Back with Big News!

​Hi friends, we’re back! Sorry you haven’t heard from us this summer. We have been everywhere from Rome to Prague and lots of places in between. The summer has been full of gospel conversations, reuniting with friends and family, and mourning losses. Let’s catch you up on all that has happened… 

First, I’m gonna tease you and say that you’ll have to read to the end for the biggest news update. All the other stuff is good too, so don’t skip to the end just yet. June kicked off the true madness for us. We visited two different churches in different regions of Croatia to explore partnership opportunities. Both opportunities were really exciting and the brothers and sisters were such an encouragement to us. Through these visits and prayer, we’re happy to say that we know where we’re headed next! More on that later ;)

Jeremiah’s parents visited in June and a few short weeks later, mine came in July. It was a sweet time to introduce Silas to his grandparents and to show them all the things we love about Croatia. My grandparents also came as representatives of their church to explore ways that we can partner together in the future. Showing them all that God is doing here helped fuel our fire for reaching this people group! We were blessed to be able to take a vacation with my parents and road-trip to Rome. Visiting the Vatican gave us insight into the Roman Catholic faith, and the hurdles we face as we make efforts to spread the Gospel message- we’re glad we went! 

August came quickly and we had the opportunity to connect with colleagues and be encouraged. Churches from the US held “VBS” for our kids and they loved every second of it. Louella was mind-blown that everyone there knew English! Once we got home from that adventure, Jeremiah and I began our count-down to test day. We took our language exam on September 6 and got some feedback about what we still need to improve on. While we would have liked to have passed all sections, we’re just glad to see how far we’ve come and have a better idea of how to improve. 

In between all of these other adventures, we have been taking frequent, short trips down south to our new home in Biograd na Moru. Our first trip was to Zadar to meet the leadership at the Baptist Church Zadar. They shared their vision of planting a church in a smaller town that’s about 45 minutes south. The church in Zadar has several members who meet in Biograd weekly for bible study, but have to make the trip every Sunday to be part of the church in Zadar. One of the sisters shared with us that she has been praying for 30 years that God would send a family to her town and help start a church there. We are so thankful for the faithfulness of the church in Zadar and the members from Biograd and surrounding villages whose hearts break for their communities. It’s been exciting to talk to our new co-workers about how we can reach our new neighbors and lay the foundation for a new church. 

Please pray for us as we navigate the logistics and bureaucracy of moving cities and homes. Pray that Louella and Mabel would find new friends, and that we would all show each other grace as we face stressful situations.