Bursting Into Song

One hundred and fifty Christians in three churches in Montenegro are working together to reach out to their communities and God is transforming lives through their actions. 

 

Pastor Stanisha of Montenegro’s Baptist Church said the shoe boxes have enabled him to build good relationships with local government, who provide storage space and protect them from malicious reports in the media. Vladimir, another church leader, said that although Montenegrins are still suspicious of the gospel message, Christians are earning the right to speak as they serve their communities and live generously, and the shoe boxes are a great way to bless those who wouldn’t otherwise receive a Christmas gift, such as one family of 10 all squashed into one small house.

 

The father works as a security man watching over building sites at night, but this work is difficult and provides an irregular income for this large family. Ivana (18) is big sister to Zoriza (14, pictured left) and they both seem to get on very well with their younger twin brothers, Zocki and Dejan (11).

 

Zoriza, Dejan and Zocki were all very pleased to receive their shoeboxes, in fact Zocki was so excited that he couldn’t wait inside the house, but ran out to meet Vladimir as he brought the boxes from the van! Inside his shoe box were some shorts which he will wear to play football in, one of his favourite activities. Dejan’s face lit up with a huge smile as he found an art set inside his shoe box. He is very artistic and loves to paint and draw. Before we left Dejan burst into song, and confidently sung in Serbian ‘We want to see Jesus lifted high’ which he has been learning at the church youth club. 

 

This is a perfect example of how the shoe box gifts are helping the church in Montenegro build relationships with young people and families who are in need of support.