At the beginning of 2021, I celebrated 20 years of living in Bosnia Herzegovina. Today marks 20 years since I arrived in Banja Luka. I couldn't let today go by without marking it in some way, so I thought I would return to the theme I had for the 20 years in BiH - celebrating God's faithfulness:
I had arrived in the beginning of 2001 and spent two years in Zenica before heading back to South Africa for 3 months. I had packed up all my things in Zenica as I knew I didn't want to return to the place I was staying in at the time. So, I had to make a choice while in SA. Do I return to Bosnia at all? If I did, do I return to Zenica? Or somewhere else in Bosnia?
Now, remember, I am still on a South African passport. I need to have a visa even to get INTO the country. I need to have a guarantee letter to get said visa. I had visited some YWAMers in Banja Luka and there met Siniša, the pastor of one of the churches. When I asked him if I were to come to Banja Luka would he help me with the visa, all he said was "Dođi" (Come).
When I was in South Africa, I spent time praying and asking the Lord where to go. I had a few options, and one of them was Banja Luka. Previously, I had prayed about maybe going Banja Luka, and the Lord had said, "No" to my going there, so I had ended up in Zenica. So, you can imagine my surprise that while I was praying with friends, we all felt that it was now a "Yes" for Banja Luka. I felt peace and I started making plans to return to Bosnia Herzegovina, but now to Banja Luka.
I got a guarantee letter from Siniša and the plan was to go to the Bosnian Embassy in Zagreb to get my visa, just like I had done in 2001. I didn't think to check if things had changed since then, when you could get it the same day. Now, it would take at least one month to approve. One month I didn't have!
I couldn't believe it. What was I going to do? How could I have been so dumb as to not check? Me, the organised one? And where was God? Why hadn't He given me a heads up somehow? I was so sure I was where I was supposed to be, and yet here was a huge roadblock in my way.
Thankfully, God already had a plan. I called people in Zenica and our "fix-it" lady, Vesna, was sure she could figure something out. She told me to go to the border and wait there. I knew some people in Slavonski Brod, so I headed there to wait and see. It took 5 days (thankfully I had very gracious hosts!), but in the end, Vesna managed to organise me a "border visa" for entry.
I went to the border at 4.30 in the morning as the only bus to Zenica (where I was going to go pick up my stuff and my car) was at 5.30. Unfortunately despite being ready for me, the border guards still took over an hour to get me through and I missed that bus... I got to the Bus Station in Bosanski Brod at 5.45, happy to be in the country, but now stressed by trying to figure out how to get to Zenica. After a weekend of will I or won't I, I really didn't need any more stress. And God knew. And He intervened.
I asked at the Information about other alternatives and they told me there was nothing. Imagine the scene - a poor foreigner now in complete tears with a big suitcase and a guitar and nowhere to go. And then seemingly out of nowhere, a sympathetic bus driver (angel?) came to tell me he thought he could get me there and to jump on his bus...
He was heading for Derventer and he knew he arrived just after a bus left for Zenica. So he phoned ahead and told that bus driver to wait for me! We got to Derventer and I changed buses (to the stares of the passengers who had been made to wait for me, oh well) and off I went to Zenica. Tears all dried up and now looking forward to the adventures ahead.
The best part of the story is that I actually arrived in Zenica a whole hour before I would have if I had gone on the original "direct" bus (which I guess stopped off a lot more on the way!). My faithful God figured out a way to get me into the country when there really seemed to be no way and then as a cherry on the top got me quicker to my destination!!!
I spent a day in Zenica, seeing friends (celebrating Jana Warner's birthday!) and collecting my stuff and my car before heading to Banja Luka on the 3rd of July 2003. I arrived the day before a team was coming in and so it was a rush to get me sorted with a new sim card for my phone and other details and right to work... Now it has been 20 years since that day, and I am still here in Banja Luka!
So today, I will take a pause and remember that tumultuous time when I first came to Banja Luka and celebrate how faithful God has been over the past 20 years in small ways and big!
