Celebrate the *not so Little* Things

January (and this first week of February) has been so good and so full. We want to share a few of these “wins” so you can celebrate and praise the Lord with us.

EV & Discipleship
Jeremiah got to preach at our church! 
We used this opportunity to invite our neighbors (who are close friends) and they came! The wife had especially expressed interest in coming and this was the perfect thing to invite them for. Jeremiah has a hard time having deep conversations here as Balkan men are generally very closed off and stoic. If nothing else, Jeremiah’s goal was to be able to present the entire gospel to our friends. His message was well received and as his wife, I couldn’t be any prouder of his faithfulness to share, and his incredible delivery.  
Sharing the Gospel
We have both had incredible opportunities to share the Gospel this month. The Mother God cult approached me (Anna) a few weeks ago and I was able to share with them, with the help of having talked through Jeremiah’s encounters with them. Unfortunately, they won’t text me back to set up a coffee date. 
We’ve also each been able to share with taxi drivers. We feel so blessed to be able to share so easily here. Once people realize we are Americans, they always ask why we came to Croatia, and we are able to tell them the Truth! 
I (Anna) also have also had amazing opportunities to share as one of my friends is asking me questions about the Bible because she has a theology class at her Catholic University. Another of our neighbors was also asking very open questions about our beliefs and worldview. We don’t deserve God’s grace to be able to participate in His work, but we are so thankful that he allows us to.  

We finally have a bed!
 As some of you may know, Jeremiah and I spent the last 11 months sleeping on an air mattress, floor mats, or the couch. As a result of a long visa process, the items that we packed to ship from the US a year ago have finally arrived! Anyone who has talked to us much has probably heard us rave about our Purple mattress, and now that it’s here, it’s much harder to get out of bed every morning. The girls are happy to have some toys and blankets back, and we are adjusting to the strange sensation of having our old things in our new home. But…keep your eye out for an apartment tour next month! 

Language 
As full time language learners, we have to celebrate language wins in order to stay motivated. We are overjoyed to say that we passed this semester with great scores and are ready to move up to the next course level. (Just have to brag on Jeremiah a bit for passing the course with a 5/5 or the equivalent of an A!). Praise God for this answered prayer. In addition to these wins in the classroom, Jeremiah and I have both had opportunities to test our language skills “in the wild” and have walked away feeling so encouraged when we can understand a stranger and not have to apologize for our inability to understand them. 

Next month marks our one year anniversary here, so reflecting on these blessings from the Lord has been an incredible reminder of God's faithfulness and provision.