We are working to bring Love, Encouragement, Hope, Happiness & a Reason for Living to people of all ages & from all social standings!
Hungary
Crossing the border into Hungary for the first time we were a little apprehensive, seeing the enormous iron bars & gates, high fences & barbed wire, & armed guards. But faith in our God & His mission for us to reach the youth made this an exciting & fruitful venture.
Under Communism we had to be clandestine in our activities & meetings in order to remain in the country the longest time possible & help our flock of young followers.
The greater risk was for those dear, valiant youth; we would be deported but they would be severely persecuted for their beliefs & witnessing activities.
Yugoslavia
This country, under the rule of Tito who was Croatian, had its own style of Communism. Yugoslavians (yugo=southern, slav=slavics) could travel to both Western ‘Free World’ & Eastern ‘Communist Bloc’ countries. Some were idealistic about & a bit proud of their form of ‘Socialism / Communism’.
Still there were those who were seeking more, longing for the truth & those who, when they heard of Jesus & His love for them, which they had never heard of, responded positively & desired more.
Bulgaria
This country was under a tight government control & people lived in fear. We met some young, idealistic persons who felt trapped in this system with no escape or solution. We had found them at the perfect time of their lives, they told us, because they had been contemplating ‘ending it all’ with suicide. They received us and the truth of God’s Love & Salvation for them, which radically changed their lives forever!
Croatia
Post-war Croatia, Eastern Europe
Although we do minister to people’s needs with material goods, we believe our primary purpose is to help others spiritually.
We’re surrounded by a materialistic world where the more important values of Love for God & Love for One Another are often neglected. Consequently many people experience a very lonely, sad life & are very much in need of encouragement & hope for their future.
Zagreb
The capital city, which was not as heavily affected during the war as other cities, is now prosperous & the people aspire to many things for their lives in their new-found freedom. They are still healing from the war & there were many orphans because of the war.
Most Croatian people are very sweet, friendly, helpful, & giving regardless of their ethnic or religious background. Our neighbors & friends surely demonstrated this quality.
Vukovar
Ravaged by war & a formerly rich agricultural area. It’s not just rebuilding houses & businesses, it’s a total rebuilding of their devastated lives & homes.
We brought Humanitarian Aid to assist the needy. Through Father Slatko & the Caritas charitable work these items were directed to the right people.
Brisa & Debbie shared the inspired songs, “On the Wings of a Snow White Dove” & “The Prayer of Saint Francis.” This church’s symbol is a White Dove & they’re Franciscans. Their response was spontaneous applause, something that had never happened before.
In the aftermath of such a terrible war for their freedom, the people of Croatia needed someone who would give them encouragement, a listening ear & an understanding heart, not just material aid. This certainly was true with the persons we met who had fought in this war. It was such a traumatic experience & they now needed to rebuild their lives.
Here is the famous ‘water tower’ where the Croatians flew their flag during the war. The Serbs would shoot it down & the Croats would put it right back up. (Ivo, pic below, was one of them) Vukovar was bombed daily by artillery & tanks, which resulted in many casualties & deaths. Basically every structure was damaged or destroyed & most Croatians had to flee for their lives.
Poreč & Omiš
Poreč & Omiš are two coastal towns of many we visited. At a kids summer day camp in Poreč we did a clown show. They loved it & a local paper wrote up an article about us.
Despite Croatia being such a beautiful country with gorgeous beaches & wonderful people there is a dire problem of drug use among the youth, especially the coastal region.
The Croatian coast, one of the most beauteous, having thousands of islands in the Adriatic Sea, is a very popular tourist attraction among eastern & western Europeans.
