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

First Baseball Game in Orahovica

On June 11th, our small town got to see their first baseball game ever! 

In mid-May, Jeremy met with a missionary in a city an hour away about the possibility of coordinating what would turn out to be the first game for both teams.  The day was a huge success.  Though Orahovica lost (9-7), it was a competitive and well attended event.  Three representatives of the Croatian Baseball League came from Zagreb to umpire, and explain the rules to the spectators while the game was in progress.  

Jeremy had the chance to coach, pitch and hit.

He also was able to have a great conversation with his assistant coach about Jesus after the game as they were packing up.  Please keep him in your prayers. 

We have a need!  Please consider how you may be able to help provide uniforms and catcher's equipment for our team.  At this point we are using the other team's catcher's gear and are just using t-shirts during the game.  But we have the potential to play other teams in Croatia and Serbia and would love to have real uniforms.  Please contact Jeremy at jeremy.bohall@gmail.com if you're interested in helping.  

A Special Bunch

“I have everything you have—a strong education, good friends and time to have fun.  But you still have something I don’t.  I wish I had what you have.”

Soon after we returned from the States we had a conversation with Sara over dinner.  She told us about how a friend of her’s recently made this comment to her.  

Sara enjoyed being in the U.S. for the first time this Christmas

Sara is the only high school teenager in our church. She’s been a huge help in developing our Senior High Youth group.  And the comment one of her friends made to her only helped confirm our focus on unchurched teenagers. 

Our purpose in ministry here in Orahovica is to be a bridge between the church and the community.  That’s why our baseball club and English classes are so important to our ministry.  As it turns out, our youth group is made up entirely of teenagers we’ve met through those ministries or have come through Sara’s invitation. 

The Sr. High group enjoying an American breakfast with us. 

But more than half of our group, including Sara, will be graduating from High School in June.  We’re proud of them, but will certainly miss them as they head off to college.  Please pray that the Lord would continue to work in the heart of these teenagers now, as we still have time with them, and later when they go on to college. 

We do have much to rejoice in though, including the fact that we have been invited back to the High School to supplement English classes with our workshops during school hours.  What that means is that we are in contact with almost every high schooler in Orahovica and in the surrounding villages.  Praise God for this opportunity!

The Junior High youth group continues to develop as well.  For a long time we’ve only had girls attend.  Soon after Petra began praying for more boys, one of the boys we met through baseball began coming to our house regularly for youth group.  Petra’s able to have great, candid conversations with this group.  Our prayer for these two groups is that the seeds that are planted now will bear fruit in their lives.  Thank you for your partnership in prayer for our youth.   

We're Expecting!

That’s right, Baby Bohall number 3 is on the way!  We found out right before we left the States in January and eagerly await the birth of our 3rd child in September. 

Hvala!

It's impossible to express how grateful we are to you for your partnership in making disciples of Jesus Christ in Croatia. 

Paul puts it so well in his letter to the church in Philippi:

I thank my God every time I remember you.  In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

As we prepare to go back to our home in Croatia we remember your encouragement, support and prayer. 

Hvala!

The Bohalls