April 21, 2011
Loooong Awaited Update…(sorry)
A few weekends ago, we were preparing to take some women to a women’s conference in Sarajevo. As usual, the plans came down to the last minute. We had signed up three Bosnian women for the conference to go from Biha – knowing very well, that we might not take the particular three we were thinking of when we signed up.
In particular, there was one young lady I wanted to take, but she wasn’t sure if she would be able to get released from school to attend. I will call her Amira*. About a week before the conference I met with Amira for a coffee and she really wanted to go to the conference, despite the fact that it was not just for young people and that the schedule might be really full. She got permission from her mom that day and permission from the school the next day. At this point I knew that we had not planned for her and possibly would have to pay late registration for her, but I really felt that she should come with us.
Two days before the conference, Amira called me and asked if there would be room to bring one of her friends (Sanela*) with us. Sanela had never really had contact with the church, other than meeting a few of the believers through Amira. I told her I had to check with my teammate to see if all the other ladies were still planning on coming. Turns out that my teammate had just gotten off the phone with another young lady who had to cancel, and the day before, another believer had also cancelled. So I called Amira back and said, “Yes! Sanela can go.”
All I can say is that God knew all along who he wanted at this conference, and even which sessions we would attend and with whom we would connect. I was a little worried about how Sanela would feel, knowing that she was going to get a mega-dose of Jesus in a very short period of time and that she probably had never seen anything like it before. But as usual, God took my expectations and blew them away!
I had to give the Lord room to take me out of my “western mindset”. Yes, the conference was paid for and it was right for us to attend the sessions, but missing one or two, in order to have conversations with these girls about who Jesus is, or why there was a workshop on the topic of purity, was so worth it. We spent a lot of time with a woman from Sarajevo who has a heart for teenagers and is incredibly gifted at laying out the gospel. I believe with all my heart that God set up “divine appointments” for these young women all throughout the weekend. Amira is thinking more and more about what it means to make Jesus the Lord of her life. Sanela is full of questions, maybe even confused at the moment (in a good way), and searching for answers . They have asked me if we can start meeting together specifically to talk about the Bible!
Please pray that this curiosity and renewed fire will burn bright in these two young women. Pray also for wisdom for me, and schedules that allow for the three of us to meet together. I believe God is moving in their lives, and I can hardly wait to see what happens.
*Name changed for internet privacy