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Latest News Sibley Update - Zagreb, Croatia (March)
Latest News Sibley Update - Zagreb, Croatia (March)
We spent about 5 weeks in the states in February. During this time we completed selection process for a Board of Advisors for the Institute. Tom and Mike Armor, director of Eastern European Missions, wrote the by laws for the board and with the help of Tim Hunter got them submitted to the state of Texas and approved. So this was a very productive trip and we will have the first meeting of the board at Pepperdine University on the 5th of May. Tim Hunter will be on the board as the representative for the Round Rock Church. In addition to this work we spent a great deal of time working on a proposal to Cascade College in Portland, OR asking them to consider donating part of their library to the Institute. Please pray for us in this. I am sure this would be a great benefit to our work and this year – our tenth year – will be devoted to the development of the library. The development of the library is essential for the Masters of Ministry program.
Five days after our return from the states Dr. Mark Hamilton arrived from ACU to teach a course in Theology of the Old Testament. We had students from Croatia, Austria, Slovenia and Croatia. The students were very enriched by this course and we continue to be thankful to ACU for the spiritual depth of the program, the robust curriculum and the quality of instruction.
During our trip in February we met with some new churches in hopes of enlarging the network of churches willing to support the school. One very positive result was meeting Dr. John Cooke, an elder at the Riverside Church of Christ in the Dallas area, who is a psychologist and directs a Christian counseling center called the Carpenter Shop. He spent this past week with us in Zagreb teaching a course in Pastoral Care to our undergraduates.
He and Tom are dreaming of expanding the program of the Institute to be a Center for Pastoral Care and Counseling. There is a great need in our area for Christian counselors.
This week will be another intensive week! Tom must double up on his teaching load because of missing the two weeks with the special classes. Also this week is an evangelistic event taking place all over Europe called PROCHRIST. A famous evangelist from Germany is broadcasting evangelistic messages by satellite to many countries in Europe. Our church will be one of the sites to host people to listen to these messages. This is the largest evangelistic event ever attempted so we ask for your prayers that some will hear and respond to the message of Christ.
On Saturday we are preparing an Easter egg hunt for the children in church and the village. It started as a special day for children of missionaries but has caught on with the Croatian children. We have always wanted to invite the children of our village but as we cannot purchase plastic eggs to stuff we never had enough. This year, however, we have 1100 eggs ready to go and will invite the village children. The Southside church in Lexington, KY sent the eggs to us. So we are praying for the rain to stop!!
The next week will bring our spring retreat and Tony Coffey from Ireland will be speaking.
On April 25th we head to the Northwest part of the states where we’ll attend the last graduation of Cascade College and then head down to Pepperdine for the lectures and the first meeting of the Board of Directors for the Institute. I am also looking forward to seeing our grandchildren which we were not able to see in February. Our oldest grandson will graduate from high school this year (he was only 8 when we came to Croatia) and we want to be there for that event. We will spend a few days with Tom’s mother at her 92nd birthday and we also hope to be in Round Rock for one Sunday. So we are hoping to see all of you soon. Thank you so much for all your support. We couldn’t do this without you!!!
Blessings,
Sandra & Tom Sibley
Sibley Update - Zagreb, Croatia (March)
Dear Brothers and Sisters at Round Rock,We spent about 5 weeks in the states in February. During this time we completed selection process for a Board of Advisors for the Institute. Tom and Mike Armor, director of Eastern European Missions, wrote the by laws for the board and with the help of Tim Hunter got them submitted to the state of Texas and approved. So this was a very productive trip and we will have the first meeting of the board at Pepperdine University on the 5th of May. Tim Hunter will be on the board as the representative for the Round Rock Church. In addition to this work we spent a great deal of time working on a proposal to Cascade College in Portland, OR asking them to consider donating part of their library to the Institute. Please pray for us in this. I am sure this would be a great benefit to our work and this year – our tenth year – will be devoted to the development of the library. The development of the library is essential for the Masters of Ministry program.
Five days after our return from the states Dr. Mark Hamilton arrived from ACU to teach a course in Theology of the Old Testament. We had students from Croatia, Austria, Slovenia and Croatia. The students were very enriched by this course and we continue to be thankful to ACU for the spiritual depth of the program, the robust curriculum and the quality of instruction.
During our trip in February we met with some new churches in hopes of enlarging the network of churches willing to support the school. One very positive result was meeting Dr. John Cooke, an elder at the Riverside Church of Christ in the Dallas area, who is a psychologist and directs a Christian counseling center called the Carpenter Shop. He spent this past week with us in Zagreb teaching a course in Pastoral Care to our undergraduates.
He and Tom are dreaming of expanding the program of the Institute to be a Center for Pastoral Care and Counseling. There is a great need in our area for Christian counselors.
This week will be another intensive week! Tom must double up on his teaching load because of missing the two weeks with the special classes. Also this week is an evangelistic event taking place all over Europe called PROCHRIST. A famous evangelist from Germany is broadcasting evangelistic messages by satellite to many countries in Europe. Our church will be one of the sites to host people to listen to these messages. This is the largest evangelistic event ever attempted so we ask for your prayers that some will hear and respond to the message of Christ.
On Saturday we are preparing an Easter egg hunt for the children in church and the village. It started as a special day for children of missionaries but has caught on with the Croatian children. We have always wanted to invite the children of our village but as we cannot purchase plastic eggs to stuff we never had enough. This year, however, we have 1100 eggs ready to go and will invite the village children. The Southside church in Lexington, KY sent the eggs to us. So we are praying for the rain to stop!!
The next week will bring our spring retreat and Tony Coffey from Ireland will be speaking.
On April 25th we head to the Northwest part of the states where we’ll attend the last graduation of Cascade College and then head down to Pepperdine for the lectures and the first meeting of the Board of Directors for the Institute. I am also looking forward to seeing our grandchildren which we were not able to see in February. Our oldest grandson will graduate from high school this year (he was only 8 when we came to Croatia) and we want to be there for that event. We will spend a few days with Tom’s mother at her 92nd birthday and we also hope to be in Round Rock for one Sunday. So we are hoping to see all of you soon. Thank you so much for all your support. We couldn’t do this without you!!!
Blessings,
Sandra & Tom Sibley
