In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35).
June 30th, 2024, my alarm started ringing at 05:00 hours, it was time to get into my rental car and go pick up three girls coming from the Czech Republic, to the Central Bus Station in Belgrade, Serbia. I continued, together with Igor Mitrović (ADRA Serbia Director), to go pick up people from the airport and from the Central Bus Station all Sunday, until everybody arrived safely.
On July 1, 2024, we started the EUD Youth-ADRA mission trip in Belgrade, Serbia, a trip that lasted two weeks in which we worked side by side with Igor Mitrović and the ADRA Serbia team to serve in different areas.
Benjamin Stan, Associate Youth Director in the Romanian Union, was our preacher for the event; it was a blessing to have him with us. We also had Narcis Dragomir (pastor from Spain), Sayei Méndez (Math and Physics teacher in our school in Sagunto (CAS, Spain), Catalina Tudorie (PhD student in Diplomacy and international Relations from Romania), and Jonatan Tejel (EUD Youth Ministries Director) as part of our staff. We had been dreaming of offering this possibility to our youth in Europe for some time, and thanks to João Martins (ADRA Europe Director) we were able to travel to Serbia.
We had a total of 27 volunteers and 5 staff in this mission trip. The volunteers came from the following countries: Portugal, Spain, Germany, Italy, Czech Republic, and Romania. Together, with the ADRA team, we worked in 4 different areas in which we would offer the volunteers to serve in. These are the areas:
Helping the Homeless: We rotated a group of 4 volunteers plus one leader to work in this area every day. ADRA had prepared a bus that served as a shower station, and every Monday and Wednesday they went to the same location in the suburbs of Belgrade to offer 15-20 homeless people a shower and clean clothes. Helping to clean the shower after every turn, and interacting with the homeless, sharing with them a smile and a conversation was amazing and the feeling is difficult to describe. Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday were days we used to organize and clean all the donations received for the homeless at the ADRA building.
Children and Teens Interaction: Around 10 kids from Roma families were taken into the new ADRA building 20 minutes outside of Belgrade to provide them with games and different activities. A group of 6-8 volunteers collaborated with the ADRA team to make this activity very helpful for the children and teens. It was a very meaningful experience, being able to interact with children and teens experiencing a very different reality to that of the volunteers.
Helping prepare a Center of Influence in ADRA: It was very inspiring to see that ADRA is working very intentionally on being also a Center of Influence in Belgrade, Serbia. We helped them to organize and clean a part of the ADRA building that will be used for this purpose. A group of 6-8 volunteers helped in this activity during these two weeks.
Construction: The Serbian Government has a plan to help the orphan kids. They give them some money to help them survive until they are 18 years of age, at that age the help stops and most of those youngsters end up becoming homeless. ADRA bought a house to provide a place for a group of 7-9 young people to have a roof under their heads until they can stand on their feet, find a job, and normalize their life. During these two weeks. Around 10 volunteers helped to fix the house every day so these young people could have a place where to live instead of living on the street. It was a blessing for the group to participate in an activity such as this.
We were very intentional in our morning and evening worship time, Benjamin did an amazing job introducing two New Testament books to the volunteers: James during the morning worship, and Philippians during the evening worship. We produced a Volunteer’s Diary, a small booklet that included different thoughts coming from the Bible, Ellen G. White, and other people in society on its pages. They were able to find some time during the day to think about those quotations and to pray and have a personal moment with Jesus.
We’ve enjoyed the two weeks we spent together in Belgrade, Serbia. We worked together, we worshiped together, we grew as a team, we got closer to one another, and we’ve created a small community that now prays for each other, no matter how far apart we find ourselves.
Now, we’re looking forward to find the next mission trip, a country that will need our hands and passion. The question everybody asked when we arrived to the end of this mission trip was: “Where is the next mission trip going to be? I want to be part of it.”
Let me share with you a very small portion of the comments we got from the volunteers that participated in this mission trip.
“I have had some questions about God's purpose for me. The desire to know more about God, more about myself, and a fire and eagerness to know more and more and more has allowed me to get some answers, some of which have been answered by the excellent messages from Benjamin, Jonatan and Narcis. Meeting them and seeing them talk about Jesus and how they shine for Jesus it's incredible. I want to know God's purpose for me! To love the most vulnerable, to shine hope in everyone's heart and to help those who need us (it's not easy but it's incredible). Everything good lasts as long as it takes to become unforgettable. And in fact I carry every smile in my heart. I am thankful for the great initiative, and for being hand-picked by God to be here on this great mission!”
“I have met wonderful people that have allowed me to open my mind to a very big reality. Since I only knew Adventism in my country. I had never seen so many people so spiritual and willing in the same place and this is undoubtedly a blessing that I will never forget. Also, I have been able to learn a lot from each of the helping groups, getting to know the culture a little more and learning about the people and how to get closer to them. I have loved being able to help even if it wasn't a huge amount in each of the areas that I have been able to participate in.”
“I came here to serve, maybe learn something new. I didn't expect such a strong influence from the spiritual part. And that is a great blessing! Spending time with God in the morning and evening has always been natural for me. I was very glad to supplement this time with reflection with the team and the chaplain. Many of the things that were said opened up a new perspective for me. I think the conversations with the chaplain were particularly helpful in my spiritual growth - getting rid of some extremes that could have greatly hindered me and others in the future. I am incredibly grateful to God for this project and for the opportunity to be involved, for the guys who are so open to serving. I am very grateful to every member of the core team for their dedication, involvement, sacrifice, good example and willingness to support ALWAYS. May God bless and reward you a thousand times over for your efforts!”
“I would recommend this type of activity to people inside and outside the church. The feeling of fulfillment after each worship, the understanding of people who share the same message and are willing to teach you more and more is a feeling worth coming for. Every moment helping and being part of a bigger mission in ADRA serves to guide you, change your direction and make you realize what Jesus was and what you should be like. In short, I would participate in another mission trip without a second's hesitation.”
From a personal point of view, I have to admit that this activity has inspired me deeply. I hope that the Lord will give me the opportunity to organize another mission trip. It's a life changing experience.
And as EUD Youth Ministries Department, we are committed to keep on offering this experience to as many young people as possible, they’ll have an encounter with God, and they will see how amazing their lives can be when they let Him lead their lives to help others.