A Final 2011 Update

In November we had the chance to travel to Szeged, Hungary for the semi-annual CEO gathering. As was the case two years ago, this was a great chance for us to catch up with other couples and families who are doing similar work in Hungary, Serbia and Croatia. Tom's main theme for the weekend came from Oswald Chambers: "The goal of the missionary is not to win souls or be useful.  The job of the missionary is to do the will of the God."

In early December, Jeremy had the chance to preach in the Evangelical church in Osijek.  They record the services there, so here's your opportunity to hear Jeremy preach (31:00), listen to a vocal/piano/trombone version of "Be Thou my Vision" (26:00), or get an idea of what a typical service in Croatia is like.

Some of you were involved in voting for Christian Educators Outreach to receive a grant from givingoflife.com. Thanks to you, CEO received a $2,000 grant! Go here to see the 20 organizations who benefited from these grants.  In other good CEO news, we have been accredited by the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA).  You can go here to see what that means for your financial donations to Christian Educators Outreach.  

Finally, 2 major prayer requests:

1. Petra is coordinating and leading a New Year's celebration for youth from all over Croatia in our local church in Orahovica.  Pray that the Lord would give her strength and wisdom throughout the entire event. 

2. Jeremy will be speaking to the youth on Saturday evening. He will be drawing on Hebrews 12 and Romans 12 in discussing faith and obedience.  Please pray for him as he finishes his preparations and as he speaks. 

There are other prayer requests on the right hand side of our site. Please consider taking some time to pray for our ministry and our family. We strongly believe that prayer is the biggest way you can support us.

Have a blessed New Year!

The Bohall Family

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Love,

Jeremy, Petra, Enoh, Ian and Emily Bohall

CEO in Croatia is growing

We are excited to have new Christian Educators Outreach partners in Croatia!  Kevin and Alyssa Walker arrived from Boston last week to work as professors at the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Osijek.  Tom Foley joined us as we welcomed them to Croatia.  You can find out more about what they are doing HERE.  Welcome Kevin and Alyssa!

Moving Forward

As we head into the fall and winter, there will be several changes to our ministry.  First of all, Jeremy has begun a Masters degree in Theology (MTh) at the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Osijek—which is only about an hour from Orahovica.  Since he began teaching and preaching several years ago, Jeremy has had a growing awareness of the gift of teaching the Lord has given him.  Please pray with us that the Lord would continue to direct Jeremy’s steps in this endeavor.

Secondly, we are praying for wisdom in how to move ahead with youth groups.  The last two years saw tremendous growth in our youth group through baseball, and the opportunity we had to teach in the High School.  But many of those teenagers have graduated and gone off to college.  In the next few months Petra will begin again, but we’re not sure what shape youth groups will take.

Thirdly, Jeremy is planning on beginning the Royal Rangers ministry in Orahovica this winter.  Though he has very little experience, at least 4 others — 3 of whom have some previous experience with RR – have expressed interest in being part of a team that will serve with Jeremy.  Please pray for wisdom as Jeremy prepares to begin RR in Orahovica.

Prayer is the most important way you can be involved in our ministry.  It’s the main reason we keep you updated.  If you are interested in learning more, please let us know! 

Your partners in ministry, Jeremy, Petra, Enoh, Ian and Emily Bohall

Meet Emily!

We are proud to announce the birth of Emily Vjera Bohall!

Petra's labor was considerably shorter than her two previous births.  After a night of contractions, we left the house at 6:07 am and the official time of delivery was 6:25.  Both Petra and Emily are healthy and home.  

Enoh and Ian have responded with awe; who wouldn't with such a beautiful younger sister!

We are overwhelmed with gratitude to the Lord for his provision and to those of you who included us in your prayers.  Thank you!

The Bohalls

Support Christian Educators Outreach!

Our missions organization - Christian Educators Outreach - is applying for a grant through givingoflife.com. Support our cause by going here and voting for CEO.  Thanks!

 

A Snapshot of Summer

So far, this summer has seen periods of craziness, but also times of rest.  Here's a look at our summer to this point.

In early June we celebrated the graduation of our Senior Highers.  Petra prepared a five-course dinner for them, then shared briefly about our faith and our prayer for them as they continue on to college.  Graduates don't wear the caps we do in America so we surprised them after dinner with their own graduation caps. 

A few weekends later we took them bowling - many for the first time as a new bowling alley opened in our part of Croatia recently.  Some of the youth were jealous of Petra's bump!

In late June we celebrated our 6th anniversary with a weekend trip to Ljubljana - the capital of Slovenia.  We were blessed to have Petra's parents stay with the boys so we could go babymooning before number three arrives in September. 

As soon as we came back from Slovenia we spent a week or so on the Croatian coast with extended family.  Enoh continues to grow as his 3rd birthday is right around the corner...

but even just at one and-a-half, Ian's catching up quickly. 

We're thankful for the few weeks we had to unwind a bit before camps started. 

Camps began in July.  The first kids camp was a huge success:

Here are some things you can keep in prayer during the next 3 weeks (childrens, young adult, and teenage) of camp. 

1. This year 3 special needs people came to children's camp.  For the most part, mentally handicapped people don't attend school in Croatia, let alone public school.  Praise God for this opportunity!

2. Pray for the safety and health of the children who attend.  The first week of children's camp saw triple digit temperatures. Yet, no one got sick. Pray for continued health.

3. Pray for the leaders.  This year we have more new, inexperienced leaders joining the team.  Pray that the staff would be united and ready to serve. 

4.  Pray for all the campers who attend, that they would hear, understand and accept the gospel. 

Thank you for your partnership with us in ministry!

The Bohalls