(report from the Roma Ministry team, Sarajevo)
For a couple years now we have been in relationship with A
leksander Subotin and following him in his ministry and life. He is part of a church planting team under the leadership of Nebojsa Dolic north from Novi Sad, the capitol of Vojvodina. The last time we visited him was 4 years ago.On the morning of April 27th. we (Goran, Kada, Susy and Reinhold) started an 8 hour ride toward Kucura, a small village in the Vojvodina (1 hour in the north from Novi Sad). We drove through the Bosnian mountains where the roads have so many curves that some of us got car sick. The landscape in the Vojvodina is totally different compared to Bosnia - just completely flat. There are fields as far as the eye can see as well as between the variou
s villages.In the afternoon we arrived at the place where Aleksander Subotin lives with his family. He is 23 years old, married to his wonderful wife Danijela and has an 8 month old son, Vladimir. He lives with his grandparents in a little house with an absolutely basic lifestyle. Behind the house in the garden is an out-house. There was no water in the house. They had to get it from the waterpipe infront of the house beside the road. After eating a wonderful meal (just cooked because of her hospitallity), we had time to talk and share about what has gone on in each of our lives since the last time we saw each other.
In the evening, their church plant had a service. 25 people came together in a garden. After a worship time and teaching from Goran, we had a time of ministry for the people. Kada
and Susy prayed for a girl with a tooth ache. But the Holy Spirit didn’t heal only this pain. This girl was also very saddened about the recent loss of her grandparents and so she god released that too.On Saturday we drove to the village of Panonija, a kind of well-known place for tourists. There is a place to do a barbeque and just hang out. That was also the place where Danijelas family stayed because of their buisness. They run a small amusement park to make some income. During the summertime they live in an RV and travel from village to village. Also Aleksander owned his own small "amusement park ride" and would like to make money out of it so he can live of it
and support his ministry. Danijelas family are Sinti-Roma. Once again we were fed a wonderful meal. We found out that we know a relative of Danielas grandmother. He is a missionary in Slovakia. We made contact with him later. It's a small world!Sundays we visited an another place where Aleksander ministers: Savino Selo. There w
e had a short meeting with Nebojsa Dolic and his team of church planters from the Assemblies of God, where Aleksander also belongs. Every three months they have a gathering to build up the team. Even though we couldn't stay long we were very encouraged through the faithfulness they have shown over the years. We left and headed toward Selenca. That is 36 km away from Aleksandras village. He visits them regularly and sometimes he has to get there by bike or other transportation. In Selenca, the Roma live in a dump, surrounded by garbage. It smells awful. Sometimes there are dead animals, medicine from the hospital, and so on in the trash. We organized a childrens progam and Goran and Kada gave their testemony. Once again we prayed for healing for some people, and also for some to receive Christ into their lives, as well as other things. Some of them mada a decision for the first time to follow Christ!
In the evening we went to Ravno Selo, another village where there is also a home group. At the end we visited a Roma family and prayed for one of the men because he is facing a difficult situation right now. The man is being sentenced, after 10 years of being on trial, to 1 year in prison. This is a shock to the family because he is the bread winner for the family. On Monday we stayed with Aleksandars family. There was a lot of time to pray, to talk, to take part in an interview, etc. Again in the evening we visited a home church.
May 1st we brought Aleksander to his buisness - because that is a traditional holiday and there is a lot of opportunity to make money out of that. Then we drove through the mountains again to go home, back to Sarajevo. Wha
t was so touching for us was to see how Aleksander serves the Lord with a thankful heart even though life is difficult for him. He is a good example for so many.
