Steve Taliaferro’s January 2011 Croatia Connection

Dear Friends,

Life has been quite full the last month. It has been filled

with settling into my apartment, meeting with Croatian

friends, publishing the first month of a newsletter for the

Bible Institute, doing preliminary logistics for two groups

coming this summer, and finishing my first semester of

language school. I hope you enjoy this brief glimpse into

my life and work here in Croatia.

Croatian Language School

I finished the first semester of my Croatian language studies on January

28. I got a “5” (the highest grade) on my semester exam. Along with the

grades on my other tests, it means I also earned a “5” for the semester.

I will take a week off from language studies and then the week after that

I will start working one on one with a private teacher. I did that when I

studied Russian in Ukraine and it worked well for me. I will try it that way

for the winter break (basically the month of February) and see how it

works for me. I will most likely continue working with the private teacher

for the spring semester and then perhaps enroll in the class again in the

fall. Please continue to pray for my language acquisition and my

communication abilities. I am already able to converse at a basic level,

but I still have much to learn.

Invited to Preach

I was invited to preach on Sunday, January 23 at the

church with which I am worshiping, the Church of Christ

on Kušlanova street here in Zagreb. I preached on the

topic of the centrality of the heart in scripture, how the

heart is the dwelling place of God’s Spirit in those who

belong to Jesus, and how important it is that we live from

our hearts and keep them open to God. The message

was well received by those in attendance.

Prayer Points

• Pray for my work with the Bible Institute staff, that we will grow strong working relationships.
• Pray for rich relationships with Croatian friends.
• Pray for continued favor with the Croatian authorities.
• Pray for natural opportunities to share Jesus with people I come into contact with each day.
• Pray for those churches and individuals to be raised up to complete my monthly support.
•  Pray for smooth preparations for the two groups that will be coming to work with us this summer.
• Pray God’s protection over the Croatian servants of God, and the missionaries in Croatia.
• Pray for a greater hunger and thirst for Jesus here.

Support Status

I had a few more pledges of support come in over the last

month. I am grateful that one of these was a significant

pledge from a church that has been talking about coming

on board with me. This is the first congregation to come

through with regular monthly support. I currently have

pledged to me about 75% of my funding goal.

Summer Plans

We have two groups coming to visit this summer. I am at

work coordinating many of the logistics necessary to host

both groups. A contingent from the Brentwood Hills

Church of Christ will come in May and June to take a look

at our work here. The Round Rock Church of Christ from

near Austin is sending a large team of about 20 people in

July to conduct Christian day camps for elementary

school kids. It is my hope that this will be the beginnings

Preaching on Sunday of a Christian camping ministry here.