The small things...

You know, it's the seemingly small things in life that have a way of making life seem either completely lovely, or on the other hand, horribly empty. It may seem shallow, but if I can't find my "pretty cup" to drink my coffee out of in the morning I just don't savor the moment as much. Sometimes I think we take for granted the little gestures of kindness within the body of Christ, sometimes we don't realize how desperately someone needs to be pulled back into the Lord's embrace by one of His members reaching out.
One of the aspects of Croatian culture that I love is that of their close knit family structure; many times the family share a house, the grandparents on one floor, while sons and daughters share additional floors with their own growing families. Afternoons are often spent over huge lunches, while every aspect of life is discussed. I love this facet of life here, it is so special to see bonds that are so strong. But almost always, in the middle of such gatherings I am struck by a loneliness that is so piercing. When I see the Bakas helping their little grandbabies to walk I am reminded that my babies don't have Grandma here to cuddle and spoil them. It's in these times that a shield of faith has to be raised high, to guard my heart from that barrage of arrows the enemy has ready to fire right through to my heart. I have to remind myself to cast my cares upon the Anchor of my soul because He cares for me, that He cares for my children. There is no tear that falls and is wasted in the eyes of my Jesus.
So, when I come to church and am all flustered trying to keep my three little one from being completely distracting to everyone who has come to be refreshed in their faith, and a kind heart reaches out and pulls my little girl onto their lap and pats the place next to them for my son it really does bring tears to my eyes and humility to my heart. Because you see, that is what the Body of Christ was meant to do, it was meant to shoulder each other's burdens, to remember that we each have our moments of weakness and we so desperately need each other. In the Body of Christ I have the family that my heart aches for, I still will miss those that are far away, but Jesus has blessed each one of His children by understanding that those small things are really larger than life.

Spring Update!

For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus' sake. For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

We are so thankful that the Lord has commanded His light to shine into our lives, that daily we can experience the "Light of life" as we follow Him. But as we walk in the blessing of His illumination our hearts break for those who sit in the darkness, for those who love darkness rather than the light.
This Spring will mark our sixth year of ministry in Split, as we look back over the seasons the Lord has brought us through we are so thankful for His grace and provision. The last six months have been an interesting season; one that has definitely given us an opportunity to seek the Lord's direction and to be reassured that as He calls us to certain ministries He will always provide the means needed. At the end of November we received a surprise visit from an inspector at the cafe and long story short we had to close the cafe until the beginning of February. During that time we needed to hire a lawyer to make sure that legally the cafe has everything in order. We had previously thought that everything was fine, but apparently it was not. So, now the cafe is back open, and we are excited to see the students returning for their coffee, cookies and brownies, and to give us more opportunities to share with them. We are also so thankful that the Lord has brought someone to help with the cafe; Travis Wallace from Arizona arrived the beginning of January and it has been a huge blessing to have someone here to labor alongside us again!
As a church we have been blessed to see people growing in their faith; the last few months have given people a chance to step in and help with various things and it has been so great to see people respond to the needs of the body. We just finished up the book of Acts and Tim has now started James. We are excited to be exhorted by this practical book and pray that the Holy Spirit would continue to encourage and edify our little fellowship by the Word.
Our family is doing well; we had a lovely little Christmas break in December when we were able to go up to Vienna, Austria for our friends' wedding. The wedding was beautiful, as was Vienna at Christmastime! We took the kiddos to the Schonnbrunn Zoo (which, by the way is one of the oldest zoos in the world.) and it was so fun to see all of the animals out in the snow! Then we spent Christmas at the Schloss Heroldeck, which was so special because of the dear place the castle and the friends that are there have in our hearts.
Now, back in Split things have settled back into a routine. Tim is at the cafe most days of the week, Grace goes in some days but not so often now that Travis is here to help. Thomas is in Vrtic (preschool) and is enjoying it most of the time. Mila is Mommy's little helper and loves to be right there at he counter mixing and stirring whatever she can get her hands into. And "Baby Oliver" as he is affectionately called by his big brother and sister is now crawling and trying his hardest to keep up with everyone else!
We want to thank each of you for your prayer and support. You are all such an encouragement to our hearts and we are blessed that you are a part of our lives!
With much love, Tim, Grace, Thomas, Mila and Oliver

Praise:
The cafe's reopening
Travis' arrival
Growth in the believers
A sweet time in Austria


Prayer Requests:
Continual leading and guidance by the Holy Spirit.
That CCofSplit would grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus and be a light to the community.
Salvation of the students that we share with at the cafe.
Protection and health of our family.
Thomas to learn Croatian quickly in vrtic.
Our visas renewal process to go smoothly