Update for the new year

Hello Everyone,

Greetings to you from CC Prishtina. First of all thanks for your prayers and support. This past Christmas we had some fruitful outreach to the community which included reaching out to the kids through the Saturday Kids Club program. This year we did not distribute the shoebox gifts to the kids as we have done in past years. We sensed the Lord impressing upon us the need to emphasize and celebrate the coming of Christ into the world with out the gift distribution. We taught them the need to give ourselves, our hearts and lives, to the Lord as a gift to him in return for the gift of salvation that he has given to us. The response was very good and kids still came back the following weeks even after telling them we would not be doing the gift distribution. Then for our Christmas Eve service some of the kids brought their parents and we had a great time of celebration with them. We did do a shoebox gift distribution to some poor families in the area and at the pediatric hospital here in Prishtina after the New Year’s and some US service men and women stationed at the NATO HQ here in Prishtina came alongside to help with the distribution. And as always, as in recent years, we were well received by the kids, their families, and the hospital staff.



This Christmas we were also blessed with the visit of our worship leader Niti who was home from school for the holidays. We also attended a wedding of some friends of ours whose son got married. So now having begun a new year we look forward to what the Lord is going to do in 2010. To begin the year I have started doing a weekly Bible Study at the NATO HQ for US soldiers stationed there. We just started a study on the life of David. We really feel honored to be able to serve those that are serving our country in uniform. Presently at CC Prishtina we started going through Paul’s letter to the Philippians on Sundays and on Wednesdays we are still in 2nd Kings. Lirak is doing a great job teaching as he and I are rotating on Wednesdays. Our friend Jen who serves in another city in the region called Malishev is still coming out every other Sunday to lead worship for which we are very grateful.



We do have a special need that we feel we need to make known to you so that you can pray for us. We have now been in our present facility for just over a year now. We like the location and the facility has been suitable for our needs as a church. However we like many others have been impacted by the recession and we are finding it difficult to afford the rent which is 800 euro’s (approx $1,150) per month not including utilities, especially now that we have a vehicle which has substantially added to our expenses. So at this point we are faced with how to go forward. Do we just go by faith believing, trusting from month to month that God will somehow provide for our rental needs, or do we start looking for another place that is half expensive? So I would ask for your prayers, that God would give us wisdom and guidance about what to do.



Also we are hoping to do a 2-3 month trip to the US this coming summer. It has been over 2 years since our last trip so we are over due for a visit. During the time we are gone from Kosovo I hope to have someone here to oversee the fellowship and ministry. So please pray for God’s provision in making the trip possible and that he would send help to cover while we are gone.



That is all for now… Thank you again for you prayers… Keep in touch and God bless you.



By His Grace,

Mark, Celeste, and Isabella.