Back to school!

After a three month summer holiday the young people go back to school. The exact date is never known – if it is too hot it will be later, if it is not then it is usually the first Monday in September.

Having children who are going to the local schools it has given me an insight into the culture difference. Children here either go to school in the mornings or in the afternoons. It depends on their grade (year) how many hours they have of teaching. This is why in Centar we try to offer the same programme in the morning and in the afternoon. Also the Croat children go to a

different school from the Muslim children.
The curriculum is different between these two schools and they use different teaching books. All children, except those in first to fourth grade have to buy their books and each day carry those books to school in a rucksack. They have no locker facilities at school.

The teaching method in schools is also very different from English schools, and I would imagine those in the States too. They get taught a lesson and then they have to learn it off by heart word for word. There is no room for the child to think for themselves; what they get taught is how it is – no questions! The next time they have that lesson they could be asked questions about it and then they are given a grade. These grades go in a huge register and these are added up and an average taken to give an overall grade. Grades go from 5 (A) the best to 1 (E) the worst.

Parents can go and visit the teacher at a particular time each week to see how their child is progressing. They are expected to visit the teacher at least two or three times a term.

This schooling means that the young people coming to Centar experience a different type of learning when they come on the courses held here. When teaching English, computing, arts and crafts it is very hands on, games are played to give a better illustration of something and there is lots of interaction. In the English courses the hardest part for these young people is writing an essay. The question may ask: Continue this story using the first sentence ‘ I was driving in the car with my friends to a remote holiday cottage when the car broke down…’ or Write an essay explaining the differences between living in the town and living in the country. It is difficult for the young person to think of ideas of what to write. Writing an essay is rarely part of their schoolwork.

Teachers are generally quite strict. It is hard for a teacher to get a job and they experience times of not knowing if they are going to get paid, especially if the overall money in the country is getting low. On occasions they may strike: we have experienced a time when Sam had 4 out of 6 lessons each day as their pay was cut by 25%. Sam said one of those lessons she didn’t have was in the middle of the day so they were told just to sit in the class for that lesson and wait for the teacher to come for the following one. Fortunately this only lasted a few days.

So for the young people experiencing this type of schooling many feel they have no hope of getting a job when they leave. In Centar we try to encourage the young person to build on their God- given skills or gifts. They are all different and each person has their own skill. Sometimes they don’t know what it is; we pray that in Centar we can show each young person that they are unique, they are special and they all have something to offer. So in a weeks time Centar will reopen and we pray that God guides and leads us as we try to encourage them that they are the future and they all have something to offer themselves and this country.

The last day

So farewell to summer 2010. Well actually summer isn't over but the Centar Novi Most summer programme is. The past few days have been just as hot as many previous days. Schools are set to start again on Mon 6th Sept but if it's still too hot this will be put off for a week or so until it gets cooler, because schools do not have air-conditioners.
We spent the last day in the right place, at the pool side. This was at a pool in nearby Medugorje. For me it was my first visit there although Becca and Ivica had taken the winning team from Friday Fun night there as summer began and others had visited it again during the summer. But it was here that two things struck me most. The first was that being an English woman outdoor pools are really a novelty and you only go in one when you are not in England and maybe staying at a hotel on holiday in a warm place. English outdoor pools are rarely used! The second is the surrounding scenery. It was in Sarajevo that I first marvelled at the scenery from the newly built pool, then again in Mostar earlier in the summer and I had that same feeling of wow this is amazing at Medugorje. I love the outdoors and being in a pool looking out onto the mountains surrounding me I felt truly content. This is the Lord's gift to us - natural beauty which He has made.

Later that day we had our last evening on the Square for this year. The bouncy castle came out and all knew we were there. This time I tried my hand at face painting or rather arm painting. I had practiced a bit on Sam and Chloe and had tips from Becca. Despite this my dolphins still come out like mice! But I tried and I enjoyed and all seemed satisfied.
It was another good evening and a satisfying ending to another great but hot summer. We now spend most of September visiting family and friends. Eleanor will be back in the UK soon. Mick and Ivica will be visiting our Swiss friends then driving on to the UK, Becca is on sabbatical and I will be here in Capljina with Sam and Chloe as they start school. Plans and work will continue into the new term and as always we all, as Capljina team, have an excitement as to what God may have in store for us then.

Nearly the end of the summer 2010 programme

How is it that time seems to go by quickly but yet it seems a long time ago we started our summer programme. This often happens in life and this summer was another of those times.
When I look back over the summer there have been a lot of different things which have happened but in all of this our Lord and Saviour remains constant. We read from Hebrews 13 .8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever. This is hard to understand from a human perspective probably because as humans we are never the same from day to day or sometimes hour to hour – but God is. And we can rejoice in that.
We started the summer with the same number of young people attending as when we finished. There have been one or two new faces but generally there has been the same coming each week which has been really nice. We have got to know them better and my prayer is that they have got to know us better too and we have shown them some of Jesus’ love.
This week as been fun again. There have been a few occasions when I have just stood back to watch the fun antics and the consequences! One morning whilst the summer photo album was being composed upstairs a few of the lads got together and decided to tape the bottom of the stairs so the people upstairs couldn’t get down. This was true team work in action and I think the preparation far outweighed the effect for myself as an audience!
This morning was a grand quiz for the group to see how many of the facts they have written in their passports they have actually taken in. Three young girls came early as they said they wanted to learn them and as soon as they were let in instead of running to a computer they sat reading their facts! The quiz was fun especially as the questions were rolled up and put into a balloon which they had to burst. It was a close match and the winning team won by one point.
Mick, our resident big kid, then taught them how to fire a paper rocket into the air. This was great fun and again ended in a competition in how far their rocket could fly!

Thursday evening was karaoke night and was noisy, wild and I think enjoyable for all! Youth from Klub Novi Most in Mostar were also invited so Centar was very full and very lively. The music could be heard outside and down the street a real party atmosphere. So from Centar we say goodbye to summer 2010.

We will be having our last outing to the swimming pool in Medugorje tomorrow morning and our last visit for this year to the Square in the evening. Blogs will continue so we can keep you posted on how God is working here. Thank you for reading and being a part of this ministry.

Our final destination!

CHINA








Today is our final week of the summer programme. We have 'visited' lots of countries, learnt a lot about them and now come to our final country, China. It is going to be a busy week! I think the young people have enjoyed our 'travels'.
We know they love a challenge so they were given today a maze on paper to try to get from the start to the finish. It was surprisingly difficult but not for some (Eleanor and Lea!).

The crafts have also been very popular and making a paper fan today I think was my favourite. Again it was a chance for all to express their individual styles. The funniest was when Emilio wrote Made in China on one!

Pyramids, hieroglyphics and mazes

Yes it must be Eygpt! Last week the young people were given facts in hieroglyphics and given challenges based around mazes. These were really popular and it was good to see them being challenged and loving the idea of competitions. One being on the computer the other outside.

A popular game with the older youth is Phase 10 which is a lot like rummy.
It is particularly good to play cards in a lovely setting. This is what we did on Wednesday evening. We went with the older youth to Jaz, a place alongside the Trebizat river in Struge. There we played for nearly three hours until it was dark and a lot cooler than in our house or flat!



This week was a week of taking the young people out of Centar too.
On Thursday a group of 15 were taken to Klub in Mostar. They were given a challenge of painting a picture on canvas which was judged. It is good for Capljina and Mostar young people to meet each other and have Novi Most in common.

On Friday morning it was time for the weekly outing and this week 9 youth went to the popular Kravica. The had a great time splashing around, finding good places to dive from and looking for snakes!
The Friday evening was back on the Square and with the help of 2 locals we were able to bring the bouncy castle in addition to painting tattoos, football and learning juggling.
Another good week! It is hard to believe next week is the last week of the summer programme in Capljina. It has gone so fast. Students here have 3 months of summer holiday but it feels as if it goes so much quicker than the 6 weeks that students have in the UK. Maybe it's the heat, being able to plan something and 'almost' being guaranteed it'll be a nice day or the sea being close by I'm not sure why but it is a special time to meet young people and put on activities for them when there is nothing else similarly available.

Summer camps

If you ask people what they know about Novi Most many will probably think of summer camps. Ever since the early beginnings of Novi Most many volunteers from the UK (and sometimes other countries) have given up part of their summer to help out on these camps.
One aim of camp is to allow a young person to learn new things in an accepting environment and feel they can be themselves, the person God designed them to be irrespective of ethnicity, creed and colour. This year Novi Most held two camps: the first for 11-17 year olds and the second for 18-25 year olds.
As Centar has continued in Capljina some of the team members attended a camp or two!
Eleanor and Ivica went up to Jahorina to the first Novi Most camp.

Eleanor writes:-

I had the amazing privilege to be a part of two camps this summer. The first one was with 17 young people from Novi Most (8 from Capljina and 9 from Mostar) up on the Mountain of Jahorina, about 45 minutes drive from Sarajevo. It was extremely pleasant to escape the summer heat, but at times was too cold!!!
The week was centred around the theme of ‘looking for something’, we had ‘hunt the coin’, scavenger hunts, and a find the landmark challenge on a day out in Sarajevo. The week culminated in Matt giving a talk based on the Lost Parables of the coin and the sheep, and explained to the young people that God is looking for them.
Having had a loud week, none of us expected the hush that was in the air as Matt was talking, everyone in the room was listening, and I know that there were lots of seeds planted into the lives of the young people that evening.
It was so encouraging to see all the young people getting along and making new friends, and I felt that I got to know the young people from Capljina better too!!!

The Evangelical Church now run the camps at Boracko Jezero which were previously organised by Novi Most. They start from the end of June and last until the middle of August; each week is designated for a particular age-group. These include set-up, prayer, family, children’s, teenagers and youth, and also helping with the Mission Without Borders children’s camp and at the end a clean-up camp. Novi Most members also help with the organising and running of these too.
Eleanor attended the children’s Church camp and continues:-

After a long, hot journey back to Capljina after Novi Most Camp, I had two days to prepare for camp number 2 – the Evangelical Church Children’s Camp.

This camp was a lot different from the Novi Most camp and was held at Boracko Jezero at the Church campsite. There were 80 children from all
over Bosnia and Hercegovina, and our theme was Bog Uvijek Radi Nešto Uzbudlljivo
(God Always Does Something Exciting), everyday was spent with aerobics, morning programme, afternoons on the beach and then a crazy evening programme!!!

My highlight of this camp was when one of the children from Capljina started a conversation with me about how she now felt really special because she had found out that God had created her special, just the way she is!!!
This moment far eclipsed the sleepless nights, the early mornings and the numerous insect bites and stings. Since returning from camp, I have continued to speak with her, and she is realising more and more that God loves her for who she is!!! It wasn’t just the children who learnt that God always does something exciting – I was reminded of it too!!!


Becca works with the teenagers during the service on Sunday at Capljina Evangelical Church so she went to the teenage Church camp as a leader. She writes:

Alongside all the activities which are held in and around Centar during the summer we also help out with the camps run by the evangelical church of Bosnia Herzegovina. All together this year there have been 6 weeks of camps which take place near Boracko lake in the middle of the country.

So, I signed up to help out with teenager week…this involves one hundred 13-17 year olds who had travelled the length and breadth the country to get there. The teenagers were from all sorts of backgrounds but for one week they all had something in common; tents and sleep deprivation! Some of the teens had been to camp before, for some it was completely new territory but for many of them it was a rare chance to hear about Jesus and His love for them in a fun, relevant and engaging way.

The theme of the camp was “I have something important to tell you” and each day we took a topic to discuss, debate and mull over. There were also many fun activities, games, sports and workshops as well as worship and a powerful message each evening.



For me the overwhelming thing that stuck out was the sense of community; regardless of where people were from, what they looked like or how they behaved, there was a sense that they were loved and accepted for who they are. It was a real privilege to be on camp and see people touched by such knowledge. My hope is that as they go back to their homes and normal day to day lives, they would each take a piece of camp with them and know that God doesn’t stay in a tent at Boracko but goes with them.


The second Novi Most camp was for the older youth aged 18-25 years. This was a chance to revise some English grammar and practise spoken English. Ali led this camp and writes:

This is the type of “camping” I like! We stayed in a hostel in Gradac on the Croatian coast. There were seven students of Upper Intermediate level. Lessons were held in the morning and evening. The morning lessons were mainly revision and included teaching in writing and reading skills.



The main focus of the camp was to allow the students to practice spoken English and to increase fluency in speech. A Murder Mystery evening was played out and the students were given a role. These included Dame Barbara Carthorse, Mike Bison, Chocolate Bertrand… There was reading and discussion practice to decide who ‘the murderer’ was. This was a fun evening especially as everyone dressed up and really acted out their part! The atmosphere that evening was really special as we all enjoyed each others company for who we are and not what gossip of the town says we are!

We pray that the students saw some of Jesus love through us during our time with them and that the friendships we have made are strengthened in the coming new term.
The youth enjoyed their time learning ‘in an interactive way’ and all would like to go again next year. It is so nice for me that people of this age group who work hard at University during term time gave up some of their summer holiday, came freely on camp to improve their knowledge of English and were keen to learn.
I really feel camps give the workers as much as they give the students and would encourage anyone to come and see for themselves… you will certainly be a blessing and will also be blessed.

Going 'Down Under'

It's been a while since the last post this is mainly due to the Camps which we have attended.A 'Blog' about these will be added in the near future but back at Centar our travelling around the world continues. We are visiting Australia this week and activities based on this country could probably last all summer!
So we have made crocodiles today and been 'kangaroos' by competing in a jumping 'sackrace'.



It has been really nice to see the same young people attending throughout the summer, sometimes missing a few days when they have been away. Most families here visit the Croatian coast or visit families in different parts of this country, but few go on the types of holidays we are used to.



The Centar 'life' continues to make me think and I love to observe how well the young people are interacting. One young lad today came in with a prize. He had spoken to Eleanor the day before about having a table tennis tournament. She told him that was fine and she'd have to think of a prize but today he came in with a wrapped box as the prize. The irony was that he won!!! He didn't take it and is keen to have another tournament tomorrow. This kind of action really touched us as a team as we see the young people working for each other and taking ownership of Centar.



We are really thankful to God for the young people who come to Centar, they are the ones who He has placed in our paths at this time. We pray they will develop new skills and also develop those gifts and skills God has given them. As it says in Proverbs 22:6 Teach a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.




We will keep encouraging these young people to use their skills and try out new things and thank God for this position He has placed us in at this time.

Watering hole!

The animals in safari in South Africa on hot days visit watering holes so this is the connection between looking at South Africa and a water fun morning!
The kids start off dry but the looks of anticipation are clear...



Eleanor explains the first game and the line goes from long to slightly shorter. The game is to basically tip a glass of water over the opponant at the front of the line if your team is quicker at passing a squeeze' on the shoulder down the line. One way to get wet quickly!


The next game is very popular - water volleyball and these young people were very good at it! They had to throw a water-filled balloon using a towel to the other side. The other side had to catch it in their towel and throw it back. But sometimes they missed!






Of course there's always one who starts the water fight and yes it was the biggest kid of all....Mick! He started by throwing down water balloons from the upstairs window which the kids tried to catch and if in tact tried to throw back upstairs at him.






This is a great action shot of Eleanor fighting hard to get others wetter than herself but not succeeding!







And the fun event for young people is to catch a team member and really soak them but Ivica runs fast so needs to be caught first.





And me? Well I was hard at work inside passing things as they were needed outside, clearing up, controlling the water flow,........... (hehehehe!)
It was a fun morning, I laughed a lot and the young people did as well which is so good to hear. The Priest coming out of his office next door gave me and one of the young lads a smile as we cleaned his windows and told us we didn't need to. There is definitely something which stirs inside us when we hear young people enjoying themselves and reminds me of the verse 'Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me:'

I'm sure we'll have more water fun another day soon!

Chill time?

Where do we get this phrase? With the high temperatures continuing here in Capljina nowhere seems very cool. In Centar the young people gathered together today to think of an animal for each letter of the alphabet. Harder for them as they have 30 letters in their alphabet! It was a good morning though for just relaxing and chatting whilst playing games (especially Shut the box!) and making friendship bracelets.

The evening was for the older youth who played Wii bowling in practice for when we visit Mostar again for the real thing. It was also a time to prepare them for part of the older youth English Camp which happens next week. Part of which will be a Murder Mystery evening, will let you know how it goes!!

But tomorrow should be cooler... why??? .....it'll be water games outside Centar....oh No.The team is bound to get wet!!! Mick, Ivica and Eleanor have prepared the water balloons - 50 of them for water volleyball but, methinks they'll be used for other games too:-)

Waka Waka yayayaaaa

This was how we started the week this time for the young people to guess which country we are visiting. I think we all have a song which reminds us of something which has happened in the past. I think this song will remind me of summer 2010 in Centar Novi Most.
So it's off to South Africa and today we 'went on safari' to find animals. The kids were put into 4 groups to find elephants, giraffes, lions and parrots. It took longer than I thought, so they must have been well hidden! Later we made the flag which was a messy sociable time. But my memory for today is how one girl has offered to prepare a country for us one week. I feel this is such a positive step for us here in Novi Most as this demonstrates how she feels at home and wants to do something for her friends and young people in Centar. God shows us time and time again how He is working in this town, it may be small steps but that's how a journey begins.
Oh how I love journeying with our Lord!

Encouragement

Today was the last day for our friends from North Point to spend with us in Capljina. It has been a very busy week in which there have been a variety of activities. For me, getting to know the team members better has also been really good. I thank them now for their heart for this country and for being such willing servants. It is always an encouragement to the team here to have people come and join in and be willing to help in whichever way they can in Novi Most. The verse from Thessalonians 5:11 says 'Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.'

So thank you Nancy, Leland, Lynne and Reyn for your visit here, we've really enjoyed our week with you and look forward to your next visit, as I am sure the young people of Novi Most are too.
The photos from the week's photography course are mounted and are to be given to a local cafe bar, a restaurant and the Town Hall. Just looking through the many pictures Leland and his students have taken has made me realise that we can see everything around us as a picture and marvel at the works of our Lord's hands whether it be a portrait or a landscape.

Hot day!

It's been a hotter day today (45degrees) so it was perfect to take some of the Capljina Centar kids to meet Mostar Klub kids at the Mostar pool. I've never been to this pool before but it was lovely to swim with such amazing scenery around you. The young people enjoyed the time together and carry on friendships in some cases from when they last met at Novi Most camp a week ago. There is a real mix of ethnic groups and characters. I felt there was time to speak to some of the young people who I didn't know so well.
We came back to more fun in the Square which was quiet for a while probably because it was still hot at 7pm - 36 degrees. However it got busier and there was lots of interest in what we were doing and we spoke to a few parents about the work of Novi Most and how we were collecting money for Haiti.
After a busy day it was good for the Novi Most team and the North Point team to relax and enjoy company in Calipso (our favourite restaurant!)

Creative Day

It's been such a good day today -except the heat! It has been about 41 degrees and tomorrow is set to be hotter. Arghh!
However despite the heat it's been a day of making things. This morning we introduced sewing to the young people and they really loved it. They made cushions with a motif on the front and they were very creative.The results were very good and one young girl said it was one of the most enjoyable activities. I know I was very excited when our American friends pulled out gorgeous pieces of material they had brought over, thank you so much.
This evening was for the older youth. The girls stayed in and made jewellery whilst the boys went out to take photos in a different light.Both groups had a great time and had lovely pieces of jewellery or lovely pictures. It has been a good time to spend time with everyone on a one to one basis and I've really enjoyed getting to know the young people better.