All In...in Slovenia

Good-bye TS, Slovenia and JV

2009-01-12T10:58:00.008+01:00

It’s hard to believe that it’s been almost a year already since I arrived in Slovenia. It’s been a year full of fast times, slow times, hard times, good times, fun times, deep times, warm times, cold times, sunny times, foggy times, walking times, riding times, driving times, smiling times, crying times, laughing times, praying times, singing times, shouting times, whispering times, hugging times, reading times, watching times, eating times (way too much of this), fasting times (not enough of this), talking times, sharing times, baking times, hiking times, facebook times, skype times, email times, blogging times, TS times, church times, JV times, fellowship times, ice cream times, coffee times, lost times, found times, profound times, hilarious times, and so much more. Really my time in Slovenia cannot be explained with words but rather it is felt deep in my heart. Now I am sitting in the Munich airport on my way home. What I can say is that God is good and faithful and that I wouldn’t trade this year for anything. As Ecclesiastes 3:1 says: “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.” Now is the time for me to head back home. Recently I learned that the word “good-bye” originated from the phrase “God be with you.” And so I say good-bye and God be with you to my TS friends, JV friends, and all of Slovenia. My deepest thanks go to all of you for the role you have played in my life and ministry during this past year. May all of the glory go to God!

Slovene Bible: Sveto Pismo = Holy Letter
From the rising of the sun

to the going down of the same, may the name of the Lord be praised (Psalm 113:3)!

Busy Days!

2009-01-05T23:16:00.007+01:00

Phew! Life is busy these days as I am trying to spend as much time as possible with friends here in Slovenia before I return to the United States on January 12th. Here is an example of what my days look like:

Exhibit A = Saturday January 3rd. Spent Friday night at the home of the Patty's, enjoying precious time with this family that is so dear to me.

Kendra and I colored a sunset beach scene on Fri. night. Thanks Kendra for the art lesson! :-)

Then I woke up at 7am and was out the door at 9am on my way home to change and gather my gear to go snow hiking at the North Pole. Okay, it wasn't the North Pole but it looked and felt like it! I met my Slovene friends Matjaz and Mateja at 10:30am and we headed to the Great Mountain or Velika Planina with two of their other friends. We rode a cable car up the mountain and then took a chairlift up even higher. The temperature was 12 degrees Fahrenheit! We walked along paths in the snow for apx 1.5 hours, spent a couple hours in a tea house and then walked back.

Thomas, Suzanna, Me, and
Mateja on our Mt. Everest expedition. :-)

Doesn't this look like a shot straight out of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer? I'm telling you, we were at the North Pole!
Beautiful sunset from the top of the mountain.

Once off of the mountain, I quickly drove home, jumped in the shower, changed and was at the bowling alley 30 minutes later at 6:30pm to treat the TS students to a round of bowling as one last fun activity to do together as a group.

We had a great time bowling even if most of us weren't any good! :-)

Then we got dessert and hung out for a couple of hours. At 10pm I took some students home then went home myself and crawled into bed exhausted but content at about 11:30pm. The Lord is filling me with His strength to run at this sort of pace for the last couple of weeks and I anticipate the same up until I leave. Thank you to all of you who are praying for me...please don't stop! :-)

Happy New Year!!!

2009-01-01T18:17:00.008+01:00

We had a fantastic all-night celebration at TS to bring in the New Year over here in Kranj, Slovenia! Here are some pictures to give you a taste of all the fun we had! :-) I hope you all had fun New Year's celebrations too! May our love for and faith in God be ever-increasing throughout 2009 and for all of our years! :-)

Matic and Jernej set up our movie theater - I'm so thankful for these guys because we wouldn't have anything that requires electronics going if I had to do it! :-) And we had plenty of food as you can see in the background!
We had plenty of fun times around the game table with much laughter! =D

And some competitive but fun foosball matches!

People came and went throughout the evening and at one point we had about 22 people there. But as midnight approached, this was the group that remained. It was 19 degrees F out and we bundled up and headed to the center of Kranj to watch the fireworks and bring in the New Year.

They love fireworks here in Slovenia and aren't so safety conscious so fireworks were being launched all around. I saw one guy decide he would just hold the fireworks to launch it and burnt his hand pretty bad. I don't know why he was surprised. We kept ours a little more tame with sparklers. :-)

The main firework display was quite spectacular though my picture doesn't do it justice.

We were all thoroughly frozen from the 40 minutes or so that we were outside and ran back to TS to give a toast to the New Year!

I got home around 9:20am and slept until 3:30pm! Maybe I should just keep this sleep schedule so that I'll be on the right schedule when I return to Oregon on Jan. 12th. No, that won't work! I still have so many people that I want to connect with here before I leave!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-28T21:34:00.008+01:00

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas as you celebrated our Savior's birth! I had a very nice time with the Jackson's, Terry's visiting family and fellow staff members Johnny and Brooke. :-) Here are some pictures from the day...

I woke up to a white Christmas morning...what, fog doesn't count!?

It has often been foggy here this winter and sometimes it feels oppressive, not unlike the spiritual atmosphere at times.

We had fun playing numerous games of sequence

and singing Christmas carols in worship of our Savior! :-) I'm so glad He came!

And when I got home, it really had turned into a white Christmas with a bit of snow!

Oh, and for Christmas I got a dog from the Jackson's! ;-) I brought Aria home with me to dog sit for a couple of days while they took their family guests up to Vienna.

I learned that Aria knows how to perform mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. She tried it on me once but I told her it wasn't necessary. :-)

We did have a lot of fun playing frisbee in the snow though!

This view the next morning was much better than the fog!

Have I mentioned how much I love the mountains that God placed around Kranj!?

Spreading Good Cheer...

2008-12-10T17:37:00.004+01:00

Last week at TS we decided to spread some Christmas cheer by handing out free hot chocolate and instant cappuccinos just outside of Trdna Skala. TS is located on a well traveled thoroughfare in the city center and God blessed us with perfect weather for the evening...cold and dry! :-) We had fun making and giving away the hot beverages to surprised passersby!

Beverage preparations in process!

Beverages ready "to go" and warm up new friends.

New friends hanging out and sipping their warm beverages!

It's fun and magical to give and expect nothing in return. :-) I'm so glad that God gave His only Son for us and that there is nothing we can do to earn salvation but rather we simply just need to receive the free gift!

A Tour of My Apartment...

2008-11-20T14:51:00.013+01:00

Many people have asked me what my apartment is like here in Slovenia and if I like it. So I thought I would give you all a virtual tour. I love the apartment that the Lord has provided for me! :-) It has a great floor plan and is in a great location that is within walking distance of the city center, church, grocery stores and the new mall that contains shopping, a movie theater, bowling, and billiards. What more could one ask for!? I'm also on the 11th floor and have a fantastic view from the edge of the city looking out towards farm land and rolling hills. So let's begin the tour...

As you step in the front door, this is the view straight ahead looking through the kitchen and into the dining room and my "office" area.

This is the entry way looking to the left as you step through the front door. The contraption near the back along the left wall is my indoor clothes drying rack. :-) The bathroom door is at the end of the hall on the right.

And obviously this is the bathroom. The washing machine is on the left and drains into the bathtub after the washing cycle.

This is my bedroom and you enter it directly to the right as you step through the front door.

Now we have walked straight ahead through the kitchen and are looking to the left at the dining room.

Now turn to the right a bit and you are looking at my "office" space.

Now turn around and you are looking back through the kitchen the other way and at the front door.

Okay now do a 180 and you are facing the front windows. Now put your right hand in, put your right hand out, put your right hand in and shake it all about...do the hokey pokey and turn yourself around, that's what it's all about! Oh sorry, I got distracted there! :-) Now turn to the right and you are looking into my living room. The couch is also a hide-a-bed and guests are welcome so if anyone is looking to take a winter vacation to Slovenia this year, come on over! :-)

Now we have walked into the living room and are looking back towards the dining room, office and kitchen.

Now turn to the right and you are looking at my covered balcony, outdoor clothes drying lines and a lovely view.

This completes the tour of my apartment. At this time I would like to thank you for joining the tour and I hope you enjoyed it! This tour was given free of charge but donations are accepted and can be sent to...just kidding! Have a great day! :-)

Day of The Dead

2008-11-02T22:21:00.007+01:00

Yesterday was a national holiday in Slovenia called the Day of the Dead. It's comparable to Memorial Day in America in that it is a day to remember those who have gone before us and are now dead. The difference is that Slovenes actually observe the holiday and don't just look at it as a day off from work. Okay, okay that's not a completely fair statement. I grew up in family where we always went and put flowers on the graves of our relatives and honored them but it seems to me that American culture in general doesn't really "get" this holiday. I think that there is something good and right about remembering and honoring those who have gone before us.

My apartment overlooks the cemetery here in Kranj so I have a bird's-eye view of the happenings in the cemetery and I have noticed that Slovenes visit the cemetery on a regular basis throughout the year. Most grave sites are well kept and the cemetery feels more like a park than just a cemetery because they actually plant flower gardens on the grave sites. They also light memory candles throughout the year and place them at the grave sites. All of the glowing candles look pretty cool out my window at night time. Some of you may think this is weird, but I actually like having the view of the cemetery out my windows. From the beginning of my time here in Slovenia it has served as a reminder to me that we are all going to die some day. Each night when I pull down my blinds and see all of the glowing candles I pray and ask God to help me to live in light of eternity and to take advantage of every opportunity that I have to share with people about God's love for them and Christ's sacrifice for them so that they have an opportunity to respond to Him and thus be able to go to heaven to spend eternity with God rather than be separated from Him forever in hell when they die.

Ahh, but I digress...what I really wanted to talk about is the holiday. Given that the cemetery has so much action throughout the year I wondered what the holiday would look like. Let me tell you that I have never seen anything like it. People flocked to the cemetery in droves yesterday afternoon. Police officers were directing traffic as people headed to the cemetery with arms full of flowers and candles. At 2:30pm there was a special mass in the middle of the cemetery and nearly every single grave site had people standing respectfully in memory of their loved ones. I walked down through the cemetery and was overtaken by this holy moment and the atmosphere of reverence. Maybe I'm more sensitive to this because it's only been three months since my dad died but I think Americans could learn something from Slovenes in regard to this. At any rate, I'm in Slovenia so I observed their holiday with them by lighting a candle on my balcony and placing some flowers there in memory of my dad. Following are some pictures of the day to help you see what I am talking about.

People buying flowers and candles to decorate grave sites.
Pilgrimage to the cemetery.
People beginning to gather in memory at the grave sites.
Mass service in the middle of the cemetery.
View from my balcony of the cemetery full of people remembering their loved ones.
My balcony memorial to my dad.
Candles glowing in the night.

I'm an aunt!

2008-10-29T18:02:00.006+01:00

Okay, not a real aunt but rather a surrogate aunt. Sorry sis, didn't mean to scare you there. :-) Right from the start of my time in Slovenia I have had the privilege and blessing of serving as an aunt for the Woodard's two kids, Abigail and Elijah. I think I had only been in country for five days when Joel and Amy skipped town with Elijah for a few days and left Abigail and I to hold down the fort. I survived my aunt initiation (and so did Abigail) and we've been having fun ever since!

This is what Abigail looked like after I fed her spaghetti the first day of aunt initiation! :-)

And this is when I showed Abigail how to look cool while she is coloring.
This is when Elijah helped me learn how to feed a baby cereal.
This picture says it all...I love this little girl!

Shortly after arriving in Slovenia I was also adopted as an aunt by one of our students from Trdna Skala. While walking around town with a few of the gals, one of them (who shall remain nameless, Ana) decided to get an additional ear piercing. No problem, she went into the jewelry store while another gal and I waited outside and talked. When we went in to check on her she acted a little nervous and the salesman asked me something in Slovene. I just looked at him blankly and said that I only speak English. Once we were back outside she informed me that she had told the salesman that I was her aunt and that I had given permission for the ear piercing. I quickly asked if her mom knew she was getting her ear pierced and she said yes. Phew! But still we had a little talk about truth-telling. :-) Also, right before I went to a choir concert at Ana's school I found out she had told her school principal that she has an American aunt, yours truly. Ana, I like being your aunt! Is there anyone else that I need to know about that you've given this information to? =)

Ana sporting an additional ear piercing!
Ana and I outside of her school after the choir concert.

Fall Festival!

2008-10-25T21:05:00.005+02:00

Why am I always talking about things that happened a week ago? I would never make it as a newscaster - this just in...a week ago! :-) So last Friday we had a fall festival party at the Woodard's house. We carved apples instead of pumpkins and it was a lot of fun! Then some people played games and the rest of us watched Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and Wardrobe. We kind of had an apple/caramel theme going on for the evening and ate caramel apples, caramel corn, hot apple cider and spice cake. It was fun to be together and hang out for the evening!

Yummy caramel apples that Joel made.

Creative apple carving in action!

Nejc won for longest continuous apple peel strip!

LAN Party and Picnic

2008-10-18T09:09:00.004+02:00

Last Friday night the boys at TS had an all-night LAN party. I don't even know what "LAN" stands for but I opened up TS for them and watched in awe as one by one they showed up with computers in hand and plugged in cables every which way to connect them. I think they had 13 computers networked together and played some war video game with and against each other. It was quite the sight to see! The girls and I hung out for awhile and observed and talked and then we left the boys to carry on with their mesmerized video game playing! :-)

Setting up!

Too many cables for me to keep track of!

Game on!

The weather has now turned cold and rainy but I'm still thinking about the beautiful weather we had last Saturday at Bled Lake for our all day TS picnic. Joel and I took our bbq grills and we had a bbq picnic right there on the lake shore. A bunch of students came and some parents and siblings too. We had a great time eating, playing, and hanging out together! We also had a guest speaker who led a great discussion time about sin, death, and resurrection.

JV 2x3 Campaign

2008-10-15T14:11:00.008+02:00

Beginning October 26th, Josiah Venture is hosting vision nights in 11 different cities across the United States and you all are invited to attend the one nearest you! This will be a great evening of hearing what God is doing in Central and Eastern Europe through the JV ministry, catching a vision for the future, and seeing how you can be involved. We are asking God to double the fruitfulness of the ministry in the next 3 years so that is where the "2x3 Campaign" logo comes from. Trust me, this will be an encouraging evening for you so please attend if you are available! Delicious desserts will be served and the event is free of charge but you do need to rsvp within the next few days if you are able to attend. For more info or to rsvp online go to www.2x3campaign.com.

Tour Schedule
Date	City	Time	Venue
Oct 26	Bellevue, WA	7:30pm	Crossroads Bible Church
Oct 28	Portland, OR	7:00pm	Marriott Downtown Waterfront
Oct 30	Scottsdale, AZ	7:00pm	The Westin Kierland Resort
Nov 1	San Jose, CA	7:00pm	Marriott San Jose
Nov 3	Pasadena, CA	7:30pm	The Westin Pasadena
Nov 6	Atlanta, GA	7:00pm	Hyatt Regency Downtown
Nov 7	Hamilton, ONT	7:00pm	Crowne Plaza
Nov 8	Peoria, IL	7:00pm	The Waterhouse
Nov 10	Minneapolis, MN	7:00pm	Marriott City Center
Nov 11	Denver, CO	7:00pm	Hyatt Regency Downtown
Nov 13	Oak Brook, IL	7:00pm	Oak Brook Hills Marriott Resort

One Percent from Josiah Venture on Vimeo.

JV Fall Leadership Conference

2008-10-03T16:05:00.004+02:00

Last week I was in the Czech Republic for the JV fall leadership conference. Our theme was the Radiant Bride of Christ...His Church. There were 170 JV staff and nationals there from 11 different countries and we had a great time learning together about four New Testament pictures of the church as the family of God, the bride of Christ, the body of Christ, and the temple of God. I came home inspired to see the church (God's people) in Slovenia grow in all of those areas!

Amazing Hike on Krvavec Ski Slopes

2008-10-01T19:14:00.006+02:00

On Monday I did an amazing hike up the slopes of the Krvavec ski area exploring more of God's creation. It was steep hiking up the ski slopes but the spectacular views were worth it! Take a look for yourself...

Makes me want to go skiing this winter just so I can see those mountain peaks when they are covered in snow! I see mountain peaks as big arrowheads pointing up to God as the glorious Creator and they do my soul so much good by pointing me to Him. :-)

"Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God." -Psalm 90:2

TS and Paintball Wars!

2008-10-01T14:12:00.007+02:00

We had a lot of fun the weekend before last...on Friday night we had a TS meeting and a group of students from the nearby town of Radovljica came to join us. We played shuffle your buns and wink 'em. For those of you who aren't familiar with youth ministry games you can try to guess how they work by looking at the pictures below! :-) Then Josh Patty led us in a discussion about the differences between men and women in how they communicate and what their strengths and weaknesses are. We had a great time!

Shuffle to the left...

shuffle to the right...and try to jump in!

You can wink at my gal...but I'm not gonna let her escape!

On Saturday morning a group of us got together to play paintball war games out in the woods. As you can see...some of them take this pretty seriously with full camo attire! This was my first time of participating in a real paintball war and I have to say that it can really get your adrenaline going. Being a rookie, I was a little cautious and too reserved with my ammo but look out next time everyone because I'll be out to get you! :-)

Attack of the paintballers!

Myself and Zan...ready, aim, fire!

Combined English Camp Reunion!

2008-09-19T16:04:00.009+02:00

Last Friday we hosted an English Camp reunion party here in Kranj for students who attended camps from throughout Slovenia. We used a new art cultural center that just opened to welcome the 70+ people who attended and it turned out to be a great venue that we hope to use for other events in the future! It was fun to see students from different camps meet students that go to their same school and make connections. It was a fun evening as we played games, sang some camp songs, had a short message, ate pizza and just enjoyed being together!

Students arriving for the evening.

Terry leading a mixer game.

Here's a video clip of a camp song w/ motions! :-)

Scenic views of Kranj

2008-09-12T16:09:00.008+02:00

The other night I was jogging through some nearby cornfields and was struck once again with how beautiful the area I live in is. So I went back the next evening and video taped a 360 panoramic view from the middle of the farming area. Unfortunately, the file size must have been too big because I was unable to successfully upload the video so still pictures will have to do. The pictures don't really do it justice but at least you get an idea of what it's like here! :-) I feel blessed to be sent to such a beautiful part of God's creation. Thanks to all of you for being a part of sending me here too!

Here are some of the mountains surrounding Kranj...

The picture above are some private garden plots out in the middle of the farming area where people who live in apartments grow flower and vegetable gardens. They come out here to tend their gardens and will even bring food and have picnics in their little garden plot.

This is a picture looking back towards town. My apartment is in the building to the right of the red and white striped tower.

Quote Of The Day

2008-09-10T16:50:00.003+02:00

"What you need to know is that grabbing the urine cup will really save you a lot of time." -Amy Woodard

You never know what you will hear over here in Slovenia...this one probably needs a little bit of explanation. :-) Amy was explaining to a fellow staff member what to expect at her first prenatal doctor's appointment. Apparently it is quite the process, kind of like going to different stations throughout the hospital to get various vital signs checked. At one point she said the above sentence and I just burst out laughing, thinking of what that would've sounded like to anyone jumping into the conversation in midstream or just passing by!

Quote Of The Day

2008-09-08T22:11:00.002+02:00

"Never doubt in the dark what God told you in the light!" -Prexy Edman

The Lord has provided a car for me!

2008-09-06T19:54:00.005+02:00

With the craziness of my summer schedule and everything else since then, I haven't had a chance to let you all know that I now have some wheels to get around Slovenia with! Anna, a fellow JV staff member, finished up her time of service over here in June and gave me a sweet deal on the purchase of the car she was using. So I got the car in mid-June, just a couple of days before the first summer team arrived. It was such a blessing to have it and be able to help transport people during camps. I have done well at learning the public transportation system here but it will certainly be a blessing to have more freedom in my comings and goings and also to be able to take students places and give them rides when needed. I always like to name my cars so I have affectionately named this car "Rusty the Red Rocket." Rusty because, well it has a few rust spots that give it character and Red Rocket because I have always thought it would be fun to be a race car driver and sometimes I like to pretend that I am one! :-) Mostly just on corners and starting off the line. No worries though, I'm guessing that Rusty is an early 90's Ford Escort and there is no danger of me breaking any speed limits if you know what I mean. :-) However, Rusty is reliable and gets me from point A to point B (as long as I know how to direct him) and I like him very much! Thank you Lord (and Anna) for this unexpected provision!

Top 6 reasons I know that I am back in Slovenia

2008-09-02T23:15:00.016+02:00

Here are my top 6 reasons that I know that I am back in Slovenia:

#6. As I stepped off of the plane I was greeted by the aroma of fertile farm land (something akin to the smell of cow manure). Don't worry, it didn't take long to get used to it and I can no longer detect this fragrance in the air. :-)

#5. Afternoon thunderstorms in this mountainous area.

#4. I hear church bells ringing every 15-30 minutes.

#3. The country is full of beautiful scenery.

Savica Falls

#2. Everyone walks around with an ice cream cone in their hand. Okay, not everyone and not all the time but Slovenes do love their ice cream cones.

Picture intentionally blurred to protect the identity of these ice cream addicts.

#1. I see students that I know and love dearly.

Planning meeting for Trdna Skala for this fall.

Jola and Ness

Quote Of The Day

2008-08-26T10:48:00.002+02:00

"Desire for God's glory implies yielding to His way of ordering people and events." -Susan Hunt

Getting well along the way...

2008-08-24T21:29:00.002+02:00

Before I returned to Slovenia many people asked me if I was ready to go back to Slovenia. I responded by saying that I didn't think I would be any more ready or that it would be any easier by waiting longer. Recently I read something in a book called "Letter To A Grieving Heart" by Billy Sprague that confirmed this. At a conference that Billy attended, the speaker said "What do we do with our personal pain, which we all have, in regard to our mission in life? Do we get well and then get on with our calling? Or do we respond to our calling and get well along the way?...We are all wounded. If we wait until we are well to be fit for our mission, life will be over." I know that God has called me to Slovenia and still has work for me to do here and so I trust that He will enable me to do the good works that He has called me to AND will sustain me as I grieve and process the loss of my dad. Thanks everyone for your continued prayers.

faith - of greater worth than gold

2008-08-22T16:45:00.002+02:00

Thank you for your prayers for me and my family during the last few months. My dad’s last days were difficult days. I flew home from Slovenia on July 20^th and my dad's health continued to rapidly decline until the Lord called him home Wednesday night, July 30th. I am so thankful that I was able to come home and spend these last days with him. When I arrived he was able to talk a little bit. But within a few days even that was too difficult for him, although he was able to hear and understand us when he was awake. It was difficult to watch dad suffer. The blessing of this agonizing time was that we could all see where this was leading and thus had opportunity to say whatever needed to be said to one who is preparing to depart from life on this earth as we know it and enter into eternity. I know that many of you were joining with me in praying for my dad's salvation and I thank you so much for that. I had shared the gospel with my dad numerous times recently but he still was not interested in accepting Christ as Lord and Savior. Two days after I arrived home dad had a good day and was able to talk quite a bit (short phrases). At one point I asked him if there was anything else I could get for him and he said "gold." He was joking and it was good to see him keep a sense of humor. My aunt from Louisiana was here in Oregon and scheduled to get a gold crown on one of her molars as soon as she returned home so we had a good laugh about how I could've pried off that gold and given it to him if she already had the crown. Then later that evening the Lord brought to mind the verse that talks about our faith being of greater worth than gold. I looked it up and found it in 1 Peter and knew that the Lord wanted me to share 1 Peter 1:3-9 with dad that contained that verse along with the gospel message. So I began praying for an opportunity to do so and for dad to be receptive. The next day dad was having a bad day and wasn't able to talk and we thought it might be his last. Numerous people were in the house and in the evening I was feeling that I needed some alone time with dad. I thought maybe other people were feeling the same so I asked if anyone would like some time alone with dad. No one did but I let them know that I did, so they graciously honored my wish. I asked dad if he remembered when he asked me for gold the day before and he smiled, so I knew he was tracking with me. I told him that I didn't have any gold for him and that he couldn't take it with him anyways but that I had something more valuable than gold that I wanted to share with him and that is faith in Jesus. I read 1 Peter 1:3-9 that says "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade-kept in heaven for you who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith-of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire-may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls." Then I asked him if he had faith of greater worth than gold to trust in Jesus as his Savior. Since he wasn't speaking, we were using a hand squeeze for "yes" answers. To the praise of God's glorious grace, my dad squeezed my hand for yes so I prayed with him and believe that he invited Christ into his heart as Lord and Savior! I know there were hundreds of people from all over the world battling in prayer for my dad's salvation and I am so thankful for that. It is painful to lose him in the here and now but I would rather lose a few years on this earth with him and gain an eternity in heaven with him. Because my dad had faith of greater worth than gold to trust in Jesus as his Savior, he is now walking on streets of gold in heaven. I’m certain that if he was here now, he would encourage you all to embrace that same sort of faith if you haven’t already.

Camp Reunion and Church Picnic

2008-07-12T23:02:00.002+02:00

We spent last weekend partying at the Woodard's home! On Saturday we had our junior high camp reunion and 75% of the students came. Others wanted to be there but had prior commitments. It's so fun to see this community of students forming. Thanks everyone for your prayers!

Students enjoying hanging out at the camp reunion.

Ness made this t-shirt for our camp reunion since so many students cried on the last day of camp. She cracks me up!

Our church potluck picnic. We had a great feast!

Students hanging out at the church picnic.

Camp Pictures!

2008-07-10T20:02:00.005+02:00

We had a great time at our junior high English Camp and are excited about the community of students that God is building! Here are some fun pictures taken throughout our week at camp...

Game time!

Hawaiian Night

Hawaiian tourist dress up relay!

Singing time during evening program

Slovene campers helping lead singing! :-)

Conga line dance on 50's night?

Skit time with Captain Obvious and Captain Awesome!

Amazing Race day with my class/team and our crazy taxi driver!

Tjasa captured the king at Kamen Castle for one of our Amazing Race tasks.

Carnival Night in full costume!

New friends at camp!

My Dad

2008-06-21T21:41:00.002+02:00

Please pray for my dad as he is having serious health issues that continue to get worse every day. My mom took him to the emergency room on 6/20 and they admitted him into the Neurological Center. He's seen doctors numerous times in the last weeks and they haven't been able to diagnose the problems. He has pretty much lost use of the right side of his body and so can't really walk and is now having difficulty breathing too. Needless to say, it is very difficult for me to be so far away from home during this time AND we are heading into our busiest time of year as English camps start on Friday. Please pray that the doctors will correctly diagnose and treat his condition very soon, that I will have wisdom to know if I need to go home or not, that I will be able to focus on the work here, and that God will be a present comfort to my parents, etc. Thank you! I am holding onto Psalm 46:1-2a "God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear..."

Amazing Race!

2008-06-19T14:43:00.002+02:00

Each year at the Kranj English camp there is one day dedicated to a much anticipated Amazing Race that leads the English class teams on an adventure to various locations around Slovenia. This year I got to help plan the Amazing Race and the other day a friend and I did a "dry run" through it to make sure public transportation connections, timing, and other details are set to go for a smooth race. Well, our "dry run" was not so dry at all as it poured down rain on us at different times during the day! :-( Other than that, I think it is good to go! Sorry no pictures or clues for you students who are reading this and trying to figure out where you will have to go. :-) Thankfully, the weather today is warm and sunny. Please pray for good weather for our camps that start June 27th and for God to do AMAZING things in the lives of all who attend in addition to enjoying an Amazing Race adventure. Thanks!

President Bush is in Slovenia!

2008-06-09T23:25:00.004+02:00

President Bush arrived in Slovenia this evening to participate in the annual U.S.-European Union Summit. Since the airport is only about 15 minutes away from my apartment and about 7 minutes from Joel & Amy's, Amy and I decided it would be fun to go to the airport and welcome our President to Slovenia. So here is a picture of him waving to us as he got off the plane!

Okay, just kidding! Actually, it is a picture of him waving good-bye to people on the south lawn before he left the U.S. for Slovenia. I borrowed this pic from a different web site. Amy and I really did try to welcome the President and get a picture of his entourage but our efforts were foiled when they chose a different route that didn't include the road we were standing along. :-( We were quite disappointed. However, I did video tape Air Force 1 flying in but it's even worse footage than my choir video taping and Amy has it right now. So I just wanted you all to know that the President of the United States is currently in a location that is about 5 miles from my apartment. Kind of crazy!

Choir Concert

2008-06-04T21:46:00.007+02:00

Last night I had the privilege of attending Jola's (one of the students from TS) school choir concert that was for parents and siblings. Jola asked her teacher for special permission for me to be able to attend and two other friends from TS, Ness and Ana, escorted me. I was honored to be there and thought they sounded great even if I didn't understand what they were singing! :-) My video skills are greatly lacking but here are a few clips from the concert. And the last picture is of Ana and Ness congratulating Jola on a job well done!

Goin' to the gym and I'm gonna get trim...

2008-05-24T13:43:00.004+02:00

The title of this blog should be sung to the tune of "Goin' to the chapel and I'm gonna get married" to get the proper effect. :-) So I signed up for a gym membership a couple of weeks ago. This has been a good thing for me on many health levels: physical, psychological, emotional, and spiritual. One thing about a gym membership here versus at home is that part of my workout is getting to and from the gym. :-) It's only about a 15 minute walk each way but on the way there it is mostly downhill and thus on the way home it is mostly uphill and this hill includes 139 stairs (and yes, I really did count them!). If you don't think 139 stairs is very many then I challenge you to climb the stairs in your house 139 times and then let me know what you think. And why couldn't it be uphill on the way there and then downhill on the way back? That would make more sense with my warm-up and cool-down routine. Oh well! The good thing is that the stairs are through a nice wooded area so it is a pleasant walk.

English Camp Advertising In Local Schools

2008-05-18T19:23:00.003+02:00

Joel and I were in local schools 4 days last week advertising for this summer's English camps to about 10 different classes. Joel and I will be spearheading two camps this summer, a junior high one and a high school one, for students from Kranj and surrounding villages. There will also be six other camps throughout Slovenia run by fellow JV staff. Our junior high camp is almost full already but we still have lots of openings for the high school camp. Please be praying for the students who will attend camps this summer.
Above is a picture of the high school we spent most of our time advertising in last week. Friday was the last day of school for the seniors and I felt fortunate to be there to witness part of their tradition. They were all dressed up in prom-like attire and had a processional through the entire school during classes where they went through every class room chanting a phrase that translated into something like "Oh, the honorable beard of the monk." I guess it's supposed to mean that they are wise now that they are finished with high school. Oh, if only I could go back to that time when I knew everything! :-) I hardly know anything now! Another part of the tradition is that as they march through the class rooms they take things that are not being protected or held tightly and redistribute them throughout the school building. Fortunately, our class room teacher warned us of this before the procession entered our room so Joel and I knew to hold onto our belongings tightly. It was quite a sight to see and hear! Later in the day the main street was shut down in front of the high school and they had a celebration dance but we were off doing other things by then so I didn't get to see that. I think they also burned a coffin to represent dying to high school. Interesting tradition...when I was in high school all we did is throw all of our assignments that we had saved throughout the year up in the air and create a fire hazard in the hallways. Anyone else have any crazy traditions to share?

Spring sights, scents, and sizzles

2008-05-15T22:59:00.005+02:00

Spring has arrived in Kranj and summer is quickly approaching! Recently I had a peaceful walk through the Kokra River Canyon, without any fugitives being on the loose (see blog entry dated Mar. 10th if you don't know what I'm referring to). The trees have all sprouted their leaves so quickly and many flowers are in bloom...I love it! Especially fragrant right now are the lilacs and wisteria around town.

Another thing I like about this time of year is barbequing so I purchased a mini charcoal kettle barbeque grill. I even successfully assembled it all by myself using the cryptic instructions included. Here's a picture of it on my balcony. I haven't actually used it yet but I plan to soon! I've never used a charcoal grill before so hopefully my next blog entry won't have anything to do with putting out a fire on my balcony. :-)

I love flower gardening and am missing my yard back home. Most days after work at this time of year I would walk around the yard and tend to the flowers for awhile before dinner. Fortunately, I am not completely flowerless here as my balcony has flower boxes along the length of it which I joyfully filled as soon as the weather was warm enough. It doesn't take too long to walk the length of the balcony and tend to them...a little different than my yard back home! I'm sure Kelly wouldn't mind if any of you in Oregon wanted to stop by my house and pull some weeds. :-)

JV Spring Bible Conference

2008-05-10T17:26:00.004+02:00

Last week I was in the Czech Republic with the Josiah Venture staff family for our annual spring Bible conference. The theme was "Fit For the Battle..Back to the Basics." We talked a lot about spiritual warfare and that as Christians we need to remember that we are on the battlefield 24/7 and need to think like soldiers, react like soldiers, and endure like soldiers of the Cross. This was a good perspective check for me. We also worshiped in English before every session and that was fantastic! So it was a great conference except that I came back with a cold which I am just now recovering from. Oh, and we had a luau family fun day, ending with a roasted pig for dinner. Isn't he cute?

Last week...the good, the bad, and the ugly

2008-04-25T11:07:00.005+02:00

THE GOOD...I had the privilege of helping to plan and coordinate a country-wide ministry team training event that took place last Saturday. We had about 40 people attend including staff, student leaders, and adult volunteers. This was a time of casting vision and providing training for summer English camp outreach. It was totally fun to help connect believers from different areas of Slovenia and to see them realize they are not alone in following and serving Christ!

THE BAD...I am also feeling the cultlure shock a bit more now. It's kind of like a delayed reaction I think. I've read that it's normal to experience this at the 2-3 month range and that's right where I am at now. I think that I should have everything all figured out by now but I don't. It's an unrealistic expectation. People who have been here for 5 years or more tell me that they still don't have it all figured out! So for the straw-breaker, I failed at making a recipe called "Idiot bread." It turned out flat as a pancake! I've never used yeast before so after describing my failure to my mom she gave me some insight into proofing yeast with warm water and not boiled water. Apparently I killed the yeast. So the next morning I got up and tried again and this time it turned out. So I can make Idiot bread...the sweet taste of victory! :-) Here's a picture comparing the two attempts.

THE UGLY...I got my hair cut last week for the first time in Slovenia and I really don't like it. It's too short and it's uneven. As I look around, the uneven part is a normal haircut here. So I fit in with it but it's still not what I wanted. No picture for this paragraph!

Personal Retreat

2008-04-20T19:26:00.008+02:00

I have developed a tradition of taking a personal retreat with just me and the Lord for a few days each year. I devote this time to just being in the Lord's presence praying, reading God's Word, worshiping, taking stock of where I've been and asking God where He would like to lead me in the upcoming year. It's always a refreshing time. Joel gave me April 10-12th off and I decided to use those days for my annual personal retreat. I asked around for some ideas on where to go and ended up going to a facility owned by Calvary Chapel called "The Castle" in Millstatt, Austria. Here's the link to their website if you'd like to know more about the facility: www3.calvarychapel.com/castle/index.html. I had a little bit of a rough start to my trip as I missed my train connection in Villach, Austria but the next train was only an hour later. And then because I got in later than expected the staff from the Castle were not able to pick me up so I had to take a taxi to the Castle which cost me 25 euro for a 25 minute ride. Ouch! I was a little unsettled at this point. I had to do some preaching to myself to not let this ruin my whole retreat. The truth of the matter was that I only got to my destination 1.5 hours later than expected and it only cost me 15 euro more than planned (the Castle pick up costs 10 euro). I got there just in time for lunch and the staff were so friendly and hospitable that by the end of lunch I was feeling more at ease and able to let the travel issues go.

The weather was decent the day I arrived so after lunch I took a hike up the hill above the Castle and sat and read my Bible from the following vantage point overlooking Millstattersee (I think that means Lake Millstatt but I'm not sure)...
It was gray and cloudy/rainy the rest of the time so I was glad I took advantage of the weather the first day to get a hike in. I had a good retreat spending much time praying for the ministry in Slovenia and for God's guidance in how He wants to use me here. It was not a mountain top experience but it was definitely good to recalibrate my soul in God's presence. Here are a couple more pics...

The Castle

The quaint village of Millstatt along the lake as seen from the Castle.

Ljubljana Baptist Church Retreat

2008-04-16T21:10:00.004+02:00

The weekend before last, I had the privilege of joining the Baptist church in Ljubljana (the capital city) on their annual retreat to the Croatian coast. Other than the Woodard's and I, the rest of the Slovenian JV team attends this church. So it was an opportunity for me to get to know my teammates better. I had attended a service at this church back in 2002 when I was here to do English camps. It was so fun to see how the Lord has grown this church since then. I think there were about 20 people in the service back in 2002 and now there were about 95 church members and guests at this retreat! The atmosphere was one of joy in the Lord and in fellowship with each other and it was so fun to see and be a part of that. Praise God for the way He is growing this church and pray for His protection over this growing body.

This is the New Life retreat center that we stayed at. It was located right across the street from the Adriatic Sea and beach access.

This was the view of the Adriatic and Krk island from the hotel balcony.

The portion of the Croatian coast that I saw was pretty but it was rocky with not much beach space. The nearby towns were quaint but I still prefer the large sandy beaches of Oregon! :-)

This center of the town we stayed in, Crikvenica, was just a 10 minute walk away.

People gathering for session time. So fun to see such a full room!

After Sunday morning church service a couple of people were baptized in the Adriatic Sea and we had a time of worship right there on the beach. That's Josh Patty playing guitar and Katka Bordner (Slovene national and fellow JV team member) leading the singing.

My kitchen turned into a bakery!

2008-04-04T13:23:00.009+02:00

Last night some students came over and we made desserts for a fund-raiser dessert for Trdna Skala that takes place tonight. Our church is trying to raise funds to purchase the building that Trdna Skala rents and our church currently meets in. Joel will be sharing future plans for Trdna Skala and how people can be involved. The students and I had a great time making the desserts together! We made chocolate chip cookies, apple crisp, chocolate cake, and tiramisu.

Ness making chocolate cake.

Cookie monsters in the house!

Ness, Zan, and Anja

Zan doing a taste test!

Spring weather is here!

2008-04-04T12:15:00.005+02:00

It looks like spring weather is here, although I'm told it could just be teasing us and we could still see snow in April! :-) On Sunday afternoon I went for a bike ride and here are some pictures of the beautiful Slovenian landscape in the area I am blessed to live in.

Mt. Storzic (6992'), part of the Kamnisko alpes surrounding Kranj

Me and my main mode of transportation for the year (well, besides my feet!). :-)

Bled & Vintgar Gorge

2008-03-25T16:22:00.004+01:00

Thursday's are my day off and since the weather was nice (mostly clear but chilly) I decided to go exploring last Thursday. So I looked up the bus schedule online and managed to hop on the right bus and headed off to Bled, probably the most popular tourist destination in Slovenia. It is a town with a beautiful lake surrounded by mountains, the country's only island in the middle of it with a 9th century church built on the small island, and a medieval castle perched atop a rocky cliff overlooking the lake. It's simply magical! After hiking up to the castle and enjoying the view from up above, I headed off to Vintgar Gorge. I didn't know much about it except that my Lonely Planet Slovenia tour book suggested it as a good side trip from Bled. So off I went on the 2.5 walk through quaint villages and farms before arriving at the trail head. I got there only to find a posting that the trail was closed. Now, I didn't walk 2.5 miles to not even get to go on the hiking trail so off I went on the trail anyways! :-) I figured I would cautiously go however far I could safely and then turn around when it became necessary. I am so glad I went! It was an amazing trail through a narrow gorge that ended up being a wooden footpath suspended above a rushing river (nailed into the rocky cliff side) for 1 mile. It winded and twisted through the gorge. I kept thinking I was at the end of the trail and then I would turn a corner and a new vista would open up before me. So I found myself laughing out loud as I walked this trail and turned each corner. :-) The Lord impressed upon my heart that this is a good picture of what life is like here for me in Slovenia. I can't see too far ahead and I never know what is around the next corner but as long as I keep following Him I can keep moving forward trusting that whatever it is, it will be good! The Lord spoke to me and told me not to worry if things are happening more slowly in the ministry then I would like because it can all change so quickly by just rounding one corner. The pace is His job, my job is to keep my eyes on Him and follow His lead with an hilarious joy trusting in His perfect plan which He will reveal one step at a time and I will understand in hindsight the grand orchestration of it all. So I'm looking forward to rounding many exciting corners during the next year!

Language learning update

2008-03-16T21:04:00.005+01:00

Many thanks to all of you who are praying for my learning and retention of the Slovene language! I feel like I have made some good progress in the last two weeks and it has been very helpful to meet with a couple of Slovene high school students to have them help tutor me using my abc 123 grammar book as a guide. I can now count small numbers in Slovene and I understand them if they are spoken slowly. If the number is 28 then why do they have to say the eight first and then the twenty part!? I have no idea but I don't think I will ever get used to that. I can also understand and speak some basic greetings like hi, how are you, what is your name, my name is..., etc. Just enough speaking ability to get me into trouble. So here's a funny story...today in the elevator an older lady started talking to me when I stepped into the elevator. I could tell by her body language that she was saying something to the effect of she didn't know why the elevator came up to the 11th floor (my floor) when she had pushed the button for the first floor. I shrugged my shoulders and smiled. Then she asked me how I was doing...here was my moment to put into practice my new language skills. So I answered "dobro" which means good and then said "in ti" which means and you? I was just expecting a one word answer like good, okay, so-so, not so good or something like that but instead she rattled off a couple of whole sentences and I had no idea what she was saying! :-) At this point I didn't have the heart to tell her that I don't really speak Slovene so I took my clues from her body language again and used some good advice a friend gave me quite some time ago (thanks Krista!) and that is - when in doubt just smile and nod. She seemed okay with this response and thankfully the elevator was at her stop by this time so I was rescued before she found out that I'm not really fluent in Slovene! So keep praying for my language acquisition...I have a long ways to go but I am moving forward!

Sunday afternoon hiking adventure

2008-03-10T14:20:00.004+01:00

I decided to explore the Kokra River Canyon on Sunday afternoon. I have often noticed the trail down in the canyon as I walk over the bridge into downtown Kranj. This center of Kranj is perched on a high plateau and is framed on two sides by the Sava and Kokra Rivers, kind of creating a natural moat of sorts as the two rivers merge at the south end of town. There is a staircase at the end of the bridge leading down into the canyon and to the trailhead, a mere 10 minute walk from my apartment. So off I went after lunch on Sun. for a leisurely walk in the woods along the river but as I neared the bridge instead of hearing the chirping of birds I heard the whirring of helicopter blades. To my surprise there was a police helicopter, not a KGW news channel 8 type helicopter, but an actual police helicopter hovering just 100 yards over the canyon and the same distance from the bridge. Clearly they were looking for something or someone down in the canyon. Many bystanders gathered on the bridge to watch the hovering helicopter and eventually it headed off further down the canyon but still obviously on the search. Unsure of weather it was safe for me to continue on with my plans to walk through the canyon I hung out on the bridge looking down into the canyon until I finally saw some other hikers enjoying a walk in the woods down there. So I thought to myself "ah, it's okay since there are other people down there and surely the police would close the trailhead if it weren't safe to go down there." So off I went! It was a gray, overcast day but dry and not too cold. It felt good to be out getting some fresh air and there were birds chirping and the first spring flowers blooming along the wooded path with the sound of the flowing river nearby too (once the helicopter gave up the search). As I was exploring the trail I noticed that at each trailhead junction along the way there were police cars parked and at one point I saw police officers on the other side of the canyon walking along the trail over there. Hmm...I thought to myself, oh well there are still other people out on the trail too and I don't want to bag my afternoon hike so I kept going. Finally I got to the end of the maintained trail and found a good sitting spot looking down the canyon at the flowing river and was getting ready to pull out my Bible for some nice reading time when a police officer came up to me and started talking to me in Slovene. Not sure if I was in trouble or not, I explained that I only spoke English and asked if it was okay that I was there. He said it was okay but wanted to know how long I had been there and if I had seen a man wearing blue. Having been there for only 5 minutes I had not seen anyone. I asked if it was safe to stay and he said it was okay but that they were searching for a man who had attacked a police officer and then escaped into the canyon. Then he and his partner began to search the cliff and shrubs in the area I was sitting in, looking for the fugitive. Reluctantly, I decided maybe it would be better for me to head back to the more populated area of the canyon. I can't believe that they hadn't closed off the canyon to pedestrians! Anyways, I didn't have my camera with me to document any of the events because I let Joel borrow it to take to Israel and bring back some good pictures of the Holy Land while he is at a global youth workers conference there. So the picture below is looking down into the canyon from the bridge on a sunny day a few weeks ago. That was my Sunday afternoon adventure! No harm done and it makes for a good story! :-)

Kokra River canyon

Snow and Trdna Skala

2008-03-07T12:50:00.007+01:00

It snowed this week for the first time since I arrived in Slovenia! Here's a picture of the snowy landscape from my 11th floor apartment view...

On Wednesday we opened Trdna Skala from 3-6pm for students to just drop by and hang out and we will continue to do so every Wed. probably until June. TS hasn't been open on a regular basis since Oct. and I am glad to be here to provide more man hours so we can open it up again. I'll even be manning it on my own next week since Joel is out of town! I'm putting that key to good use! :-)

Resident photographer Nejc, Matic, Juliana, Ness

Anja and another Nejc having a serious foosball game!

Zapik!

2008-02-28T23:45:00.048+01:00

Thanks everyone for praying for our Zapik retreat! We had outstanding weather in a beautiful location up in the mountians of the Podljubelj area, just a few kilometers from the Austrian border. The picture to the right is the facility that we stayed in. We had 15 students attend the retreat. I think that everyone had a good time (as you can see from the laser tag crew) and that they were all challenged to think about who is writing the story of their
lives and if they are willing to submit to God and let Him be the one directing their lives.

Across the street from our camp facility was a former Nazi concentration camp that was a labor subcamp from the infamous Mauthausen camp from 1943-45. Prisoners at this labor camp were forced to hand dig a tunnel through the mountain pass of Ljubelj into Austria. We all took some time to remember the victims of these atrocities as we reflected on what we want our own lives to stand for too.

First 2 Weeks

2008-02-20T21:54:00.004+01:00

"We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair." -2 Cor. 4:8

I have now been in Slovenia for almost 2 weeks and the above verse has been my anchor as I transition into life here. I have much to learn and adjust to but I am not overwhelmed and there are certainly many perplexing things here as I cannot understand the language yet but I am not despairing as the Lord is with me and my hope is in Him. Actually, my transition has been quite smooth and comfortable in many ways and it feels more and more like home in my apartment everyday as I continue to get unpacked and settled in. I have had many firsts in the last 12 days including: going with a group of Slovene students to watch a movie in the capital city of Ljubljana (saw National Treasure 2 in English :-), shopping for groceries by pictures because all of the labels are in a foreign language (well foreign to me, not to the residents here), ordering food by pointing because I have no idea how to say anything in Slovene yet, walking to the train station and riding the train to Ljubljana all by myself, bringing my groceries home in a basket on the back of a bike instead of in the trunk of a car :-), attending a youth event at Trdna Skala (the name of our youth center which means "solid rock") and then getting my own key to the building afterwards. That last one was very surreal for me as I have prayed for the ministry of Joel and Amy since they moved here and have been involved from a distance since the beginning of Trdna Skala and then to actually be here physically as a part of the ministry and to even have my own key to the building was very profound for me.

I'm so glad that I am here and am confident that this is where the Lord wants me right now! The JV team here has welcomed me with open arms and I already feel integrated into their team. I've been over to four different homes for meals and have quickly reconnected with old friends and made new friends. Also, I have already met about 15 of the students here and they are a great group of kids who are down to earth and easy to converse with. We have an annual winter retreat this coming weekend for the students in Kranj (the city I live in) called Zapik, which means home base or safe place. The theme for the retreat is "A Story" and messages will be based on 2 Cor. 3:1-3 where it talks about how our lives are like letters read by people and that we can be a letter from Christ written by the Spirit of God and have a great story if we allow God to write it. So please be praying for the students who will attend. Pray that God will prepare their hearts to receive this message and that the Holy Spirit will be guiding their thought processes as they evaluate the story their lives have told up to this point and what they want the story of their futures to look like. Pray that many students would decide to let God write the story of their lives and that they would find joy in surrendering to Him as Lord and Savior. Pray also that the Lord will give me good connections with the students as I get to know them and they get to know me and that it will serve as a good springboard for me into the ministry here. We will also be doing this same retreat the following weekend with a JV youth group from a nearby city where the ministry is just getting started so please be praying for those students as well. There is the possibility that I will travel to this city periodically to help the couple there who are heading up this ministry so pray that the Lord would show me if He has some students there that I could connect with and mentor.Thanks everyone for all of your encouraging emails and phone calls! Thanks for praying for me and the ministry here in Kranj. I'm glad to have you all on my team! "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit" (Rom. 12:13).

Arrival Day in Slovenia

2008-02-07T19:50:00.000+01:00

I arrived in Slovenia on Feb. 7th and here are the pics from my first email sent from Slovenia that not everyone received:

View from my apartment window when I lean out a bit. :-)

Sunset over the city of Kranj...my new home for a year!

I give thanks to God for smooth and uneventful flights to Slovenia and no problems with customs or lost luggage. Thanks everyone for praying! I flew into Slovenia on a beautiful, sunny day and was greeted at the airport by most of the Slovenia Josiah Venture team (9 out of 14 members I think) and the pastor (and his wife) of the church I will be a member of and even one of the students. It was such a warm welcome and I am excited to join their team in Slovenia! In the afternoon Joel took me over to see my apartment and unpack a bit and I love it! Attached is a picture taken from my balcony...okay I had to lean out a bit to get the view of the mountains but they are there. :-) And then the other picture is the sunset tonight looking out over Kranj towards the mountains (not taken from my apartment). This truly is a beautiful city and I don't think I will get tired of looking at those alps! Please continue to pray for my transition into the language, culture, and ministry here.For those of you who have been asking for my address in Kranj, here it is:

Kathy Codanti

Ulica Toncka Dezmana 8, St. 69

4000 Kranj

Slovenia

It would be best to only send letters to this address right now because Joel is a little concerned about if they will actually be delivered to me or not since the apartment is owned and registered in someone else's name. So if you want to send a package to me it would be better to send it Joel and Amy at the following address (I think he came up with this scam to hijack my packages :-)

Kathy Codanti

c/o Joel & Amy Woodard

Pipanova Cesta 4

4208 Sencur

Slovenia

Also, I have the following Vonage phone# that is an Oregon# but will ring me in Slovenia through the internet: 503-766-3379. Just remember that I am 9 hours ahead of all you west coast people so please try call before 1pm your time. :-) Thanks everyone for your prayers and support...I love you all!