Life is Better Together

Hello everyone and happy new year! For this newsletter we are going to switch it up a little. Usually Anna gets the honor of writing to yall, but considering any day now she is about to bring a tiny human into this world, I figured I might lighten her load!

Its been a wonderful year here in Croatia, since moving here we have been extremely blessed with amazing friends from around the world. Who better to spend a Christmas away from family with than those who become our family along the way! For Christmas this year we decided to spend some time with our great friends from Canada at a castle and hotel called Trakošćan. It still amazes me that there are castles older than America that we can go walk through with children dressed as princesses; our girls truly have no idea how cool we really are (and probably never will..). During this time I was reminded of a value we were taught for years before we came on the field, authentic community is greater than living by yourself! We see examples of this all throughout the Bible, from the end of Solomon’s life to the perseverance of the early church in the New Testament. Relationships, especially with fellow Christians, are vital in both good and challenging times. One truly understands this concept when the size of your church family can all of a sudden fit in your apartment.

For Anna and I, this has only served as motivation to get out and make disciples. One of the biggest ways we do ministry is through life groups and Bible studies. Between daily language class and parenting, this is still our primary way of serving. I (Jeremiah) have been meeting with a group of men on Tuesdays. We tried a  plan to meet for an hour and then work out together after, but it has turned into is talking for 2+ hours and foregoing the gym (quite unfortunate, I know 😉). Anna is still meeting with her ladies as well throughout the week. With the start of the new year we are encouraging our life group friends to make it a goal to start or reinforce their Time Alone with God each day (TAWG) with the hopes of them soon being able to lead their own groups. We know that the Lord is raising up a generation of hungry leaders here, and it's incredibly exciting to be useful to the Master in this way!

That being said, we covet your prayers during this next year! A lot is happening here, which means the enemy is working against us as well. Please pray for protection from the enemy as people learn about God and are confronted with their own sin and shortcomings. Pray for my group of men (K, A, M, L, and N) and pray for the ladies in Anna's life as well (I, L, M, M, and K).
As always please be in prayer for our little girls as they assimilate and learn language. There is nothing more exciting and challenging than your child intentionally saying something that you don’t know how to translate.
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Also pray for baby Brown (coming soon hopefully) Pray for health and safety when the time comes for us  to meet him!

In Christ, Jeremiah and Anna