Note: I am still growing in Jesus.  Even after all these years as a believer, I often wrestle with far more questions than I have answers. 
Therefore not everything you read on this page will be fully-formed truth. 
Please read with these entries with discernment, feedback your comments, and keep in mind that no matter how hard I try,
the "opinions stated here may not necessarily reflect the view of the Management."  

Friday, June 23, 2005:  Jeepers, it's been a whole month since my last update!  There's been a ton of scenery pass by my window these past weeks. I'll do my best to hit the highlights without being too longwinded.

First of all, God really met me at the YWAM conference back at the end of May.  As it turns out, a lot of our Central European missionaries arrived at the conference feeling much the same as I.  It's just not an easy place to serve.  But as so often is the case when we go through these difficult times, a simple word from the Lord is all we really need.  I got mine in two installments.  First when a team of intercessors from Scotland prayed over me and had a sense from the Holy Spirit that I had been "looking for fruit in the wrong season. "  Fruit, after all, is a seasonal thing, and it's not common in nature to find something that produces continuously.   

The other "word" is still unfolding.  It has to do with commitment.  For the past seven years I've been serving in Sarajevo without making any long term commitment to the country.  I've always told people, "I'll be there until God moves me on," (thinking this sounds rather spiritual). But now I believe the Father is speaking to me about a longer term commitment of several years.  Cut flowers and potted plants can be beautiful, but it's really only deep roots that produce lasting fruit.  It seems to be a season for sending my roots deeper into Bosnian soil.  To be honest, this whole thing scares the doodoo out of me.  Don't want to fail.  Don't want to miss God.  Don't want to rule out other opportunities.  Having wrestled with commitment my entire life, this is turning out to be a really big deal for me.  But one of my dear friends just reminded me yesterday, "Don, God does not want to cheat you out of life.  He wants to give you more life through this commitment."  

So goes the journey.  I'm in Florence, South Carolina this week, being "eaten-up with affirmation " from my home church.  I do wish I could transport these people back to Sarajevo for companionship. 

Monday, May 23, 2005:  I've received lots of encouraging notes since my last update.  Some have asked for the "bullet list" and all have assured me of their prayers.  God is faithful.  The fog has lifted a bit and I'm finding daily encouragement.  I really wish I could report amazing breakthroughs and new levels of faith and intimacy with my Creator.  But that's not yet the case. 

What I have noticed is that when I become more vulnerable in these updates, it sparks the same kind of honesty in my friends.  People write and say, "I know exactly what you're talking about."  It reminds me of my favorite church testimony back in Hawaii when a dear older saint stood up and said, "You know what?  We all come here every week and smile at each other in the parking lot and say, 'How are you doing, brother?' And we say 'Just fine. Praise the Lord!'  It all sounds really nice, but I'm just tired of pretending.  I  want you folks to know this morning that I'm not doing fine.  You are looking at one screwed up woman.  I need Jesus, and I need to start being really honest with you."  I wanted to stand on my chair and shout.  Somehow it's just a how lot easier to smile and pretend than to be honest and say, "I'm scared and worried about my health.  I've been depressed all week, fussing at the family, strugglin with my weight, and some mornings I wake up wondering if I can believe in God at all ." 

Tonight I leave for the Central European YWAM conference in Romania, followed by a short journey through France, Belgium and Norway to follow up on our dispersed Iranian friends before flying home on June 11th.  These next few weeks promise to be both encouraging and fruitful.  I think I'm needing a change of scenery and the fellowship of other missionaries who understand the pressures of living in a spiritually hostile environment.  Through the generosity of Persian World Outreach, we've got lots of Christian literature and music to distribute to our Iranian friends.  The four of us, (Bob and Eileen Pressler, Lisa Whitaker and I), have been meeting twice a week for the past month to pray for our friends and for this ministry trip.  God has given us Acts 15:36 as an encouragement for this endeavor: "Let us go back and visit the brothers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing."

Most likely there will be no opportunity for another update until I arrive in the Sataes on June 11th. 

Tuesday, May 3, 2005:  A couple of years back I made a commitment to be as honest in these updates as I could possbily be, a decision which was shortly followed by a friendly Email commenting on the "depressing" nature of my entries. So I decided to scrap the honesty and revert back to positive, inspirational themes.  The Norman Vincent Peale approach: Think positive, write about uplifting things, and try not to let on that the hounds of depression are nipping at your heals, and that the lives of missionaries aren't always that amazing.

Some days the single objective of getting cleaned up to leave my apartment is challenge enough, never mind rebuilding the walls of Sarajevo.  How do you write an honest update when you've been in an emotional and spiritual fog for days on end?  Direction is vanished, movement slow, definition obscure, and the presence of others is difficult to even perceive.   I could at best make a little bullet list of all the places where it feels like my life is breaking down.  But that assuredly would depress some of my more squeemish friends.  So I'll spare you those little details and just mention it's been a pretty difficult couple of weeks.  (You can write me via Email and request to bullet list if you're really interested). 

On the bright side, I've been seeing some solid growth in a few of the guys I've been mentoring.  They're growing in honesty, faithfulness, and hunger for Truth, and that's a huge deal for a place like Bosnia.  Another friend, who has been wandering from Jesus for several years seems to be growing disgusted of the distant land. 

On Sunday mornings our little company of spiritual misfits has resumed meeting again at the newly renovated Lighthouse.  Mr Bob thinks we should call our group "The Ragamuffin Church" in honor of our tatterdemalion congregation.  This Sunday morning we sat in a circle and made a joyful sound to the Lord with rhythm instruments, peered out the windows at the mountains and cherry blossoms and sang "For the Beauty of the Earth", told stories, prayed for the Kingdom, and had a roundtable sermon/discussion about spiritual leadership and hearing the voice of God. 

It was "Prvi Maj," the auspicious celebration of Bosnian labor.  Following church we went "out into nature" with the rest of the city to celebrate work.  Thousands of people were picnicking along the roads and in the forests, and not one person seemed bothered by the fact that 60% of them are unemployed.

Last night I walked into town.  The streets were uncharacteristically empty after the holiday, and I took the moment to sit in the park and try to hear what the Holy Spirit might be saying to me.  After a half an hour or so of wrestling with my thoughts like monkeys in a banana tree, I gave up and found a comfortable seat at a coffee bar to do some reading.  Soon after, Zoran, a young Bosnian friend, took a seat and began to talk to me as if Jesus himself was sitting across the table.  God knew just what I needed to hear.   

Sunday, April 10, 2005:  Kosovo was another amazing experience.  Each time I hang out with Albanians, my appreciation for them grows.  Even though they're neighbors of only a few hundred miles distance, these descendants of the Biblical Illyrians are quite different from the Slavs of Bosnia.  They're much more optimistic about the future, more open to the Gospel, and perhaps most notably, they love Americans.  (The main drag in Pristina has been named "Bill Clinton Boulevard"!)  Several times I was greeted with words like, "Oh... you're American!  You will always have a home here with us."

The university students in Bill Burtness' Principles of American Government class are learning things about the spiritual foundations of America that haven't been taught in US schools in decades: The sovereignty of God, Biblical self-government, the sacredness of conscience, and the imperative of Christian Character.  I had the privilege of speaking on Biblical worldview and the Kingdom of God.  (All of this, mind you, in a "secular" university!)  This class has become so popular that in spite of enrollment cutoffs, young people were still knocking on the door during the last week of class wanting to get enrolled.  I love the Lord for the way He sets up such amazing and creative opportunitie

Things are warming up in Sarajevo.  It's that magical time of year when the coffee bars spill out onto the sidewalks, and everybody spends the afternoon on the street.  I've been enjoying casual meetings with friends over coffee, telling stories, encouraging or praying with them.  Often it seems like God gives me the ones who don't easily fit into other groups: those who feel rejected, misunderstood, or judged for whatever reason.  I wonder if the disciples weren't a bit like these Bosnian misfits: unlikely candidates to be chosen by a king. 

The other day I was having "bad missionary day", aggravated at what I perceive to be spiritual blindness and passivity in the people.  As I walked through the city a stream of faces fed the irritation in my heart.  "Lord, what's wrong with these people that they won't listen!?"  Then the Holy Spirit spoke to me, "Don, I want you to separate the precious from the vile.  These people are precious to me.  But the lies they have been told for countless generations are vile.  Love the people, and wage war against the lies and deception." 

Monday, March 21, 2005:  It was a very full week of activities with our visiting team from The King's Academy in Florence, South Carolina.  Our original plan was to use these enthusiastic young people to reach out to neighborhood teenagers, and kick off our youth ministry in the newly renovated "Lighthouse."  But construction delays left us scrambling for alternative outreach activities, and in the end we did everything from stomping and dancing to passing out Samaritan's Purse boxes, picking up trash, and interviewing young people on the streets.  These kids were amazing, happily jumping into whatever opportunities God presented.  At the end of the week, all six of them were already talking about a return trip. 

One of the things I enjoyed most about this team was their refreshing spirituality.  With little regard for rules, methods, and religious activities, these guys were "all over" relationship with both God and with the people they met.  This is a powerful witness to the people of Bosnia where religion has gained a reputation for divisiveness and conflict.     

Tomorrow night I leave for Kosovo to teach Biblical Worldview in the University.  I'm delighted to have another chance to teach Kingdom principles in a predominantly Muslim environment.  The bus trip is almost always a miserable experience, but I'd be a fool to pass up such a God-given opportunity. 

Saturday, March 11, 2005:  Sometime in the late 1970s I began praying for the country of Albania, the world's only officially atheistic country, and a place where, (I was told), the Communists sealed the last Christians into barrells and rolled them into the sea.  It was simply unbelievable to wrap my American brain around the idea of an entire country with no known believers. 

So this trip to Tirana was especially exciting for me.  And it was a reminder that we should be "careful" what we pray for, lest God might choose to use us as part of the solution.   The Discipleship Training School had six students, and another six staff who sat in on the lessons.  Eager, and unspoiled by the Western world, they were a delight.  It's infinitely easier to undo a communist worldview, (having already shown itself such a stunning failure), than to counter the lies of MTV, Hollywood, and Western Academia. 

One of the most exciting moments of the week occurred when I spoke to the students, in passing, about the idea of grace.  They jumped on it like a dog on a weenie, and began barraging me with questions.  I was thrilled to watch the young people grasp the idea that not only could they do nothing to earn their salvation, but neither could they do anything in the form of works to keep it.  The sad part of the exchange was realizing that every single student in the classroom seemed to have come from a religious background that taught them to maintain and secure their salvation by works.  This is a devastating example of how we western missionaries have taken the Gospel of Jesus into virgin soil and perverted it into a religion of legalism and works.  Paul faced-down this same error with the Galatian believers when he charged, "I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard?  Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?"  (Gal 3:2-3)

One student, after the class, spoke through tears that she felt like her mind had received a bath.  I pray that God will bathe us all from the legalism that poisons our life, and return us to the pure, good works that flow not out of obligation, but from the freedom and joy of utter, undeserved forgiveness. 

Saturday, February 19, 2005:   Some say Bosnian men never mature past the age of sixteen or so.  The women do.  They grow into adulthood and often end up stepping into the parenting / breadwinning / household responsibility gaps left by fathers who pass endless hours hanging out in coffee bars with their friends.  Of all the Bosnian young people I know, I can think of no more than five or six who have providing, non-abusive fathers in the home.  More often than not Bosnian fathers actively shame their sons, encourage them towards sexual promiscuity, and distance themselves emotionally from family problems.  (The latest statistics show that fifty percent of Bosnian women are abused). 

So when my young Australian friend, Guy, arrived two weeks ago fresh from a "Wild at Heart" camp in the States, we decided to gather some of the young men and address the wounds and scars left by such fathers.  It's been both heartbreaking and enlightening to hear these guys tell their stories.  Not one of them has been affirmed, encouraged, defended, instructed, or blessed by their natural fathers.  More and more I'm coming to see that a significant piece of my call here is to champion these fatherless young people and offer them, in the Spirit, what they missed from their earthly Fathers.  Otherwise it seems both ludicrous and futile to expect a young person to love and trust a heavenly Father when his only paternal example has been both absent and uncaring.  I have to confess this call strikes me as both fun and sobering for a single man my age. 

It's been a real treat to have company for awhile.  God knew I needed the encouragement, and I've really enjoyed having someone in the apartment with whom I can pray, play music together, or just unload some of the day's burdens.  Guy is very good at all those things.  And my Bosnian friends are all over him like the Pied Piper. 

Sunday, January 30, 2005:   Today I'm following the elections in Iraq.  We're witnessing a pivotal moment in history, and I find myself wondering what it would be like if CNN could switch over to an exclusive "behind-the-scenes" look into the world of the spirit and the invisible warfare behind today's events.  I can imagine the reporter: "Today's events have caused a great stir in the kingdom of darkness, which is sparing none of it's fire power to steal, kill, and destroy here in Baghdad.  Earlier in the day the situation at some mid-city polling centers was looking especially bleak until the prayers of the saints began arriving on the scene in unprecidented numbers."  Why, oh why don't we 21st century believers take world events seriously and assault them in intercession and focused, corporate prayer?  Who knows if maybe our US military could have been spared deployment had we Christians launched effective and fervant prayer initiatives towards Iraq?

It's always been my intention to update this site at least once a week.  But try as I might, it seems nearly impossible.  Either I find myself too busy to write, or uninspired by the sometimes day-to-day realities of missionary life.  This week our YWAM team has been involved in a series of workshops and activities to engage the culture and build bridges with neighbors: believing God for divine appointments, meeting people in their own territory, riding sleds and having meals with neighbors.  God has been amazingly faithful, and we're all encouraged by the new relationships being formed.

Friday night I went with Aldin, Lisa and Stephanie to "Caffe Bar NeNe."  It's a little place not much bigger than most American livingrooms.  But sitting around one long table was a group of eight Bosnian men, old school mates who meet on the weekends for dinner and music.  Just about the time I was ready to leave, they pulled out a guitar and started singing together, traditional Bosnian folksongs, dark, passionate, and full of sorrow.  I just happened to have a ukulele, several Irish whistles, and a couple of shakers.  (I seldom go anywhere without at least four or five musical instruments, "just in case.")  So the four of us played and sang along with the men late into the night.  A bridge was built, and a window was opened into the Bosnian soul.  I look forward to seeing how God may expand this opportunity in the future.  

In the meantime, the Holy Spirit is challenging a number of my own ideas and notions, sentiments that are often standard fare in Christian circles, yet may, or may not be true to the scriptures, or the Spirit of Christ.  I'm starting to feel uncomfortable wearing some of my opinions as if they were brown shoes at a black-tie event.  So.... I'm at a bit of a loss for words.  I think it's a very healthy place, yet it leaves me tentative about sharing too many thoughts today Perhaps I need to be still long enough for the Holy Spirit to sort through and re-order my thinking.  I promise to share more of the process as it comes into focus.

Tuesday, January 11, 2005:  I'm emerging from two weeks of oblivion.  Right around Christmas week it felt as if someone tapped into my spirit and siphoned off all the faith, energy, and motivation from my soul.  Words were gone, hope was on life-support, and God was concealed in a fog.  No one can convince me that the unseen, spiritual world around us is all quiet and serene.  My experience tells me it's a bloody battle no less deadly than Fallujah, and anyone serious about the Kingdom of God is a prime target. 

So when God spoke to me on New Year's morning, I was all ears.  "Trust me for frutifulness and increase.  Don't neglect the pioneer spirit I've given you.  Use what's in your hand.  Don't give up.  And believe me for more."  That's the short version.  His words were comforting and assuring.  They didn't pull me completely out of the woods, but they did give me a secure signpost to guide the way. 

New Years Eve in Sarajevo is a holiday on steroids.  Five decades of Yugoslav Communism stripped away Christmas and transferred the celebration to January 1st.  Santa, gift-giving, neighborly visits, etc., all became a part of the New Year tradition, along with revelry, combustables, and legalized  fireworks of every description.  Many Bosnians make their New Year's plans well in advance, stock up on firecrackers and Roman candles, and party until daybreak.  For days, the streets are a gauntlet of small explosives that leave the nerves frayed and the ears ringing. 

I decided to spend the evening at home alone.  My decision elicited the same sort of pity I get when my friends here realize I have no TV, or that, (in a fit of conviction), I disposed of my pirated DVDs.  ("Poor Don....")  At midnight I watched a symphony of fireworks from my balcony, each household adding their own bottle rockets and Roman candles to the city-sponsored displays.  It's really quite impressive, a bit like those communities in Western Maryland where neighbors work to outdo each another with a gazillion Christmas lights and grazing plastic reindeer.  In the midst of the excitement, God reminded me that the spiritual world is far more substantial than these fireworks I was seeing: It's an invisible  life-and-death warfare of sniper action, collateral damage, and covert military operations between the Kingdom of God, and the shadows of darkness.  I know.  I was almost a casualty.  Thank you for your prayers.  It's gonna be a great new year.

Sunday, December 26, 2004:  Christmas has been an experience to remember this year.  For the past three days I've had anywhere from four to six people vacuum-packed into my little one-bedroom apartment: two American missionaries, (first time away for the holidays), and various Bosnian friends coming and going.  Fellowship in overdrive. 

On Christmas morning we went around the circle and shared about special Christmases in the past.  Dzenan comes from a Muslim background, and never really celebrated the holiday before.  Ivica, (who comes from a Croatian-Catholic background), shared that his all-time favorite Christmas gift was a frozen chicken during the Bosnian war when his family had no other food in the house.  His innocent contribution did a spiritual body slam on this materialistic, whiney-pants American. 

This year I felt impressed by the Lord to leave anonymous gift bags around at the doors of my neighbors, six families on the floor who effectively ignore each other throughout the year.  I was hoping the anomynity would cause each neighbor to "suspect" the other of making overtures of friendship.  But Dzenan straightened me out: "Trust me, they'll know it was the American.  There's not a Bosnian in the country who would do this."  In the end, God seemed to have had other plans anyway, when we discovered two little Gypsy boys making off with the goods.  Caught red-handed with four bags of Christmas candy, we marched them into my apartment for "justice." 

"Do you know what stealing is?" 
Yes.
"Do you know that it's a sin to steal?" 
Yes. 
"Do you know what God says about thieves and sinners?  Do you know where they go when they die?" 
(We had to answer this one for them) 
"Do you know what today is?" 
One of them knew.  It was Christmas day, the day Jesus was born, who was Jewish, and who founded the Christian religion.  The little guy learned this in school.  Bosnian school.  (Pity the poor students who undoubtedly felt "uncomfortable" having to hear about Christmas in public school.  We in America are far too enlightened to allow this type of thing to happen.)

Then we explained why Jesus came: to take the punishment their sins, and for all of the sins of all of us sitting there in the room.  We explained that Jesus would forgive them, and that He would change their heart if they believed Him and asked him to.  After praying with them, we sent them on their way with two bags of candy and goodies.  I'm not prepared to pronounce our two young friends "converted," (maybe they were), but I have no doubt they had an experience of grace that they will not soon forget.

Later on, sitting around the table, the guys agreed this was a "very special" Christmas.  "Yes.... the best one since I got my frozen chicken," Ivica added. 

Thursday, December 16th, 2004:   At last I'm back in Sarajevo long enough to unpack and take a deep breath.  My week at Holmstead Manor, (England), was superb.  We had a class of thirty engaging students who made my spirit soar as their eyes lit up with the Kingdom.  

On Saturday afternoon I found myself in Westminster Abby, thinking "Life is just way too short to take all of this in."  My friend, Daniel, laughed at me in downtown London when I passed up photo opportunities at Big Ben, Parliament, and Downing Street, and then clicked away at a Lord of the Rings poster in the subway that asked, "What will you do to win the battle for Middle Earth?"  What a great Kingdom question!!  Other highlights included a ministry time with refugees at Gatwick Airport, spending a fourteen hour day with the DTS students watching the complete Lord of the Rings Trilogy, and visiting with my Iranian friend, Jimmy, who's been living in Manchester for the past two years.  (He's doing very well, and continuing to share Jesus with every new person he meets!) 

Christmas will be minimal and low key in Sarajevo this year.  There's no school holiday, and many of the evangelical churches - in an attempt not to be a stumbling block - skip the holiday altogether.   Yesterday I checked out Christmas stockings in one of the few stores where such things can be found, every one featuring a witch design in different colors, different poses, but never without a broom and a pointed hat.  Hmm..... 

Christmas reminds me that the whole gospel teaches us that Jesus died on the cross to cleanse me, so that His Spirit could live in me, so that his kingdom could be restored through me.  (Notice I haven't even mentioned heaven, which was never the primary concern of Jesus and the New Testament writers).  Since Adam's tragic fall in the garden, God's entire program can be summarized by the little prefix, "re."  His plan is one of redemption, repentence, restoration, reconcilliation, resurrection, revival, renewal, and return.  My prayer this Christmas is that the heaven's grace will continue to restore God's kingdom on earth, and that the "increase of His government" will know no end. 

Saturday, November 27, 2004:  Life has been a potpourri of comings and goings these past few weeks.  I spent the middle of this last week in Kosovo:  Thirty-three hours of bus travel to teach a three houtr class at the University of Prishtina.  It was an amazing experience.  I'd forgotten how Kosovars and Albanians love Americans.  When I asked the class if they related more to Europe, or to the East, they said, "Neither. We relate to America ! " It's actually refreshing to find an oasis of friendship in the middle of such a hostile region of the world. 

The Muslim students at the university received me well, and I felt amazingly free to share concepts of Biblical truth and the Kingdom of God during our afternoon in class.  Normally engaged, the students got downright lively when we began to examine the Islamic worldview in light of the fruit it produces. I was able to preface the whole thing by affirming my love for Muslim people, and my commitment to truth.  So it was wonderfully encouraging to watch these students begin examining what they believe, and questioning what is true.  At the end of class, I couldn't hold back my excitement at sharing the worldview of the Kingdom.  In reading over my prep notes on the kingdom, Dzenan, (my Bosnian friend), commented, "This is so beautiful. " 

So seeds were planted in Kosovo, and I trust the Holy Spirit to bring them to life.   The bus trip coming and going was another story: eleven hours without a bathroom break, people smoking all around me, and the heater sitting directly under my seat.  I cooked like a Kabasi.  But at the end of the journey I had the delightful experience of sharing Thanksgiving dinner with thirteen YWAM and ministry collegues.  (Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday!)

God is teaching me so much lately.  When I discovered the Kingdom, it really was like finding a pearl of great price.  Everything in life is so much richer and vibrant in light of God's Kingdom.   Every day I find myself studying, reexamining, and learning new Biblical truths which were there all along, but must have been buried beneath the surface of the page. 

For now I feel exhausted, and desperately in need of rest.  And I feels like a winter cold might be coming on.  It's probably a good opportunity to find a book and settle into some good reading material. 

Tuesday, November 9, 2004:  I'll be leaving for Sarajevo one week from today, thankful that I can return to Bosnia with both a clean bill of health, and a Republican president back in the White House.  Let me quickly add that I'm in no way inclined to think that President Bush can solve America's problems and return the country to righteousness.  But I do expect it'll be somewhat easier under his leadership.  No sooner had the election been called when the Holy Spirit spoke clearly to my heart that "this is no time to pull back and rest."  Major battles loom ahead for our nation, and while there appears to be some gathering momentum, only focused, humble prayer will keep us in a position of advance.

I've had some more wonderful opportunities this week, squeezing an overnight youth retreat, a concert, and a chapel service into the space of three days.  In each event, the Holy Spirit was faithful go before me and give me what I needed, (which, when it comes to working with young people, is considerably more than I used to need!)  And again this coming week I'll have a similar schedule.  But the thing that excites me most is an extraordinary opportunity God has arranged when I return to Bosnia.  On November 23rd I'll be teaching a one-shot class at the University of Kosovo, on "Biblical truth that will lift a nation out of hopelessness and despair. "  It's quite a miracle that the Father has opened this door at a Muslim University.  But like He said, "If you build it, they will come."  Please pray for me as I prepare.  I expect this classroom of university students could one day be leaders among the Kosovars as they work towards stability and restoration in the aftermath of war.

I've actually been encouraged the past several weeks about the movement I seem to be seeing in the American church.  It feels like believers are finally beginning to stir from their slumber.  Who knows what mighty things God might do if this sleeping giant were fully awakened!?   

Thursday, October 28, 2004:  God opened the floodgates wide during my last two weeks in South Carolina.  The word He's been putting in my heart is, "If you buuild it, they will come."  And sure enough, as I've pieced together the "Truth Project", the Father has flung doors open all over to share it with young people and adults alike.  From the feedback I've been getting, I believe it has a lot of potential to open spiritual understanding of the Kingdom to those who have been hemmed in by a sacred / secular mindset.  I'm convinced more than ever that people hunger to understand the Kingdom; that our hearts are restless to know the overarching drama of life that transcends our mundane existence.

When I returned from Sarajevo in August I felt that I was to be here on US soil until after the Presidential election.  This, too, is a kingdom thing.  The opportunity to vote is a fundamental responsibility of every person who prays "Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done."  Our right to vote is not a cheap privilege.  It has been bought at the expense of countless men and women who fought for our democracy.  And it is one important way that even the weakest and most feable among us can influence and extend kingdom truth into our culture.  No candidate, of course, is perfect, but there will always be one who has a deeper reverence for truth and absolutes.  That man should be our Kingdom choice. 

Here in Maryland the leaves have turned, and God is displaying his glory in overdrive.  It's a great time to be home.  The next couple of weeks hold even more opportunities for ministry in supporting churches, youth groups, concerts, etc.  And then I'll be headed back to Sarajevo. 

Monday, October 11, 2004:  Things are spinning faster and faster here in South Carolina.  God is opening so many doors for me to share the material I've been developing Truth, Biblical Worldview, and the Kingdom of God.  Regardless of the setting, I'm finding people to be very  receptive and hungry for this type of teaching that moves beyond the borders of the local church into the wild and adventurous territory of the Kingdom.  We all want our lives to count for a "cause," and it just seems like there's a greater story happening than simply "hanging on until Jesus comes back."

As the presidential elections approach, my "truth-o-meter" is bouncing off the charts.  I wish I had more confidence that the American people are committed to "proving all things, and holding fast that which true", rather than just believing what the commentators and networks choose to feed us. 

The Holy Spirit has been warning me recently not to put my confidence in politics.  America's problem is not her politics, but the sinful condition of our human hearts.  Our problem is a spiritual one, and if the spiritual problem were solved, the politics would take care of themselves. As long as we love sin, selfishness, and money, we will disdain truth and make dark choices, both in our daily lives as well as in our political leaders. 

The past week or so I've had an unquenchable hunger to learn more about the Christian heritage of our nation.  Textbooks and encyclopedias these days no longer tell us the whole story.  They leave out the passionate faith of our Founding Fathers, and brazenly proclaim that America wasn't founded by Christians at all, but by Deists and Atheists.  Well, if that's the case, these same "Deist" and "Atheist" founding fathers opened the initial day of the Continental Congress, (September 7, 1774), with a Bible study on Psalm 35, followed by three hours of prayer, established the American Tract Society, the American Sunday School Union, The Amercan Bible Society, voted to import 20,000 Bibles from Scotland, and even orderd a special publication of a Bible for use in public schools. 

This week I've got some great opportunities to share in the Christian school, youth group, home group, etc.  Please keep the prayers coming.

Thursday, September 23, 2004:  Oh my, I've done it again.  Keeping up with this webpage is like trying to grab a handful of jello.  I suppose my biggest news is that after having a cardio catharization six days ago, the doctors declared my heart to be healthy and functioning as it ought.  Obviously this was a huge sigh of relief for me.  The only way I can account for the episode three months ago, (which was very real), is that whatever problem gripped my heart in those wee hours of the morning has been healed by tender touch of Jesus.  Now I can get on with my life and with the work of the kingdom.  My deepest thanks to those dear friends who were praying for me.  Where would I be without you?   

I've actually been fairly sequestered the past several weeks, using the excuse of the medical tests as an occasion for reading and clarifying ideas for my Truth project.  Having finished Nancy Pearcey's Total Truth, and John Eldridge's Epic, I'm now delighting is G.K. Chesterton's Orthodoxy.  I expected Chesterton to be the heaviest of all, but it looks like he's going to be the one God will use to lighten me up.  He was certainly no sourpuss about the subject of Truth.  It is, after all, the basis of all beauty, pleasure, and joy. 

I'm in Florence, South Carolina, since Saturday.  Sore still from the catharization, but I'm reveling in the good fellowship of my church family here.  It's like when we used to open up the lawn sprinkler on a hot day and dodge in and out of the spray.   

Today marks the beginning of a national movement of 40 days of prayer for America.  Leading right up to the election, believers are uniting together to ask God for His mercy and intervention towards our nation.  I want to encourage my friends/readers to join in.  I've come to believe that prayers of this sort, ("Thy kingdom come, thy will be done...."), are of primary importance in God's economy.  If God truly intends for us to reign with Him in the ages to come, (Rev. 20:6; Rev. 22:5), then we need to get into practice by prayers that will change the course of history. 

Tuesday, September 1, 2004:  The silence of the past several weeks has been largely due to the inconvenience of having my computer in the shop.  Goodness, it's frightening how dependent we become on these machines.  One little problem with start-up, and all my addresses, correspondence, research projects, and even my Bible study aids were exiled to the shop.  It wasn't a good scene for someone whose life is so centered around communication. 

News-wise, my sister Vicki's wedding was beautiful.  Naturally it was a sweet time with family and friends with lots of laughter, celebration, and tender moments.  This past weekend I visited, (Iranian friend), David, in Pennsylvania, whose adjustment to American life has been bumpy.  He's starved for the cafe-culture of Sarajevo where people pour into the streets each evening instead of falling into an armchair to watch TV.  "Mr Don", he said, "Americans are like chickens sitting in their nest every night."  Surely anyone exchanging the bustle of European city-life for rural America would face  the same challenges.  But he's growing with Jesus, and determined to return to Bosnia one day as a missionary.  We rode the killer roller-coasters at Hershey Park and visited Gettysburg Battlefield, where he took notes, learned vocabulary words, identified kingdom concepts in the Gettysburg Address, and got a thorough introduction to American Civil War history. 

Health-wise, I'm still being tested with a mixture of good news / bad news results.  This means, of course, more tests.  I'm told the worst case scenario could include heart-surgery of some sort, although (thankfully) we haven't gotten to that point yet.  Mostly I consider it to be an aggravation and an inconvenience.  I just want to get it all behind me so I can get on with Kingdom things.  This week I'll be seeing a cardiologist in hopes of hearing something definative.  In the meantime, I'm reading, studying, interviewing, and piecing together notes for the "Truth" curriculum God has put on my heart.  Already I've finished a Power-point presentation on Biblical principles of Government.    

Thursday, August 26, 2004:  My first real glimpse of America was on our descent into Dullas International Airport: acre upon acre upon acre of parked cars jammed like sardines into the surrounding lots.  One of the fringe benefits of spending time overseas is the new set of eyes we receive in the process.  (Incidentally, I probably need to pause here and mention that both of my eyes are perfectly fine.  When I spoke several weeks ago of having "only one good eye" I was speakin metaphorically of not being able to "see" the whole truth.)  Anyway, I love my country.  But it's always a shock to return.  I never would have noticed these thousands of cars had I not spent the past six months in a city where most families don't own a car, and walking is the primary mode of transportation.  Other shockers include our affluence, our obesity, our churches on every corner, the cleanliness of our roadsides, and the wonderfully warm customer relations I experience in Walmart and and McDonalds.

I also worry about America.  We're the prodigal nation; A society who's taken our inheritance and set out on our own. Spending our wealth and our heritaage in profligate pursuits, we've exhausted our souls with entertainment and luxury.  But the most alarming tragedy to me is that awakening to our situation, we seem to be returning not to the Father, but to the government.  "Big brother can make it right again."  No, only the Father can sort out our national mess and restore the blessing and honor.  I don't mean to say we shouldn't be involved in politics.  We Believers need to be more involved in politics, and not less.  But our answers won't come from the government.  They will come from the eternal truth of God's revealed word, the same truth that's being systematically roped off from social dialogue. 

I spent all day Tuesday framing a teaching on Biblical government: What does God's Word say about our American form of government?  (Plenty!)  What does it mean to have a population of "morally self-governed" people who grant authority to the civil government by consent?  What becomes of a civil government whose citizens turn away from the Law of God "written" upon their hearts?  Many of us, (myself included), have been abysmally ignorant about these questions.  We've just never been taught to think about such things.  Recently two American young people I was speaking with, both "Christian college" educated, asked me, "Well, what do you mean by civil government?"  (What do they teach in those schools, anyway?)  It's almost as if there's a conspiracy of ignorance being launched against the American church.  And we're beginning paying a price for it.  "My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge."  (Hosea 4:6)  Our founding fathers would be hanging the lantern in the Old North Church and sounding the alarm in the streets. 

Sunday, August 15, 2004:  I managed to slip away to the Croatian coast for a few days last week.  In these parts it's almost unimaginable not to sieze a summer weekend or so to drink in the beauty and respite of the Adriatic.  Aldin went along for company, and while he busied himself befriending young people on the beach, I slipped off to read, study, walk, and play my musical instruments.  It's hard to believe I've been back in Bosnia for a full six months, and preparing already to return again to the states.  Ordinarily I wouldn't be going home so soon, except that my sister, Vicki, will be getting married next weekend.  And while I'm home for the wedding, I'll take advantage of the opportunity visit with friends and family, and maybe do some ministry as God opens doors. 

Several have written in regard to last week's update.  The affirmation has lifted my spirt and encouraged me to pursue this fresh vision of presenting the power of truth to young Americans.  I don't expect this new call will necessarily take me out of Bosnia completely, but rather it'll compliment my work here.  To be able to draw from the experience of both cultures should be an asset that will enrich all the way around.  Even at the coast I began interviewing young people and asking questions about truth and their perception of reality.  One of the challenges I believe I'll find in America, (which definitely is not a problem here), is finding young people who will make time in their busy schedules to stop and ask searching questions about life.  Television, after-school jobs, isolationist video games, and extra-curricular activities are far less of a problem here in Central Europe where almost everyone dedicates their evening hours to cafe-conversations, and strolling through town with their friends. 

Earlier in the week we had quite a stir here at my apartment when I threw out my Bosnian DVDs.  In a country with virtually no copyright laws in place, CDs, DVDs, and even books are copied and pirated by every vendor on the street.  It's almost impossible to buy anything legal, and if you do, the locals think you're being extravagantly wasteful to pay the price.  Computer software retailing for $300-400 dollars in the States can be purchased for $5-10 dollars in town.  For years I held out against this temptation, but when I saw other missionaries compromising, I (shamefully) caved into the pressure and began buying "cheap" DVDs of my own. 

But even as I began to process this whole idea of absolute morality the Holy Spirit spoke clearly that I would need to begin cleaning up my own home.  If morality is absolute, then stealing is stealing even if you live in a country that doesn't have any laws against it.  And this, of course, meant my pirated DVDs would have to go.  My Bosnian friends were incredulous.  "No!" they shouted. "You can's do that!!"  For awhile I thought it might even degenerate into a wrestling match.  But in the end it led into some great discussion that took us into the uncharted waters of Bosnian integrity, and the absolute nature of Truth.   

Thursday, August 5, 2004:  God has given me a new assignment.  It all started last week when I read the findings of the Barna Research Institute that indicate only 9% of American self-professed born again young people believe in the absolute nature of moral truth.  (In other words, "stealing, lying, murder, and adultery really are sins," as opposed to "stealing, lying, murder, and adultery are  usually sins").  This statistic sent terror down my spine.  It means that the convictions of Christian young people in America are only nominally different from the convictions of young Bosnians who have grown up unchurched in a post-Communist culture. And it also means our American democratic republic is inevitably headed for collapse.  It may be a few years before anarchy, tyranny, or a bloody revolution will be upon us, but the consequences are certain: A free, self governing people cannot  be sustained apart from absolute moral truth.  Either multiple truths will arm themselves against one another (anarchy), or the people will demand a strong-armed government to fill the void with it's own godless version of truth, (tyranny).

Setting aside my frustration of how this could happen in the first place, I've come to the conclusion that God is asking me to do something about it.  The details are still emerging, but I believe God is asking me to begin presenting American young people with the urgent and compelling nature of Biblical truth in every area of life.  I'm not talking about conformity to legalistic religion, memorization, and rote, but stirring the minds of young people to think, to reason, to ask questions, and to build their lives upon the solid foundations of truth.  It seems to me there ought to be a more intelligent person to handle this assignment.  I've only got one eye, and it feels to me like it's  only half-open.  But even a myopic, bumbling guide ought to be better than nothing at all. 

Several days ago I asked my friend, Ivica, (pronounced "Ee-veetz-ah"), if he believed in absolute truth.  "Yes", he said. "But I believe we spend our entire day trying to get away from it."  I was proud of his answer.  It reminds me of Jesus' words in John: "Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.  Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.  But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."  (John 3:19-21) 

The neglect of truth in America is not only responsible for declining morality, but for declining SAT scores, declining craftsmanship, declining scholarship, declining literacy, declining research, declining national security, and declining hope in our nation.  Let's pray it's not too late for truth to make a comeback to the 91% of our Christian young people who are seriously confused, and have lost their way.

Tuesday, July 27, 2004:  Just now, on my way home from the Lighthouse, I had a taxi driver preach to me a passionate sermon about Bosnia's "savior," Bill Clinton!  Although his content was highly problematic, I found it very encouraging that I could actually understand just about everything he said, or, more correctly, shouted .  His delivery was just as firey as a pentecostal evangelist.  

It's been a quiet week in Sarajevo.  Attending daily language classes is not something you write home about or post as interesting news on your website.  Martin and Ahmed took off again on Thursday to make a second attempt at crossing the Bosnian border.  Dzenan needed emergency medical attention for a bleeding ulcer, and I'm spending more time with Mehdi.  Unlike my other Iranian friends, Mehdi is neither a refugee, nor a believer, (yet).  He's a very bright university student who's asking sincere questions about life.  Already we've had some great discussions.

I'm also beginning to cultivate some friendships with local artists and musicians.  Now that I'm beginning to grasp the language better I can begin expanding my outreach to include more older people.  Back in the 80s and 90s I used to wonder if I could honestly continue working with young people into my older years.  This no longer seems to be a problem.  The better question might be, "Will I ever really be comfortable ministering to adults?"  In any case, artists and musicians ought to be a good place to start.  More so than others, they bridge the gap between youth and age, and they are influencers of the culture.  If I could reach a few influential artists and musicians for Jesus, they in turn could impact the whole of society for the Kingdom of God.   

I'll be returning to the States on August 17th to attend my sister's wedding.  It'll be difficult to leave just as I'm beginning to feel excited about these new opportunities.  But time in the states is always a refreshment to my spirit. 

Monday, July 19, 2004:  Kosovo was a welcome refreshment to my spirit.  I was surprised to discover that the Albanians, while sharing some of the Slavic culture, are really quite different from the Bosnians.  For starters, they looked me in the eye, greeted me on the street, and seem to have a real love for Americans.  In the four four years since missionary work began to take off in and around Prishtina, the church is growing at pace that outsteps the Bosnian church by two or three to one.  Spiritual hunger is evident among the young people, and God is quickly raising up nationals to lead the church.

I've been told that during the Kosovo conflict, when thousands of Muslim refugees fled to their native Albania, it was the Albanian Christians who reached out and ministered to their needs.  Evidently the witness of the Albanian church opened the hearts of the Kosovar people.  One man, who now pastors several churches, fled the country as a Muslim, and when he noticed all the relief and humanitarian aid was coming from Christian quarters, he questioned the local Albanian mullah.  The religious leader pulled him aside and confided, "This is because Christianity is true.  But I'm not officially not allowed to say so."

I found myself in front of a classroom of young believers ranging from a spiritually mature 14 year old to a 53 year old former Communist, attentive students with tons of questions, and bright hopes for a future.  We studied grace, the Kingdom of God, and Biblical worldview.  At the end I trusted they had some Biblical keys not only for evangelizing their neighbors, but for bringing reform to their country as well.  Nothing makes me feel more fully alive than helping a class full of hungry students discover the beauty of God's trut.  

Now.... I'm back in Sarajevo trying to catch up on Email and a full week's worth of missed Bosnian classes.  Wish I could get as excited about this stuff!

Tuesday, July 6, 2004:  It's nice to be cared for.  Thanks to many of you who have prayed for me and dropped notes inquiring about my health.  I'm doing great, and my doctor just keeps encouraging me and telling me how wonderfully I'm getting along.  Praise the Lord!  In the meantime, my gratitude index has grown, and I'm still functioning in a daily awareness that life "but a breath..." as the Psalmist wrote in 144:4.

We were blessed to begin our week with the sunday morning baptizm of Nurodine and Harris.  Both from Muslim backgrounds, they've been growing in their faith, and were eager to make their declaration official.  Before we baptized our brothers, some of the other believers shared their testimonies of how they came to faith in Jesus.  It was a sweet time of witnessing God's goodness in our lives.  I love to hear the stories of what people were like before they came to Jesus and to wonder how this could be the same person now sitting before me who at one time had his back so defiantly towards God. 

Three of our African brothers made a failed attempt at getting across the border.  Sometimes it feels like we're running an underground railroad station at the Lighthouse.  But really the choices for our refugee friends are so limited.  Ultimately our friends returned after five days in the mountains, but not at all discouraged in their faith.

Next week I'll be teaching in a YWAM sponsored school in Kosovo.  This will be my first visit to this area, and I'm excited to be able to share with the Kosovar believers.  Please pray for me as I prepare and teach on the Kingdom of God.  

God bless each of you for your faithful friendship and prayers on my behalf.         

Saturday, June 26, 2004:  I thought Jesus was calling me home last Friday night when I woke up at 3:00am with pains in my chest and down my left arm.  I was sweating, and my blood pressure only registered down around 30.  When I arrived in the emergency room, (by taxi), they did several EKGs and blood pressure checks and discharged me two hours later with a diagnosis of angina.  (As near as I could see, the blood pressure and EKG monitor were the extent of the emergency room technology).  What I do know is, it wiped me out for a few days and made me think about my mortality. 

We just never know when our moment may come, and all I could think of there in the emergency room was a myriad of things I "should" have done, or could have done better, or needed to finish.  My fear was not so much in meeting God, but in being called out of life before I could finish the race well.  It was an amazing reality check, and perhaps the whole episode was God's gift of mercy to remind me of the most important things.  I've been living differently the past week: praying more, saying what needs to be said, checking on other people, and trying to fill the moments with more of eternity. 

Tomorrow we'll baptize Nurodine and Harris into the body of Christ.  They've both been attending our meetings at the Lighthouse, and have been growing in their faith for some time.  Christian baptism in a Muslim culture is a radical thing.  Since the doctrine of Islam teaches that all men, (including you and me), are Muslim at birth, a person officially becomes an "infidel" when he submits to baptism. 

Please pray for our brothers, and for me as well.  I'm feel like my body is just about back to normal, but I desperately want to hold onto the conviction that seized my spirit in the early hours of last Saturday morning. 

Friday, June 18, 2004:  One of our YWAM teachers, (Dean Sherman), says we should "never underestimate our ability to miscommunicate."  Judging from some of the feedback I've received recently, I'm wondering if I've miscommunicated in regard to my thinking about the American church.  It's true I've been critical of the church, but please don't interprete that to mean I disapprove of the church.  Who am I to disapprove of the chosen bride of the Lord Jesus Christ?   My concern, rather, is that we would be a "fitting" bride who would bring honor and glory to the Bridegroom in every way. 

The Apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesians, "He (Jesus) is in charge of it all, has the final word in everything.  At the center of all this, Christ rules the church.  The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church.  The church is Christ's body, in which He speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence."  (1:21-23, Msg)  Did you catch that job description?  We are called to be a kind-of "central command" charged with filling the world with God's presence!  Wow!!  That's something to be excited about!  Unfortunately what I seem to be seeing instead, (and perhaps you can help me if I'm wrong), is a church that is often irrelevant to the world, a band of tentative saints overwhelmed by the culture around them.  I like the way Annie Dillard describes it in her essay, An Expedition to the Pole: "Why do we people in churches seem like cheerful, brainless tourists on a packaged tour of the Absolute?  The tourists are having coffee and doughnuts on Deck C.  Presumably someone is minding the ship, correcting the course, avoiding icebergs and shoals, fueling the engines, watching the radar screen, and noting weather reports radioed in from shore. "       

My friend, Joel, recently sent me the following quote from Dr. Henry Blackabee: "The problem of America is not the unbelieving world. The problem of America is the people of God. You see, right now there are just as many divorces in the churches as outside the churches. There are just as many abortions inside the churches as outside the churches. There's only a one percent difference in gambling inside the churches as outside the churches. George Barna did a survey of 152 separate items comparing the lost world and the churches, and he said there is virtually no difference between the two."  Dr. Henry Blackaby, "What do You See as the Future for the United States?" speech given at the Billy Graham Training Center, Asheville, N.C., May 22, 1999 

My point in all of this is not to discourage, but to sound a call to action.  We can make a difference!  God has ordained it to be so!  He has called us, his church to be the agents of hope, change, and reform in America.  Imagine what could happen in America if this sleeping giant were awakened!

As far as Bosnia goes, it's been a quiet week.  David has arrived safely in America and seems to be adjusting well.  I'm seizing the extra time to study the language and prepare for what's ahead.  I've been teaching from Galatians and Ephesians with our little group of disciples at the Lighthouse.  Today we'll begin Colossians. 

Tuesday, June 8, 2004:  It was a crazy week preparing David to leave for his new home in the states.  Thanks to God, and to those who have prayed for him these past three years, he'll be joining his adoptive family in Elisabethtown, PA, sometime today.  All week long I've felt like a father getting his son ready to go out into the world: Have I done all I can to prepare him?  Does he need to be cautioned about anything?  What life-lessons have I overlooked?  Is his foundation strong enough to stand against the materialism and peer pressure of the States?  In the end it's just a matter of trust, isn't it?  Trusting God, trusting him, and trusting his new parents Erv and Joan.   

In the meantime I'm staying busy with language classes, researching Islam and the Q'ran, and giving leadership to our ever-evolving group of believers at the "Lighthouse."  This week we added two newe African brothers to the international mix of faces.  (Now we have five!)  Since the whole Bosnian concept of "church" has been so maligned by war-atrocities done in the name of religion, we're de-emphasizing the term "church", and applying our energy to creating a living model of Christian community.  Even our Sunday services reflect a radically informal fellowship where each person feels free to share, pray, testify and participate as the Holy Spirit leads.  This hasn't been easy. We're finding old habits die slowly.  But God is giving life, and each week there's a growing confidence in the people to step out and offer their gifts.       

Saturday night we had a going away party for David and Majid, (another Iranian friend, a Muslim, who's also moving to the States).  Complete with lots of laughter, food, singing, affirmation, and blessings spoken over our friends, the evening was filled with God's presence.   It was a holy time, a time of remembering the faithfulness of God in a foreign land.  It was a time to reflect on the gift of friendship, and the grace passed between believers each time we meet.  In times like these my heart is humbled to be able to serve God in this broken city.  Thank you, dear friends, for making that possible. 

Sunday, May 30, 2004:  This week Dzenan, David, Evitsa, Nurodine, and Zaff have been assisting in a project to place a New Testament in every Bosnian home.  And they keep returning home with lots of stories to tell.  Jesus gave us fair warning that "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first." (John 15:18)  Many people have been generous and open to receiving the word, but there are a number of others, fanatical Wahhabis, who chase, abuse, and threaten our friends with bodily harm and even death.  It's a full-on spiritual battle not intended for sissies.  But our guys are troopers, and they've been embracing the assignment with joy and a spirit of adventure.  

I think of these guys as front-line soldiers in the war on terror, because terrorism is - first and foremost - a spiritual battle that must be won on a spiritual battlefield.  With every passing day it becomes more apparent to me that bombs, bullets, and national security falls dreadfully short of an answer to this demonic problem.  Jimmy, (our young Iranian friend), probably had a much clearer idea of the problem three years ago when he suggested "George W. Bush should bomb the terrorists with chocolate bars taped to Holy Bibles."  If nothing else, our churches ought to be bombarding this problem with urgent prayer, intercession, and armies of missionaries to the the Muslim people.  Bombs will kill the terrorists, but only the truth of God will cut off the evil root of the problem.

These are desperate times, and I'm alarmed that the American Church seems to be carrying on business as usual, trusting in diplomacy and the strength of our military rather than throwing ourselves on God's mercy and crying out for deliverence.  Bosnia seems to have become a poster child for countries who have placed their hope in all the wrong places.  My fear is that America may have to suffer the some greater catastrophe before we wake up and return to the God of our Fathers.

Sunday, May 23, 2004:  For the past several weeks I've been trying to identify the "keys of the Kingdom" that Jesus spoke about in Matthew 16:19.  It's been an exciting study for me, almost like a treasure hunt through the Word.  Today I'm convinced that a love for the Truth is unquestionably among these keys.  A love of Truth, (who in fact is Jesus), saves us (2 Thes. 2:10), sanctifies us (John 17:17), and sets us free (John 8:32).  I would have been spared years of wandering if someone had pulled me aside as a youngster and explained to me the value of this treasure.  But instead, God seems to have chosen as my classroom everyday life in a country where truth is as scarce as dinosaur buggers.  

I wish my American readers could see and hear some of the news reports, lies, and half-truths we have to sift through each day here in Sarajevo.  America-bashing has become Europe's favorite pastime, and the growing cancer is far bigger than a public-relations problem.  It's a full-on kingdom conflict between darkness and light.  (This, by the way, is not meant to infer that America is faultless and pure, while the rest of the world is on the "dark" side).  Misinformation and half-truths are daily fanning the flames of hatred, and hatred in turn will produce death and destruction.  There's no question in my mind that the jaundiced reports I'm hearing today about Iraqis, Israelis, Americans, Palestinians, and Muslims will play themselves out in death somewhere down the line.  It keeps me running to the Father for doses of Truth that will spare me the from the darkness.   

But as surely as lies breed death, the Truth will bring forth life and hope.  Our YWAM team just completed a project of reading the entire Bible over the city.  Five times a day we endure the mournful call to prayer from hundreds of city mosques, so declaring the word of Truth over the city of Sarajevo seems a little akin to giving it a spiritual bath.  And we know God's Word will never return void.   

David was delighted this week to learn that he'll be leaving for the US, (after four years of waiting), on June 7th.  He's excited, nervous, and bouncing around like a gumball in anticipation of his new life.  It'll be a real change for me, too, since I've invested so much time in mentoring and teaching him.  He'll go through immigration in New York city, and then travel home to Elizabethtown, PA, with Erv and Joan Huston, his new adoptive family.  Please keep him in prayer.  His spirit is so pure, and I worry that the indulgence of American culture will be a shock to his system.    

Thursday, May 13, 2004:  Hospitality continues to be a primary strategy for reaching the Bosnian culture.  Since our refugee friends are separated physically from their families, and many young Bosnians are separated on an emotional level, God has called me to offer my apartment as a place of connection and safety.  In an environment where fathers counsel their sons to be sexually active "while you're still young and free" and any discussion of spiritual matters is shunned, I consider it a privilege to provide a place of sanity and belonging.  More and more I'm intentionally inviting people into my apartment for meals and fellowship together. 

Mehdi and David joined me for dinner on Tuesday night.  After tortellini and a video we talked about God.  Mehdi had lots of of questions.  He's a Muslim by birth, though not afraid, (as many are), to ask questions.  We had a great visit together, and then as he was ready to leave he asked, "Mr Don, what about those American soldiers who are abusing the Iraqi prisoners?  Do you understand this is why Muslim people hate Americans?"  Here in Europe the media is merciless about America's sins, so there's no way avoiding the questions.  My only defense is to explain the darkness of all human hearts, and to assure my friends that the soldiers will pay for their crimes.  I wonder if this scandal isn't another facet of God's judgment on America?  "....because you have forgotten me and trusted in false gods, I will pull up your skirts over your face that your shame may be seen..."  (Jer 13:25-26)   To make matters worse, I was stunned to discover these soldiers were from the reserve unit in my home area of Cumberland, Maryland.  Now I'm wondering what responsibility we, the American church share in this national disgrace?          

We've had several new African refugees attending our Bible Studies lately: Martin and Clarice fom Cameroon, and Ahmed from Ivory Coast.  All three are stranded in Bosnia with no forseeable way out.  Today we'll study Luke: an overview of the gospel showing Jesus' tenderness towards sinners, lepers, tax collectors, prostitutes, criminals and poor people.   

Tuesday, May 4, 2004:  It's good to be back home in Sarajevo after a taxing two weeks on the road.  But bodily weariness aside, my spirit has been richly fed by the nourishing fellowship and prayer of other Balkan YWAMers along the way.  What a place to live!  Even after five years of life in Bosnia, I continue to marvel at the depths of the chaos and despair that grip this area of the world.  You know, when the very word "balkanize" is adopted into the English vocabulary as meaning "to divide into small, often hostile units" that the strategies of darkness have been successful.