Croatia [THE END]

 Hello dear brothers and sisters!
This is Karin speaking,


As the title already sais, this is actually going to be the last post and report you will be reading about our team here in Croatia. Things have been very hectic lately and the team got very very challenged when we heard we will probably have only 12 more days...


This was a moment where we got really tested in our faith. One day you have everything, and the next day it can all be taken away from you. Lately we have been faced with that in many ways. Like... life of faith... it DOES mean not knowing what's going to happen, but I am gonna trust... I'm gonna be GRATEFUL! We didn't decide to leave the country, Garrun didn't decide this, but it turned out in this way having a new law in croatia, so it couldn't be helped.

It has been a long time since we started off our pioneering journey here in Croatia.. it was a true and sincere Challenge. Taking complete initiative, having complete OWNERSHIP, setting our own unique schedule. So ofcourse, we are sad that we have to leave now. The feeling you wanted to give so much more. The feeling you don't get the chance to finish it off..
but.. we CAN'T have this kind of attitude. because... God is on our side!
There is a reason for everything, and also for this right now.

So like I said, maintaining this grateful attitude, and attitude of wanting to invest a 100% every day. wasn't so easy. But I'm proud of the team because even though it wasn't easy. I could see they were trying as hard as they could.



I think I don't have actually much more to say.. just that I'm grateful for this time. And this is absolutely not a failure.. this was a VICTORY for God. This is our offering. No matter what results we bring.. we could plant seeds in these people for sure, and our investment is never lost. We believe this. THat's why with this hope we want to go to our next mission country..
And this place will be: Albania Tirana!

We feel really blessed to go to Albania. Our team will be the 5th team going to Albania. God really works in mysterious ways... I feel Croatia is the complete opposite of Croatia (not in a way that one is better then the other) But God has something prepared for us. Never do we want to think "uggh.. this is just a month" But instead, take nothing for granted. God gives us so much.. but we take it for granted so many times.
I'm nervous in way.. starting a new in a completely different place..

But then again... God only expects from us that we will love other people..
And I also feel.. We are just going to give it our all in our new mission! 100% for God, raising the bar! no excuses! and most importantly MAKING THE DECISION!
if we make the decision that it will be the best time, it will be, because spirit world will be so inspired to help us out. If not, it will be  difficult for God to work through us.
Not tomorrow, not next week..
Why not make the decision today!?

Thank you Croatia for all your love and Happiness you brought to us..
I also hope we could share some of our love with you...


LOVE


KARIN AND TEAM

La-la-la-la-Life is Wonderful

Hey. This is Doug here reporting for duty from Zagreb, Croatia. It's been 9 months here on STF, and not only are we still surviving, but as a team, I think it's safe to say that we've felt more of a rebirth here since returning to Zagreb. A lot has changed in Croatia since the last time we left it back in March. Not only have the flowers started blooming and the trees finally turned green, but there's a new embiance here that I can't quite describe with words, but I'll try my best for your sake. Upon our return, we as a team decided to that it was time to start uniting together as a family, centered on God, where we could trust each other, support each other, and create that ideal loving environment where God could be happy to dwell.
This wasn't easy of course as our different personalities often clashed with each other, but we looked past that and focused on one central goal which was witnessing. But it's not enough that you just go out there on the streets and preach the book word for word, but you really have to make effort in living the Divine Principle, and teaching it through actions. Creating that family culture as Uncle Dale once said.

One realization that I could learn from this week was really seeing the potential in people. In the sense that as cheesy as it sounds, God is in the people. I didn't fully realize how powerful this little idea was until halfway through the week, when I stayed for the great Neil O'Neill +  Daniel Melchiorre's dual-combo lecture on Chapter one. I felt a bit crusty going back to witnessing after a month's worth of fundraising, but seeing how much dedication and sincerity Neil and Daniel put into their lectures, it inspired me to once again make the effort to clearly study the DP so I can practice it in my own life and share it with others. Even better yet, we talked with the guest for about an hour extra about God and the Principle, and I could feel the excitement and confidence build up inside myself as I listened to the questions and answers fly across the room. I could then see how awesome it felt to really talk about God with the people, and that even if people don't believe in God, they still have an opinion on the matter and I want to hear it.

Many times we have this concept that in order to feel God's love we have to sit on a rock and pray for 36 hours straight before a blue-lighted beam from the heavens will strike us and we'll be overwhelmed with God's love, but that's not true. You feel God's love when you embody him and can easily share the same heart as him because you're striving to be unchanging and loving in every situation, and God loves you for that. But more than that, you feel God's love even greater when you see God in the people you talk to. When you express your original divine nature, people are automatically attracted to that because they see that you are happy, impenetrable to any negative forces because you have followed the path of the original mind. You've achieved your first blessing of life, and now others want to know how you did it. But the best part is, after you've expressed your original nature, their original nature is more willing to show up as well due to the attractiveness of your original, God-given personality. And when you can recognize that original nature in them, that potential, that Godliness, then both of you are sharing this awesome give and take relationship of God's love and it just flows naturally like water in a river. So if you want to feel God's love, you don't have to search very far. You can find it on the frontline in the streets of a foreign country, but you can also find it in your home, where your family resides. Where even though each one of you may have a different background and a contrasting personality, each person I can see is striving to be the best that they can be, to express their original divine personality and get closer to God. That's why life is so wonderful.

You may look at the people in your living accomodation as a team full of young adults of the Unification movement, or you can look at them in a nicer way that God would be proud to call a family. That's why I'm so grateful to be on this team, to have the great Karin Campman, Melanie Baltheson, In-Sun Tribe, Suvi Brunnbauer, Joshua Browning, Neil O'Neill and Daniel Melchiorre. Every day is a blessing to be with these guys because no one's afraid to express who they truly are on the inside, or share their conflicts and responsibilities either. Because we are a family, and no one gets left behind. As much as this was a great week for us here in Croatia, where we could realize a lot about the awesomeness of True Father, the importance of letting go of ourselves, and the value in trusting God, we still realized one big important thing, and that is: We cannot compromise God's standard. There's still more we can do to make God happy, so now we 've got to believe in our God-Given Potential. And to believe is more than just to imagine ourselves achieving our potential, but it's to follow it up with the right action steps to fulfill our goal. Because if we don't live what we believe, then what we believe is dead. Remember guys, no matter where you go, no matter who you're with, life is wonderful.

Go out there and be the best that you can be!

No matter what, keep giving

Two weeks ago I was thinking, about goals, about witnessing, and about how apart from 1 guest I had brought in the first week, I hadn’t had a guest since. I was questioning my motivation and my conditions, was I doing them for the right reasons or not, was I doing something wrong, I felt like I was making effort and bringing no result. I found it difficult to keep going and investing without becoming disheartened. I really wanted to contribute and do my bit for God; just somehow my efforts seemed to be going nowhere. However that week the team goal was to trust God, trust that it would work out and that was when I decided to change this situation that had become a normal pattern. I set my daily goals to ‘do my best for God’. But always we question what is your best? It sounds so simple but is actually a goal that I’m always afraid of setting because I know it means that I have to try really hard, not just to try really hard, but to try my best. My very best. Always now the memory of that clip from ‘Facing the Giants’ comes to my mind. Try my best. It’s something I should be doing always right? But when I was thinking about the past few weeks of witnessing I realized I was trying hard, but not trying my best. So I set this goal for 4 days in a row and I think God could really work through that commitment. I met some really promising people in those few days. The first really promising contacts I had. So the next week of course I was really excited that they would all come.

The team goal for that week though was ‘unconditional effort for God’ and I felt I was very much tested in it. Everything that had seemed so right the week before was suddenly falling to pieces. All my contacts said last minute that they couldn’t come anymore and I was crushed. After trying so hard it seemed that again, my efforts were going nowhere. But this is where I felt God was really testing me through the goal. Unconditional effort. Unconditional. No matter what, you keep giving. Something I always seem to forget. Then at the end of the week, finally, 2 of my guests came. Yes! Thank you! Man, I was so happy. But of course just because they came to 1 event, that’s no reason to relax. Unconditional effort. Gotta keep giving. Even though it’s hard. Keep checking myself, because it’s not for me. Trying to do my best, for God. Yes!

In-sun

kako si?

Hey hey! How is everybody doing!?
Still hanging in there??

We will be having some unique experiences/testimonies from each team member very soon. but in this post I thought it'd be nice to share a bit what team Zagreb has been up to!

First of all the picture of the national leader of Croatia (Ilija) and his wife (Daniela) our witnessing leader. They have 2 children Matej & Clara CUTE :)
They are amazing.. and they do so much for us and are SO PASSIONATE for God. I think the position of the witnessing leader is also so important.. it's somebody that we should really respect and be grateful for...!

And Ben left to go Fundraising! GO BEN!

you can do it!~

Actually today we were really blessed that Julius could come visit our team and share with us and give some inspiration. It was very inspiring because you realize so many things again and again...
~ WE ARE HERE TO BRING PEOPLE CLOSER TO GOD. ~
And you know what? you might think "that's all!"
But never forget that.. "that's everything!!"

Also sharing about RESPONSIBILITY
Related to the team as well.. are we just nice to each other out of duty? Or simply because we enjoy being together experiencing all these things together?? Seriously it hit us as a team. You can work together so much more if you just love each other and love being around each other. Going for that same goal! Never take for granted the faqt that we are together as bro's and sis'
We have to go BACK TO THE BASICS.

So guys.. Let's not give up! Writing this now.. it makes me realize again that we're not alone. We're ALL doing it. And not to forget, how long has TF been doing this?
So for that let's contribute! Let's do something great now for God and support each other!
Here in Croatia the community started to do a 40 day condition for our team, spiritually for our success.. That really moved us.. it made us feel that they were sometimes more serious than we were about ourselves.

But let's not forget who we are and WHAT WE'RE DOING.

it's.. WITNESSING!
bringing people closer to God!
How can we give more? How can we challenge ourselves more and show God how much we actually care? WE want to do something crazy as!~

AJU

Karin

Pioneers of Zagreb

Hello everyone, so you finally get to know how everything is going here in Croatia!

First of all... We got to admit, time is flying by like crazy. It has almost been a month that we've started witnessing and it seems like everything is still new and different. For us the beginning of witnessing hasn't been the most easiest and even writing a blog entry made us think: "about what?"

I think alot of us got confronted with this question: "Why are we actually witnessing?" or "what does it mean to bring joy back to God?" And I guess, we as a team had that very strongly, especially in the beginning.

The situation in Zagreb, is actually that there hasn't been any witnessing here for 5 years. So when we came here you could say, we started from scratch. At those moments when you think things aren't going your way,  things start to drop more and more and you also start to lose the point. I always keep in mind "we need to know what the situation is in our HEART rather than in our MINDS. But how is it possible to know if we have those 1000's of thoughts and worries that are blocking and covering our hearts?

So the beginning was really about completely "STARTING OFF SOMEWHERE" we had to make that step to do something!

 (with Croatian president)

As a team we could have great realizations because of this situation. Especially when Julius came..  He reminded us of something very important.

We can find 100's of reason why witnessing wouldn't work here. The center is like this, Croatian people are like that, we don't know DP  and the faqt that for 5 years nothing has been going on in this country can be one of those reasons as well. But if we look closely, these are all just EXTERNAL things, that turn into excuses for us NOT TO WITNESS...

Thinking in this way and seeing it from this perspective made us forget the point of witnessing and we were taking everything for granted that God is giving to us. "ohh~ this country has not so much foundation" "ohh MY GOSH~!" And also, we forget about that we're not here to receive, or to take, but really to GIVE.

We should be grateful for what we have, we should never compare with each other's situation.  And instead of us thinking about that there's not that much foundation. We can call ourselves "THE PIONEERS OF ZAGREB" truly leaving a trail there and actually create something here! SET THE FOUNDATION! But for that to work we need to be  true owners of our faith!

And all those external things..? We don't need to worry about that too much!

We got to think about our HEARTS.

God's heart

"people aren't going to join the church because you had a good event, or you had a perfect lecture. People will join when they feel that you truly care and love them"

Those were Garrun's words... and it's so TRUE

"that's right!"

So from then on our team stepped up quite a bit! that maybe doesn't mean that we have 30 guests or something, but step by step we are creating something beautiful here in Zagreb and we're bringing LOVE and the DP to the people here. so from now one we want to fight as pioneers, give our lives for Zagreb and for God! <3

                                      (this was from our 1-day workshop with Nikolaj and Mladenka ;-)                 

To be Continued... more adventures to come..

Love,

Karin