2 Week Update

Well any minute now the rest of the team will arrive at our apartment door in preparation for one of the many bible studies/group meetings we have during the week. This one is on Thursday morning at 9 and Miriam has been up since 7 making some wonderfully smelling coffee cake. For the past 2 weeks since I've been here it has basically consisted of me getting used to things with very little work, so I'm a little spoiled I think!

To give you an idea of my schedule (and this will probably change), we have Mondays off but that night we have a women's bible study/dinner/prayer/singing time usually at our house. Tuesdays there's usually quite a bit going on like English classes and I think Senior High activities. Wednesday there's English classes, team "business" meetings, and that evening a few of us usually get together for a bite to eat and read some scriptures. Thursdays we meet from 9-11 for prayer time and after that other things at the Building happen, though it seems to be a relaxed day. Fridays are usually pretty busy as we get ready for big activities. Since I've been here we've prepared for the Intro and also a Thanksgiving meal- so Fridays are fun. Saturdays are our other day off. Sundays we go to church that starts at 10, we have some kind of lunch at home (hopefully sleep) and then meet at the Lundgaard's for a more in depth bible study. So that's my week in a nutshell. You can tell that the week is saturated with studying the word, praying, singing, and fellowship. I'm sure it'll change a bit over time, especially when I start really getting into my behind-the-scenes work here, but that will basically be the general schedule.
Did I tell you already about Thanksgiving? I don't remember if I did. Because we have different groups of kids, we split our holiday parties up in many weeks. So Thanksgiving started last week and will end sometime next week. Last week I cooked for what was supposed to be like 25-30, but ended up to be more like 15. It's definitely a different culinary world to a) go to the grocery store (potraviny) to get your supplies b) on a very tight budget, c) in a small kitchen with 4 burners and one stove. Most of you are thinking "I do that every day!" but see, I'm used to a large commercial kitchen with gadgets and storage rooms and walk-in refrigerators full of food, so cooking for 30 in that kitchen is a piece of cake, whereas this takes much more planning and "strategy". :) So we have another meal tomorrow and I'm cooking the mashed potatoes, carrots, the dessert, and if I can find more sweet potatoes (rare) then maybe my sweet potato casserole again.

Last weekend we went to Ikea and the mall in Bratislava. I had been wanting to go here a while so I can buy stuff to get me feeling settled--and feeling like it was MY space, not temporarily sleeping in someone else's. So I bought a lamp that I've been waiting years to buy, a comforter and pillow, a laundry hamper, some great white square plates and bowls, and a new cooking knife as well. It's definitely done a good job in allowing me to feel more at home.
It's been getting a lot colder over the past 2 weeks since I arrived, which I'm actually kinda thankful for (or at least will be until January when I'll probably be sick of the cold!). I'm thankful for it because when it's cold enough for jackets but not enough for scarves/gloves, etc. is because when you get inside a store or apartment you're so sweaty and hot from walking all over the place. So when it gets really cold you don't sweat as much and don't have to strip all your outerwear all the time.

Today we walked across the big pretty square in what I call "downtown" for lunch. We saw this massive Christmas tree in the middle of it. And I'm not talking about one you'd find in even the biggest of American houses- I'm talking about a TREE like at least 25 ft. high! We walked towards it all in smiles because of the smell. I picked off a tiny piece of a needle and smelled it fervently! It smelled so much like Christmas and for a minute or two, us Americans were gitty about the holiday coming up.
I'll also be starting my design work very soon, which is exciting. We've been thinking about the website and other design projects for a really long time, so I'm stoked to go ahead and get started on things. Oh and P.S.: I now love Coke Blak! (coffee and coke) It's amaaaazing.

Prayer Requests for Me:

1) I am so thankful that I have not become too terribly ill since I've been here, minus some discomfort the first few days- a big surprise! Please continue to pray for my stable physical, mental and spiritual health.

2) Please pray for me (and the team) as I (we) continue to slave over learning Slovak. I'm sure I've said this before, but it is a very complicated language. I am hoping that I won't get burned out on learning it!

3) I will be starting my behind-the-scenes design work next week. Please pray for guidance with this as I work on designing the website, brochures and other needs.

Prayer Requests for the Team:

1) We're in a huge transitional time right now. Miriam, the ministry coordinator here, is going back to the States for 4 months on leave. That means everything she handles on a day to day basis will now be handed down to everyone else. If you knew how much she does, you'd know that this is a big deal! Especially because almost everyone here is either brand new or hasn't been here longer than 2 years. So pray that we'd not only have guidance about how to lead when she's gone, but also that she can leave with total peace about leaving.

2) All of the other interns (Ryan, Anya, and Gina) are also leaving for the Holidays--though Anya will be back in January for a while and Gina will be back after New Years I believe. We're also welcoming back the Lesondaks in December (the family that started this ministry who have been in the states for a year and a half), and also a new family who has one child and will be here in January I think. We're also anticipating the return of Janna Scheflen who will be here for 2 years. So as you can see, lots of people coming and going over the next 2 months, so please pray for safety, for smooth transitions, and that the Lord would provide guidance to those who are considering coming back.

3) Please pray for direction for The Building. We are making very important decisions about our goals and missions, if we should keep raising money for a possible new Building in Trnava, whether we should move to another city as well, and many more long term goals. These are complicated decisions and need guidance from the Lord.

4) Pray for a continuation of peace within the team members here, especially in the next few months in our big transition period.