Michael Waskosky
Sarajevo, BiH
February 2007
Well Hello,
Wow! I cannot believe how the time as flown by so quickly. It is already February and yes, I am almost done with internship. The end feels closer now because I just got back from our internship conference in Rome. Let me tell you how things are going here in Bosnia now.
My last newsletter left off telling you about what I was doing in Bihac. I am no longer there, but let me tell you how the rest of the week went when I was up there. It went really well actually. After the time that I did aid distribution or what we call wood visits with Jael, and then we started to set up the kids club and get stuff ready for them. Ed and I made sure the Play station 2 was working, we actually took it in and had it fixed. Good thing we checked that out or all the boys that came for PS2 would have been very disappointed. We also set up the church so that the kids could have fun playing ping pong, foosball, board games, draw, or just hang out on the couches.
So we had a few days of this kids club. A team from Vienna Christian School came down to participate. That was cool to meet new people and to hang out with younger kids in high school. They helped with open fun a lot (open fun is when the kids come, play, and do pretty much anything they want). Then there was a Bosnian team that came. They did skits and plays for the kids to get the Word of God planted in these kids. As missionaries we are not allowed to proselytized children (proselytize is to convert/preach to), but we step around this by sending home permission slips that the parents must sign saying it’s okay if we teach their children about Jesus and God. A lot of parents usually come back and thank us for investing in there kids. The parents notice that their children are better behaved and different when they come home. God is doing a lot even if they are not accepting Christ as their Lord and Savior.
I need to talk about Haris, because when I was in Bihac this young boy affected me the most. I hung out with him the most because I think he was pushed out of the groups and did not fit in very well. So I reached out to him, we had many wonderful talks, with my limited Bosnian and his limited English. You can pray for him, he seems very smart and knows a lot, but he does not think highly of himself. He would write stuff on papers and name him self as dork or some one who does jack squat. Please pray for him, I loved him when I was up there, or at least I tried to show him how much Christ loves him.
After I got back from Bihac, I had a few days here in Sarajevo. Then Cory and I left for Vienna to visit Jason, Tyler, and Charles, other Bethany Students doing there internship in Vienna. It took us 14 hours on a bus. We toured Vienna, so that was cool. I got to have my First Burger King in a long time, not as good as the ones in the US. And that made me realize how much I really miss Ecuadorian Food. We took a 17 hour train ride over night to Rome, no rest but very cheap. We all toured Rome, getting to see the Coliseum, where emperors lived, where they built their palaces, where Paul and Peter were held, inside the Vatican, Sistine Chapel, etc. It was nice to visit these places, they did not feel any more holy than any other place. My favorite was seeing where Michelangelo painted and where Paul and Peter were held. We had a lot of meetings with Paul Hartford, our Internship Supervisor (those were sometimes a little boring but good).
Now that we’re meeting on our own, not with an established congregation, our worship doesn’t fit my old definition of church. I’ve had to change my mind and adjust how I view church and true community The beauty is that when believers are together to praise the Lord, it doesn’t matter if there are only 3 or 300, we still praise God together.
Please pray that:
- We would move forward effectively with starting a church in Dobrina. I’m sure Satan doesn’t want us invading his territory.
- People would volunteer to host a home group or house church.
- We would be able to disciple these people as soon as possible.
- I would seek and love God first in my life, love my neighbor as myself. By my actions and word, people can find God.
- The Lord would guide the OM Team and show us who to talk to and share His light with as we start the Dobrina church. May He give us the exact words to say and may the listeners receive the words as truth.
- Lindy and I grow close to one another. As our wedding sneaks up on us, we would grow closer to God together.
Thank you for keeping Cory and me in your prayers.
If you would like to see pictures of me going to Bihac and of Rome they are at my website: www.michaelwaskosky.com/fotos
In Him,
Michael
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