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.