January Newsletter - Kristen in Slovakia

January Newsletter

January Happenings in Velky Slavkov

In January we had our mid-term seminar in Wisla, Poland. The volunteers in Slovakia met together with other American and German volunteers in the Czech Republic, Poland, and Germany. There we were able to compare our experiences thus far. We examined both the challenges that we are still facing as well as the successes that we have had in our placements. I was able to look at the small successes in teaching the boys some English, Desko learning how to swim, learning how to cook some new Slovak foods, having one of my host sisters braid my hair, and being able to sing some Slovak worship songs. I also was able to reflect on the challenges that I still face and set some goals for myself for the remaining half of the year. I realized that the challenges mostly revolve around the language barrier and it is important that I work daily on trying to improve my Slovak and have conversations with the people here. I was aware of the desire to continue to get the boys better and to make sure that I am taking the initiative of asking them questions. Just the other day I noticed one of the boys dying a sweatshirt and the next day when I asked him how it turned out he took me and showed me and we then discussed for a little while how to fix the splotches that had appeared on it. I realized from talking to the other volunteers that most of our struggles are very similar and the best way to work through them is to not be afraid to take the initiative. And of course the retreat also consisted of some fun time in between the sessions where we were able to take a nice long hike through the mountains and enjoy the gorgeous scenery, explore the town and shops, take a horse drawn carriage ride (with wheels since all the snow melted right before we were there), and just hang out and get to tell stories about our placements and experiences.
During the month of January we had two new faces arrived to the staff here at Myln. The first to arrive was Pali, our new chef. He is twenty-four and just came back from spending a year working in Britain. He used to work as the chef for the center next door so he is familiar with Velky Slavkov and most of the people working at Myln. The second person to arrive was Jessica, one of the American volunteers who was working in a small village outside of Banska Bystrica. Her placement had fallen through and she was interested in the work done here, so she has also joined us here at the end of the month. She is twenty-two and from Pennsylvania. Both of them are an awesome addition to the work team and I am enjoying working with them.
January sixteenth was my name day here (Kristina)! In Slovakia every day of the year has been assigned one or two names. All of the calendars have the names written on them for each day and people keep close track of whose names are to be celebrated. When naming their children, the Slovaks choose from one of the preselected names that are used in the country. You might be wondering if the parents just name their child for the name that is on the day they are born, but no. That would take away the fun of having both a birthday and a name day. Unfortunately I was away at the seminar for my name day, but customarily the person whose name day it is receives small gifts or chocolates and people shake their hand or kiss their cheeks and wish them a happy name day.
Our question of the month for January was "Does everyone matter?" I am sure that you already know that my answer will be yes, of course everyone matters. And they do. But I think this question goes much deeper than we realize. Just because we acknowledge with our lips that everyone matters does not mean that we always remember this or treat everyone this way. With some people it is easier than with others. It is a challenge to welcome someone to sit down beside you when they smell like they haven't showered for weeks, or to take a walk and talk to the boys as they are smoking, or to smile and be friendly to someone who says something mean about you in Slovak, not realizing that you understand more than they think you do. But these things are important. The best way to help someone know that they matter in this world is to take time to be with them.
I am also learning through this experience here that I matter too. It is hard sometimes to be the outsider here but sometimes the best way to minister to people is to be on the receiving end of what they can offer. One of the ways here that I was shown that I matter was through one of the boys, Dusan, who has severe mental disabilities and has the mentality of about a five year old. I always make sure that I say hi to him, ask him how he is, listen to what he has to say, and give him an occasional candy. Well I had left for a few days and came back late that evening without seeing him. The next morning I was talking to someone in the hall upstairs and from below I hear Dusan as he hears my voice. "Kristy? Kristy! Kristy is back!!!" And Dusan ran out of his room and half-way up the steps, still putting on his shirt. He had dropped everything he was doing, including finishing getting dressed, in his excitement to see me.
We all matter. Everyone has a story to tell. The important thing is to remember this and to look for the opportunities in our lives to both tell our story and to listen to the stories of others. I hope that everything is well with all of you, and as always please keep in touch.
In the love and peace of Christ,
Kristen