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Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the Word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified, just as it is with you.
2 Thess. 3:1

Grace and Peace to you in the name of God our Father!

After a rather dazed January, we are happy and grateful to report that we have both recovered well from Covid. Thank you for your prayers!


 

In the ministry of the Word, Stan just wrapped up John 6 in our morning service, with that probing question to His disciples "Do you also want to go away?"  Please pray for all who those who've heard God's Word preached faithfully, whether in person or online, that they could answer honestly as Peter did: "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life."

As our Covid case numbers continue to trend down and our ability to gather again increases, please pray that our regular members and the occasional attender would stir themselves to participate actively in the life of our Fellowship. 

One dear family from our Fellowship has moved away because of ongoing economic instability with their employment.  We feel their absence greatly; the Poluga family is much missed.  Please pray for them as they seek fellowship in their new location in Serbia.  Please pray for us, that God would bring entire families into the church--parents and children together.



Last Saturday, Vicki spoke at the EUS Ladies' Brunch (a monthly outreach event) inspired by this verse from James 1:  If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.  Afterwards there was good discussion, and we have hopes that two women who attended for the first time will be back.

With January's holidays  behind us, we are planning out the year ahead--preaching, teaching, outreaches, seminars, teams, visitors, new interns (Deo volente) in the fall, and more.  Please pray that we would choose wisely amongst the many good options; that the Word of the Lord would run swiftly and be glorified, that God's people would be strengthened, and that the Lord would add to His Church here in Nikšić and throughout Montenegro.
  
On a personal note, our recovery from Covid came just in time for us to go away and celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary!  Join us in praying that God would grant us many more years to love one another and serve His Kingdom together.

                        
                        Then                                                     Now
 
 
We give thanks to the Lord above for all of you reading this newsletter, praying faithfully, supporting us sacrificially; you are God's blessing to us and His people in Montenegro.  To God be the glory!

With great love and appreciation,

Stan and Vicki Surbatovich



Vicki's Snapshot:  Setting up the Household, Part 3

This month’s edition rounds out one year’s worth of Vicki’s Snapshots and here we are, still in Setting up the Household.  Why so many details of just setting up?  Why not just jump into ministry?  Well, partially that you might get a mini-taste of our reality. 

For us, there was a loooonnngg interlude between the exciting yet humbling realization that We’re called to Montenegro! and bona fide “outreach” activities.  Dealing with fund raising, document gathering, visa submissions, wrapping up our Stateside life with its myriad of decisions to be made (what to take, what to store, what to sell, what to give away), arranging travel and logistics for an international move—this was two years of going-but-not-yet limbo living.

Admittedly, establishing our home base in Nikšić took longer than we anticipated.  Before we moved to Montenegro, we had done our due diligence and spoken to a missionary couple in Belgrade, Serbia. At that time, Montenegro and Serbia were two states in the same country, so it made sense to ask some contemporary missionaries already on the field about the realities of life there.  

Amongst other helpful bits of been-there-done-that wisdom, they clearly stated they were easily able to set up and furnish their place, so we had no need to send a container of goods; we could just buy in country.

Disappointingly, Montenegro, despite being in the same country, did not match Serbia in terms of goods available.  Belgrade, the capital city, had a population more than twice as big as all of Montenegro. Thus, with the huge market draw in Belgrade, supply and demand indicated a whole lot more supply.  Plus, the couple we had spoken to had set up before the war and UN-imposed economic sanctions and were unaware of the stark difference just a few years had made.  So while they had no problem getting household goods and furnishings, we had nothing but problems, some of which has been recounted in these snapshots.

We did procure beds, bedding, desk in relatively short order.  The more challenging aspects were the small items that make life smoother—pots and pans, dishes and glassware, lighting and lamps, shampoos that cleaned, spices with flavor, toilet paper without holes; these items were not readily available or were of extremely poor quality, entirely due to sanctions.

However, although we didn’t know how difficult some of these basics would be to get, our God, gracious and abounding in love, did know, and He worked out all things to the good.  

For example, when packing those large boxes that we brought with us (leftover moving boxes, held together with miles of packing tape), we included clothing (of course), books (we’re a pastor’s household), beloved toys (five young children), and one box of kitchen stuff, Box #18, just to “get us started.”  

I squeezed into that box an old set of mismatched silverware and melamine plates and bowls because they were the least likely to break; now meals could be eaten decently and in order. I nested pieces of my Modular Mate Tupperware ($$$) knowing every country has flour and sugar and pasta in unruly packaging; thus I’d have an orderly pantry.  From our wedding-gift set of cookware, I decided upon the 12-in fry pan and the 6qt pot, making a nice combo of wide and low for sautéing, plus something deep for pasta and soups; between the two, I could manage to cook a few basics until we got our replacement set of cookware.   For cushioning, dishtowels and Pampers filled the gaps.

When loading up the van to head to LAX for our initial move, we had quite the tetris puzzle to solve in getting such an odd assortment of boxes, luggage, carry-ons into the van.  


The Puzzle Pieces

And despite our best efforts, Stan and I just couldn’t pack it all in.  Box 18 remained sitting on the ground while we stared into a solid wall, no, a solid mass, of baggage.  Now what?

Noting that it was “just the cooking stuff”, Stan suggested we not bring it. I hesitated knowing it would be very helpful—lessening our list of things to buy immediately upon arrival.  I stared at the wall of boxes.  I checked if I could get my hand up between the top box and van roof. No.  How about the sides? No.  I discerned no inch to spare.  I conceded. There was no room. We would leave Box 18 behind.

The van driver just happened to overhear us at this point and interceded.   He said he would take our stuff, and by golly, he was going to take it, all of it.  He hauled out every carefully placed piece. The driveway was back to being a mound of luggage. Stan and I were a bit dismayed. Our loading hour was almost up. The clock was ticking ever closer to our departure time. Tick, tick, tick.  

Unconcerned about our concern, the van driver kept adding, removing, rotating, shoving in boxes, bags, suitcases.  I walked away, down the driveway, meandered over to the next house, looked at the sky, said a prayer, and walked back.  The driveway was still covered with half our goods. I turned away again, wondering how Stan could handle the stress of seeing all our hard work sprawled on the driveway.  And still the clock ticked. Tick, tick, tick. Now our firm departure time was at hand: we were not missing our plane over one stupid box.  We had to go, so I headed back to the van.

Hallelujah! The driveway was clear!  Unbelievable!  The driver, dripping, gave one last shove to one last box.  The boxes were a bit worse for the wear—thank God for those miles of packing tape—but they were all in!  And God knew.  He knew we would need them because with the sanctions, we weren’t able to find any kitchenware worth buying.  That one pot and pan constituted the whole of my cooking armory and served the seven of us for the next two years.  (Note: Some of those melamine plates are still in use for our youngest guests!)

I admit that I sometimes wonder why life requires much time and attention to such basics as food, shelter, cleanliness when that time and attention could be focused elsewhere. Even so, I recognize that setting up our home that we might care for our family and invite others in was a real part of our early ministry (even if not particularly WOW-worthy). 

And with our ability to satisfy the basic necessities of daily life accomplished,  invite others in is exactly what we did. Next snapshot, I’ll begin introducing some of the first people we met by God’s good providence.

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