Champs Camp was last week. This year we had around 25 children and 13 teen volunteers. Our theme was, Kingdom Rock: Where Kids Stand Strong for God. Each day we enjoyed celebrating together through fun Christian songs, Bible lessons, discussions, object lessons, crafts, Superbook videos, games, fellowship, and delicious food. It was especially encouraging to see our teenagers serving the younger children. Some of the kids returned from last year, and we also welcomed several new ones. A few of them are already excited to join our youth group once they turn 12.

The Saturday before Champs Camp, we had our teen volunteers together for a day of training and team building. Many of these teenagers were once campers themselves, and now they want to help make this camp happen for the younger kids. After we finished Champs Camp, we took our teen volunteers on a three day trip to the coast. They spent a lot of time on the sea and hanging out during the day. And then we offered them some spiritual food in the evenings. These teens are also active with us throughout the school year, and most of them will come to our Youth Camp for teens in the mountains next month.

This last Sunday, Kolya surrendered his life to Jesus and was baptized. He is one of the Ukrainian orphans who have been with us the last few years. Kolya is 17 years old. He has a charismatic personality and a kind heart. After spending time studying the Bible with me, and our Ukrainian friend, Dima Grishchuk, and talking and praying together, he said that he was ready to give his life to Jesus and be baptized. He said that he has actually been thinking about this since the last camp at the end of last summer. The photo above right is the teenagers at the church surrounding Kolya and praying for him after his baptism.

I preached twice this month for the Ukrainian fellowship that is meeting on Sunday afternoons in the building where our Croatian church meets on Sunday mornings. This fellowship was started by Dima and Yulia Grishchuk. I worked with Dima in orphan ministry 20 years ago in Donetsk, Ukraine. Yulia and their girls came to us in the Spring of 2022, shortly after the war started in Ukraine. They have seen several people come to faith and decide to be baptized, including several teens who come to all our youth activities. In fact, all of their kids and teens are involved with us. God is moving among them. They have 20-25 people meeting together, all of whom came to Croatia to escape the war in their country.

I am currently discipling five young men. We talk about life, read the Bible together, and discuss it. Adam (16) and I have finished the books of John, Acts, and Romans. We are now working together through the Bible study book, Experiencing God. Adam was baptized three years ago and is developing a deep love for Jesus. Adam’s family are dear to me, and we live close together. Noa (13) is Adam’s brother. We have finished the book of John and are starting on Acts now. Petar (17) and I started meeting together last year. He also has a growing heart for God. Dominik (14) and I started meeting together just this year. He is a young man with a growing heart for Jesus. He often struggles in doing the right thing, but he desires to. He is also very open with his struggles and his failures. He says the time we spend in Bible study and talking together is important to him. I met Matija (18) just recently at a men’s retreat we both attended, but we have already had a few meetings. He gave his life to Jesus and was baptized just a few months ago, but already has a maturity and depth of faith that is beyond his years.
 

Ilona is one of the Ukrainian girls from the house of orphans we have been serving the last four years. She decided to be baptized this month. Ilona’s faith has been growing, and she has been pursuing a walk with Jesus and talking about this, ever since the camps last summer. Ilona has a close relationship with my co-worker, Mateja. Over the past few months they have been studying the Bible together, talking about God, and praying together. We are encouraged to see how Ilona wants to follow God and live a Christ-centered life. Please pray for her faith to continue to grow and that she is encouraged as she follows Jesus.

We clearly see God’s hand in our youth ministry. Each time we gather now, we have an average of about 25 teenagers attending. We enjoy Bible lessons, discussions, songs, games, food, and fellowship together. And knowing each of them more. At the start of each semester, we ask the teens to write down for us the topics or questions they would like us to address, then we work through their requests through the semester, framing our responses from a Biblical perspective. We are also involved with many of these kids in one-on-one discipling relationships.

Oh, and our teens love “musical chairs.”

Andrei is a 15 year old young man from Ukraine. He has been here in Croatia with his family for about the last two and a half years. My friend Dima baptized him this month (photo above) . Andrei’s family is involved in the small Ukrainian church that Dima and his wife Yulia started here in Zagreb. Andrei and his younger brother, Timofei, have also been involved in our youth ministry for the last two years. They come to all of our activities. Their father told us last fall that when they first arrived in Croatia, the boys never smiled. He said that ever since they have been involved in our ministry, they are smiling again. We are thankful for this beautiful family and the growing faith of Andrei and Timofei.

Happy New Year, everyone. The first week of this year, we held our Winter Youth Camp. We enjoyed three days of worship, games, fun, my famous lasagna, and teaching on identity, belonging, and purpose, all in the mountains west of Zagreb. We had 33 teenagers with us. Dima and Yulia Grishchuk, who I got to know and worked with in Ukraine back in the early 2000s, came to help us with worship and some of the teaching. It was a great time together, and everyone is eager for the first Youth Meeting of the year, and also looking forward to the Summer Youth Camp. Enjoy the video below that Yulia took while we were there, for a taste of what our time was like.

On December 28 and 29, I hosted at my house for two days and nights several of the boys with whom I work closely. We enjoyed great fellowship, food, a fire in the firepit, and a day at a local indoor water park. I introduced them to the card game, “Spoons” (in Croatian, “Žlice”). I also introduced them to the old (for them) film, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and made some spiritual application from it about respecting the power of God. It was a great time of deepening relationships, and they even let the old man sleep!

At this time of year, and as we are approaching “Giving Tuesday,” would you partner with us in ministry in Croatia? It has been an especially challenging time financially this year in Croatia. Read below about why, and about ways you can help.

This fall we need to raise $15,000 toward these expenses for next year:

Camps, Youth Meetings, Youth Magazine, Ministry Website, and Personal Discipling

Please also contact me if you or your church would become a regular, monthly financial partner with us. Some additional regular ministry partners now would be a great help. Read about why at the end of this post.

We also have a significant need for funding for our co-worker, Iva Matijević.

Iva is in the photo above, with the group of Ukrainian orphans who we have hosted here, and whom Iva has faithfully served, over the last 3 1/2 years. Iva not only serves the house of orphans as a care-giver, she has also been of invaluable help, and often in sacrificial ways, to the other Ukrainian women and their children whom we have been serving. In all these ways, and because she is fluent in Croatian, Ukrainian, and English:

Iva is invaluable in helping us serve our Ukrainian friends.

At the beginning of the war in Ukraine, almost four years ago now, we were given a significant amount of money to help Ukrainians. In total we have helped 27 individuals since then. That money is now gone. This fall we used the last of that funding to pay Iva for her hard work.

Now we need to come up with about $2,400 monthly to keep employing Iva.

This gives Iva the average Croatian, monthly take-home wage of about $1,700, after taxes. We already have $360 of this amount pledged, and the organization where the Ukrainian orphans come from, Jeremiah’s Hope, is also working to raise some of these funds. Would you also be part of the answer to this need?

It has been a challenging year financially in Croatia, especially for those of us whose funding comes in US Dollars. This is largely because of three factors:

1) Since Croatia started using the Euro in 2023, prices have ticked up a bit in general.

2) Since the beginning of this year, Croatia has often been either #1 or #2 (depending on the month) among all the Eurozone countries for the highest inflation rates.

3) We also are currently dealing with a very unfavorable exchange rate between the Euro and the US Dollar. That rate has been gradually getting worse. At the beginning of the year it was about 1 Euro = $1.07. As of today, it is 1 Euro = $1.20.

The basic net effect of all this is that the US Dollar now goes only about 20% as far in Croatia as it did at this time last year.

Would you help us overcome this challenge, as well as help with the other needs mentioned above? Click the “Give” button in the sidebar at right, or scan this QR code:

Thank you and blessings to you!

Steve