Merry Christmas from Kentucky and Zagreb! We’re so grateful to be walking through this Advent season with you.

This week we light the second Advent candle, the candle of peace.  It reminds us of the angels’ announcement at Jesus’ birth: “Peace on earth, goodwill toward men” (Luke 2:14).

The biblical word for peace is the Hebrew shalom. It’s a rich word, deeper than what sometimes passes for “peace” in our world.

Shalom is not simply the absence of conflict or a temporary ceasefire. Shalom describes a state of wholeness where all relationships flourish and thrive: with God, with one another, with ourselves, even with creation.  It depicts restoration, healing, and flourishing all wrapped into one.  In many ways, shalom and “salvation” are really two ways of saying the same thing.

Shalom is why we do what we do in Croatia.

We’re bringing Jesus, and all His gifts, to a place where shalom has been fractured for generations. Ethnic conflicts stretch back over a thousand years. People carry wounds, both personal and communal. Many don’t yet know peace with God, and that brokenness spills over into their relationships with others and even with themselves.

But here’s the beautiful part: we get to be part of God’s healing work. Through training faithful leaders, we’re spreading the peace of Christ in this beautiful but sometimes hurting place.

Will You Pray With Us This Week?

As you prepare your heart for Christmas, would you join us in praying for Croatia?

• Pray that God would use the Biblical Institute to bring peace and restoration, both between God and the Croatian people, and between the people themselves.
• Pray that the Holy Spirit would move hearts toward repentance and seeking God’s face.
• Pray that old grudges and deep offenses would be covered by love, and that broken relationships would be healed.
• Pray that more and more people would experience the shalom—the wholeness, the salvation—that God offers in Christ.

And please continue praying with us for God’s provision of the financial resources we need to carry out this mission in 2026 and beyond. We’re trusting Him for great things.

Thank you for being our partners in prayer. Your faithfulness means the world to us.

With gratitude and hope,

Perry