February Newsletter - Jessica in Slovakia

Jessica’s February Newsletter
Updates from Slovakia
My first month at my new placement in Velky Slavkov went really well and was full of many different experiences. I will try to describe a typical day for me to give you an idea of what life is like at the center. The day begins with a Bible study and prayer time with the other workers in the morning, which I have found to be a really nice way to start out the work day. Next, Kristen and I head to the kitchen with the cook, Pali. We help him prepare lunch, which is the biggest meal and consists of soup and then a hot meal. Most of the guys usually are at work during the day, but they come to the center to eat lunch with everyone. There are always a couple of guys around during the day though. Helping in the kitchen is a lot of fun, because the cook speaks English and is nice to talk to. He fills us in on things that are going on that we were not able to understand in the meetings. Usually there are guys coming in and out of the kitchen throughout the morning also, and sometimes they help out with things. After lunch is served we clean everything up and usually have the afternoon to plan for Bible study or English lessons. During the evenings there is a meeting once a week, Bible study with the boys once a week, English lessons with the boys twice a week, and a community Bible study once a week. The evenings are also a good time to hang out with the guys in the fellowship room. One of the guys is teaching me how to play guitar, which has been fun and interesting to learn in Slovak.
Korean Mission Group
Right after I arrived in the beginning of February a mission group from Korea came for a week, and this was a wonderful time here. They had various activities planned to do with the boys including teaching Tai Kwon Do, games, singing, and a drama. The boys loved learning Tai Kwon Do (I did too!), and worked really hard at it. They also taught a short drama to four of the boys and me that we performed at the end of the week. It was so great to see how well the guys bonded to this group despite the language barrier. The group shared some of their Korean culture with us, and we shared some of the Slovak culture with them. One afternoon they gave a short lesson on the Korean language, and some of the guys gave them a lesson in the Slovak language. The evenings were spent singing together, and playing some traditional Korean games they taught us. We also learned some Korean worship songs and taught them some Slovak worship songs. One afternoon we all went to the High Tatras to go sledding, which was so much fun! It is difficult to describe the feel of this week, but the Koreans brought a lot of love and joy to everyone here. The week ended with a big program on Sunday night where some of the guys performed the Tai Kwon Do they learned, we performed the drama, sang songs together, and the Koreans wore their traditional dress and did a Korean dance.
One of the things I really enjoyed this week was seeing the relationships formed and how the Koreans ministered by walking along side of the people here. It was such a wonderful example of the model of accompaniment, because the different stories of many people were brought together with the love of God uniting us. It was sad to see them leave and the boys told them how they would miss them and hope they would come back again.
During the week the Koreans were here the Slovak National Television also came to do a story on the center and the work done here. They filmed and interviewed some of the guys and the workers, and to our surprise interviewed Kristen and me! After we finished dinner they told us they wanted to film us and for us to say a little bit about ourselves and what we are doing in Slovakia. We did not have time to prepare for it, so we were quite nervous to be speaking some Slovak on television! We each got a DVD copy of the program and it is a really nice representation of the work done here. It will be great to show you all when I get home.
Valentine’s Day Party
Valentine’s Day is celebrated in Slovakia, but it is a much more low key holiday here than in America. However, the boys love parties and sweets so Kristen and I decided it would be a good time to have a party! We made one Slovak cake and one American cake (the Pillsbury Fun-Fetti Valentine’s Day cake with the frosting and candy hearts on top!), which was a really big hit. We made a very nice red piñata with a heart on it also for the party. It was a random idea to make a piñata and was time-consuming, but they had a lot of fun with it. They enjoyed the kolače (cakes) very much, and also the time spent hanging out, and of course dancing.
Prayer Requests
As I have been getting more settled in the center here I am also becoming more aware of the various problems the guys here are dealing with. Some of them are dealing with depression, anxiety and addictions. They have difficulty taking on responsibility and have trouble keeping a job. Please pray for them, and for the workers who dedicate so much of their time and energy to helping them.

Thank you for your prayers and support!
-Jessica