K-State. Morris is a Supervisor / Department Head for the Wamego Park Department. Nick is an IT Specialist at K-State.

Nick and I will leave for Varaždin, Croatia, next Monday, May 14. If travel goes according to plan, we will arrive sometime Tuesday afternoon. We should have some time Tuesday evening and during the day Wednesday for unpacking, exchanging money, stocking up on groceries, and getting acquainted with the town (I've been there several times, but this will be Nick's first visit). On Wednesday evening, we will attend the mid-week Bible study at Kristova Crkva (Church of Christ).

Following the Bible study, we will conduct our Information Meeting, where we will meet our readers for the first time. These people will be coming to us to practice their English conversation, one with one. The basis for much of our conversation will be texts taken from the Gospel of Luke. We will use the Information Meeting as an opportunity to meet each other, to give an introduction to what we will be doing together, and to schedule our first sessions.

We will conclude our first week by meeting with readers on Thursday and Friday before taking our first day off on Saturday. We will spend time on Sunday with the church, before starting our second week meeting with our readers. At this point, we will begin a regular schedule of meeting with readers Monday through Thursday, taking Friday and Saturday off, and spending all or part of Sunday with the church. We will continue attending the mid-week Bible studies on Wednesday nights, and on most Wednesday nights we will follow the Bible study with some type of social event for our readers and church members.

By now you might be wondering where Morris fits in. He plans to join me on June 4, at which point Nick will return home. Morris will then stay for three weeks before returning, and I will remain until July 9. I will then attend an academic conference in Italy before returning home.

I solicit your prayers for this work, including our final preparations before leaving. As I write this, I am administering a final exam, which I will need to have graded before leaving. In addition, I have the opportunity this weekend to help my nephew, Luke Ericson, celebrate his graduation from Junction City High School. Fortunately, I have almost everything else ready to go, but I am anticipating a busy weekend. My prayer is that I can give all of these tasks the attention they need, while allowing God to continue to prepare me for the work in Croatia. Most of all, I pray that He is glorified by our work.