January Newsletter - Jessica in Slovakia

Jessica’s January Newsletter
Updates from Slovakia
Midterm Seminar!
This past month I traveled with the other volunteers to Wisla, Poland for our midterm retreat. There were just over twenty volunteers all together, which included German and American volunteers serving in Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland, and Germany. It was really nice to have a week off and spend time with the other volunteers. We spent time in seminars, discussion groups, and doing various activities covering many topics dealing with our year of service. We talked about our placements, successes, challenges, relationships being built, the culture, our values, and stereotypes. We also had free time when we were able to go hiking, see the town, and share lots of stories with one another. Overall it was a good time of reflection, very refreshing, and a lot of fun!
During the retreat my country coordinator and I decided it would be best for me to move to another placement in Slovakia, because of the problems with the center for the elderly opening. With the center not open and being in such a small village, it was difficult finding work to be involved in. After the retreat I returned to Horná Mičiná until the end of the month. It was difficult to leave, because I did build relationships there during those five months, but I am ready for this new experience. I spent a lot of time thinking about why I was in Horná Mičiná and why things worked out the way they did. I felt bad leaving and wanted things to somehow work there, but I came to the realization that I had done what I could, I learned a lot, and hopefully I made some type of a difference there. I am also sure that I will go back to visit some weekends.
Veľký Slavkov
Febuary 1st I moved to Veľký Slavkov, a village of about 1,000 people outside of Poprad. It is very different from Horná Mičiná, because it is near the High Tatras mountains, and is about double the size (there is even a post office in this village!) I am living with another American volunteer, Kristen, in a Christian center called Mlyn. Mlyn is a halfway house for Roma Gypsy guys from about 18 years old and up. They have grown up in children’s homes, but once they turn 18 they often have no place to go. They have been homeless, unemployed, and have various addictions. Many also have mental disabilities, or have had little education. Mlyn provides the guys with shelter, food, and services enabling them to overcome their pasts and get their lives on track. There are many prejudices about Gypsys in Slovakia, which I encountered before coming to Mlyn. In the past the government has given them housing and money to try to help them, but oftentimes this does not really help them, because they have not learned how to take care of things, use money wisely, or keep a job. Mlyn is committed to helping these guys cope with the problems they are encountering, break their addictions, and develop skills and discipline needed to keep a job. Many of them have had very rough lives and this center is a safe and loving place for them to be. The directors, Stano and his wife Eva started the center, and I am amazed at their love, dedication, and how they consider everyone here one big family. I have started here by helping Kristen with the activities she had already begun so that I can get to know the guys better. This includes helping in the kitchen, teaching English classes, teaching swimming, and doing Bible studies. They would like to have more activities planned for the guys to do during their free time, so I will be thinking of that as I get settled here.
A Life that Matters
The question to focus on for this past month was what it means to have a life that matters. Everyone wants to matter and to feel important in what they are doing. How do we get that and should we be concerned about this?
I know I have wrote about this before, but a lot of times here I realize how much meaning the small things have to me. There were people in Horná Mičiná who made me so happy and welcomed just by talking to me and listening to my conversation attempts in Slovak, or just by showing their concern and care for me. I’m not sure if they realized how something so small could matter so much to someone. Sometimes I wonder if I am needed here, or if I am making any difference at all, and I think about the small things people did to me that made an impact on me. I am constantly reminded of what Mother Teresa said: “It is not how much we do, but how much love we put in the doing. It is not how much we give, but how much love we put in the giving”. We don’t have to do extraordinary things in order to matter, because oftentimes it is the small things that end up making such an impact. Being introduced to Mlyn and the guys here I have been thinking more about how they matter. All their lives they have been receiving the message that they do not matter. Being abandoned by their families, growing up in children’s homes, and then being judged because of their darker skin and culture makes it difficult for these guys to feel as though they matter. However, it is very evident that each of them has unique gifts and matters very much. I am looking forward to getting to know them more and seeing the gifts they have been given.
Thank you for your prayers and support!
-Jessica