Last week’s family retreat ended very well. I had three very different ministries: 1) encouraging volunteers working all week with disabled children, 2) helping parents understand God’s sovereign goodness in the heartbreak they’ve experienced, and 3) helping Serbian pastors appreciate the opportunities for ministry among the disabled. On the last day of the retreat, "Dearie" sat and listened as I spoke about the great advantage that families with disabilities have over "regular" families. Because they already know that life is impossible without someone beyond themselves, it’s so much easier for them to seek and find God. Later that day, with a huge smile on her face,she told me how much she appreciated what I had been sharing and said she was finally able to make peace with what had happened. In fact,"Dearie" had decided to become a follower of Jesus-and last week she began a relationship with him.
Classes at the Bible school started Monday. I have seven students, including a brand new Christian who sits in the front row and soaks up everything she can possibly learn about Jesus. I’m teaching the book of Revelation and a Survey of Theology. This is a great group of students from Serbia,Bosnia, and Macedonia. In the meantime, I know that God has also brought me here for several important one-on-one conversations. I’ve spoken with several missionaries and Christian leaders who are terribly stressed, over-worked, and on the edge of burnout. I’ve been able to tell them about my own journey over the last two years and the life-changing lessons I’ve learned about seeking intimacy with God and responding to his direction instead of planning my own strategies. All I’m doing is sharing my story and telling them what God has taught me and what he has done in my life. But you can tell by the conversations that God is working in them, challenging them to stop worrying about everything they think they need to do (like Martha) and to come sit at the feet of Jesus and listen (like Mary). In about an hour, I’ll be doing some impromptu relationship counseling. Not sure yet what God has in mind. But it’s amazing to see his perfect agenda unfold right in front of us-which happens just as soon as we’re not so busy trying to implement our own.
Twenty families from all over Serbia—and each of them have a special “gift” from God: a child with a significant disability. Some have autism; some have Down’s syndrome. Others are missing limbs or were born with physical deformities. I’m spending this week at a family retreat sponsored by "Joni and Friends". In a culture that often considers these children to be useless—hopeless cases likely to end up in an institution or an orphanage, these parents are trying to love their kids and make sense of all the unexpected difficulties and disappointments that have burst into their lives. The thing is, most of them do not have any relationship with God, the only one who could offer them hope, purpose and wisdom in this chaotic adventure thrust upon them. In fact, just an hour ago I had a conversation with one young father, struggling to understand his life. With tears in his eyes, he told me how much he loved his daughter, and peppered me with questions about God, sin and what Jesus did for him. An hour before that, another father, a believer who for years showed the Jesus film all over Serbia, told me how angry he is with himself and with God, thinking that somehow the birth of their Down’s syndrome children is God’s judgment for his decision to leave ministry.
Every morning, I give a brief devotional to a multi-national team of volunteers who work with these kids all day long. While they’re with the kids, I and others are meeting with the parents, trying to offer them some encouragement, biblical wisdom, and practical suggestions about how to cope with the difficulties and challenges they face. An hour from now, seventeen pastors from all over Serbia will be gathering for the first meeting of a separate but related pastors’ conference. For most of them, this will be the first time they’ve ever even stopped to consider the many barriers that these folks face when they try to attend church or participate in a ministry. The most significant barrier by far is the attitude that many have—that people with disabilities are more likely to handicap the church than they are to offer unique gifts and contributions to the life of their community. Four different groups: kids with disabilities, their parents, the volunteers, and the pastors. May God open many ears and eyes this weekend, enabling the deaf to hear and the blind to see. 
