How the Yellow Pages Ruined Community

One thing that I've never gotten use to here in Bosnia is the lack of a local Yellow Pages. I mean how do you find a plumber or a mechanic or a doctor? Ahhh, that's one of the many secrets to understanding the Bosnian culture. The thing is here, everything that you would need or want you can find from a friend or a friend of a friend. For us foreigners it takes one more step. We have to find a friend that has a friend who knows someone. So here's the story why I'm writing this blog.

Our landlord had promised to put in a floor in the dinning room when we moved in. Until now it's just been some old worn linoleum floor that looked horrible. So this month our landlord put in a nice new hard wood floor. So when the workers came to put in the floor we got to talking and I found out that they are good friends of the landlord and live in the same town where our landlord is from -WHICH IS 3 HOURS AWAY from Sarajevo where we live. So this floor was a 2 day job which meant that these guys drove 3 hours one day to work on this floor and then drove 3 hours home. The night before they came happened to be the same night as the first big snow in Bosnia which made the trip even worse. Then the second day they drove another 3 hours to finish the job. Of course at this point their car broke down and one of the workers spent the day at the mechanic's to get it fixed (I'm still wondering how he found a mechanic in a town that wasn't his). Just so that you remember we live in the capitol city which means that there are plenty of people qualified to put in a wood floor, but the point is the landlord has these friends.
Here in Bosnia friends are not just those you have coffee with, they are the network through which you get everything done.

Citaonica

On Monday the 19th of November we officially opened up our Citaonica, which literally translated means, "reading place". Basically, we have Christian books to give for free and some for a small donation. We have an attractive and comfy area where people can either read books or have discussion. For the grand opening we offered free coffee and homemade cakes and cookies as well as a drawing for a painting that a local pastor made. On the first day we were able to sell about a dozen books and gave out others. We had quite a few visitors, and in general were very encouraged by other believers who came to check out the new place. Another encouraging thing was the neighboring shop keepers who came and brought their friends to look and even buy some books. We also had sign-ups for English and Portuguese classes which we are hoping to start by December.


The idea for the reading room came out of a summer ministry that we had where we put Christian literature on a table in a central area in town. Because of the great conversations we had there on the street, we thought it would be a good idea to put a roof over the book-table. The Bosnian winters are fairly harsh, so we searched for a place to have an outlet to give these books out to the community during the cold months. We came across an empty hair salon, and promptly contacted the owner. Some weeks later we made a deal with him to rent the place. The experience so far with the landlord, the renovation, and the grand opening has been very encouraging and we're praising God for the resources that he's provided so far.

Reformation Day

Not widely celebrated in the States, but celebrated world wide, Reformation day in Sarajevo this year was the first of its kind. For the first time the evangelical alliance in Sarajevo, which has members from all of the protestant churches in Sarajevo, was able to put together a program and advertise it throughout the city. The celebration started with a book exhibition and then a choir sang a few traditional hymns. Then, three of the pastors from different denominations got up and spoke a little bit about the reformation and how their denomination fit into the protestant movement. The three pastors reminded the audience that each generation is in danger of losing its path. Whenever our traditions or Christian culture get in the way of the word of God then we have lost our way. Each church needs to continually reform itself from within.
After the speeches were finished, snacks were available and the guests were invited to another church for a concert. The concert could have been mistaken for a rock concert as two bands, fully equipped with drums and electric guitars, played under a light show of purple, red and green. It was overall a wonderful time and expressed, I believe, the spirit of Martin Luther’s message through our enjoyment of our freedom in Christ.
This reformation celebration served a second purpose. The Bosnian protestant church really needed such a celebration, if nothing else, to give the church a face in the city. There are less than 1000 protestant believers in the whole country, and the average Bosnian has no idea who we are or what the protestant church believes. I think the local believers who took part in this celebration were encouraged as well as they thought about the millions of evangelical Christians around the world who also celebrated this day.