Meet the Leslie family
T he
Leslie Family arrived in Croatia in May of 2000. They have served for the
last decade as only Independent Baptist missionaries in the entire country
of Croatia. During this time the very first Independent Baptist church was
planted in the northern city of Čakovec. Tree
of Life Independent Baptist Church was started in 2002 and was turned over
to Brother Rajko Telebar the national pastor in 2007. The church is
currently under the leadership of Bro. Telebar and growing and learning to
serve.
The Leslies have also tried to have an active ministry to the Roma (Gyspy)
population in Croatia. The northern part of Croatia has a large Gypsy
population and they are in desperate need of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The
Leslies are currently working in 3 different villages.
Bro. Johnny Leslie has now turned his attention to the former Croatian
capitol of Croatia. Varaždin has
around 300,000 souls within it's county and not one independent Baptist
church. Please pray for Victor's Baptist Church and the Leslies as they do
their best to serve the Lord in Varaždin.
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All About Croatia
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Geography
The
Republic of Croatia is bordered by Slovenia,
Hungary, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and
Montenegro. Its long Adriatic coastline has over a
thousand islands and islets - some of the larger
islands are Brac, Krk, Cres, Hvar, Korcula and Mljet.
Croatia is about the size of West Virginia. Zagreb
is Croatia's capital city.
The
Croatian landscape includes mountains and highlands,
areas of karst (limestone), plains, rugged coastline
and islands. Croatia has hot summers and cold
winters. In winter it is milder along the Adriatic
coast, particularly on the island of Hvar, known for
its good weather.
Environment
Croatia has a beautiful rugged terrain. Fields of
lavender, vines, olive trees, peach trees, laurel
and cypresses are all part of Croatia's landscape.
Wildlife found in Croatia includes bats, foxes,
deer, lynx, wild sheep and bears. The country's
coastal waters are inhabited by a variety of fish,
dolphins and other sea creatures.
Population
The
population of Croatia was estimated at 4,494,749 in
2006. Most of the people are Croats with minorities
of Serbs, Slovenians, Bosniaks, Hungarians and
Czechs.
Languages
Croatian is the official language.
Food
Croatian cuisine includes seafoods from the coastal
waters and meat dishes such as cevapcici
(sausage-shaped minced meat), raznijici (grilled
meat on skewers), sarma (minced rice and meat rolled
in cabbage leaves) and djuvec (stew).
Religion
Over
eighty-seven percent of the people are Roman
Catholic and more than four percent are members of
the Orthodox Church.
During the past several years, the religious
situation in Croatia has changed considerably.
During the long years of the Communist regime that
began after World War II, all religious groups,
large or small, were oppressed. Some were able to
maintain their activities, under tight controls;
others were simply forbidden. The Communist
government strictly supervised all religious groups,
through the government’s Committees for Relations
with Religious Communities, backed up by the police
and secret services. Today democracy has returned to
Croatia, and freedoms have been restored.
For now, at least,
freedom has meant a surge in religious activity.
Groups which operated for so long under such strict
control now find that they have ready access to
social institutions. They are free to exploit the
mass media, or even to open their own media outlets,
if they have the financial resources necessary to
sustain such an effort. In fact many new groups have
chosen that route, and the airwaves are cluttered
with appeals by astrologists, faith healers, and a
variety of other New Age practitioners.
We need to reach them
now with the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. There is
only oneIndependent
Baptist Church in Croatia but with your help and
support we hope to start new churches all over
Croatia!
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