Don Stephens --> Profile

In my forty plus years, I've only missed Christmas twice with my family: once when I was broken down on interstate 95, and the other when I was in Hawaii. This year I'll celebrate in the midst of Bosnia's predominantly Muslim culture. There are few signs of the season here beyond the snowfall and a few meager decorations in the stores. It just doesn't "feel" like Christmas. There are plenty of shepherds in place along the road to Breza, and the world's wise men have assembled with their political advice and gold. But the baby - the centerpiece of the story - has been assigned to the stable once more while starving guests scramble for food inside the Inn.

The view on the surface is full of hope. Roofs have been patched, window panes replaced, and bullet holes have vanished under stucco and paint. Cosmetics have done wonders for the image but little for the heart. Masking the baldness of the cancer patient, they fail miserably to touch the malignancy. At the present rate of reconstruction Sarajevo will soon be a woman dressed in elegance and style, turning heads once more with her quaintness and charm. But don't be fooled. Beneath the mascara lies the desperation of a hopeless heart. Hers is the despair of Fantine, in Victor Hugo's masterpiece, Les Miserables:

I had a dream in time gone by
When hope was high
And life worth living
I dreamed that love would never die
I dreamed that God would be forgiving.

I had a dream my life would be
So different from this hell I'm living.....
So different now from what it seemed
Now life has killed
The dream I dreamed...

The losses of war, the shattered economy, and Bosnia's political uncertainty have murdered the dreams of it's people. Of the few who with "steady jobs," many haven't seen a paycheck in months, or they run the whole restaurant for $5 per day. Human life is cheap, and the hours are long. For most Bosnians the only possible future is playing at some other cinema in another part of the world.

But last night's quietly falling snow covered the streets and rooftops like mercy. It reminded me of the changed lives and the accumulating witness of those who have come to Jesus. He is here! And hope is on the horizon. How much brighter the light appears in a place of such darkness and despair.

I plan on returning to the states for about two months after the first of the year. And then in April I'll be back in Sarajevo staffing the YWAM Discipleship Training School. We will be working primarily with students from Eastern and Central European Nations, and I'm naturally very excited about working with Youth With a Mission again.

Please pray for Bosnia this Christmas. Your prayers, support, and friendship have been a lifeline to me in 2000. I hope your holiday will be filled with the grace and joy of knowing Jesus. We are indeed privileged above all people to know Him who is the definition of Life itself.