0:00:03.991,0:00:07.427
<i>Adventists in Serbia have made[br]meaningful connections with people</i>

0:00:07.428,0:00:08.954
<i>through healthy activities.</i>

0:00:09.344,0:00:12.018
<i>Health clubs have drawn a lot[br]of interest from the community.</i>

0:00:12.642,0:00:15.089
<i>Groups go hiking, exercise together,</i>

0:00:15.342,0:00:18.548
<i>hold health lectures, [br]and conduct cooking demonstrations.</i>

0:00:19.235,0:00:20.768
<i>If not for these activities,</i>

0:00:20.769,0:00:24.055
<i>it’s likely that the participants[br]might never meet an Adventist</i>

0:00:24.344,0:00:26.531
<i>or be exposed to the Adventist message.</i>

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Here it’s important to[br]actually build the friendship first

0:00:30.452,0:00:32.908
and then you can say who you are.

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Otherwise they will[br]reject you from the start.

0:00:37.927,0:00:40.733
<i>Personal connection[br]is how Jesus ministered</i>

0:00:40.734,0:00:42.020
<i>when He was on Earth.</i>

0:00:42.255,0:00:44.601
<i>So these church members[br]are following His lead</i>

0:00:44.602,0:00:47.015
<i>by implementing [br]Christ’s method of ministry.</i>

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<i>This is the key to building relationships,</i>

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<i>especially in the growing[br]cities like Belgrade</i>

0:00:52.926,0:00:56.039
<i>where people tend to stay focused [br]on their own busy lives.</i>

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This is a community[br]that lives in big buildings.

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There are a lot of skyscrapers here

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that has a lot of people there.

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It’s a very, very big area [br]to actually outreach to.

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There are a lot of people[br]who actually live here

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and don’t know anything about God.

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They are not that religious.

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People don’t want [br]to learn and search for God,

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because we live in that kind of society.

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Now, no one wants to know about God.

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So, it’s hard to actually[br]talk about it with people

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who don't know or don't even want [br]to know about God.

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That’s the challenge here.

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I mean, it is a secular country.

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<i>Just a few years ago,</i>

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<i>the area known as Novi Belgrade [br]had no Adventist church.</i>

0:01:40.598,0:01:43.744
<i>Any time church members who lived[br]in this part of the city wanted to gather,</i>

0:01:44.168,0:01:46.634
<i>they had to travel far [br]to get to the nearest church.</i>

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<i>In 2020,</i>

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<i>a portion of your 13th Sabbath Offering [br]helped establish a church</i>

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<i>in Novi Belgrade!</i>

0:01:57.927,0:02:00.236
<i>They were able to get[br]a space with two levels</i>

0:02:00.450,0:02:02.936
<i>and are in the process [br]of renovating the lower level</i>

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<i>to be an urban center of influence!</i>

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It means a lot to us,

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because we have our own services,

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we can invite friends.

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The facility is very good,

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and we are very grateful to God [br]that it has two levels.

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The upper one, where we are now,

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where the services are held,

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and the lower part,

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which is convenient [br]for various activities.

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This is going to be a center of influence.

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We are going to have [br]the health clubs here.

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We are going to teach people[br]how to cook healthy food

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and maybe some kind of crafts as well

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because there are a lot of people[br]here that like crafts,

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like making soaps [br]from healthy ingredients,

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as well as decoupage and quilting as well.

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<i>Your contributions to[br]the 13th Sabbath Offering</i>

0:03:03.530,0:03:05.849
<i>have already been received with gratitude.</i>

0:03:06.203,0:03:09.267
<i>The new space feels like home [br]to this congregation,</i>

0:03:09.506,0:03:11.650
<i>and hopefully, it will allow them to grow.</i>

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I am very grateful [br]to those that helped us,

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all the brothers and sisters[br]from all over the world,

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because this is a big municipality [br]where we are

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and where our church was not.

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Believe that we have prayed [br]for over 20 years.

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We have prayed to have this church,

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and that’s why we are also[br]ready to give our offerings

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to those who also need[br]to have their own church.

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I have so much gratitude.

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Thank you.

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I’m grateful to God

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that He gave those people[br]the will to actually give,

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and that He inspired them to give.

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That actually tells us [br]that we have to work

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and to justify what we've got,

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and that we have to actually [br]pray for God

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to actually use us where we are,[br]and to fill this building

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so that we have to find another one.

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<i>Please pray for this church</i>

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<i>as they soon open an urban center[br]of influence in a new part of Belgrade.</i>

0:04:19.389,0:04:23.049
<i>Thank you for giving [br]to the 13th Sabbath Offering in 2020</i>

0:04:23.386,0:04:26.859
<i>and making this congregation’s dream [br]become reality!</i>