Christie family ready to serve in Serbia
There's no doubt moving is a stressful experience, from the packing and sorting of boxes to leaving behind a place you've grown comfortable in.
The strain of moving increases exponentially when you decide to move not just to another state, but to another country — on another continent.
That's the situation of Ken and Karol Christie. Next week, on Jan. 15, the Christies and their two children, Daniel and Catherine, will leave Hillsboro and embark upon the next phase of their lives: serving in Eastern Europe, in the country of Serbia. Instead of living in a town of 3,000, they'll soon be living in an apartment of a city with more than one million inhabitants.
Serbia and the nearby country of Montenegro combine to form the modern-day Yugoslavia.
The Christies are excited about the move, confident that this is where God wants them to be.
Ken and Karol will be working with the group Integra Venture. Integra is a humanitarian organization that aids citizens living in the former "eastern bloc" of Europe by helping them to form their own businesses.
Integra offers two main programs, one working with small- to medium-sized businesses and the other with "micro" business that are many times run out of homes. The Christies will be working with the micro-business program.
This is the first time Integra has had a presence in the city of Belgrade, Ken said. It currently has offices in such countries as Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, and Slovakia — which is where the Integra headquarters are based.
The couple has known about Integra since its beginnings back in the early 1990s, Ken said. They know the director, Allan Bussard.
The thought of going overseas with Integra was a possibility the Christies had considered for awhile, especially since Ken spent part of the '80s living in Belgrade. Through that, he was able to learn the language, Serbian, and establish many friendships there.
By the mid-'90s, the Christies were living in Hillsboro, where Ken worked for Tabor College as the director of career services and student leadership. During that time, Ken got a book from friend Judy Hiebert — "Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire," written by Jim Cymbala and Dean Merrill. That book got the Christies thinking seriously once again about going overseas.
In the summer of 2000, the family traveled to Belgrade to visit Ken's old friends. And two years later, in May of 2002, they learned that Integra was going to open an office in that city.
Making the decision to leave their life in the United States was not an easy one.
"There was a lot of prayer — seeking God on it," Ken said.
Over the months, the Christies have seen signs of confirmation that this was the right decision, they said. For example, many families raising financial support take two or three years to get the funds — and the Christies got the necessary funds within seven months.
"God really blessed," Ken said.
The Christies have also found a bedrock of support in their church, Parkview MB, they said.
They admit that they don't know exactly what the future holds for their family in Belgrade. When people ask Karol what the family plans to do for medical care and schooling for the children, she says that she doesn't know exactly what they'll do.
"But if I keep my focus on Jesus, I have complete peace," Karol said.
Once in Belgrade, Ken will join the Integra office as project advisor for at-risk women looking to start their own businesses. Many of the women come from difficult or abusive families, and many of them are the primary breadwinners in their households. Whether the business is selling fruits and vegetables or making candles, Integra can assist them with business training and even a micro-loan program.
Integra limits the number of woman who can participate so that they receive more personal attention in a mentoring program. The organization deals with the whole person, even getting involved with their families, Karol said.
But in the strictest sense, Integra is not a religious organization. It is, however, an economic development group made up of Christians, Ken said. He'll be going into the country on a business visa.
The Christies are looking forward to working with the Serbian people, whom they describe as open and friendly, despite the turmoil that their homeland has gone through.
"They're survivors," Karol said.
