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Daniela Sinsic

Daniela Sinsic
Person Details
All Persons

Country

  • Serbia
Participants Details

ELF Network

  • 2024 Pastoral Counsellors Network

Ministry Focus

  • Counseling

Occupation

  • Christian Organisation

Funding Status (ELF)

  • Needs ELF Funding
Participants Answers
What is your ministry?

I work for a non-profit organisation called Hana's Hope. Our mission is to support families with children with disabilities like autism, Down syndrome, and cerebral palsy. In the beginning, I was one of the volunteers working with children. Then I officially joined the staff. We serve families, organise retreat camps, offer a support group for mothers, provide counselling to parents and family members, and provide childcare for children to give parents some free time. We wish to provide a welcoming environment for families to share Christ's love for them. We try to connect local churches and families and to help churches support families.

When did you trust Christ?

In 1991 I was an 18-year-old from a Communist, atheistic family. My younger sister met a group of Christians and soon became a Christian. She talked to me about Jesus, and I went to church a few times. Eventually, I read the New Testament. My mind was full of questions. I was suspicious of God's existence. But after a month, I recognized that I was a sinner. I repented, received Jesus as my savior, and was baptized. My sister and I had problems with my mother and grandparents during this period because of our beliefs.

What have been the defining moments of your Christian walk?

During my walk with Jesus, there have been many growth moments. One is how God freed me from my anger toward my father, who left our family when I was six. During my first few years as a Christian, God slowly helped me forgive my father and showed me that I could call God my Heavenly Father. My friend and pastor's wife helped me become free from my burdens. I learned to walk in deep trust with God, depending on Him, not on myself, during troubled times in my family.

What do you hope to gain from participating?

I was very thankful for the opportunity to join the Pastoral Counsellors Network. My relationship with God significantly helped me develop skills for serving such a sensitive group of people. I found it very helpful, in a very understandable way, about topics I have listened to. I found better ways to work with counselling and support groups of mothers of children with disabilities. It encouraged me to be more open to sharing the gospel, more sensitive to listening to them, and more open-hearted during counselling.

What is your leadership role or what were your past leadership roles?

For two years, I was on our church's Sunday school leadership team. Then I began helping with ministry to the teenagers in our church, where I was a team leader until the end of 2020. Until 2013 I was part of the scouting ministry of Royal Rangers Serbia, Novi Sad. I was involved in preparing camps and Bible studies for children and teenagers.

Why should someone invest in your ministry?

Ministries for families with children with disabilities are not well-developed in Serbia and the Balkans. We have found so many burdened families who are stigmatized by society. Yet, when we see the smiles of a child and thankful tears in a mother's eyes, our only wish is to be even more available to them. Families need support and counselling and are open to Jesus and His help in their lives.