Filling In The Blanks - The YFC Years 2

February, 1994, and TVB (along with then-YFC National Director Lowell Sheppard and then-Chief Evangelist Roy Crowne) arrived in the former Yugoslav country of Croatia which was just one week out of a damaging, bitter and bloody civil war, which pitched Serbs against Croats and Bosnians, with Muslims thrown in for good measure. In short, it had been a mess.

We were in the country at the invitation of aid agencies and Spring Harvest, the UK's largest annual worship conference, to help with the effort to rebuild the country, and to raise awareness of the situation at the upcoming Spring Harvest Conference in April, at which we would be leading worship for the teens section of those who attend.

 

Specifically we were the guests of an amazing couple -- who are still doing great work in the country -- Nikola & Sandra Skrinjaric. We arrived by road after a drive from Denmark, down through Germany and Slovenia (where we first encountered the dreaded Eastern European border "issues" which mainly consisted of lengthy delays and the threat of having to pay a hefty bribe to cross over; the border term "Spedition" still brings me out in a cold sweat!) and based ourselves initially in the coastal city of Rijeka, which was, and still is, an absolutely beautiful place. Of course, with the war just coming to an end, the place was deserted -- not a tourist in sight -- although I am glad to say things are now very different.

Next we moved inland to the Catholic tourist town of  Medugorje, staying in a fabulous -- and again deserted -- hotel overlooking the city. From there we were taken by bus across from Croatia into Bosnia, to Mostar, a very symbolic city where the violence had been great, and where a beautiful and historic bridge - the Stari Most (which gives the city its name) had been very publicly destroyed by gunfire. The bridge has since been lovingly and beautifully rebuilt.

To give us an idea of just how recently the war had finished, our guide informed us as he led us through the winding streets, that if we had been walking in this area just one week ago we would already have been shot dead by snipers. We were taken to Nikola and Sandra's church, where we took part in one of the most emotional services I have ever had the privilege to attend, and we were also able to meet some of the locals -- all the time filming segments to show back at the upcoming Spring Harvest conference.

 

One of the final elements of our visit was to play a special concert for hundreds of Mostar schoolkids -- who had to be bussed out of the city to Medugorje for security reasons. Once again, a very emotional night.

While back in England, TVB had recorded segments for a Spring Harvest youth CD which was also tied in to raising awareness for the situation in former Yugoslavia, and on our return to the UK, we were in a unique position to be able to share with the kids what was going on, and their response was amazing in terms of money raised.

TVB continued that year through June/July, but the rest of that year paled by comparison, although I do recall a week spent ministering at an exclusive girls' boarding school in the southern England town of Basingstoke, where one of the girls who reportedly made a commitment to Jesus that week was the daughter of Genesis star Mike Rutherford.

I committed to a second year with TVB, which would commence in September 1994. More about that next time.

Postscript: If you would like to read more about the Balkans war, the best author to check out is Misha Glenny. You could do a lot worse than try this book, which was written not long after the war ended. Glenny is a highly respected and experienced writer.