Serbia: Day 2

Another great day in Serbia! Today was our second full day of teaching, beginning with a devotional at 7am and ending class at 4pm. After class, some people from our team walked into town (about 30 min away) and ate some traditional Serbian food. It is humbling getting to teach the students about several books in the Bible and about discipleship. They have asked many good questions, really showing that what they are learning is sinking in. We feel so humbled to get to know them!  

Serbia: Day 1

Today was our first day of teaching at the HUB School, which is located just outside of Belgrade. Students from all over Serbia and the Baltic region come to this Bible school in order to receive training and become equipped to reach the world! It's been SO encouraging to get to connect with these students, hear about what God has done in their lives, and learn about the dreams they have for Serbia/the Baltic region. 

HUB School

 Morning Devotional

John S. teaching through Zechariah

Serbia: Travels & Munich

We are currently sitting in the Munich airport, waiting to board our plane to Belgrade!

Travels so far have been great. We left Memphis around 11:30 on Friday morning and arrived to Munich about 13 hours later, which was 8:00am Munich time. We hit the ground running to try and beat jet-lag, so we caught the train in to Munich and just fell in love with the city! Really cool getting to see the history behind such a beautiful place.

Serbia 2013

On April 11^th, Downline led a team of 9 people to teach at an evangelical Bible school outside of Belgrade, Serbia.  The school – the only Evangelical training center of its kind in the Balkan region - consists of students who represent most of the Balkan nations.  During our week, we taught over 30 hours of discipleship training and walked through the Biblical books of Esther, Zechariah and Titus.  While the formal times of training were impactful, it is always the intentional conversations that happen outside of the classroom that seem to be the most meaningful.  This is one of the few trips where we actually stay with the people we are ministering to.  We saw our students all day, every-day, and the relationships we formed are deep and lasting.  We knew the whole trip was worth it when we heard Ivan, a Serbian student, say “I now know that God accepts me solely because of the work of Jesus.” 

 

The team with the students at the HUB school in Serbia

Many do not know that the leader of this Serbian school, Sladjan Milenkovic, is currently in Memphis as his 9-year-old daughter is battling brain cancer.  This was the first time in 4 years that Downline has been to Serbia without Sladjan being there.  I was curious to see how things were running in his absence, but I was encouraged by the faithfulness of God to remind me that His work is not dependent upon one man.  The school is still doing great, and the students’ spiritual lives seem as vibrant as ever.  In fact, the current interim director, Riste, said this past week was the greatest week he has experienced at the school thus far. 

 

Morning devotions

Every year we go to Serbia, I cannot help but anticipate a refreshing time with the Lord.  The students’ commitment to Christ is a great encouragement, and their heart for the nation of Serbia and the world is contagious.  This is one of the most strategic training trips Downline embarks upon, but at the same time I believe it is a trip where the Downline team is impacted more by the lives of the students than the students are by our teaching.  We are certainly glad to be home with our families and friends, but there is some sadness that comes with leaving new family and friends thousands of miles away.  

Serbia Trip in Review 2012

On April 13th, Downline sent a team of 10 to teach at an Evangelical Bible College outside of Belgrade, Serbia. The team was composed of 7 men and 3 women, and the trip consisted of 60hrs of Bible and Discipleship training alongside relational ministry with the students. This is one of the only Evangelical training hubs in the entire region, and the school houses students from Bosnia, Serbia, Macedonia and Croatia. The time in the classroom exceeded all expectations, but it was the time spent with the students outside of the class that was the most transformative for the Downline team. There is a specific beauty and encouragement found in hearing brothers and sisters praise God in a different tongue, and the love for Christ that the students in Serbia display is guaranteed to stir one’s affections for Christ. The deep relationships formed on this specific trip always make it difficult to leave, and we would ask that you join us to pray for the school (The H.U.B.), the students and for Sladjan Milenkovic who is in charge of operating the school. This was truly a special week and we look forward to returning to Serbia next April.

Serbia: Back in Memphis

We wanted to let everyone know that we have arrived safely back in Memphis. Our time in Serbia was amazing, and I believe we were able to plant seeds that will produce lasting fruit. We appreciate all of your prayers for our trip. Continue to keep Serbia in your prayers, as well as HUB and its director Sladjan as he continues to serve help disciple students there.

Serbia: Day Five

We are approaching the end of our time here in Serbia. Steve is about to teach a review of all we have done this week, as well as a lesson about Good Friday. After that, all the teaching will be finished, and we will only have one more evening to spend with all the friends we have made here. I think I speak for all the team when I say that we will greatly miss all the people here at HUB. But hopefully, it will be a place to which Downline returns times in the future. There are new students here every year, and hopefully we will be able to give them all a vision for discipleship.

This might be the last time we are able to update our Serbia blog. Tomorrow we begin our journey back to the States. After a layover in Paris, we'll hop on our final plane and head back to Memphis, arriving on Sunday.

Jamie is having a great time.

Yesterday, we enjoyed an afternoon in Belgrade.

Serbia Teaching Thursday

Today, we have continued with our teaching, and after several days of patient waiting, Jonathan got his opportunity to teach the first of a couple lessons. He did a fantastic job teaching "Profiles of a Disciple," and as I am blogging, Danny is teaching "Master Plan". After a lunch break, Jamie will take both afternoon sessions teaching the book of Zachariah.

We are also looking forward to going into the city of Belgrade today after class. The school is about thirty miles outside the city, so we are excited to finally have a few hours to see what Belgrade is like!

Last night, the students make a fire and Smore's for our group!

Danny Teaching on "Master Plan." He is quite the artist!

Jonathan teaching "Profiles of a Disciple"

Serbia Campfire on Wednesday

We had a great day of teaching on Wednesday. The students here are listening attentively and eagerly taking notes. We focused on the practical aspects of discipleship today and Jamie finished teaching the book of Titus.

One of the most fun highlights of the day occurred at night when we were making smores around a campfire. Jonathan and several students took turns leading in songs in both English and Serbian. Then Jonathan began to play a Justin Bieber song (Baby, Baby, Baby Song) and Ryan sang every word of the song including the rap portion. It was awesome! Ryan has a great voice and everyone enjoyed a little Bieber Fever. Danny recorded it so you might get to hear it.

God is good and things are a going great here! Please keep us in your prayers!

HUB School in Serbia

A little information about the HUB School in Serbia. This is according HUBs brochure:

HUB is the only Bible School in Serbia. Students come from all over the former Yugoslavia to be trained for ministry in their local churches and for the mission field. Students come from Bosnia, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Serbia. Many students never dreamed of being able to study in a Bible School. They count it a great privilege.

The brochure also states:

The population of Serbia is 6.5 million with a majority of nominal Orthodox Christians. There are no more than 10,000 evangelical Christians in all of Serbia.

Please for that the believers receiving the disciple-making training can live out the Great Commission in Serbia, the surrounding countries, & beyond. God is good!

Serbia Day 2: Photos

After about an hour of failed attempts, we finally got some more pictures uploaded! The internet is a bit...sluggish.

This is HUD, the school where we are teaching.
Sladjan runs the school here, and he has been a very gracious host to our group. His English is very good, as is the English of many of the students here.

Serbia: Day 2

We just finished with our second day of teaching in Serbia.
Things are still going great and the pastors and students we are teaching seem to be getting an even greater vision for discipleship. We had six one hour sessions. Jamie taught the second half of the Biblical overview, and he also began teaching the book of Titus. Danny taught "Vision and Strategy", Bernie Taught "The Key that Hangs," and I (Ryan) taught "Thessalonian Legacy". Please ask God that:

• We would continue to form close relationships with the students here.


• Our translator would continue to have energy. She is doing a fantastic job, but translating lessons for six hours every day can be very mentally fatiguing.


• Sladjan, the leader of this school, would be able to fulfill his vision of building a church in this town. Currently, the nearest church is twenty five miles away in Belgrade.

Day 1 Teaching @ the HUB School in Serbia

Last night we took an overnight train from Budapest, Hungary to Belgrade, Serbia. We had sleeper cars on the train that were fairly comfortable (or maybe we were just super tried). We had to be woken up at the Serbian border to do passport checks.

Today (Monday) was our first day of teaching at the HUB School (www.hub.org.rs) just outside of Belgrade, Serbia. We arrived at 8 am, ate a quick Serbian breakfast, and started teaching a 9:15 am. We are teaching 24 very engaged students. These students come from Serbia, Macedonia, Slovakia, Bosnia, Kosovo, Hungary, and Croatia. While most of the students are in their 20s some are nearly 60. Several of the students speak some English which has been very helpful. We spent the morning teaching the principles of disciple-making and the afternoon teaching the Bible Overview.

Everyone on the team is doing great! Please keep praying that God’s name would be glorified through our time in Serbia!

Serbia Team: Afternoon in Budapest

We just got through with a lovely day in Budapest. Our train for Serbia does not leave til 11:30pm tonight, so this afternoon we were able to see a huge part of this beautiful city as we were led by our tour guide Ishtvan. In a few minutes, we will be leaving for the train station, so please be praying we get a good night sleep on the ride! Steve will start out our teaching in Serbia almost as soon as we arrive.

-Ryan

Serbia Team - In Budapest, Hungary

This is our guest house in Budapest, Hungary!

We had a sleepy layover in Amsterdam. Jamie was fired up about it!

On the airplane to Budapest

Here is our team!

Serbia Team - In Amsterdam

We are at the airport in Amsterdam on a 2 hour layout. Jonathan and Danny are dumbfounded by the eco-friendly flushless urinals. Jamie and Josh are trying to figure out this crazy pool table game on TV with a bunch of red balls and a few white ones. Bernie is keeping us all in line. All in all the we are doing great and looking forward to getting to Budapest, Hungary in a few hours. Keep praying for us, we will update when possible.

Serbia Team Heading Out

DownLine is sending a team of 7 to train at Bible Training Institute outside of Belgrade, Serbia. The team consists of Steve Winstead, Jamie Trussell, Bernie Housholder, Josh Samuels, Danny Shivers, Jonathan Pierce, and Ryan Brazile. We fly out today (Friday) at 7:20 pm. Please keep the team in your prayers and check back here regularly as we will be doing updates.

Serbia - Trip Video

Serbia Video from Justin Pocta on Vimeo.

Hungary/Serbia Update Tuesday

www.tokbox.com

Hungary/Serbia Update Monday

www.tokbox.com