Marija and Igor Novak Family
Word of Life, Serbia
September 2023
Summer Camps: Summer camps are behind us and summer is slowly coming to an end. We had a blessed time, with the children and the teenagers. It is an incredible experience, privilege, and honor to serve God through this kind of summer ministry!
As we know, children are 100% our future, and the Lord Jesus says, let the little children come to me, in the gospel of Matthew 19:14 “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven,” because theirs is the kingdom of heaven. That is how we want to lead children to Christ through these camps, through Bible clubs during the year, teaching them Bible stories, songs, play games, spend time with them, disciple them.
Thank you for all your prayers and support so that these camps would be possible and that around 200 children and their parents could hear the Gospel! More than 90% of them came forward when we had the invitation to believe in Christ and repent for their sins! We thank the Lord for touching their hearts and we pray for the seed that was planted in their hearts to grow!
Our Ministry: Right after the summer camps, we have started Kids Bible Club in the public school classroom and over 20 kids and teens attend every Saturday. Maria is serving in Bible Club, preparing Bible stories, games and crafts. We appreciate your prayers for this Bible Club so it would flourish and kids would grow spiritually!
As September started, so did school, and our teenagers, with whom Igor has a youth meeting, started. The Teen Bible Club is continuing in our church in Backa Palanka. In between and during the camps, Igor works on recording 365 audio books, which is progressing very well and keeps him occupied many times until late at night. We have already started thinking about our teen winter camp. We are searching for the trend topic that can be close to the youth and to preach what is needed for them now.
Igor’s Health: At the beginning of August, Igor fell ill, he had problems with his heartbeat. Even when he was resting, his heart rate was over 100 bps. We don't know why. One day he was okay, another he starts feeling pain in his chest. Thank God, the cardiologist prescribed him a medicine that stabilized his heart at the optimum level. And now it's better. Igor still needs to go to do the tests during September, so this is not over. It's still not the best, but he feels better since then. Please continue praying for his health, so that Jesus can heal him and he can be fully recovered!
Our Family Life: At the end of August, we took the opportunity to go for a few days to a small town with a beautiful forest that is very healthy for breathtaking. That was our little family vacation. We had a good time, talking with local people, visiting momentums and walking through the famous forest, watching few smaller waterfalls and enjoying healthy fresh air. Our house situation was on hold during the summer, so now Igor can continue working on the house after his work. We are happy that we can build our home, even that we are only passengers here on Earth, still God gave us opportunity to build our home. We are on 50% of work. So with God's help, maybe this winter or spring we could finish our home and settle in.
At the end we wanted to say how thankful we are for you! For all your love, encouraging word, prayers for our family and ministry here in Serbia! We wouldn’t be able to do this without you! You are very important to us and know we are praying for you! God is being glorified through these camps, we lift His name on high, we sing songs about him, we learn Bible verses, we preach the Gospel and listen to Bible stories, we pray and learn about Him!
We ask for your prayers, and we thank you for supporting us every day! We wouldn’t be able to do this without you!
Praises: (1) Thank you all for your prayers, support and standing with our ministry in Serbia! (2) Four blessed weeks of camp with almost 200 kids! (3) Parents of each kid who come and heard the gospel on our evangelism night.
Prayer Requests: (1) Igor's health (2) For many souls to be saved on our reach summer camps as we shared the Gospel! (3) Our goal - to raise more monthly support to reach our goal of 100% and have stable support. (4) Preparation for the winter camp.