The last two weeks have been extremely busy with traveling, swimming, great fellowship and sightseeing! Last week we had the incredible opportunity to tour the delightful country of Slovenia. It is a small country that borders Croatia. There are currently 3 members who live there. Sylvia, who is a single woman who lives in the capital city, guided us through Lbuijana, Slovenia’s capital. We were quickly awestruck by its narrow, granite stoned streets that were lined with colorful houses and cafes. It was like being on a movie set! The treat of the afternoon was a trip to a 16th century castle that sat on a very high hill overlooking the city. Nadia wanted to cartwheel the whole way up. She quickly figured out this was going to be quite difficult! When we arrived at the castle, we were able to go up one of the towers and tour its chapel room. The chapel was painted a melon color and had many crowns representing the various kings who had ruled the country. Moved by the incredible acoustics of the small chapel room, Nadia broke out into a full operatic aria that even Pavarotti would have been moved to tears! With all the special attractions, the most wonderful one was Sylvia herself. She travels 2-3 hours by train each weekend to worship and fellowship with the church. She really desires to be used by God to help others know him. Her upbeat and faithful attitude is contagious. Oh, brothers, did I mention she is single? We were very grateful to be able to spend time with her and be influenced by her faith.

As our time comes to a close we have been blessed with spending time with Shawn, Lena, Andrew and Diana! They are traveling the world this summer visiting churches and encouraging them. They are traveling with another family, the Efstathions, who are from Massachusetts. The great thing about the kingdom is that we can all find some type of connection to one another. Chris, is an elder in training in the Worcester Mass. church and he is from Palatka! Yes, Gator fans, he was converted in Gainesville, Florida! He sends his love to all of you and thanks you for your faithfulness. We traveled with him and his family, the other Wootens and the ministry couples from Zagreb to the coast of Croatia. Croatia boasts some of the world’s most picturesque beaches. We are now believers!

As we traveled the mountainside singing devotional songs and praying in the van, it was almost automatic that you praised God for his incredible nature and beauty. With a lush mixture of green plants and rocky parched spaces, it leaves you oohing and ahhing as you make your way to the beaches. When we arrived in Brela, the beach city we were traveling to, we stayed in a disciple’s home who was very generous to us. Croatia’s pebble beaches and blue green water of the Adriatic Sea are a memory we will treasure. It was fantastic to watch Nadia and Skylar play with their cousin in the water and float on inflatables. Each day, the 14 of us had breakfast and some kind of devotional together. Derek even managed to flip Shawn over in the water! Boys will be boys! We even had a starlight devotional in which we all went on the roof of the house and gazed at the stars on our backs, listened to a scripture, sang songs and prayed together. This was so moving and gave you a sense of God’s peacefulness. Our last day on the coast was spent in the ancient Roman city of Split. The emperor Diocletian ruled this area 1,800 years ago. Historically, Diocletian was known for his immense cruelty to the Christians who lived there. He was responsible for the killing of a countless number of disciples. It was amazing that despite the efforts that one man may make to stop the spread of the Gospel, today we are faithful and God’s intention to save many has and will continue to survive! Although Diocletian’s attempts to stop Christianity crumbled, a good portion of his palace still remains. It was fascinating to see the original columns, stone and walls still standing erect after almost 2,000 years. We were able to walk through the castle and climb a watchtower that overlooked the vast harbor of Split.

That is how it is every time you go somewhere. We will get to know where everything is and then we’ll be gone! Last week we spoke to the Singles and Married ministries during their midweek services. The highlight was the video of our church in Jacksonville. They disciples here were so moved by what they saw in the video. They loved seeing all of you saying “Hello” to them and knowing that you are one in heart with them. The married couples also viewed the Kingdom Kids video and were able to look at copies of daily challenges the children participate in. Many of the couples have inquired about our new children’s ministry. On Sunday, Derek was able to preach and did quite well with the interpreter! This week began with a great adventure to a famous national park in the mountains. It boasts 5 lakes, many waterfalls and turquoise blue water! It was breathtaking throughout. When we had hiked nearly 5 miles up the mountain to the highest lake, we prayed together as a family. The inspiring view of God’s nature prompted us to pause and thank Him for leaving us special places like this park to reflect upon his amazing ability to create. Tomorrow we will venture off to the country of Slovenia and encourage a woman who travels 2-3 hours by train to Zagreb for fellowship and church.

Several disciples from Zagreb were able to share their testimonies with Boston and we watched a teen get baptized in Boston! I cried during this service because it was just so beautiful to see the kingdom extend beyond miles, cyberspace and language barriers! It was surreal to think that I am on the “other” side of the monitor and not sitting in the States watching these faithful brothers and sisters. I am among them! Our week has begun and our schedule is filled with lunches, dinners and barbecues with families and singles. Yesterday, I met a sister named Daniela for tea and prayer at a lake, and we had our first real homemade Croatian meal with Maria, Darco and their two sweet girls who have bonded with our daughters.

Misha

Hope everyone is doing well, we are adjusting to many changes.  We had a very smooth 2 day trip, the only issue was in our excitement we got about 3 hours total of sleep.  It was great to get off the plane in Zagreb, as tired as we were to see three smiling, and excited people from the church here.  They welcomed us, brought us to our apartment, and even brought us food to get us by until the next day.  Ivan and his wife Natasha lead the church here and they have been incredible.  Nadia and Skylar have fallen in love with them.  It took us a few days to adjust our sleeping with the time change, but I think we are there now.  We are living in an apartment in a quiet neighborhood, except for these birds every morning at about 4 AM.  I am not sure what is wrong with them but they sound right outside our window, and seem to wake up at the same time every day.  Yesterday we were on our own and felt like we were leaving our parents.  We spent the day in a big park next to our home, stopped by the grocery store, and took the tram across the city for a singles midweek.  There is an elder couple from Boston that is here this weekend, so they did the devo for the singles.  It took us about an hour to get to the church.  Afterwards several of us went out to dinner.  Nadia had a cheeseburger, Skylar and I split a pizza, and Misha had a meat variety dish, with vegetables.  On our first day here we had to hit the McDonalds even though it was slightly different.  I had the royal cheeseburger!  Nadia and Skylar have already made friends in the neighborhood, there are three girls that live on our street that they have played with the last couple of nights.  Tonight we are going to the marrieds midweek.  The church here is very excited that we have come for the summer, they have expressed that for years no one came to visit, then just in the last three years people have begun to visit,  and it is really great to have some people come this summer. Continue to pray for us and we will keep everyone updated.

A brief history of Croatia: After World War II, Croatia was a Socialist Republic part of a six-part Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia. Croatia was under a new communist system, privately owned factories and estates, and the economy was based on a type of planned market socialism. Then in the early 90’s Croatia was involved in a war to gain its independence from Yugoslavia in 1991.

We fly out on Sunday June 14th, so be praying for our travels.

GATE River Run and Times Union Walk for Charity was a great success. With over 15,000 runners and walkers HOPE worldwide benefits from monies raised through the 5k Walk for Charity. This is one of our primary sources of fundraising in the community. Thank you to all those who participated in the walk and those who volunteered to serve during the week.

Saturday Academy “Team Works” begins with an exciting group of students. Paul Trimble, numerous veteran and new volunteers had a great time with the children @ the Magic Johnson Center. We are funded this year primarily through a grant by the Jaguars Foundation. The Academy continues through April 18th. Sign-up is at www.handsonjacksonville.org. Come and have great time.

Sunday, April 26th declared a “National Day of HOPE, a time to remember the poor”. A specal service is being planned for this day @ the Jacksonville Church of Christ. It’s a time to stir our hearts and to remember the poor.

To learn more, visit our HOPE Worldwide page.