(CROATIA) In Remembrance of Mrs. Yasenka, a Source of Blessing and a Mother of Faith
- by ubfhq
- Jul 22, 2025
- 936 reads
Mrs. Yasenka chooses a new name "Sarah," who was source of blessing and a mother of faithJoseph and Maria Bae
Mrs. Yasenka Sara, who had been a good co-worker for 18 years in the Croatia mission, passed away on July 17, 2025. She grew up as an orphan, but was an intellectual with a journalist background. She studied the Bible with Missionary Maria Bae from the time the Bae family pioneered Croatia to the present, and she grew as a spiritual person and a precious co-worker. She took care of Missionary Joseph’s two children like a grandmother, helped the missionaries study the Croatian language, corrected Missionary Joseph’s messages into Croatian expressions, and translated the daily bread. She was the first fruit of Croatia and a mother of faith like Abraham and Sarah. Missionaries Joseph and Maria, along with their children, and Missionaries Ezekiel and Grace are sorrowful at her passing, but find comfort in knowing she is with her Lord, Jesus Christ.
A Memorial Address in Memory of Mrs. Yasenka Sara from Missionary Maria Bae:
While our family was working with God in Serbia, we arrived in Croatia on August 1, 2007, with our five-year-old Rebecca and three-year-old Samuel.
In a strange land where we knew no one, we prayed earnestly for a long time that God would send us a good babysitter to join us in His work. God answered that prayer and led us to Mrs. Yasenka, who lived right next door to our apartment. On the day we moved in, she smiled warmly and said, “If you need any help, just let me know.” Those words were not just a simple greeting, but comfort and love from God.
Ms. Yasenka lost her parents and grandparents early and grew up in an orphanage. Nevertheless, with her indomitable will and talent, she studied hard and graduated from law school with excellent grades, and worked as a legal team leader at a major Croatian newspaper firm. She met and married a wonderful basketball player, but her husband had an affair and they divorced. He later died in the Yugoslav Civil War. After that, the newspaper was merged into a foreign capital, and she faced another ordeal in her life when she retired in her 50s. She lost her health due to stress, and in worldly terms, she lost her family, her job, and her health. However, she never forgot God, praying the Lord’s Prayer that she learned from her maternal grandmother as a child every day of her life. Although she thought God had forgotten her in the midst of her hardships, God never forgot her. Through our insufficient family, and through the love and Bible study of the Croatian church community, God showed her His love again.
One day, while she was taking care of children at the playground, she saw a family playing together affectionately and said to five-year-old Rebecca, “I don’t have a grandmother, no parents, no husband, no children… I have no one.” Rebecca answered without hesitation, “But you have us!” At those words, Mrs. Yasenka’s frozen heart melted with tears, and from that day on, she accepted our family as her own family, as the grandmothers of Zagreb.
Through the words of the Bible, she came to believe that she was not a forgotten being, but a being in God’s plan. She lived each day confessing God’s love for her — God who sent Jesus, the way, the truth, and the life, into the world for her, an orphan, and welcomed her into His eternal kingdom.
One day, at the age of 60, she meditated on Genesis 12 and testified, “God called Abraham to be the source of blessing at the age of 75, but He called me to be the source of blessing for Croatia at the age of 15!” She lived her life with the earnest desire to convey the words of love and life given by God to countless Croatian souls, just as she confessed. And every day, she lived a life of intercession as a mother of prayer, praying the names of Croatian missionaries, second-generation children, and Bible students.
Mrs. Yasenka was a windbreak, a pillar of strength, and the uplifting spirit in our ministry. She was happy and thankful like a child even for small acts of service. She always asked how we were doing first, and after Bible study, she always asked for a kiss on the cheek to express her love. She was the one who taught us how to love.
God made her – who worked as the head of the legal team – a language trainer, who trained Croatian missionaries to serve local intellectuals. She edited the Sunday messages and Croatian forms, and received God’s word with the sweetness and humility of a child. She was truly a gift and grace given to us by God.
This year, her health deteriorated, and she was seriously considering surgery and admission to a nursing home, but God, her eternal Father, gently led her to lay down her earthly, sick body and enter His eternal kingdom. Now, Mrs. Yasenka will be smiling brightly in heaven, and will probably say to us who remain: “It is not yet God’s time for you. Until then, diligently spread the love and word of Jesus in Croatia, and come to this good place in God’s time!”
We will remember her prayers and love, and live the rest of our lives loving and serving the souls of Croatia even more faithfully. Mrs. Yasenka lived on this earth as Sarah of Croatia, the source of blessings. We give thanks and praise for all that God has done through her.
