August fun workshops

During the month of August we try to have some fun days with the children in our sponsorship project and at the Children's Home. One of my favourite days is always with the sponsored children from the next town over, Čelinac. They are all super sweet and we love getting to hang out with them. 

This time we were in the Elementary School main hall, and we started off by making butterflies (which will be sent to their sponsors). Here we all are about to make the butterflies: 

And two of the cutest kids with their butterflies: 

(they did get to make more if they wanted to take some home as well!!) 

Then it was time for the real fun to begin - I try to organise fun activities/crafts/games etc that they can toggle between. We really had something for everyone: 

The lego station: 

The playdough station:

The making cups that turn into rockets station! Elastic bands and a second cup needed... so simple and so fun! 

The football station: playing football with straws? 

There were two stations that were delibrately more "educational" - the health game: 

And the brushing your teeth station - essentially brushing off the whiteboard marker with a toothbrush. It is actually much quicker to get rid of the marker by brushing in circles - which is also the dentist-recommended way of brushing your teeth! 

Somehow we didn't get a picture of the most popular station - which was the throw bean bags at cups station. My colleague Graham was in charge of it, and after a while he asked if it would be ok to add some spice to the action by getting the kids to go upstairs and throw from up there... Luckily I said yes as it was so.much.fun for the kids... We did lose one of the bean bags by a mis-throw into a ceiling area  above the door (wish I could be there when the person who finds it there tries to figure out what the heck it is doing there!). After a while, I did have to pull the plug as we had most of the kids upstairs and none downstairs at the other stations! But there was definitely enough for them to do without it...  

Afterwards we had to wait for some of the kids to come be picked up by their parents and already had to be outside because the man with the key needed to leave... and that is when I realised that sometimes the best moments come from things you don't plan meticulously. Besides the upstairs bean bag game improvisation, I also brought along our hula-hoops - and we ended up having the best time outside while waiting, playing the pass the hula-hoop along your team while holding hands game... 

As you can see we had a really fun day with our friends in Čelinac, and the same can be said of the kids in Banja Luka and at the Children's Home! 

Central European Staff Gathering

After settling in the team, it was time to head to Vajta, Hungary for our YWAM Central Europe Staff Gathering. I was on the planning team and so arrived a day early to help, and my main role was to help with the organising of the workshops in the afternoons. Here we all are: See if you can spot me! 

The main speaker in the morning, Dave Ginn, had previously worked in Romania and Hungary and he was so good. It was good to have good solid Bible teaching. In the rest of the sessions we had a variety of interesting topics and speakers, and I loved the conference overall. 

The workshops were many and varied, and everyone's main complaint was that there was too much choice! So I think I fulfilled my role well! I also ran a workshop on "Selfless Self Care" which I think everyone who came enjoyed. 

After helping to run the conferences for so many years, it was really great just to have limited responsibility, and enjoy the main fun at the gathering, which is catching up with friends from around the region - below I am with Ema from Romania and Andreja from Slovenia. I didn't get many other photos as I was too busy enjoying good conversations!! 

It is always a blast to spend time with friends and enjoy good times away from Banja Luka. And since we started going to Vajta in 2012, the distance has stayed the same, but the time travelled has changed considerably! Before, I would need to go on public transport and via Budapest where I would need to stay over on the way there and back... Now with all the newly built highways, it took me under 4 hours in the car! 

Easter workshops

Every year we have special workshops for our sponsored children in Banja Luka and Celinac to help celebrate Easter. Each year we try to come up with fun ways to remind them of the Easter story and what Jesus did for them. This year I came across what looked like a fun craft, but it was all behind a pay wall. Luckily I managed to make it myself for free!! 

First step is to colour it: 

Then cut it all out and paste it together. 

And here is what it looks like when you spin it: 

It really was a fun activity for everyone!! Happy Easter everyone! Here we are in Celinac saying "Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!" in the local language. 

US InterVarsity Team

We had an incredible month hosting a team of 36 from the Rocky Mountain Region of InterVarsity! This was the fourth year in a row that they have been here in Banja Luka and the partnership keeps getting better! This time there were 4 returning students who act as student leaders, and 5 IV staff and then 27 new students who had never been before.

One of my main roles with the team is to help with their orientation:

We try to help them get a better understanding of the history and the culture of the area. Here I am going through their answers for the Scavenger Hunt that takes them around all the different landmarks in Banja Luka and they have a great time finding them all! 

After orientation, the American students spent time doing life with local and international students - sharing meals, having honest conversations, walking through doubts and faith, and forming deep friendships built on trust, compassion, and Christ-centered love. Learning about a different culture, while sharing about their own - a true cultural exchange. 

They hosted loads of fun events: from Quizzes to Dance parties!

And three afternoons a week we hosted anyone who wanted to come to our place at "Cafe Ihtus"

This was all a great way to hang out and grow in relationships in a neutral space. They also went on activities organised by the local and international students - like hiking up the hill with a lookout over Banja Luka: 

Our first event with the team was a Teen Sports Workshop which brought together teens, American students, and our wonderful local volunteers for a day full of fun, games, and shared joy.

The team also stepped into academic spaces across Banja Luka: We were honored to take part in the 30th-anniversary student conference at the Faculty of Philology, where we could interact with the students in between different presentations.

We were also warmly welcomed at the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics—engaging with students from across the region and planting seeds of mutual respect, curiosity, and future collaboration.

We also hosted two sessions at the English Department led by two Christian psychologists from the U.S. on "The Nature of Trauma" and "Family of Origin", sparking important conversations around healing, identity, and hope from a Biblical perspective.

We also had two more serious events at the Church. One was by the two psychologists, based on "Emotional Awareness":

 The other was called "Art for the Soul". A highlight of that evening was the powerful monodrama “Writing Against the Silence,” written and performed by Jovana, one of our local volunteers. Her powerful performance shared the story of a soul seeking truth, freedom, and forgiveness through written words. Her honest, heartfelt story of finding voice, healing, and freedom deeply moved all who attended.

The month flashed by, and we had to say a sad farewell to these wonderful students. We had a little time of sharing at the end, and it was amazing to hear their stories of how the trip impacted them, and also all those students whom they met and encouraged. We look forward to their next team coming again in 2026!

(Orthodox) Easter Workshops for kids

 As Orthodox Easter was on the 5th of May, I was able to celebrate one Easter in South Africa and then be here to help with our Easter Programs as well! 

We ran more-or-less the same program 3 times: At the Children's Home and with our sponsored children in Banja Luka and in Čelinac (a town about 20 minutes from Banja Luka).

We had a sort of "Easter Fun Day" with different stalls - crafts, games, "tattooing" with facepaints, photobooth etc and the children could choose what they would do. With our sponsored children we also watched the Easter episode of the "Superbook" series beforehand. And after all that fun, we also handed out "Christmas" packages from Samaritan's Purse! The kids had a ball!

At the Children's Home: 

In Banja Luka:

In Čelinac, where we use the main hall of the high school:

Our main craft was "The Easter Story" (Vaskršnja Priča). I got the idea from a couple of things I saw online... The whole story of Easter is told in 3 words: LOVE (Ljubav), FAITH (Vjera) and PEACE (Mir):

Love was shown on Good Friday when Jesus died on the cross. We are like the two thieves on the crosses beside Jesus, we deserve to die, but Jesus died in our place. We just need to have faith - faith that the stone was rolled away and He was resurrected. And if we have faith in Him then we have His peace!

Easter Outreaches

 For Easter this year, we had 3 children's outreaches - one in Celinac, one in Banja Luka and one at the Children's Home. We also had a Czech team that held an outreach to students based on Czech Easter traditions. They also helped with the Children's Easter outreach in Banja Luka which was fun!

We used 5 eggs to tell the story of Easter - can you figure out what each of them stand for? I wish I could have got a pic of the expression on the face of the little girl in Celinac who opened up the "empty" egg and was so surprised there was nothing in there... but yes, there is nothing, the tomb is empty: He has risen indeed!! 

The below pic is from Celinac - a town about 1/2 an hour from Banja Luka. We have some sponsored kids there and are able to use the hall of the school there.

Then it was time for the sponsored children from Banja Luka, helped by the Czech team: 

In both places and also at the children's home, we made crosses and Easter eggs:

Just as a reminder of Christ's sacrifice and the new beginning we can have in Him!