Teaching Matthew's gospel to young believers in the Balkans

Recently I taught at a Bible college near Belgrade, Serbia.   Over the course of one week, I taught all the way through Matthew's gospel.   I felt rushed, given our Sunday school class in Budapest has been working through Matthew's gospel for 5 years.  But I loved this week and considered it to be a great privilege to be entrusted with imparting God's Word to these students. 

Here is a class picture.  These students came from 4 different countries in the Balkan peninsula (SE Europe): Macedonia, Serbia, Bosnia and Montenegro.  Very few had names I could pronounce or easily translate into English.  So I gave most of the students nicknames, which they pretty much embraced.  You can guess which one in this pic I named "Tebow."

"Tebow" on the far left comes from Bosnia, a country that is predominately Muslim.  "Dragon", blue sweatshirt, center left, comes from Montenegro.  The total number of Christ-followers from both countries could not fill the sanctuary of most churches in America.   Most of the students at this school are first generation Christians; they come from atheistic, Muslim or secular homes.  If Christ is to be widely known across the Balkans, it will take a new generation of faithful, passionate, and Bible-centered Christians.   For me, my week at this school was more than just teaching Matthew's gospel; it was pouring into the next generation of believers in a land where Christ is not known.