March 2016

Monthly Update: Marriage Week

Family, marriage and moral values in Croatia have been under great pressure for the last couple of years. Statistics show that every fifth marriage ends in divorce, and even the marriages that don't end, often do not function as they should. There are a lot of conflicts, resentment and many people stay married simply for the sake of their children. This sad statistic is one of the reasons why we joined Family Life's initiative - Marriage Week . The purpose of this initiative was to promote marriage and family values. Several churches, Christian organizations as well as some restaurants and privately own businesses joined together in this project. The timing was appropriately set around Valentine's Day. Our church decided to dedicate two Sundays to this project. On February 14^th and February 21^st we organized a video conference for married couples called The Art of Marriage. This seminar consists of 6 videos on marriage including lectures, testimonies and humorous parodies illustrating various features of marriage. The seminar includes a textbook that couples can purchase, as well. Some of the topics covered are: the purpose of marriage, resolving conflicts, the roles of husbands and wives and leaving a legacy to our children. We decorated our facility for Valentine's Day and offered refreshments after the seminar so that couples attending would feel comfortable staying and fellowshipping afterward. We genuinely hope that this seminar results in strengthened marriages and has provided couples with tools that they can use in their relationships for years to come.

Homeschooling in Croatia

As we have mentioned in the past, we have been working on legalizing homeschooling here in Croatia. Thus far, our meetings with the Assistant Minister of Education of the former government have been productive. It has taken the new administration little more time than usual to form, therefore there has been a slight delay in our efforts to include homeschooling and other forms of alternative education into the Croatian school system. So far, other forms of education have not been integrated into our educational system. Many Christian parents, as well as parents of children with special needs and exceptionally talented children, have a desire and a need to educate their children according to a curriculum better suited to their children's needs. We continue in our efforts and hope to find favor with new government. We pray that homeschooling will be included in the new law on primary and secondary education before the beginning of the new school year in September. Please, be in prayer with us as we continue in our endeavors- for open doors and understanding in the new government.

Evangelistic Concert

Easter is almost here and we are preparing several evangelistic outreaches. For our Easter Sunday celebration we plan to host a special concert with band Bezkompromisa. As people in Croatia tend to be more open to God during Christian holidays such as Christmas and Easter, we plan to use this evangelistic concert to invite our friends to hear not just music, but also the Gospel message and testimonies of people who's lives God has changed. In addition to that, in April we plan to host another movie premier featuring the movie "Do You Believe?". We are believing that this spring will be fruitful season for both sowing and reaping.

As far as our family is concerned, the kids are doing well in school, but we are all looking forward to Easter and Spring Break!

Thank you so much for your faithful prayers and support of our ministry. May the Lord show you his favor and have a blessed Easter!

Blessings,

Mario and Bonnie Ducic

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