The New Year

Well, there seems to be a lot to make up for. We hope that everyone had a Merry Christmas, or Sretan Božić and Happy New Year! (Sretna Nova Godina). We apologize for our long absence on the blog and promise that it is not going to become a habit. The Christmas season was just as busy here as it is for all of you in your part of the world. However, through all the running around, we also had some good time to relax as most of the city and families have "holiday time" for about 2 weeks. 

So, things have been busy. We've all started to find things to plug into here. Some of us are volunteering with a few different organizations. Brittany and Jerry are both involved in sports clubs, frisbee and soccer, and have been able to really begin establishing great relationships through doing things they love. We are thankful for all the doors that God opens here. We're also still becoming more involved with the existing missionary community and amazed everyday but the way in which they interact and treat each other as a community of God's people. We are incredibly blessed with great supporters and mentors here within the missionary community. 

We finally got our visa situation all worked out and have official visas in our passports! This was a huge answer to lots of prayer and a lot of time and paperwork. It's kinda the last step to starting to feel settled. We also begin an intensive language course tomorrow for the next few weeks and are excited to see how that goes and hoping for the best. Also, the Scotts (see there website here ) will be arriving in the next couple weeks as they transition from being in France to Croatia and we are so excited to work with them and have them here with us. 

So all in all things are going really well. We've still had our days of frustration and craziness, mixed in with a little sickness over the past few weeks for a few of us, but we are still amazed everyday at how God is so faithful and provides for us. We appreciate all the prayers and ask you to continue praying with us as God leads us and shows us what he has in store for us for the next 7 months or so. We've spent this past week talking as a group and spending time one-on-one just talking and praying about being here and how to best be apart of what God is doing. The phrase we said a lot was 'God is doing something in Croatia and we want to be apart of it ' before we came. And I think we'd all be in agreement that God is doing something great here and while somedays we aren't positive about our role in it we are still seeking and learning everyday what it means to be used by God and surrendered to his roles for us here. He is doing something here and we feel privileged to be apart of it. So please continue to pray with us and thank you so much for all of your support. We can't wait to see what 2011 looks like here in Croatia. 

'The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth. They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry. It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.' Isaiah 55: 10-11