God’s Journey with Vedat

Hi team!

We have returned from an incredible journey!  Vedat’s homecoming turned out to be more than we could have imagined.  His reunion with his mom and 3 younger brothers was so beautiful and heartfelt.  They have missed him tremendously.  He stayed with his family in their small flat for 5 nights and was able to pick up his language within a day.

Any concerns we had about him being accepted, his health, and language were unfounded. God was moving so visibly during this time. We were blessed to be a part of it.

We were moved by the graciousness and hospitality demonstrated by Hatem, Vedat’s mom. Each day that we visited her, she made sure we were served with cold drinks although she has so little. She was so loving and protective of Vedat. We will never forget her sitting with Vedat when he first arrived and placing her palm against his and smiling as she realized how much he has grown.

While Vedat was reconnecting with his family, Steve and I were able to spend time with Bob Hitching and Sinisa Narazdin (Serbian human rights worker who has been a part of Vedat’s journey since the beginning) to talk and plan future work within the Konic refugee camp.  The door to minister to these Roma gypsies in the camp is wide open.  And we have the added benefit of being so welcome there due to our relationship with Vedat.

One of the afternoons we spent leading an art camp, with about 30-40 children who had gathered in front of Vedat’s building.  We had big plans, which changed moment by moment as we worked with the kids!  We used sidewalk chalk, colored pencils and paper, and bead stringing to connect with the children in an artistic way.  They loved all of it and we were surprised at their abilities. 

We came away from this trip convinced of a few things:

• Vedat needs to stay closely connected with his family
• God is revealing a larger ministry to us in the Konic refugee camp
• We need to faithfully pray that God will keep a burden in our hearts for this little corner of the world, to share His gospel of love and hope.

~Steve and Susan