The End (aka my referral to my other blog)

Okay, my summer is officially over. My siblings are back in school, my last thank yous for support have been sent out (you'll most likely be getting yours soon), and I'm off to find a job. So, it's the end of this blog and time to start a new chapter in my life -the post-grad years : ) Thanks once again for joining me this summer through faithfully reading these blog posts and if you're saddened by the thought of not having any more posts from me don't be. You can find my actual blog here: www.downcobblestoneroads.blogspot.com. Feel free to join me as I continue my journey there. I'll see you around!

I'm Back!

Well, I'm home. Officially. After saying way too many goodbyes, getting up at 4 in the morning, and taking 3 different flights, I'm back. It's good to be here! And once I've processed through things a bit more (and get over jet lag) I'm excited to be able to share my closing thoughts on the summer with all of you. It's been a crazy two and a half months! Thanks for being a part of it : )

What I'll Miss the Most

Can't believe it, but I only have a few days left! I head home Friday and will soon be back in my own bed, hanging out with my family, eavesdropping on lots of good English conversations, and drinking Starbucks and Jamba Juice. Oh, yeah, and trying to find a job! It'll be great to be back, but I have a feeling Slovenia will soon just feel like some distant dream or other life and I'll be sad to see it go. As I have already said many goodbyes and will continue to in the next few days, here are the things I'll miss the most:

- Old buildings Confession time....I am in love with Europe mostly because of its' buildings. I love everything about walking down a cobblestone road among pastel colored walls, stained glass windows, and detailed archways. Kari makes fun for me daily for how many close-up pictures I take of buildings, but I'll definitely miss the feeling of inspiration and creativity I get every time I walk by the buildings here. For some reason they just feel like home.

- Teaching English In the past year my thoughts have turned to teaching as a possible career choice and I've felt like God is leading me to pursue it more in the future. So, it's been awesome to get some experience while being here and be given even more confirmation that my giftings and passions fit this area well. I would be lying to say that being in charge of my own classes didn't make me happy just thinking about that fact. And I absolutely loved the students I had the honor to teach!

- Funny interactions There are moments in life when you just have to laugh at how funny people are. And when in a foreign country, funny moments tend to take place even more than normal. I'll miss having daily, awkward interactions with strangers like the friendly train conductor who wanted to talk about his trip to Egypt even though he didn't know English, the teenage couple who told us that we were about to die when an alarm started going off in our compartment, or the fat guy who squished me up against the wall when trying to pass me in a hallway when I had no where to go. Oh, and I can't forget about this guy at the Velenje castle who found out I was from Chicago and kept repeating "Chicago is my town...Sinatra" : )
-Girls' nights Since camp, God has really blessed Kari and me with many opportunities to have great conversations and fun bonding time with the Slovene girls we've met here. Specifically the two girls' nights we've had recently were both awesome. We're all sad that Kari and I won't be able to host more.

- Foreign foods Kebab, Koper pizza, Magnums, and the occasional chocolate covered pineapple. What can I say? I kinda like shopping at Mercator (the common grocery store here)!
- And most of all, my lovely friends here When you travel you end up getting to know people well quickly. One day of the Amazing Race and I felt like I'd known my fellow interns for forever, one week of English camp and I cared a whole stinkin' lot for a bunch of crazy high schoolers, and one month in Celje and I was welcomed in as part of the church family. I will miss meeting with the interns at Hondo and Trish's house; talking about Acts, playing with the dude, and chilling as frends.

I will miss hanging out at the church with Americans and Slovenes who love God and worship together enjoying fellowship and challenging each other in faith. (I will especially miss my dear friend Polona who has consistantly and compassionately served alongside us all summer!)
And I will miss the precious students I've easily grown to love over these amazing two months.

You Know You're In Europe When... #7

#7 Taking a bus, a train, a taxi, or walking is much more of an everyday occurance than driving in a car.

Prayer Requests for Follow Up

Hey everyone!

Thanks for still tracking with me. Even though camps are over now, there's still a lot going on ministry-wise here! The plan for my last few weeks (I come home August 6th) is to hang out with students I've met as much as possible. Our goal is to keep the students from camp plugged into the local church, so we are doing things like having girls' night, playing games at the church, and traveling to the sea to visit people. Kari and I are staying with Brooke and Johnny so they are around to connect with students too, as well as Polona and Marko and others from the church. We hope that the students will be able to continue hanging out together and with Christian influences after we're gone, that they will continue thinking about what they learned at camp, and that God would do great things in their lives in the next year. That being said, we still need and appreciate your prayers! These are the main requests I have at the moment:

- Servant heart: That I will have a servant heart as I finish things up here; that God will give me lots of opportunities to bless the missionaries, church, and new Slovene friends I've made before I leave; that I'll have a giving attitude, creative ideas, and encouraging words these next few weeks.

- Protection: That God will protect me and the other interns as we travel around Slovenia quite a bit, that we'll stay healthy and safe as we have throughout the trip (thank God!). Also, that God would place a hand of protection on the precious teens we've come to know and love; that over the next year as they vacation with their families, hang out with friends, and go back to school in the fall God would be with them, guiding them to Him whether they know it or not.

- Wisdom: That God would give us wisdom to say and do the right things while we interact so much with students; that we would follow His leading on things and that in His timing we'll be able to have great conversations with students and just be good examples pouring Truth into their lives.

- Love: Most of all, pray that God would help us to be love to the people around us; that the students would see a love in us that's different than the world's love. Pray that through everything love would be what shines through.

Thanks for partnering with us. Your encouragement and prayers make a difference here : )

Celje/Maribor English Camp

Honestly, I don't even know where to start with this post. I want to tell you all about camp, but there is so much to tell and I have no idea where to begin! And I would love to talk with you in person about this instead of over a blog. But, since that's impossible at the moment, this will have to do.

Camp Basics: 37 Slovene high schoolers, 3 JV interns (me, Kari, and Nate), 14 Americans from a church in Tennessee (they were awesome!), and some missionary families (including Brooke and Johnny) went to a castle in Millstatt, Austria. For a week we swam at the lake, had English classes, played stupid games, got to know each other, and talked about God.

My English Class: I taught an intermediate level class of all girls: Sasa, Andreja, Lucija, Petra, and Maja (the last two were at camp last year and are both girls I hung out with at youth group in Celje before camp). Abby, a 15 year old, was my helper for the week -she was awesome! And we also had a translator named Andreja who is a 20 year old from the Celje area. We had tons of fun in our classroom in the tower of the castle. I absolutely loved teaching and these girls made it easy for me :)

Connections: Besides connecting with the girls in my class, other campers made their way into my heart as well. I especially got to know a 15 year old named Bella. She stayed in my room with me and we connected right away because she spoke English like a pro! We ended up hanging out a lot during free-time in the afternoons. She was super easy to talk with and she opened up about a lot of things in her life. She grew up going to a Catholic church, but said that this year she had begun thinking and learning a lot more about Jesus. It was fun to go through some of that process with her as she learned even more at camp and I'm really excited to continue our conversations over the internet in the future.

I also connected quickly with the American team that came. It was sweet to hear them say by the end of camp that out of the five years that their church had come, this year was the one where they felt most connected to the JV interns. They called us "honorary members." It was encouraging for me to see how well they worked together as a team and served the campers and each other throughout the week. Talking with different members of the team about what God was doing in and through them at camp was great. And saying goodbye to them on Monday night was harder than I expected it to be! So, now I have a bunch of friends in Nashville -all the more reason for me to go visit :) I already know that flights from Chicago are cheap!

How We Changed: The camp theme this year was "Redeem." The evening sessions where we talked about God were all about redemption in different stories in the Bible: Rehab, Judah (Joseph's brother), David and Bathsheba, and the Gospel. One of the missionaries would talk and then we'd have time in small groups with our English classes. It was cool to see the girls open up more throughout the week. A highlight was the night we talked about David and Abby pulled out a guitar to play a song she had written a few months ago about exactly what we were talking about. It was definitely a moment when I felt God speaking and moving! Then our last night together, we talked about if and how we thought camp had changed us. It was great to hear how the ones who had been to camp before changed throughout the year and then how they were able to share that with the others. One of the girls in my group who was new to camp said that she came in not believing that there was a God and now thinking that there is. She and others said they want to read the Bible more and stay connected with people from camp throughout the year. I was talking with Johnny yesterday and he was encouraged that more campers than he has ever seen were interested in spiritual matters this week. Our prayer is that they will stay connected during the year and that what they experienced this week will be something that continues outside of camp.

Lessons I Learned: This week I, personally, learned a lot as well. Here are just a few thoughts:

- Teaching English is something I want to continue to pursue in the future. I love it!

- I surprisingly don't mind crazy camp games as much as I used to.

- We all have different roles in the body of Christ. One isn't better than any other. (Ephesians 12)

- Forgiveness is a powerful thing.

- Asking God to break your heart for what breaks His is dangerous, but worth it. Even after a week you can fall in love with the people around you.

That's it for now. Prayer requests next time.

A Look at the Castle

Here's a quick look at the castle we were at for camp this past week. Sorry the video isn't better quality but this is the best I could do. The background noise is people playing a crazy game. Hopefully this gives you a little picture of where I was in Austria for English camp.

Gospel Night and Prayer

It's been a long, but great week at camp. A lot has happened! I can't wait to tell you more, but for now, I just wanted to let you know a bit more about how to be praying. It was gospel night tonight and the Spirit was definitely moving. I personally didn't have any super deep conversations or anything, but I spent most of my evening praying for what was going on around me. There were quite a few tears shed and hugs given and I know that God is doing awesome things here. Please be praying that the next few days of camp will finish things up well. Pray for the team's energy level, my English class (7 girls I absolutely love!), and the follow-up that will be happening after camp. My biggest prayer request right now is that the students won't just go home from camp and be unchanged or think they have to wait until next summer to feel and experience more of the life we've shown them. So, please pray that they'll keep in touch with the missionaries and friends they've made here throughout the year and that the seeds planted this week will be taken care of (watered and given sun) so that they will grow.

At The Castle!

What do you get when you take 14 Americans from Tennessee, 3 JV interns, throw in some full-time missionaries, and add 37 Slovene high schoolers? English camp.

What do you get when you take them on a three hour bus trip to a castle in Millstatt, Austria? An even cooler English camp!

We're at the castle now and have already had a pretty full day. Can't wait for tomorrow! My English class seems great so far. It's a good mix of girls. Three have been to camp before (one is Maja who I've been hanging out with in Celje, so that's awesome!). I'm super excited to get to know them, the 5 girls in my room with me, and the others at camp. Plus, it's been fun getting to know the American team too.

Please continue to pray that seeds will be planted this week that will grow and produce lasting fruit, whether we see that fruit this week or not. Pray that God will be at this castle, working in and through all of the leaders here, and that any distractions or plans of the enemy will not be as powerful as Him who is in us.

Trusting Him this week and appreciate your prayers a ton! :)

Celje Day Camp

I don't have long, but I wanted to let you all know that the Celje day camp went really well! 17 kids showed up altogether and I had the opportunity to teach English every morning to 6 of them. My advanced English class was made up of 3 girls and 3 guys between the ages of 9 1/2 and 12 who were for the most part super responsive and fun! Here they are:

We had a great time in class talking about family, hobbies, and travel. And Polona was a huge blessing to me as I got to serve alongside her! Besides learning English, the kids heard lessons about being redeemed (the JV theme this summer), had small group times, and played fun games in the afternoon. It was a packed three days, but really great.

More to come later, but right now please be praying that the kids remember what they learned and heard at camp and that God would be redeeming situations in their own lives. Specifically, Peter and Jan (two brothers) in my class have been dealing with a lot recently as their parents are divorced and in court right now fighting for custody of their kids. So, I'm sure they could use prayer for that situation.

Thanks a ton! I'm off to orientation for the second camp tonight, but will hopefully be able to update you more soon. I added some new pictures on facebook so feel free to check those out and I'd love to hear from any/all of you, so comments are always welcome :)

You Know You're In Europe When... #6

#6 Kids over the age of 7 change in front of their peers (in this case, fellow English campers).

Camp is Almost Here!

After a lot of preparation time and training, the first week of English camps is about to begin. We're all super excited to be working with students, planting seeds, and prayerfully watching God move. This week I'll be at the day camp with Calvary Chapel church here in Celje. (Kari and Heather are at Ljubljana's junior high camp and Mallory and Nate are at Ljubljana's high school camp.) I'm teaching the advanced English class with Polona (she's an awesome Slovene with great English). We're expecting around 4 or 5 kids in our class, 15 at the camp altogether. Should be fun! The camp is from Monday to Wednesday and goes from 8am to around 2:30pm each day. Then on Thursday, I'm going to orientation for the second week of camps; I'm looking forward to meeting the church team coming over to help. Then Saturday starts the next week of camp. I'll be heading to a castle in Austria with around 40 Slovene high schoolers. I can't wait! Plus, Nate and Kari will be there as well. So after a week and a half without them, that will be exciting too.

So, that's the basic plan for me the next two weeks. Here's more specifically what you can be praying for:

- Strength and energy: The interns, church teams, and missionaries are going to need it as two weeks of camp back-to-back will for sure be tiring! Mallory has been sick the past few days, so pray that she'll be feeling good again soon and that no one else will get sick.

- Communication and unity: Pray that we will all be able to work well together, that communication (especially between the Slovene Christians and us) will be strong, and that we will be clear examples of love to the students as they watch us interact and serve along side one another. Also pray that any problems that could arise between members of the team will be noticed and taken care of now before camp starts.

- God-honoring excellence: One of JV's core values is God-honoring excellence. We want to pursue excellence that pleases God as we begin camps. So, pray that God will give us as leaders wisdom, that we'll be able to teach English well, and that we will put on camps that students want to come back to next year because they are planned out and professional, while also being fun.

- Trust in the Spirit: And this one might be the most important of all, but please pray that we'll be filled with the Holy Spirit, that we'll trust Him in our lives, and that we'll follow His leading at camp. Pray that we will be flexible and courageous, stepping out of our comfort zones when He asks us to do something. Pray that God will very clearly be at work through us and that we will be able to plant seeds that grow and produce lasting fruit in people's lives.

Thanks for partnering with me through prayer : )
I'm always so encouraged by all of you.

I Can't Believe That Just Happened!

Okay, so since arriving in Europe I have collected many stories, funny or just interesting, of things that I can't believe happened (most of which Kari and I laughed about a ton or at least gave us reason for a shared, wide-eyed look). For your enjoyment and so that I don't forget, here are my top ten:

1) On one of the trains we took during the Amazing Race, I sat in a compartment and listened to Hondo (a full-time missionary) talk to a chem student about evolution and morals. Hondo had just talked to us about the power of asking good questions in order to keep people talking and leading them to think about what they believe. Then, I got to see this in action. Hondo asked great questions and the conversation went super deep really quickly! I was impressed and am confident that the guy on the train went home that day questioning his values a little more. I trust that God will continue to make that seed grow.

2) The day Kari and I arrived in Celje, pretty much all of JV's connections in the area (the missionaries, Americans, and host family) were all at a wedding for a couple in the church we're working with here. So, we were told we'd be chilling by ourselves for most of the day. However, half-way through the afternoon, our hosts (who we didn't know at all yet) came home to tell us we were invited to the reception. Less than 12 hours after settling in, we were dressed up, at the church, and meeting all the Calvary Chapel church-goers. Not to mention, we were sitting right across the table from the parents of the bride! : )

3) The second night we were in Celje, Whitney (our hostess) asked us if we'd want to go on a walk with her down to a lake by her house. To get to know her better (she's a super open person) she told us her testimony. It ended up taking a good couple of hours as we walked and listened to her really intense story of childhood abuse, rape, suicidal thoughts, and drugs and how the Holy Spirit completely turned her life around. The climax of the story and the walk was when we neared the bottom of a hill where a forest surrounded the lake and noticed a huge bear-like dog just sitting there -guarding his territory. Whitney turned to us and said something like, "I have an enemy here. We should probably go to the lake some other time." It was starting to get dark out and there was a forest road we had to go down to get home. Long story short, we ended up running for 10 minutes, while Whitney continued to tell her story. Crazy times! (In case you were wondering, we did get to go to the lake a couple days later. As you can see from the picture, it was worth the wait!)

4) Teaching English in the schools and trying to promote camp gets tiring after a while. A few classes in and you find the jokes you've been telling a little less funny and the vocab you're teaching a bit less interesting. Let's just say the classes tended to run together! But there is one class session that was definitely more memorable -we were well into the period and everything was going according to plan. But all of a sudden a pigeon flew through an open window into the classroom and everyone was silent. The stupid bird was startled, I'm sure, and trying to get back out through a closed window, which obviously didn't work well. Nate went open the window, but was having trouble getting the bird to fly through it. Thank goodness a random kid in the class knew what to do! He just walked calmly up to the bird, grabbed it, and threw it out the open window. Everyone clapped, the student bowed, and we went back to teaching English.

5) Passing out fliers about English camp can be awkward. I mean, if you were approached on the street by a person speaking a foreign language would you stop to chat or just ignore him? Well, we've observed a lot of good and bad tactics to use when promoting camp, but my favorite is when Johnny (missionary) goes up to someone, asks "Do you speak English?" and when the person says no mutters, "Well, do you want to?"

6) Another thing we did one night with Whitney and her husband was go to a jazz club. They go quite a lot with other friends to pray for the people there and listen to really good music. I must say, it was pretty impressive.
7) Kari and I have tried out a lot of restaurants here in the city. However, we think we've already found our favorite. This Italian place has great pizza and pasta and classy waiters who speak English. Gotta love that! But the most memorable meal there was a pizza we split that looked like this. A salad on our pizza -yummy!

8) One thing I love about going to different countries is seeing and being a part of worship and the church body around the world. The coolest worship experience I've had the pleasure to be a part of here so far was at the house of Nina, a woman from the countryside who goes to the church we are working with. Whitney invited Kari and me along for the ride one afternoon to hang out at Nina's and worship. We sang in English while they played piano and guitar and sang in Slovene. It's awesome to think that our God hears us no matter what language we're singing in or how many of us there are gathered together in His name.

9) Public transportation is not always my favorite. However, I was super proud of myself the day I took the train by myself from Ljubljana to Celje. The problem with the trip this time was not the train itself. Instead, it was the walking 20 minutes in the rain after getting off the train. I had an umbrella, but my pants got soaked from cars driving by and splashing me. Another train story, while I'm at it, is that on one of the trips that Kari and I took an annoying beeping alarm started going off in our car and after a few minutes we were wondering if we could fix it somehow. We asked two teens sitting behind us if they knew what was happening. The girl just looked at us seriously, while the guy with her turned and said in English, "We're all going to die!" The beeping eventually stopped, but it was worth enduring for a bit just for that line.

10) Two nights ago, I found myself sitting in a small art gallery with Johnny, Kari, and Maja (the Slovene teenager who we've been hanging out with) listening to a lecture by an artist from Iran talking about her photographs and drawings. A lot of the artwork was her way of taking a stand against religion in her country is, as she explained that she used a lot of black space and shadows to portray the darkness of the mosques. She also talked about the "monster inside all of us." I couldn't help but smile at this very mixed cultural experience and the thought-provoking truths stated by the artist.

You Know You're In Europe When... #5

#5 People are shooting off fireworks in their backyards just because of the World Cup.

Another One of Those Updates

This week, Kari and I have spent most of our time in Ljubljana, the capital city where a lot of the JV full-time missionaries are based. From Monday to Wednesday we spent time going to high school classes at a catholic school here to teach English. David Bordner (one of the missionaries) teaches there a couple times a year and wanted the interns' help. With the first year students we talked about vacations and with the older students we taught on friendships. Basically, David led from the front and we each helped lead a small group of 5ish students. We played games, answered questions, and tried to get the students talking as much as possible in English. Overall, we had a great time!

Also, on Monday, two more interns got added to our team! Mallory and Heather, both 20, arrived from the States after their school years finished. It has already been awesome getting to know them! And with the jet-lag and excitement at the moment, there's been a lot of laughter.

There was a meeting yesterday afternoon about the day camp I'll be helping with the first week of camps (starting in a week and a half). After the meeting, I'm getting even more pumped for what's ahead. I'll be teaching the advanced English class (so probably mostly 11-14 year olds I'm guessing) with Polona, a sweet 26 year old Slovene who I'm excited to get to know better. She's great and super willing to help me with anything and everything!

And, today was my birthday :) Yippee, I'm 22! Can't believe how old I am already. We had a Slovenia staff meeting, which was sweet because everyone was together. Lots of fun, productive, and we had cake to celebrate. I really feel like I belong to the family here, which is fun.

Pictures are coming soon and also prayer requests. Love you all!

You Know You're In Europe When... #4

#4 "Air conditioning" means turning on a fan, opening a window, and taking off as many clothes as possible.

Highlights So Far -Part 2

Here goes part 2!

- Besides getting to know our host family and the church we're working with (Calvary Chapel Celje) Kari and I have had time to explore the area and get to know the cool teen hangout spots. We've spent time in the park, at the mall, at the library, and at a bunch of cafes. This is all in preparation for after camps when we'll be planning follow-up events for students and continuing to build relationships and connect them with each other and the church.

- We've gone to a few bible studies in the surrounding area put on by various missionaries here. They've been interesting and fun to be a part of and I definitely feel like God has been speaking to me through Scripture a lot recently. Kari and I have also been reading Acts together. The topic of the Holy Spirit keeps coming up in discussions I'm having and, though I still have many questions, I'm becoming more aware of the Spirit's work in my life and how to listen to Him. My biggest prayer request for the summer (especially at camp) is that I will be led by the Holy Spirit in my discussions with students and my actions as I teach English, play crazy games, and serve in any way I can.

- As we prepare for camp, promotion is a huge part of our role as interns at the moment. We are handing out fliers, putting up posters, and got to be in a high school for two days talking about camp in 7 English classes. That was awesome because it put faces to what we are doing and gave us a lot of motivation. We're all looking forward to starting the camps in a few weeks. And it seemed like students were pretty interested in coming, which is exactly what we want.

- Besides all of this, we've been spending some time with a 16 year old girl named Maja (pronounced Mya) who went to camp last year and is planning to come again. She's a bit on the quiet side, but super sweet and although she doesn't understand the Gospel completely, she is very open to the idea of God and Christianity. Be praying that we'll be able to have some deeper discussions with her throughout the summer.

To sum things up, a lot is happening, but it's mostly all preparation for the camps to come later on in the summer. At the end of June the first week of camp will be starting. There are three camps going on at the same time that the interns will be split up between. I am going to a day camp that the church in Celje is putting on for 8-14 year olds. Then, the next week of camp, right after this (from July 4-10), I will be going with Kari and Nate to a camp for high schoolers from Celje and Maribor at a castle in Austria. The other two interns (who arrive tomorrow!) will be at a different camp during that time.

So, that's about it at this point. I'd love to hear more from any of you! Thanks to all of you who are reading this, praying for us, and those of you who have already left me comments or facebook messages. (Also, sorry for the lack of pictures this time. Hopefully, this is interesting enough without them.)

Highlights So Far -Part 1

Okay, so I promised I would write a longer post and here it is finally! I have so much I could say since I really haven't told you yet about anything we've done in Slovenia, but there's too much to tell. So, feel free to write me an email, drop me a comment, or talk to me on facebook and I'd love to tell you more. Otherwise, here are the highlights.

- Before heading to Celje where we (me and Kari) are based for the summer, we hung out for a few days with Hondo, Trisha, and their adorable son Caleb (aka the Dude). They are JV missionaries living in Ljublijana, the country's capital. Time at their house was relaxing, fun, and really encouraging!

Here's Caleb! (Kari took the picture.) We spent time walking around the city, chilling at the house, visiting a castle, and getting to know each other better. We're excited to continue hanging out throughout the summer.

- Last Friday (our last day in Ljublijana) we cleaned out the warehouse (Terry Jackson's garage). There were a whole bunch of camp supplies that needed to be organized and sorted into different camp boxes. I spent the day counting t-shirts, labeling boxes, and putting pens and markers into bags. But it was a ton of fun because most of the Slovenian JV team (interns and full-timers) was there to help and spending time visiting and eating good food was great. Here's a picture of part of the team.

- On Saturday (a week from today!) we got to Celje. Me and Kari are staying with a family from the church we're working with here -Whitney is an American, Ales (pronounced Alish) is Slovene, their two kids; Lanea (age 3) and Daniel (almost 2), and their 9 toy and tea cup poodles. It's a crazy house, but I love it for the most part! Whitney, especially, has a super interesting story of how she became a Christian, and it's been cool hearing her perspective on things as she is really open about her faith. We've gone on walks, watched movies together, and spent time at a lake. We've also spent time with some of their church friends. It's been great!

- Part 2 coming soon!

A Quick One

Hey everyone!

I really want to blog more in depth about what's going on here soon, since I really haven't for a while and a ton is happening. Sadly, though, because I'm tired and busy now is not the time for blogging. Tomorrow, I hopefully will have more time and can write a long post.

But for now I wanted to let you know that we are going into high school classes in the area to advertise for english camp now. We (Me, Kari, Johnny a JV missionary here, and the pastor from the church we are going to) went to two classes this morning that went well, but tomorrow we are going to at least four more.

So, please pray that tomorrow will go well, that the teens who we talk to will listen and enjoy the presentation, and that those who are interested will be able to check out the details and make it to camp if God wants them there.

Thanks again for all of your encouragement and prayers. I love getting your comments and facebook messages and love you all tons!

You Know You're In Europe When... #3

#3 You order lemonade at a cafe and have to add your own sugar to it once it comes.

So You Know the Facts

Since many North Americans (including myself) are pretty clueless when it comes to Slovenia, I wanted to make sure I give you the important facts about the country so that you can understand more fully what's going on while I'm here. So, here's what I've learned so far:

Here's a quick look at a map:

As you can see, Slovenia borders Italy, Austria, Hungary, and Croatia. It's small and only takes 2-3 hours by car to cross from one side to the other. It became a part of the European Union in 2004 and is now on the Euro, has a strong economy, and a stable democratic government. It has been independent from the Serbs since 1991.

Land: The area has mountains, rivers, and a small coastline. The countryside is super green and the cities are hilly and beautiful.

Religion: Most of the country (around 60%) is Roman Catholic, meaning that people hold onto the tradition but many, especially young people, don't even attend church regularly (much like in Poland).

Language: Slovene. Normally the words are pronounced pretty much as they look like written which is nice! And some words sound similar to Polish ones, which is also helping me. The language uses a lot of j's in words that make a y sound. The word most helpful for me to know so far has been "hvala," meaning "thank you."

Food: Much like the rest of Europe, Slovenia has the largest meal in the middle of the day. Soup and tea are often included in meals. The country takes most of its food from other countries around the area (like pizza from Italy), but is known to use a lot of meat in dishes (including horse) and make desserts with poppyseeds, cottage cheese, and wine (like traditional Europeans do).

Capital: Ljubljana (Kari and I stayed here with JV missionaries Hondo and Trisha when we first arrived) It's the largest city in Slovenia, has a river that runs through the center of it, and has a really cool castle that we visited. It also has great pizza ;)

Celje: This is the city where Kari and I will be living for most of the summer now. It is the third largest city (around 50,000 people), but is small enough to get around mostly by bike or on foot. It has a total of 2 evangelical churches, including the one we went to this morning. The city is really pretty, totally European looking but with a lot of modern stores and stuff as well, and I can't wait to explore it more. It's known for having a lot of high school students who live here to go to school during the week (we'll hopefully be meeting and hanging out with a bunch of them). I'll put up pictures soon!

That's all for now. I hope this gives you a bigger picture of where I'm at and what things are like here. Please continue praying for Slovenia, specifically the youth here. God is already at work and will continue doing great things!

We're Here!

We are now in Slovenia! After 7 hours in the van with these guys yesterday, we arrived in Ljublijana, the capital of the country. Me and Kari are staying with the Wynn family (Hondo, Trisha, and their cute, two year old, Caleb "The Dude") for two days before heading to our home base for the summer in Celje, the third largest city in Slovenia. As you can see from Hondo's big thumbs up in the picture, we're excited to be here : )

You Know You're In Europe When... #2

#2 You've eaten more soup in a week than you normally eat in a month.

A Random Mix of Thoughts

I've been here at Malenovice now for 4 whole days and will be leaving tomorrow to head to Slovenia. It'll be fun to actually get to the country I'll be serving in this summer, but it'll be sad to go. While here, I've been able to interact with over 50 interns serving in a bunch of Eastern European countries this summer, a lot of JV full-time missionaries, and some great friends of mine who I haven't seen in forever (Hannah Ellenwood, Tyler Patty, and Connor McSheffery are all JVkids I grew up with and are pictured bellow)!

I know I'm already going to miss it. But it has been a great start of my trip to be here at training and I've learned a ton already. Here are some of my thoughts on the past few days:

- I have to start out with this awesome video that my friend Tyler posted on his blog the other day. It's not specifically of my team during the Amazing Race, but does give a good glimpse into what it was like for all of us. Thanks, Tyler for capturing it!

The Amazing Race (JV) from Tyler Patty on Vimeo.

- I'm still processing through what has been said throughout this week in sessions we've had, but they've been great. A few things that have stood out to me that you can be praying for is that I, as well as the other interns, will seek to be servants this summer (not merely people who sometimes serve), will listen to but also act on the Holy Spirit's promptings, and will be learners with humble attitudes as we step into other cultures and interact with people.

- I've also been thinking about the importance of asking good questions. Hopefully I'll be able to practice this skill throughout the summer.

- Some other prayer requests: Protection as we travel tomorrow and throughout the summer, strength and energy for the long days ahead, good health and healing for me as I have a bad cough at the moment and am not feeling well, unity for the Slovenian team (I think we're doing great in this category so far, but we've only known each other a week), and the ability to find out what our individual roles will be and fit those well without comparison or thoughts of inadequacy.

- Also, of course, be praying that God will go before us, preparing the way even now. Thanks again for your prayers! I'm confidant that God is good and that He's already at work in big ways. I'm so grateful to be a part of what He's doing.

You Know You're In Europe When... #1

#1 You know you're in Europe when the water in the shower turns off every two minutes and so do the lights.

Everything You Need to Know About the Amazing Race

(Kari, Hondo, Nate, and Me)

So, I don't know how many of you have seen the TV show "The Amazing Race." I personally, have not. However, for the beginning of the intern training, JV has their own amazing race in order for us to see right away different team dynamics, to learn more about interacting with the culture, and to get us out of our comfort zones. I promised you in my last post that I'd explain more about this when I had time, so here's what you need to know about my last last three days here on the Amazing Race.

Day One (Wednesday):

I arrived at the airport in Vienna, Austria and had some down time to get to know other interns before we started. Once everyone arrived (safely and without too much delay, thank God!), we broke up into our teams (13 altogether) based on what country we were going to be serving in. My teammates are Kari (pronounced Car-ee) and Nate at the moment, but two more girls are joining us in the middle of June. Hondo, a JV missionary in Slovenia, also did the amazing race with us. He's great, though he still won't tell us the real story about how he got his name ;) The competition started with a scavenger hunt around the airport and then we were handed 6 clues to different spots in Vienna where we'd have to go to do different things. The stations each had a task/game to complete before we could go on. These varied from logic games to eating challenges to everything in between. My highlight of the day was the station set up in a square where we had to put on a performance and get someone to give us money without asking for it :) It was funny and we ended up forming an alliance with another team so that we'd have enough people to really cause a scene! We got to our ending spot in first place and felt good about the day!

Day Two (Thursday):

After a short six hours of sleep at a youth hostel we were back in action. Kari was feeling sick so we lost a member of our team for a while. The rest of us left at 7 in the morning with a clue that told us to find the oldest dry bobsled course on Kobala hill, which happens to be in Bratislava, Slovakia. We got there and were tested on the JV core values and got to slide down the course. After that we had to find a UFO (we met up with Kari here) and then were off to a huge mall in the city to find 5 JV missionaries stationed there with small tasks for us to do. After that we ended in Brno trying to eat as much cow stomache soup as we could in this sketchy little Czech restaurant. Because of a few wrong turns and missing a train, we ended in 12th place.

Day Three (Yesterday):

Yesterday was the most physically challenging of the race! The first challenge in Brno was to find an English school and take an English grammar test (since we will be teaching English all summer). You'd think this would have been easy for me as a writing major and everything, but it most definitely was not! I got 40%. Do I even know how to speak English?! For every question we got wrong we had to wait more time at the school before we were allowed to continue. This was the only down time we had besides traveling, because basically the rest of the time we were running. The next challenge in the main square in Brno was gross! We had to get 2 pounds of gummy bears out of a bowl one at a time with our mouths and run to bowls a little ways away and put them in the bowl they belonged in based on color. It was a lot of running! And slobber! After that we headed to Malenovice, raced out of the train filled with at least four other teams to get the first taxi to the JV training building. Our final task was to make ten goals on the soccer field before running up a the huge hill the building is on. We made it in fifth place overall and were proud of our efforts!

So, those are the basics of the Amazing Race. It was great for team building, getting over jet-lag, and seeing some of Europe before some more low-key stuff around here. This is a long post, so I'll stop now, but thanks to everyone tracking with me. I'm so looking forward to getting to know the interns and missionaries even better and diving into camp stuff once in Slovenia (we get there on Wednesday).

Malenovice

After a long two flights on Tuesday/Wednesday, an "Amazing Race" training excercise for the interns (which I'll explain tomorrow) and meeting and quickly bonding with my intern team, I'm laying here in bed at good, old Malenovice, JV's main training center in the Czech Republic. It's awesome to be back in a place that feels so much like home! I have so many fond memories of Josiah Venture conferences that took place here -hanging out with missionary kids and running around all over Malenovice with people who felt like family. Even though I only arrived here this afternoon and the sixty or so others with me are people I've only begun to meet, it still feels like it always has... like home.

And, man, I'm so thankful that we get to be here until Wednesday!

More to come when my eyelids aren't at half-mast and I'm able to take a bit of break.

Up in the Air

My life is pretty up in the air right now. I graduated from Taylor on Saturday, packed up my room, said goodbyes, came home, unpacked and repacked, and am leaving this afternoon. I can't believe things are happening so fast! I still have a ton to do, but I wanted to let you all know once again how much it means to me that you are willing to support, encourage, and track with me as I head out on my summer adventure. Thank you!

Before I go, here are a few quick prayer requests:

- That the 50 something interns leaving today for Europe (including me) will arrive safely and on time to Vienna where we will start our training.

- That I'll get enough sleep and feel healthy when I get there (Finals week left me with a cold).

- That I'll be able to fully concentrate on being in Europe, not on having just left college life or thinking about my life after I get home and have to find a job.

- That God will continue to prepare each of the interns, JV missionaries, and campers for how He is going to work this summer.

Can't wait to tell you all more.

Two Days!

I leave for Slovenia in two days. I can't believe I'll be hopping on a plane to Europe so soon!

Here's the list of things I have to do before I head out:

- Pack two months worth of clothes, American gifts, and travel supplies into a bag small enough to carry on my back.

- Make sure my electronics are ready to go. (Camera w/batteries, computer backed up, iPod charged, etc.)

- Work on job search. I have a Tyndale application/test to fill out for freelance editing.

- Do loads of laundry!

- Write thank you letters (you supporters are great!) and email everyone a link to the blog : )

- Clean room as much as possible.

- Watch the LOST show finale.

I don't know how I'll get it all done, but one way or another I'll be off on Tuesday!