September 2013 Mission to Montenegro Newsletter

Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
       And His greatness is unsearchable.

 One generation shall praise Your works to another,
       And shall declare Your mighty acts. Ps. 145:3, 4

 It is fitting for the upright to praise Him...

• The highlight of the past month: Stan travelled to Serbia to officiate the wedding of two dear young people, B+R.  This is the fifth wedding that Stan has overseen in the past few years. Not only is it a joy to bring together another young couple united in Christ, eager to serve Him, but to participate in the establishment of a Christ-centered wedding ceremony/theology, showing forth the beauty, richness, and joy of wedded love and life founded on Christ and His Word.

• Fall brings the renewal of our regular Church activities:  Student Bible studies, one-on-one studies,and Ladies' Meetings are all starting up again to complement our weekly Sunday services and midweek prayer meeting.  We are very excited that the teen meeting has been resumed after a yearlong hiatus with a new group of young unbelievers.

• Samaritan's Purse hosted a training conference for Balkan national teams, so Stan travelled to Sarajevo with 5 others from Montenegro for the event.  Samaritan's Purse did a good job of outlining their vision and helps regarding distribution.  Another highlight was meeting a pastor from Bosnia whose mother attends our Niksic fellowship.

Upcoming Ministry and Family News

• We are expecting a team from OM this month who will be in Niksic for a bit over a week.  They are planning to help out with physical projects, such as helping our widows with hauling and stacking firewood, as well as participating in our normal outreaches such as English Conversation Club and Bible studies.

• There continues to be an acute need for work opportunities for believers.  Montenegro used to export a significant amount of medicinal and culinary herbs before the wars of the 90's, and that trade has never been resumed.  Milan and Stan will be going on an exploratory trip to a major natural product trade fair to investigate the possibilities.

• The Lord greatly blessed Vicki's trip to see Milijana settled at university and to enjoy spending time with four out of five children. 

With great love and appreciation for your ongoing prayers and support in this great work of God,

Stan and Vicki Surbatovich
Mission to Montenegro  


Prayer and Praise Bulletin Points:  

• Praise God for bringing together B+R, that their marriage ceremony was a testimony of God's love, and for the many people who were encouraged by it.  Pray for their new life as a couple, for wisdom and grace as they begin wedded life.
•  Praise God that there is a season for everything, and that now is the season for the rhythms and routines of weekly and monthly bible studies and fellowship events.  Pray for those of us leading these studies and pray for those who come to hear:  that believers would grow and that the unbelievers would hear and respond to the Word of God.
• Praise for the continued ministry of Samaritan's Purse Christmas Shoebox outreach in MNE and for those people willing to serve on the national team.  Pray particularly for Stan as the main co-ordinator because he will have an increasingly heavy workload regarding the project as the Christmas season draws near.
• Praise for the excitement and energy of the OM team coming.  Pray that they would accomplish the physical projects without injury, and that they would both encourage and be encouraged as they engage in active witnessing.
• Praise for God's leading Milijana to the right university and the ease of her settling in.  Pray for all our children, both those working and those studying, that they would serve God wholeheartedly right where they are.
• Pray for Stan and Milan's trip, for wisdom to evaluate the information they gather, and for the church and their families while they are away. 

• One way to support the ministry is to consider donating frequent flyer miles as we must provide transatlantic flights at Christmas for our three children currently at university.  If interested, please contact us at stan.surbatovich@gmail.com for more details on how you might help in this practical manner. Thank you so much.  

  Note:  If you would like to receive this newsletter update directly, please subscribe at:  http://christianitymontenegro.blogspot.com/   

August 2013 Mission to Montenegro Newsletter

May God be gracious to us and 

      bless us and make His face shine on us--

So that Your ways may be known on earth,

      Your salvation among all the nations.  Ps. 67:1-2

Praise be to the Lord God... who alone does marvelous deeds

With July past and August half over, the summertime ministries of camp outreaches are finished. Here are a few highlights of the past month:

• Camp Monty 2013 was a great success! Despite major changes and challenges in logistics with the closure of Hotel Onogost, all the activities and sports took place, often even better than originally planned or hoped for.  More importantly, a number of young people seem serious about continuing to learn and grow in God's truth; we've had two follow-up activities since the camp finished at the end of July. To God be the glory! 

• We've welcomed Saša O. from Podgorica into our home and fellowship.  God provided for him the opportunity to coach soccer on an ongoing basis to boys in a local soccer club.  Along with imparting great soccer skills, Saša sees this as the beginning of a sports ministry here in Montenegro.

Upcoming Ministry and Family News: 

• The comings-and-goings of summer are now mostly goings...  Danica, a young woman in our fellowship, is off to Norway for a 10-month bible school. This coming week we will say good-bye to our Danish friends, Tanja and Rebekka, who have been ministering particularly to the college students this summer, along with our own children, Josiah and Milijana, who will be resuming and starting university studies respectively.

• The Samaritan's Purse Christmas Shoebox project will begin in earnest in September with the forming of a national team of which Stan is the head.  This will require co-operation and communication between believers from all the evangelical churches in MNE.

• All in God's timing....   Jesus instructs us: The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Along with Saša, several people who've helped out this summer are giving serious consideration to coming back for a longer period: a month, a season, a year.

With great love and appreciation for your ongoing prayers and support in this great work of God,

Stan and Vicki Surbatovich
Mission to Montenegro  

Prayer and Praise Bulletin Points:  

• Praise God for the best Camp Monty yet.  Pray for both the young people who heard the gospel and for the many people who are following-up, whether in person or by internet.  Pray that many would bridge from special activities and social media to actual attendance at worship services and Bible studies.
• Praise for Saša's outreach via soccer and sports.  Pray for a more steady financial foundation, for a quick integration into the life of our fellowship and home, and for many opportunities to witness to these boys via word and deed.
• Praise for God giving our young people, Danica, Josiah, and Milijana, studies abroad this fall.  Pray for them to grow in grace and knowledge, and to use their time and talents wisely.
• Praise for the growing Samaritan's Purse outreach here in Montenegro.  Pray for the development of the national team, for the individual members each with unique responsibilities, and for the vision of reaching Montenegrin children effectively with the good news of Jesus Christ this coming Christmas season.
• Praise for those believers who gave up time and money this summer to come minister via outreach camps and personal evangelism.  Pray that God would enable them to continue to do so with enthusiasm in their own everyday circumstances, and that He would clearly lead those who want to come back.
• Praise for God's faithfulness in providing for our children's education.  With three children attending university this fall, our financial needs have increased.  While all the children have attractive scholarship packages, the additional cost of transatlantic flights at Christmas and summer is not covered.  Please pray and consider donating frequent flyer miles.  If interested, please contact us at stan.surbatovich@gmail.com for more details of how you might help in this practical manner. Thank you so much.

Note:  If you would like to receive this newsletter update directly, please subscribe at:  http://christianitymontenegro.blogspot.com/   

July 2013 Mission to Montenegro Newsletter

My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will 
      believe in me  through their message,    
that all of them may be one, Father, 
       just as you are in me and I am in you.  John 17:20, 21a

Great are your purposes and mighty are your deeds...

Highlights of the mighty deeds of the Lord this past month include:

• Another baptism!   Miss O.S, a middle-aged lady, was baptized at the local lake in late June.  It is wonderful to see the Lord adding both younger and older people to His body here in Niksic.

• A much-blessed Student Outreach English Camp with a record turnout. This is a three-week event for us, with one week devoted to preparation with the UCCF team, one week for camp, and one week for intense follow-up. We are especially excited that many of the young people at the camp were just as eager to receive and study God's Word as they were to participate in all the fun activities. We are also delighted that a number of students came to our Sunday services after the camp finished.

•  The preaching of God's Word  continues to be a mainstay of the ministry as "faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Rom 10:17.  Stan has just finished two sermon series, one covering the book of  I John, the other on I Cor. 13.  For the upcoming morning worship services, he will be preaching through the book of Jonah, and in the evening, through II John.

Upcoming Ministry and Family News:

• Camp Monty, the sports-centered outreach camp to the youth of Niksic, begins July 22.  While we are not the main organizers of this evangelistic endeavor, our fellowship plays a supporting role through prayer, and most importantly, through follow-up.

•  Our hospitality house ministry continues. When the UCCF team was here, we were 24 people living, working, and fellowshipping together. While that was the biggest expected group this summer, the comings and goings of believers and helpers continues; we were 14 at the Sunday lunch table this past Lord's Day...

 With great love and appreciation for your ongoing prayers and support in this great work of God,

Stan and Vicki Surbatovich
Mission to Montenegro  

Prayer and Praise Bulletin Points:    

• Praise God for the work He is doing in Miss O.S's life.  Please pray for her continued growth and for God's light and grace to shine to her unbelieving, hostile-to-the-faith, family.

• Praise God for the His blessings on the student outreach camp.  Please pray for those who sincerely desire to continue to study God's word and are experiencing, like the Ethopian eunuch, difficulty in understanding what they read.  Pray for our continuing efforts to reach out and guide these young people, that we would not grow weary or caught up in everyday cares.

•  Praise God for the freedom we have here to openly preach His word. Pray for Stan and his preparations each week as he proclaims God's truth to us from His holy word.

• Praise for the faithful efforts of Life Impact for Eternity and the many believers who make Camp Monty possible.  Pray for the young people attending to be stirred and pricked in their hearts, that they might ask "How can we be saved?"

• Praise to God for the many people who come to Montenegro and Niksic to sow and water seeds of faith.  Pray that God would give the increase.

Note:  If you would like to receive this newsletter update directly, please subscribe at:  http://christianitymontenegro.blogspot.com/   

June 2013 Mission to Montenegro Newsletter

Many, O Lord my God, are Your wonderful works
    Which You have done;
And Your thoughts toward us
          Cannot be recounted to You in order;
If I would declare and speak of them,
   They are more than can be numbered. Ps. 40:5

Here are a few of the wonderful works God has done amongst us this past month:

• Mr. Lindsay Brown spent two days with us, encouraging and challenging believers to live as light and salt in a dark, decaying world at the All-Montenegro Believers Meeting.  In a different ministry setting including a number of university students, he outlined how to have true joy in the Christian life which was well-received and stimulated some heartfelt conversations.

• With great joy, we celebrated the baptism of Andjela, a young lady who grew up in the fellowship, at our local lake.  Friends and relatives joined us for an outdoor Lord's Day worship service followed by a BBQ and fellowship at our place.

• With sadness we said good-bye to Randi Pedersen as she returned to Denmark after 10 months with us here in Niksic.  We were all encouraged by her cheerful ministry amongst us and trust the Lord will continue to bring forth good fruit from her labors.

• Summer ministry is in full swing with the arrival of Tanja and Rebekka, our Danish friends here for their third summer of ministry, and the anticipated coming of the UCCF team from the UK for our student outreach English camp.

Upcoming Ministry and Family News:

• We're having another baptism this Lord's Day! A woman, Miss O.S., who was introduced to our fellowship by our previous landlady, has been steadily growing in her faith and knowledge of Jesus Christ and His gift of salvation. She is eager to get baptized, especially after hearing and reading about Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch in the bible.

• Next week the UCCF team arrives for early preparations and relationship building before the Student English Camp officially begins on July 1.  Pre-registration has been brisker than ever, thanks be to God.

• By God's good providence, we enjoyed a wonderful family vacation in the beautiful city of Prague, unhindered by the recent flooding.  Thus the reason this newsletter is a bit later than usual. The Lord also blessed us with a good new friend, Peter G., who kindly watched over the house in our absence and is using his special welding skills in completing some finishing fence work around the property and instructing Josiah.

 With great love and appreciation for your ongoing prayers and support in this great work of God,

Stan and Vicki Surbatovich
Mission to Montenegro  

Prayer and Praise Bulletin Points:   

• Praise God for the growing fellowship with two new baptisms.  Please pray for Andjela and Miss O.S., that they would continue to grow in their love and relationship with Jesus Christ as well as grow in their involvement with the community of believers.

• Praise for the high level of interest and commitment of young people in attending the summer English Student evangelistic camp.  Pray for the UCCF team, our local participants, and especially for the seeking unbelievers, that God would orchestrate all plans, conversations, witnessing for His glory.

• Praise for the longer short-term workers here with us:  Peter G., Tanja, and Rebekka.  Pray for their strength, zeal, and wise use of gifts, practical and spiritual, during their time in Niksic.   

• Praise for the good family vacation we were able to take before the busyness of summer ministry began in earnest.  Pray for us, especially in regard to our hospitality ministry, as we will be hosting dozens of people for varying lengths of time all summer.

Note:  If you would like to receive this newsletter update directly, please subscribe at:  http://christianitymontenegro.blogspot.com/    

May 2013 Mission to Montenegro Newsletter

We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
    each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity of us all.  Is. 53:6

With everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you...

Rejoice with us in the good things the Lord is doing amongst us.

• Our Easter services celebrated the wonderful truths elaborated in Isaiah 53, which by God's serendipitous providence, was the read-through-the-Bible passage that day.  We had a packed morning service including some first-time visitors hearing the glorious news of God's everlasting kindness and mercy.

• We thank God for His good care of Stan, Milijana, and the church while Stan was away in April.  Stan greatly enjoyed both conferences; Milijana will be studying International Relations/Russian at the University of Rochester this fall; the church ministries continued on, blessed by the Lord, for we are His people.

• God brought about an interview with a newspaper reporter who remembered Stan from a public forum meeting over a decade ago.  We actively seek involvement with the local community and this is one reason why--God uses these relationships in unexpected ways.  This reporter asked about the church, our relationship with other faiths, and visited one of our meetings.  The article should be published in the coming week.

 

 

•  We are enjoying a week of music, worship, fellowship, and outreach. The Cranes, gifted musicians and worship leaders, along with two men who are the head organizers for Camp Monty (the evangelistic sports camp held every summer) are here for an intense week of ministry.  We started things off with a night of Christian fellowship (pictured above) but there will be several evangelistic concerts and get togethers.

Upcoming Ministry and Family News:

• We're having a Baptism!  This Sunday, we will be baptizing Andjela, a young woman whose family has been long involved with the church.  She had the privilege of growing up hearing gospel truths and has now fully embraced Christ as her Lord and Savior. Rejoice with us!  Also, it is our hope to be having  another baptism before the year is over as a relative newcomer to the fellowship is growing in faith and knowledge and has a desire to be baptized.

•  The All-Montenegro Believer's Meeting is this weekend, followed by a visit from Lindsay Brown, a long-time evangelist to university students, accompanied by a BBQ bash for both believers and  unbelievers.  Summer ministry has begun!

•  Saying Good-bye is so hard to do.  By the time the next regular newsletter is published, we will have said good-bye to Randi from Denmark who has been with us since last August on a short-term mission assignment.  We will surely miss her as she has become a member of our Christian family here (and has been chief photographer for this newsletter).

With great love and appreciation for your ongoing prayers and support in this great work of God,

Stan and Vicki Surbatovich
Mission to Montenegro  

Prayer and Praise Bulletin Points:   

• Praise for God's never-failing mercies which are new every morning.  Pray that God would use our efforts and ministries:  preaching, teaching, counseling, one-on-one studies,  Ladies' Mtg, Girls' Mtg, College Study, and special events for the building up of His People and the advance of His Kingdom.
• Praise that while we sow seeds, God is faithful to the harvest.  Pray for Andjela as she makes a public profession of faith, that God would watch over her, guide her, lead her, strengthen her as His beloved daughter and disciple in this hardhearted world.
• Praise for the many outreach opportunities in the next few months.  Our freedom to proclaim Christ here is a true blessing and window of opportunity.  Pray that the newspaper article would point interested people to come to our services and hear the gospel; pray that the concerts this week would touch the hearers; pray for the unbelievers who heard the eternal message of the Resurrection this past Easter.
• Praise God for workers like Randi and others who come and give of their lives to give life to others.  Pray for the ongoing fruit of her ministry and contact with the young people here, both believers and unbelievers.  Pray for us as we prepare a SPECIAL EDITION newsletter outlining the wonderful opportunities, experiences, and blessings of becoming a short-term missionary here in Niksic, Montenegro.

Note:  If you would like to receive this newsletter update directly, please subscribe at:  http://christianitymontenegro.blogspot.com/    

April 2013 Mission to Montenegro Newsletter

My beloved spoke, and said to me;
     "Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.
For lo, winter is past, the rain is over and gone.
      The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing has come..."
  Song 2:10-12a

There is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven

• It has been a quiet, pensive month for us believers here in Niksic.  We've had many opportunities to "Trust in the Lord with all our hearts, and lean not unto our own understandings," as we've experienced yet another death of a loved one, continued serious illness, challenging economic situations, and personal struggles.  We've been blessed with some good sermons on death in light of the hope of the gospel, plus a call to walk in unity as the body of Christ.

•  Stan is away for the month of April, attending two conferences falling at the beginning and end of the month.  In between, he is aiding Milijana as she decides which university she will attend this fall and with setting up such mundane things as a bank account.  Praise God that we now have several men who can and are ably leading the Sunday and mid-week meetings.

• What about Easter? While we celebrated the Lord's Supper this past March 31st, we will celebrate the Lord's Resurrection on May 5, Orthodox Easter according to local custom.  For many, the May 1st holidays will be combined with Easter holidays to make one big holiday week.  We are expecting and praying for visitors that Sunday.

Upcoming Ministry and Family News:

•  While April has been a quiet month, May is shaping up to be the start of a very busy season:  Easter celebration, a series of concerts given by a very talented musical couple from the States, all capped with our All-Montenegro Believer's Meeting.  Beginning in early June, we will be hosting short-term mission teams and engaging in our annual evangelistic outreach camps.

•  We thank God for the several universities that accepted Milijana and are continuing to pray for His leading. She will decide by May 1st which school she will attend.

•  Many thanks to all who send the lovely cards of encouragement as well as to all our faithful prayer warriors.  Truly, we do not fight against flesh and blood, but against the principalities of evil in the heavens.

With great love and appreciation for your ongoing prayers and support in this great work of God,

Stan and Vicki Surbatovich
Mission to Montenegro  

Prayer and Praise Bulletin Points:   

• Praise to our God for His peace that passes understanding.  Please pray for those facing loss of loved ones, awaiting medical tests and biopsies, and economic difficulties.
• Praise for the excellent Samaritan's Purse conference that Stan was able to attend and for God's watching over all of us here still in Niksic.  Please pray for the men leading here and for Stan and Milijana's travels.
• Praise for the wonderful opportunities to reach out and share the Good News of Jesus Christ and for those coming to help us do that.  Pray for the Holy Spirit's leading and touching of people's hearts.  And please pray and consider coming to join us.  The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 
• Praise for God's faithful leading of all our children as they approached their university years and moving away from home and country.  Pray for Milijana's final decision that as she makes her plans that the Lord will lead her steps.

 

Note:  If you would like to receive this newsletter update directly, please subscribe at:  http://christianitymontenegro.blogspot.com/    

March 2013 Mission to Montenegro Newsletter

Hear my cry, O God; Attend to my prayer.
    From the end of the earth I will cry to You,
When my heart is overwhelmed;
    Lead me to the Rock which is higher than I.  Ps. 61:1,2

Trust in Him at all times, you people!

• Our midweek meeting is moving!  For the first time in a long time, we are now holding our midweek sermon discussion/prayer meeting in people's homes.  The impetus was the unpleasant coldness of our meeting room during the week, but our times together have been so wonderfully blessed, that we will continue to meet in homes when the weather improves.  Each week a different family or member offers to host the group--this is a wonderful answer to prayer because in the first years of ministry, our home was the only home available!

• The Lord is our strength.  It has been a trying time for our small fellowship because of some hard providences.  Amongst our regular members and semi-attenders, we have experienced a death in the family, the impending death of a loved one in another family, serious illness requiring extended and ongoing hospitalization in a third family, severe depression in yet another, and other less serious illnesses all requiring a doctor's care.  Adding to our weariness are the current storm warnings, landslide warnings, and water potability issues as we are expecting (and currently experiencing) heavy precipitation these next few days.  Please pray for us all.

Upcoming Ministry and Family News:

•  The mid-March concert has been postponed due to the above mentioned circumstances.  We make our plans, but God directs our paths.

• The All-Montenegro Believer's Meeting will be held in mid-May.  While we are not hosting it this year, it is a blessed time as we all (approximately 200 believers) gather as one body in Christ. 

• Summer will be once again packed with ministry:  student camps, visitors, short-term teams, plus our own preparations for Milijana's move to university.  Now is the time that plans are laid and made, so please pray that we would be making wise decisions in all these things.

• Stan will be gone much of April due to two Christian conferences and a college-visiting trip with Milijana.  

With great love and appreciation for your ongoing prayers and support in this great work of God,

Stan and Vicki Surbatovich
Mission to Montenegro  
 
Prayer and Praise Bulletin Points:    

•  Praise for the increased fellowship and knitting of our hearts as we've moved the midweek meeting into people's homes.  Please pray that none would grow weary of ministry and that our times would cause us all to grow in Christlikeness.
• Praise that God is our foundation and our strong arm.  Please pray for the believers here, for healing, for salvation, for renewed hope and waiting on the Lord.  Please pray particularly for Stan and his increased counseling load during these times.
• Praise for all the eager workers and upcoming ministry opportunities. Pray that God would be working in people's hearts that they might come and hear and receive His word.
• Pray for our time while Stan and Milijana are away:  that all their purposes and aims would be accomplished in the States, for the men preaching and leading while he is away, for protection from our enemy Satan.

Note:  If you would like to receive this newsletter update directly, please subscribe at:  http://christianitymontenegro.blogspot.com/