Pressing forward….

Newsletter of the Lifestyle center “The Spring of Health”- Serbia

Urgent need. Please see below.

Our dear friends,

As some of you may know, for the past year, we have been busy working on a new lifestyle center in Serbia. The Lord has blessed us with an amazing property, nestled in just the right spot, with an orchard, spring water, a large house, root cellar, and an additional building unit that could be converted into housing.

Come and rest a while…

As the Lord provided the way for us to come to the States at the beginning of this year, we were able to video record our testimony and also share personally with many of you how the Lord opened the way for us to start this project. (For those of you who have not seen our video testimony, of the Lord’s leading to this property, you can view at the link provided above.) It was a time for us to reflect on the past 3 years of living as missionaries, the mountains and the valleys through which the Lord has lead us through, and to rest a while from all our burdens. We are so thankful to the Lord for providing a perfect resting place for us at the Uchee Pines Institute, as well as using us to share our testimonies, have seminars in Cape Code, and share what we have learned about natural remedies and natural personal care products. Even though Ines’ father passed away while we were in the States, we were assured of God’s love and mercy toward us, as He provided loving brothers and sisters from Uchee Pines to help us go through the sadness.

…In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. John 16:33

We left the States, rested and eager to continue the work in Serbia, however, as soon as we came back we encountered some problems.  We had a water pipe leak in one of our bathrooms, which meant that we needed to tear down the new ceramic tiles. In the process, our main worker got hurt as a piece of metal got stuck in his eye, another pipe broke, and we encountered difficulties with electricity. But praise God for trials, as they make us stronger and teach us to lean on Him! We did not allow this to discourage us, but instead we praised the Lord knowing that He is in control of this work, and that it is impossible to fail. Aware that the enemy always tries to discourage and slow down the work, we were rejoicing that some major projects were completed.  The biggest joy for Ines was definitely a kitchen. After a year of cooking on a single hot plate and washing the dishes outdoors, and later in a bathtub, she was really happy to have a kitchen with a stove and a sink. The wood-stove for the central heating was originally placed in the kitchen. As the kitchen was completed, we realized that this setting would not be practical as the kitchen was pretty small, and all the ashes, as well as heat would be too much to bear for anybody preparing food in the kitchen. This opened a need for another major project which was a basement, as well as a new chimney. With some struggles, this project was completed and now we have a much more efficient chimney, a new place for a wood-stove, as well as a place for the washer, which was originally in the kitchen as the bathrooms were too small to fit it.  At this point we did not have any financial means to continue, but we kept praying knowing that the Lord will provide.

But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19

For the past two years, Alberto and his two younger brothers were trying to sell their late father’s apartment. The apartment was located in the center of Belgrade (the capital of Serbia) and they were hoping to sell it based on the location, as it was fundamentally in a really bad shape. For two years it was listed with a realtor with only 2 people who actually came to see it and were not interested as soon as they saw how much investing it would take to fix it up. But we prayed! We prayed that the Lord would find a way to sell this property and that the share Alberto received will be spent for the lifestyle center.

As Alberto’s youngest brother lived in the apartment, one day he heard a nock on the door. The person said he came to see the place and immediately placed an offer.  Alberto’s brother was shocked at this point especially because this person did not come through the realtor. When asked how he found out about the apartment being for sale, the person responded: “God has sent me here”. What an awesome God we have!   In a matter of two weeks we have received the funds needed to do a couple of other major projects which were; thermal insulation of the house, a new façade, fixing of the stairway in front of the house, new roof above the entrance, ceramic tiles on the stairway, the balcony, and patio, as well as paving the walkway around the house and a new water fountain.

In June we had a visit from a dear friend from Uchee Pines Institute, Captain Don Miller. He was scheduled to hold two lectures in Serbia, as well as one lecture in Croatia. It was a real blessing to have him stay with us. Many people were encouraged by his lectures, so much so that they invited him to come back next spring to hold a seminar. Two medical doctors were impressed to contact us after the lectures and let us know that they would like to cooperate with us as soon as we open the lifestyle center. They also said that they would like to send their patients to us, aware that many diseases can be prevented and/or reversed by a proper lifestyle changes.

Also in June, we were finally able to gather all of our belongings from three different locations where we lived and served from Croatia, to Serbia. As we moved to the house, Alberto’s childhood friends would come to visit us. One of them is a pediatrician who is overweight and has an atherosclerosis. He is very open to a lifestyle change, but until now, he did not know how to implement it properly. He expressed a desire to stay with us for at least 10 days so that he can learn how to better take care of his body. His other friend has been very closed minded about having any spiritual talk with Alberto in the past, but as his father was put into an institution due to the Alzheimer’s disease, he started asking Alberto questions about health as well as questioning why God allows all this pain and suffering. Alberto was very grateful to the Lord for the opportunity to witness to his friends after so many years of trying. We know this is God’s perfect timing as we are about to open the center.

We have also been blessed by a special neighbor who is a very sweet and loving lady. We are especially grateful to the Lord for having children, Petra and Mihael who love to reach out to others. In fact, our son Mihael is the one who introduced us to Nadica. She came with a friend of ours to the water spring, and as Mihael heard them talking, he came and introduced himself to her. She was astonished by his manners as he is only four years old, but we believe that the Lord has given him a loving heart and a way of speaking to others so that they want to find out more about him and his family. As we were able to share our cookbook with her, she told us that she lived and worked in the States for 15 years. God doesn’t create coincidences; He purposely puts people in our path so that we can be a blessing to them, and that they can be a blessing to us. We have also connected with a person who works in a local health food store and are in the process of negotiating with them to carry some of our products for the local people. We are praying that this opens a way for other people to find out about us, and to seek help form us.

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Matthew 5:16

We are aware that in order for this project  to be continued, it needs financial support, but we don’t doubt that the Lord wants us to do this work and be the light; therefore we put our trust in Him, knowing that with Him only all things are possible.

We are grateful to each one of you for your support and prayers thus far, and we would like to ask you to help us spread the word about this project. More than anything, we need your prayers. Please pray that the people may be touched by the Holy Spirit to  be open to receive the health and gospel message. We need prayers for our friends and neighbors who have already showed the interest. Also keep our family of four in your prayers to do the Lord’s work faithfully, diligently and efficiently and to keep our focus always on Jesus and His sacrifice for us, so that in the darkest hour we have a sure Rock to cling to.

We thank you again for your love, support and prayers!

Blessings,

Alberto, Ines, Petra, and Mihael Vrgoc

About the project “The Spring of Health Lifestyle Center”- Serbia

The lifestyle center is located in a central part of Serbia. Our mission is to use the Seventh Day Adventist health message and the gospel message together to bring people closer to the Lord. We will be the only lifestyle center in the region of former Yugoslavia, making ourselves available to 6 different countries and about 20 million people.

URGENT UPDATE

As we were getting ready to email this newsletter, Alberto’s friend who is a pediatrician has called and asked us to take him in for a 12 day program in the middle of September. We are rejoicing and are thankful to the Lord for the opportunity to help, however we are in  urgent need of funds to be able to buy furniture, linens and other things needed for the program to make his stay comfortable. We also need to pave the driveway as if it rains, it gets really muddy and it is hard to walk in and out of the house without getting dirty. We estimate that we would need about $6,000 – $7,000 to furnish one bedroom, dining area, living room area, and to pave the driveway.

Thank you for your help!

Ministry needs

New housing for workers and our family so  the current house can be dedicated only for the guests/patients. Building on site, and/or purchasing nearby property with an existing house.

Underground root cellar repair to food storage area as well as a small gym.

Furniture, appliances, linens, dishes, etc.

New doors for the rooms

Printing and publishing books and videos.

Computer supplies: printer, projector, etc.

Equipment for garden and grounds, soil tiller and other agricultural tools.

Additional land for farming needs

Greenhouse

Grounds –trees, shrubs, flowers

New fence around the property

Paving of the road to the center

Vehicle for the ministry

Complete estimated ministry needs: $225.000 or  €200.000