Happy New Year!
Sretan Nova Godina! (Happy New Year)
[photos] share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AbMW7Fk5cuGEY
[happy new year!] The first photo is my roommate, Elena, and me in front of our school’s Christmas tree.
Now is the time to look back reflect…laugh, cry, and make change for the new year. I’ve done and learned so much, it's hard to believe I've been in Croatia, Romania, Macedonia, Serbia, Bosnia, the USA, Slovenia, and Austria this year. It's my dream come true that I am overseas studying about God, learning crazy life lessons (some easier than others), doing a little design work that I like, experiencing new cultures, food, friends...even God in a new way...yet my heart was a little heavy this holiday season. I can't share this with you...those I love from my home(s). These photos can show you a bit of my life but they can't show how much I miss you and love you.
[new year's eve] My friend Marina's party was very Croatian...there was karoake with traditional songs for hours (the louder and more off-key, the better). I loved the circle-dancing, though, it was fun. No "Auld Lang Syne" at midnight...everyone waltzes.
[Chinese food] There are two ethnic restaurants here, so I took Tung Luan (the only Asian student here) one evening..here we are posing in the streets of downtown Osjijek. The lights were really nice...we had snow for only two days, now just rain. It was his first Asian food in two years...poor guy.
[pre-Christmas] [no photo] I have to admit, this was definitely the hardest part of being in Croatia. I talked to my family on the phone, but I just felt worse. I could hear everyone having fun together, and the connection was terrible. I didn't like being alone at Christmas, without my little nieces and nephews running around, hugs from family, familiarity...and our tradition of going to church together as a family every Christmas Eve. It felt terrible. I pray I don't have to miss another Christmas ever.
[Croatian Christmas] Christmas Eve (6pm) Evangelical church at 6pm with cute kids singing (10pm) Mirela (from the photo)and her brother invited me to spend Christmas with them...I opted for not being alone, so they pickted me up for a traditional Croatian Christmas Eve...which started at a small pub...Croatians like to drink. (12am) Mladin, Mirela's boyfriend, met us and we all went to mass at his church at midnight. The church was packed, so we stood in the back for an hour and a half, while more and more people tried to squeeze in...I was a little clausterphobic, but it was nice. (1:30am) Mladin's friends brought out a feast of ham, cheese, bread, cookies...no fudge or cut-out cookies, though...and more wine and rakia, homemade brandy...did I mention Croatians like to drink? (3am) Apparently, the night is still young...I find myself in a Croatian club for the first time with hundreds of other crazy young people. (3:45am) Mirela's rabbit fur purse caught on fire, but we successfully put it out, and decided it was time to leave the club "It doesn't really feel like Christmas" I said...Mirela agreed.(4:30am) Home at last! My roommate was up, so we talked a bit...this was the strangest Christmas Eve of my life (10am) My Evangelical Church again...a nice service...it finally felt like Christmas, just a bit more tired than usual and with a scratchy voice. It was hard to imagine a few hours earlier I had been trying to speak over dance music and smoke...not a Christmas tradition I would like to keep...But Christ was born on this day! We should celebrate every day...we are so unworthy of this gift of His life...so humble, a miracle that changed history. Little tears came when I think of how infrequently I thank God for this. I don’t ever want to stop thanking Him...
[step] Photos from the student ministry I have been leading this year (called InterVarsity in the U.S.) Some photos are from our Christmas party, and some are from culture night. We all talked about our countries, brought food, and danced to some folk songs. Thanks to the chocolate chips sent to me from my Baptist church in Elgin, I was able to make cookies for everyone. They were a hit (Croatia doesn't have choc chips...such a tragedy).
So far the meetings have been going well...it has been a challenge working cross-culturally, but I've learned a lot through the process. The students from Osijek seem to love it. We have built trust with these students...a lot of them are Marina's friends from her university, and some came last year. They're open to speaking about things of God, which is unusual in this country where it's taboo...people have seen a lot of corruption in churches, so they usually avoid talking about religion...it's fun.
Some photos are from the day we advertised the start of step for the new semester. An American guy from a mission organization in Denver was visiting my seminary, then followed me around Osijek's student center, taking pictures and interviewing me..."What is your strategy to build leadership among Christian young people in Eastern Europe?" It was a little awkward with all the cameras...like I was a movie star...but I have to admit the pics of all the students are nice.
[english] [no photo] I don’t have a photo of this, but I was teaching English here to the 2nd level. I decided to do it despite any compensation in my tuition...I now have a new respect for teachers of any kind. My first day was a disaster...one guy yelled at me in Croatian, then yelled at the other students, and one girl walked out. So I ended class early and felt the sting of failure for a few days until the next class, which was much better. Later I confronted the guy who yelled, prayed for him, and things went well from that day on. He told one student that he was angry I was his teacher because I am a woman (that's normal here, apparently). The last week of class he admitted he liked me as a teacher, hehe. All the late nights preparing, the sacrifice, and stress were well worth it.
[art] Art and faith class, yay! An American professor from Virginia taught these two weeks, and took us to visit some churches in Osijek. I finally obeyed God's instruction to make time for painting.
[friends] My friends have been a joy. Anka (Romanian) and then Elena (my 19-yr old Macedonian roommate). She is organized like me, hehe. We get along perfectly...she's a sweetheart, loves God, and is loads of fun. Melana (the other American girl who was here last semester), came back from Amsterdam for a week to visit. It was wonderful to see her...we stayed up late talking and sharing life dreams, passions, and hopes of working for God together someday in the future...
[goodbyes] December 13th I said goodbye to dear friends, George and Lynn Ainsworth. They were American professors here, and like parents to me. They let me cry on their shoulders, vent my frustrations, pray with me, and had me over for Thanksgiving. I already miss them terribly. They have returned to Virginia to their own grown children and will start a school there. There are only three Americans here now…and two are professors married to Croatian women.
[macedonia] I went to Macedonia one weekend in November with Elena by car...9 hours. It was a wonderful break! Skopja, the capitol city, where she lives, is lively and fun. Her friends and family are great, too. We ate pizza burek (I got sick from this, but it was worth it), peanuts, and salty cheese. The food was great, and the people in her Baptist church were lovely. You can see the river, the city, and the Gypsy’s horse and cart. They drive these on the street through rush-hour traffic…it’s comical.
[bosnia] I traveled six hours to Bosnia for Svjetlana's dad's funeral in October. It was a somber occasion, but beautiful. I only have 2 pictures from this trip, but her little city was breathtaking…mountains with brightly-colored fall leaves. Her dad was a Protestant, but was buried in an Orthodox cemetery, because he was of Serbian ethnicity. We stood next to the grave at the top of the little hill and sang "Amazing Grace" in the Croatian language. We could see for miles...Catholic Croatian cathedrals and towers from Mosques all over the city. Just as we were finishing the song, the Muslims' call for prayer began.
[osijek] Blaza, a friend from Osijek, and I had fun making creative photos the first few weeks of school. It’s a beautiful city when the weather's nice. Notice the mosquito repellent spraying out the back of a blue car...ah...what a lovely smell. If the secondhand smoke here won't kill you, the repellent will. The fountain, bridge, and architecture are lovely...but now it's dreary and rainy. It's cold, too, but I can't complain...it doesn't compare to Iowa:)
[art] God speaks...these three pics I created during times of prayer/worship.
[prayer] Please contine to pray! I love receiving your emails, letters, gifts, and cards of encouragement...thank you so much for your support. I know you pray for me often, and I believe it's your prayers that have given me strength and joy here.
1. Step - please continue to pray for "Step" that students from Osijek will come regularly and their desire to know God and commit their lives to Him would increase. Please pray for revival in this city.
2. Students here at school - they are on fire for God, and some of us were meeting every night at 10pm to pray together when we had classes (there is no one here now)…the whole atmosphere is different this semester. It's wonderful…please pray that it continues
3. Peace in Croatia and the world – It can only come from God…the ability to forgive horrible injustice from the past and move forward in love. There have been riots here in the past month as Croatians protest the arrest of their "hero", Ante Gotovina. He was finally arrested two weeks ago for his war crimes against Serbia.
There is so much hatred under the surface here...it's scary. A Serbian student here at my seminary wanted to come to Step two weeks ago to culture night, but it wasn't safe for him to go. I am angry and saddened at this...how can someone live like this...afraid to walk down the street or speak for fear of someone beating or killing them? Melana reminded me that there are unsafe places in the United States, too. How much God's heart must break from hatred and violence!
4. My heart…that I will continually grow closer to God. He is so good to me...I just want to live in His perfect will, obey, and fall in love more and more.
[goals] I have lots of goals for the new year in Eastern Europe...
1. I will remember that God is always good to me...always.
2. I will appreciate and enjoy my circumstances. There is no perfect country, city, etc. (i.e. "The grass is always greener...")
3. I won't stress about the success of my English students so much. Even if I’m the best teacher in the world, I can't change my gender...haha (i.e. "You can lead a horse to water...")
4. I will be thankful for my family and friends that love me and pray...you haven't forgotten me!!
5. I will obey God’s voice…I will paint, pray, etc
6. I will read more books. It takes a lot less effort than making real life a great story...plus mine never has a good romance.
7. I will read the Bible more and more! I will do the “Bible in a year” program…if you want to join me and keep me going, please let me know…we can do it together.
8. I will do something good for someone. For the less fortunate, lonely, my neighbor...I can go to an orphanage here...finally!
9. I will eat fried pizza burek even if it causes intense stomach cramps...it's well worth it!
[my prayer for you] May you have an incredible year...that the love of God may abound to you immeasurably...
All my love,
Bethany
[photos] share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AbMW7Fk5cuGEY
[happy new year!] The first photo is my roommate, Elena, and me in front of our school’s Christmas tree.
Now is the time to look back reflect…laugh, cry, and make change for the new year. I’ve done and learned so much, it's hard to believe I've been in Croatia, Romania, Macedonia, Serbia, Bosnia, the USA, Slovenia, and Austria this year. It's my dream come true that I am overseas studying about God, learning crazy life lessons (some easier than others), doing a little design work that I like, experiencing new cultures, food, friends...even God in a new way...yet my heart was a little heavy this holiday season. I can't share this with you...those I love from my home(s). These photos can show you a bit of my life but they can't show how much I miss you and love you.
[new year's eve] My friend Marina's party was very Croatian...there was karoake with traditional songs for hours (the louder and more off-key, the better). I loved the circle-dancing, though, it was fun. No "Auld Lang Syne" at midnight...everyone waltzes.
[Chinese food] There are two ethnic restaurants here, so I took Tung Luan (the only Asian student here) one evening..here we are posing in the streets of downtown Osjijek. The lights were really nice...we had snow for only two days, now just rain. It was his first Asian food in two years...poor guy.
[pre-Christmas] [no photo] I have to admit, this was definitely the hardest part of being in Croatia. I talked to my family on the phone, but I just felt worse. I could hear everyone having fun together, and the connection was terrible. I didn't like being alone at Christmas, without my little nieces and nephews running around, hugs from family, familiarity...and our tradition of going to church together as a family every Christmas Eve. It felt terrible. I pray I don't have to miss another Christmas ever.
[Croatian Christmas] Christmas Eve (6pm) Evangelical church at 6pm with cute kids singing (10pm) Mirela (from the photo)and her brother invited me to spend Christmas with them...I opted for not being alone, so they pickted me up for a traditional Croatian Christmas Eve...which started at a small pub...Croatians like to drink. (12am) Mladin, Mirela's boyfriend, met us and we all went to mass at his church at midnight. The church was packed, so we stood in the back for an hour and a half, while more and more people tried to squeeze in...I was a little clausterphobic, but it was nice. (1:30am) Mladin's friends brought out a feast of ham, cheese, bread, cookies...no fudge or cut-out cookies, though...and more wine and rakia, homemade brandy...did I mention Croatians like to drink? (3am) Apparently, the night is still young...I find myself in a Croatian club for the first time with hundreds of other crazy young people. (3:45am) Mirela's rabbit fur purse caught on fire, but we successfully put it out, and decided it was time to leave the club "It doesn't really feel like Christmas" I said...Mirela agreed.(4:30am) Home at last! My roommate was up, so we talked a bit...this was the strangest Christmas Eve of my life (10am) My Evangelical Church again...a nice service...it finally felt like Christmas, just a bit more tired than usual and with a scratchy voice. It was hard to imagine a few hours earlier I had been trying to speak over dance music and smoke...not a Christmas tradition I would like to keep...But Christ was born on this day! We should celebrate every day...we are so unworthy of this gift of His life...so humble, a miracle that changed history. Little tears came when I think of how infrequently I thank God for this. I don’t ever want to stop thanking Him...
[step] Photos from the student ministry I have been leading this year (called InterVarsity in the U.S.) Some photos are from our Christmas party, and some are from culture night. We all talked about our countries, brought food, and danced to some folk songs. Thanks to the chocolate chips sent to me from my Baptist church in Elgin, I was able to make cookies for everyone. They were a hit (Croatia doesn't have choc chips...such a tragedy).
So far the meetings have been going well...it has been a challenge working cross-culturally, but I've learned a lot through the process. The students from Osijek seem to love it. We have built trust with these students...a lot of them are Marina's friends from her university, and some came last year. They're open to speaking about things of God, which is unusual in this country where it's taboo...people have seen a lot of corruption in churches, so they usually avoid talking about religion...it's fun.
Some photos are from the day we advertised the start of step for the new semester. An American guy from a mission organization in Denver was visiting my seminary, then followed me around Osijek's student center, taking pictures and interviewing me..."What is your strategy to build leadership among Christian young people in Eastern Europe?" It was a little awkward with all the cameras...like I was a movie star...but I have to admit the pics of all the students are nice.
[english] [no photo] I don’t have a photo of this, but I was teaching English here to the 2nd level. I decided to do it despite any compensation in my tuition...I now have a new respect for teachers of any kind. My first day was a disaster...one guy yelled at me in Croatian, then yelled at the other students, and one girl walked out. So I ended class early and felt the sting of failure for a few days until the next class, which was much better. Later I confronted the guy who yelled, prayed for him, and things went well from that day on. He told one student that he was angry I was his teacher because I am a woman (that's normal here, apparently). The last week of class he admitted he liked me as a teacher, hehe. All the late nights preparing, the sacrifice, and stress were well worth it.
[art] Art and faith class, yay! An American professor from Virginia taught these two weeks, and took us to visit some churches in Osijek. I finally obeyed God's instruction to make time for painting.
[friends] My friends have been a joy. Anka (Romanian) and then Elena (my 19-yr old Macedonian roommate). She is organized like me, hehe. We get along perfectly...she's a sweetheart, loves God, and is loads of fun. Melana (the other American girl who was here last semester), came back from Amsterdam for a week to visit. It was wonderful to see her...we stayed up late talking and sharing life dreams, passions, and hopes of working for God together someday in the future...
[goodbyes] December 13th I said goodbye to dear friends, George and Lynn Ainsworth. They were American professors here, and like parents to me. They let me cry on their shoulders, vent my frustrations, pray with me, and had me over for Thanksgiving. I already miss them terribly. They have returned to Virginia to their own grown children and will start a school there. There are only three Americans here now…and two are professors married to Croatian women.
[macedonia] I went to Macedonia one weekend in November with Elena by car...9 hours. It was a wonderful break! Skopja, the capitol city, where she lives, is lively and fun. Her friends and family are great, too. We ate pizza burek (I got sick from this, but it was worth it), peanuts, and salty cheese. The food was great, and the people in her Baptist church were lovely. You can see the river, the city, and the Gypsy’s horse and cart. They drive these on the street through rush-hour traffic…it’s comical.
[bosnia] I traveled six hours to Bosnia for Svjetlana's dad's funeral in October. It was a somber occasion, but beautiful. I only have 2 pictures from this trip, but her little city was breathtaking…mountains with brightly-colored fall leaves. Her dad was a Protestant, but was buried in an Orthodox cemetery, because he was of Serbian ethnicity. We stood next to the grave at the top of the little hill and sang "Amazing Grace" in the Croatian language. We could see for miles...Catholic Croatian cathedrals and towers from Mosques all over the city. Just as we were finishing the song, the Muslims' call for prayer began.
[osijek] Blaza, a friend from Osijek, and I had fun making creative photos the first few weeks of school. It’s a beautiful city when the weather's nice. Notice the mosquito repellent spraying out the back of a blue car...ah...what a lovely smell. If the secondhand smoke here won't kill you, the repellent will. The fountain, bridge, and architecture are lovely...but now it's dreary and rainy. It's cold, too, but I can't complain...it doesn't compare to Iowa:)
[art] God speaks...these three pics I created during times of prayer/worship.
[prayer] Please contine to pray! I love receiving your emails, letters, gifts, and cards of encouragement...thank you so much for your support. I know you pray for me often, and I believe it's your prayers that have given me strength and joy here.
1. Step - please continue to pray for "Step" that students from Osijek will come regularly and their desire to know God and commit their lives to Him would increase. Please pray for revival in this city.
2. Students here at school - they are on fire for God, and some of us were meeting every night at 10pm to pray together when we had classes (there is no one here now)…the whole atmosphere is different this semester. It's wonderful…please pray that it continues
3. Peace in Croatia and the world – It can only come from God…the ability to forgive horrible injustice from the past and move forward in love. There have been riots here in the past month as Croatians protest the arrest of their "hero", Ante Gotovina. He was finally arrested two weeks ago for his war crimes against Serbia.
There is so much hatred under the surface here...it's scary. A Serbian student here at my seminary wanted to come to Step two weeks ago to culture night, but it wasn't safe for him to go. I am angry and saddened at this...how can someone live like this...afraid to walk down the street or speak for fear of someone beating or killing them? Melana reminded me that there are unsafe places in the United States, too. How much God's heart must break from hatred and violence!
4. My heart…that I will continually grow closer to God. He is so good to me...I just want to live in His perfect will, obey, and fall in love more and more.
[goals] I have lots of goals for the new year in Eastern Europe...
1. I will remember that God is always good to me...always.
2. I will appreciate and enjoy my circumstances. There is no perfect country, city, etc. (i.e. "The grass is always greener...")
3. I won't stress about the success of my English students so much. Even if I’m the best teacher in the world, I can't change my gender...haha (i.e. "You can lead a horse to water...")
4. I will be thankful for my family and friends that love me and pray...you haven't forgotten me!!
5. I will obey God’s voice…I will paint, pray, etc
6. I will read more books. It takes a lot less effort than making real life a great story...plus mine never has a good romance.
7. I will read the Bible more and more! I will do the “Bible in a year” program…if you want to join me and keep me going, please let me know…we can do it together.
8. I will do something good for someone. For the less fortunate, lonely, my neighbor...I can go to an orphanage here...finally!
9. I will eat fried pizza burek even if it causes intense stomach cramps...it's well worth it!
[my prayer for you] May you have an incredible year...that the love of God may abound to you immeasurably...
All my love,
Bethany
posted by Bethany at 6:05 PM
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