Serbia - A Recap

Below is a recap of my trip to Serbia this past July plus a little video slideshow...Enjoy!

My team consisted of five other members: James and Katy from Fort Worth (expecting a sweet baby girl in November; James is the president of Bridges for Christ), Matt and Beth from Claremore, and Chris from Claremore (treasurer of Bridges for Christ). We traveled almost 1000 miles in a nine day time span to meet the six national workers that Bridges for Christ is partnered with (these workers are trained by and supported through Children’s Evangelism Fellowship). Darko, who is one of the national workers but also the Director, was our “tour guide/navigator” throughout our trip.

We started in Vranje, which is as far south as you can get in Serbia, where we stayed with Jan and Ruženka. They have two kids Benjamin (19) and Rebeka (9). In the last eight months, they moved away from family and church in the North to work with refugees in this area. We spent the most time there helping with the Good News Clubs (a weekly Vacation Bible School-type meeting) at different refugee camps. I loved getting to know this family as well as some of the kids from the area. During this time, I really felt the effects of having a language barrier; however, I learned through that, that patience, attentiveness, and a physical presence relays the message that you love and care for them.

Our last day with the Jan and Ruženka's family, we swam in lake Vlasina that is the water source for the Serbian water bottle brand, Vlasinka Rosa. We ate dinner at Darko’s house that evening in Niš. The next morning a few of us went to a bizarre where we bought a few souvenirs and toured a Concentration Camp. We then set out for Novi Sad, which was about four hours away. When we reached the city, we stopped at the Petrovaradin Fortress, which had a gorgeous view of Novi Sad. For dinner we had pizza then went on to Darko’s parent’s house in Čelarevo. They were the sweetest couple and reminded me of my mom’s parents.

The next two days were a blur because I got what we affectionately called, Serbia’s Revenge. I won’t go into any detail but I felt like dying. Thankfully, I was able to travel to Kamp Mrčajevci, which is like a very small version of Falls Creek. The main focus of the national workers is reaching out to children in their areas so Kamp Mrčajevci is a time that the kids can learn more about Christ, get three full meals a day (which is new to most of them), and be around other Christian Serbians.

The last full day we were in Serbia, we spent time with Dragan and Daniela that are ethnically Roma Gypsy and minister to that community in the city of Aranđelovac. We visited a refugee camp of Gypsies where I fell in love with a group of precious girls. These girls had just gotten back from a week at Kamp Mrčajevci and kept saying they wanted to go back “home.”

I have a ton of stories from the trip and would love to share more with you. I would like to challenge you to prayerfully consider going to Serbia soon. Giving financially is an important factor but the “workers are few and the harvest is plenty” in this country.

As you may have already seen on Facebook, I am going back by myself to Serbia, December 29-January 7, to help with their pre-Christmas ministry opportunities (Christmas is celebrated on January 7). I ask for your prayers as I go during winter weather and a time when my allergies typically attack me.

Thanks for reading!

Calli

Listening to

"Now is the Start"

by A Fine Frenzy

Packing...need I say more?

Numbers. You like numbers? I like numbers. Here's some numbers:

36 hours till my plane leaves Tulsa for NYC.

5 hour plane ride from Tulsa to LaGuardia Airport

2 days till I'm in NYC

10ish hours I will spend in NYC {seeing ONCE The Musical I might add!!}

3 days till I'm on a cruise ship headed for Bermuda
5 days total at sea {to and from Bermuda}

3ish days "esplorin" Bermuda

3.5 days between returning from Bermuda to leaving for Serbia

14 days till Serbia
2 times I have to pack a suitcase

Take that and divide it by 3.14 and you get a math nerd, a crazy month, and a girl who's about to pull her hair out deciding what to pack and how many pairs of shoes are absolutely necessary.

Packing might be the death of me.  But, at least I'm working on my playlist and listening to good music like Air Traffic Controller: 

Calli

18 Days Till Serbia

I leave for Serbia in 18 days. 

Yes, Serbia not to be confused with Siberia {which I did in my head the first time I heard about this opportunity} and it's three countries to the right of Italy or click here. Serbia and some of the surrounding countries made up what was formerly known as Yugoslavia. Life has been slightly insane the last few months so I haven't had time to really notify the World Wide Web about my plans. Forgive me.

We had our final meeting tonight to cover some logistics {for my sanity} and go over any other "cultural norms" we needed to know before going. I'm a little nervous since this will be my first international trip but overall I'm ecstatic.

How did I choose Serbia?

I had decided that I wanted to go on an international mission trip in 2012 and was looking at a few options that were through my church. I had sorta settled on one trip but was open to other opportunities. So back in November, Chris {our group's leader} gave his testimony about an organization, Bridges For Christ, he was involved in as well as a board member that supported missionaries in Serbia {that was the moment where I thought, oh, Siberia, must be cold}. He said he was looking at taking a group in 2012 and I knew at that moment I had to find out more.

I contacted his wife, Nicole, and met with her {at Braum's} to talk about Serbia. We hit it off almost immediately and she has become a very good friend and mentor figure in my life - more of that some other time :). I'm not quite sure when the exact moment was where I made the firm decision to go but it was somewhere between meeting at Braum's and playing The Game of Redneck Life with Nicole and some girls from RSU. When I met with Chris & Nicole in early January to talk through the trip itself and give them the definitive yes, I was ready to go.

Over the last six months or so, I've had the privilege of spending time with them {mainly Nicole} each week and not always, but part of the time we end up talking about Serbia.  During that time, I've fallen in love with a country and a people I've yet to meet. In Donald Miller's Blue Like Jazz, he says, in regards to liking jazz music, "sometimes you have to watch somebody love something before you can love it yourself. It is as if they are showing you the way." I believe that Chris & Nicole have "shown me the way" not only to love the people of Serbia but so many other things to. I am forever grateful that the Lord brought you guys in my life at the time he did.

I leave in 18 days. I'm going on a cruise to Bermuda with my company in 6 days which really only leaves me about 9 days total to prepare for Serbia. Yikes, says the planning, organized part of me.

I will try to post again before I leave on the cruise and give you more insight as to what we will do when we get to Serbia. Until then, please keep me and my team in your prayers:
- Flexibility {for myself, especially}
- Unity and like-mindedness within our team {Chris, Matt, Beth, and me}
- Hearts that will be open and teachable
- Patience in a culture and language that is not our own
- Safety in travel
- That we would be a blessing, not a hindrance to the workers and their ministry

Thank you for taking the time to read about this awesome opportunity I have to share Christ's love with a people who dearly need to hear and know. Thank you for your friendship and your prayers. Please feel free to comment with any questions.

Calli

Listening to
"Keep Your Eyes Open"
The Reckoning
by NEEDTOBREATHE

The 6th Man {In A Band}

On Saturday night, I went to the BOK Center and saw the Arctic Monkeys and The Black Keys.  I'm not the biggest fan of AM - they had a few good songs but most of them sounded the same to me. The Black Keys, on the other hand, were sensational. Loved them. I especially loved it when Patrick and Dan {THE Black Keys} played just the two of them. Here's a few pics from the night:

Arctic Monkeys  

The Black Keys

The Black Keys

The Black Keys - Encore

The Black Keys - Finale

During one of the songs, I noticed that the lights were super in sync with the drum beat. My immediate thought was “that’s some spot-on programming.” Then I realized, it’s not like a loop or click track you follow. So, I looked down at the sound booth and started watching their lighting technician/producer guy. The part of the song that I’d noticed the light synchronization came up and sure enough, he was basically “playing” along with the music. 

My first “realization” of what a lighting technician did was when we had THE ADDAMS FAMILY at the Tulsa PAC. Part of my job has to do with press and promotions. On opening night of each show when the curtain goes up, I walk station cameras in and we stand in the back so they can shoot stills for an article or broll for TV interviews. They typically can shoot for the first 30 minutes so I get a little antsy standing with them {because I’m usually in heels}.

Watching THE ADDAMS FAMILY in
NYC with my coworkers

I had already seen THE ADDAMS FAMILY in NYC {with Nathan Lane & Bebe Neuwirth, see pic above} so I wasn’t really paying close attention to the show when I noticed the lighting guy was really working during the first scene. I guess I’d thought they only turned the house lights down, stage lights up, and then just sat back and relaxed for the rest of the show. Boy, was I wrong. The lighting guy functioned not only as a member of the orchestra bringing the lights up as the music crescendo, but also as a member of the cast “setting the mood,” quite literally, as the stage danced with colored lights following the movements of the characters. 

So, as I watched this "hidden" member of the band play along with The Black Key and I remembered the lighting technician for THE ADDAMS FAMILY, I thought to myself here’s the “sixth man” in a band, like the movie. This may not be the greatest example but I think you get the gist. This is my shout-out to all the lighting technicians: thanks for making concerts, plays, musicals, etc. be that much better and add to our experience in ways we may not always fully comprehend.  

Props lighting guy, big props.

The Black Keys Lighting Technician
{apologize for the fuzzy picture}

Calli

Listening to

Pulling Back The Veil 

by Elenowen

The Triple Threat Trifecta

Hi Blog, my name is Calli, your author...do you remember me?

This past weekend I went to Stillwater, OK and it was one of the best weekends I've had in a long time. Why, you may ask? Well, since you ask, I will tell you. This weekend consisted of three of my favorite things, the "triple threat trifecta," if you will: gorgeous weather, excellent music, and great coffee. I call it the "triple threat trifecta" not because I want to be redundant but because I got to do/experience all these great things with my best friend, Rachel.  And, that to me, is a formula for a "triple threat trifecta."


Gorgeous Weather
Saturday morning, after enjoying an awesome cup of French Pressed coffee (see below), a walk around Boomer Lake, and lunch at Red Rock Bakery, we wound up in Downtown Stillwater in the middle of a Street Festival. We were pleasantly surprised and very thankful that we stumbled across this little event.

Excellent Music
Exhibit A: The Non
Instrumental band from OKC. First heard them at The Conservatory in OKC when I went to see The Rocketboys. Saw on Facebook last Friday that they were playing on the Willard Lawn. So after we ate our weight in chips, salsa, and queso at El Vaquero, Rach and I took a ton of blankets and set up shop on the Lawn. Excellent band - awesome music. Czech'em out: TheNonBand.com

Exhibit B: Random Jam Session Outside an Antique Store
While we were wondering around Downtown Stillwater, Rachel wanted to go to look in this antique store.  We walked up to this store and these two gentlemen were sitting outside, jamming away and enjoying the gorgeous weather as well.  I just love this picture:

Great Coffee
Introduction to French Pressed Coffee: First off, where have you been all my life? My mind was blown as I sipped my first cup of French Pressed coffee Saturday morning that Rachel's husband professionally brewed - I experienced flavors in coffee that I never knew existed. I'm not over-exaggerating at all. It was just...wow.  So, I went and bought some supplies to have my own French Pressed coffee experience every morning.  No more office coffee for me - I'm a coffee snob. And proud of it.

Aspen Coffee: You can't go to Stillwater and not hit up Aspen Coffee, especially the one on Western.  Rach and I went after our Street Festival experience and it just topped off the day for us.  Rach had what she called "a cup full of yummy sugar" and me, of course, the White Chocolate Mocha.  We sat outside, soaked up some more gorgeous weather and solved all the world's problems. Yes, you can rest easy now, we have everything under control.

I'm very thankful that I was able to spend the weekend with my bestie and we got to do all these great things plus have awesome conversations.  But to be honest, I set out to do this blog post because I haven't updated in literally four months and I like sharing new bands/music. As I wrote and came to the end of my post, I realized that the real "triple threat trifecta" is that my friendship with Rachel revolves around Christ.  This weekend could not have been what it was without the grace and love of Christ. Yes, the sun gave us endorphins and the coffee gave us energy but spending time with someone who desires to know and be used by Christ with all their being creates an encouragement that exceeds everything.  That, my friend, is wow, just wow.

Calli

Listening to
Pala
by Friendly Fires