Some Exciting news, YAGM has added Hungary to list of Country sites. This will be part of a Slovakia and Hungary Program emphasizing the needs of the Roma-Gypsy population in the Regions.
Here is a full Description:
This program partners with the church and the Roma-Gadje Dialogue Through Service project that provide volunteers the opportunity to build inter-cultural awareness, understanding, sensitivity and solidarity among Roma communities in central Europe. These communities face persecution, forced assimilation, mistrust, fear and banishment from the dominant culture. Through their placements, Gadje (non-Roma) work alongside Roma in local community projects, particularly education, after-school activities, youth work and church-based programs. Volunteers engage in inter-cultural dialog and gain understanding of the social, cultural, political and religious issues affection Roma.
For more info check out
Young Adults in Global Mission
Showing posts with label Slovakia and Hungary. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Slovakia and Hungary. Show all posts
Monday, January 5, 2009
Sunday, June 15, 2008
May Newsletter - Mark in Slovakia
Mark's Mission Notes
Ahoj and Greetings from Slovakia.
My May has been quite interesting. I saw the Maj Strom go up,
Confirmation, Sväty Duch and had opportunities to travel. My time here is getting closer to when I return and it seems like every week is flying by faster and faster. I'm starting to realize that I will be
going home and what that means for me.
And as usual I have been writing some other updates on my Blog for those of you who are Internet savvy. The address is http://www.moltron.net/
I also have many more pictures available at
http://flickr.com/photos/themoltron
On the First of May, the village had a huge celebration and erected a
Maj Strom or May Tree…basically a big pole with a small tree on top. It stays up during the whole month. It was great seeing all the familiar faces and sounds in the village. Pan Gavornik, who takes pictures of everything, the kids from school running around crazy, the small brass ensemble playing classic Slovak tunes and the pleasant sound of laughter.
That Sunday we had Confirmation Sunday. Confirmation is considered a huge deal, a rite of passage for many of the youth. The Service was packed and the confirmands were dressed in their finest. The Girls in stunning white dresses and the Boys in suits. For many this is the first time I've seen them in something other than jeans and a t-shirt. Family members from all over came for this special occasion. Each confirmand was called up to the altar and given a blessing from the Pastor. Večera Pánova (Communion) is only given a few times a year and this was one of those occasions. I was asked to help which I felt honored. It took about half an hour because there were so many people. The Service itself was
beautiful and it took a little longer because of all the pomp and
circumstance.
Afterward I had some reflections about my own Confirmation. Is it just something that people do and just go through the motions? It is a hard thing to determine, I can't see people hearts. The week before confirmation the confirmands were asked to answers questions about their faith. The answers they gave were from a textbook. I can remember during my confirmation learning answers to questions just because I had to know them. I not sure I was any different. There are many things that point the way and help us to wrap our heads around Faith but Faith isn't found in a textbook. It is found when our hearts meet God's. I think this is one of the greatest struggle our church faces. That we think faith can be distilled down to the right answers.
The Next Sunday was Sväty Duch Nedela or Holy Spirit Sunday. The Pastor asked everyone in the village to wear Kroj (the traditional Slovak folk Costume, each village has a slightly different costume). Flo and I spend the day before walking around the village trying to find Kroj for us to wear. What an experience. Apparently not many men wear kroj so only a few people had things we could use. We walked from house to house. Everybody told us of someone else who maybe had something. In process we were given our fill of kolačky(cookies), Obed(lunch) and Kava(coffee).
We were blessed so much from the hospitality. After being stuffed full of food and conversation we were able to find everything we needed. So on Sväty Duch we wore Kroj and were like real Slovaks for a day.
After all these events I took some much needed time for travel. My first stop was in Budapest with some of the other Volunteers in Slovakia. Budapest is such a beautiful city. There are times I'm traveling that I'm in disbelief of where I am. You hear and see things about cities like Budapest and when you get there it is a little surreal. Many of the sites we like being in a movie or fairy tale. We visited many interesting places and were lucky enough to be there when they had a folk festival going on at the National History Museum. I was wonderful to see, hear and experience some of the native culture. Of course when you're in Hungary you have to eat Hungarian Goulash, which by the way is amazing. Hungary being so close to Slovakia you would think the language would be similar but, No. Very different indeed. Apparently it is related to Norse and Icelandic languages.
Then I headed off to London. Being in Slovakia and not being around very many native English speakers for quite a while, arriving is London interesting. I couldn't help listening in on people's conversations just because I could understand them. It also made me realize just how much I will miss speaking Slovak and that my time there will soon be coming to a conclusion. In London I met up with one of the other YAGM volunteers Eric who is living in a neighborhood of London called Camden. I arrived on Corpus Christi, so I was able to celebrate a traditional Church of
England mass. Smell and Bells as they call it. Incense and lots of
ringing bells. In some ways it felt like being home worshiping in
English. I also made me realize how much of our worship traditions come from England. I traveled all around London visiting Parliament,
Westminster Abbey, and Piccadilly Circus. I even traveled to Greenwich Village and stood across the Prime Meridian.
As Much as I wish I could assimilate myself into this strange and now somewhat familiar culture. I am constantly being reminded that I am and always will be a foreigner. Sometimes I'll try to say something in my best Slovak and people don't understand. Why Slovaks don't grasp the concept of a coffee machine or when they don't understand No!!! When you say you've had enough food. I will never understand but I love them for it anyway. We are all like foreigners trying to make sense of our environment based on previous experiences, expectations and values. How does God shape our experiences, expectations and values? How does our
own culture shape our Faith? I'm still trying to figure that out. I have
grown from my experience here, seeing how others see and worship God in a completely different context than I'm used to. It has given me a larger view of God and a different lens to see the influences my home culture has on my faith.
Lord,
Open are eyes to really see the influences on our Life and Faith
Shape our lives with your Presence
Give us Compassion for understanding
Help us to makes sense of what it means to be a Christian in today's world
Amen
God's Blessings and Peace be with you,
- Christ’s Servant in Slovakia
Mark
Ahoj and Greetings from Slovakia.
My May has been quite interesting. I saw the Maj Strom go up,
Confirmation, Sväty Duch and had opportunities to travel. My time here is getting closer to when I return and it seems like every week is flying by faster and faster. I'm starting to realize that I will be
going home and what that means for me.
And as usual I have been writing some other updates on my Blog for those of you who are Internet savvy. The address is http://www.moltron.net/
I also have many more pictures available at
http://flickr.com/photos/themoltron
On the First of May, the village had a huge celebration and erected a
Maj Strom or May Tree…basically a big pole with a small tree on top. It stays up during the whole month. It was great seeing all the familiar faces and sounds in the village. Pan Gavornik, who takes pictures of everything, the kids from school running around crazy, the small brass ensemble playing classic Slovak tunes and the pleasant sound of laughter.
That Sunday we had Confirmation Sunday. Confirmation is considered a huge deal, a rite of passage for many of the youth. The Service was packed and the confirmands were dressed in their finest. The Girls in stunning white dresses and the Boys in suits. For many this is the first time I've seen them in something other than jeans and a t-shirt. Family members from all over came for this special occasion. Each confirmand was called up to the altar and given a blessing from the Pastor. Večera Pánova (Communion) is only given a few times a year and this was one of those occasions. I was asked to help which I felt honored. It took about half an hour because there were so many people. The Service itself was
beautiful and it took a little longer because of all the pomp and
circumstance.
Afterward I had some reflections about my own Confirmation. Is it just something that people do and just go through the motions? It is a hard thing to determine, I can't see people hearts. The week before confirmation the confirmands were asked to answers questions about their faith. The answers they gave were from a textbook. I can remember during my confirmation learning answers to questions just because I had to know them. I not sure I was any different. There are many things that point the way and help us to wrap our heads around Faith but Faith isn't found in a textbook. It is found when our hearts meet God's. I think this is one of the greatest struggle our church faces. That we think faith can be distilled down to the right answers.
The Next Sunday was Sväty Duch Nedela or Holy Spirit Sunday. The Pastor asked everyone in the village to wear Kroj (the traditional Slovak folk Costume, each village has a slightly different costume). Flo and I spend the day before walking around the village trying to find Kroj for us to wear. What an experience. Apparently not many men wear kroj so only a few people had things we could use. We walked from house to house. Everybody told us of someone else who maybe had something. In process we were given our fill of kolačky(cookies), Obed(lunch) and Kava(coffee).
We were blessed so much from the hospitality. After being stuffed full of food and conversation we were able to find everything we needed. So on Sväty Duch we wore Kroj and were like real Slovaks for a day.
After all these events I took some much needed time for travel. My first stop was in Budapest with some of the other Volunteers in Slovakia. Budapest is such a beautiful city. There are times I'm traveling that I'm in disbelief of where I am. You hear and see things about cities like Budapest and when you get there it is a little surreal. Many of the sites we like being in a movie or fairy tale. We visited many interesting places and were lucky enough to be there when they had a folk festival going on at the National History Museum. I was wonderful to see, hear and experience some of the native culture. Of course when you're in Hungary you have to eat Hungarian Goulash, which by the way is amazing. Hungary being so close to Slovakia you would think the language would be similar but, No. Very different indeed. Apparently it is related to Norse and Icelandic languages.
Then I headed off to London. Being in Slovakia and not being around very many native English speakers for quite a while, arriving is London interesting. I couldn't help listening in on people's conversations just because I could understand them. It also made me realize just how much I will miss speaking Slovak and that my time there will soon be coming to a conclusion. In London I met up with one of the other YAGM volunteers Eric who is living in a neighborhood of London called Camden. I arrived on Corpus Christi, so I was able to celebrate a traditional Church of
England mass. Smell and Bells as they call it. Incense and lots of
ringing bells. In some ways it felt like being home worshiping in
English. I also made me realize how much of our worship traditions come from England. I traveled all around London visiting Parliament,
Westminster Abbey, and Piccadilly Circus. I even traveled to Greenwich Village and stood across the Prime Meridian.
As Much as I wish I could assimilate myself into this strange and now somewhat familiar culture. I am constantly being reminded that I am and always will be a foreigner. Sometimes I'll try to say something in my best Slovak and people don't understand. Why Slovaks don't grasp the concept of a coffee machine or when they don't understand No!!! When you say you've had enough food. I will never understand but I love them for it anyway. We are all like foreigners trying to make sense of our environment based on previous experiences, expectations and values. How does God shape our experiences, expectations and values? How does our
own culture shape our Faith? I'm still trying to figure that out. I have
grown from my experience here, seeing how others see and worship God in a completely different context than I'm used to. It has given me a larger view of God and a different lens to see the influences my home culture has on my faith.
Lord,
Open are eyes to really see the influences on our Life and Faith
Shape our lives with your Presence
Give us Compassion for understanding
Help us to makes sense of what it means to be a Christian in today's world
Amen
God's Blessings and Peace be with you,
- Christ’s Servant in Slovakia
Mark
Saturday, June 14, 2008
May Newsletter - Jessica in Slovakia
Jessica’s May Newsletter
Updates from Slovakia
A lot of fun things happened in May, both here at the center and as I was traveling. One weekend I went to visit my old placement in Horná Mičiná for their confirmation, and I enjoyed visiting with everyone again. It was really interesting to see what confirmation is like in Slovakia, and how it is similar to and different than confirmation in America. Saturday evening the confirmands had an examination at the church. Each of them had to stand in front of the congregation and answer seven questions about the mission of the church, the Bible and confirmation. The pastor then asked the congregation if they agreed that these young people were ready and fit to be confirmed. Sunday morning was the confirmation service and it was interesting how important this Sunday was for everyone. The church was decorated with white flowers, the girls being confirmed wore fancy white dresses and the boys wore suits, and the church was full of people. During the service the confirmands were presented with a Bible and a certificate, and the pastor said a prayer for each of them. The confirmands sang two songs for the congregation and presented the pastor and church-keepers with flowers, thanking them for their work. The Lord’s Supper was also celebrated on this special occasion. After the service I was invited to a party for Miška and Paťa, who are sisters that were confirmed. It was a lot of fun being a part of the celebration they had after confirmation, and getting to spend some time with the people from the village.
I took a long weekend trip to Budapest with Mark, Mary, and Ashley (three of the other American volunteers in Slovakia). It was great to spend time with them, and we had a wonderful time in Budapest. As much as I love the work here it is always refreshing to get away for a bit and spend time with other volunteers. One of the Friday nights last month the group of ladies here at the center had a night out, and it was so much fun! Eva (one of the directors), Monika (one of the worker’s wives, Janka (one of the worker’s wives), Kristen, Claire (Kristen’s friend who was visiting from America) and I went to a nice pizza restaurant in Poprad for the evening. We ate pizza, drank Kofula (the Slovak soft drink) and had Mak štrudla (a pastry with lots of poppy seeds) for dessert. It was so much fun to spend more time with them and get to know them better.
One of the things I have noticed is the emphasis on fellowship among the community here. At one of our Bible studies last month we read Philippians 2:1-2 where Paul writes, “If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose” (NIV). We talked about how the community here can have this unity that should be among Christians. How can we work together and serve one another as Christ did? I think true fellowship is often neglected in our churches today. Of course there is often a “fellowship hour” after church or every so often, but I am not sure if this is always the same fellowship Paul talks about. Last month we had a longer Bible study one morning with some of the workers and I was thrown off guard a bit, but reminded of what true fellowship is. Vlado (who is in charge of the finances), Igor (who works construction with the guys), Momci (who also works construction with the guys), Pali (the cook), and I had read a passage from the Bible and talked about it as we usually do. Then, they began to talk about how they had been feeling at work recently, about feelings they had about the work with the guys here, and their Spiritual life. I couldn’t believe that I was sitting there with four men just expressing our feelings for maybe an hour and a half! Maybe this is normal for some people, but I was a bit surprised. It made me think about when we had read the passage from Philippians, and that this was a way the work team builds fellowship, better enabling us to do service. In order to do the social service and Christian outreach work that is done here it is necessary for the community to be like-minded (my Bible points out that like-minded does not mean uniform in thought, but the common disposition to work together to better serve). It is something that we are always praying about, and we are always talking about how it can improve so that we can serve better.
The work that I have been doing here has been going well; Kristen and I continue to help in the kitchen, have English classes, Bible studies, and teach swimming. The last week in May Pali needed to help with the construction work that some of the guys are doing down the street, so we took over in the kitchen for him. It was a busy week and somewhat stressful to be responsible for breakfasts and lunches here, but we were happy to be able to help. It was also nice to see how encouraging everyone was of our Slovak cooking. Everyday the guys and the workers told us our cooking was wonderful and complemented everything (even if it was something really easy…or not very good!). Their encouragement was so helpful though! English and Bible studies are about the same with some days having a good number of people and other days just a couple. Now that the weather is warm playing futbal outside has become a popular evening activity as well.
Along with the enjoyable things about the work, there were also some difficult things happening last month. One of the guys who always came to English and Bible studies left the center. He dropped out of school and went to the Czech Republic to find work. This was difficult, because he came to talk to me often when he was having problems in school or with other guys here. We had talked about his school many times before and I really wanted him to be able to finish. He has so much potential, but he was not doing well and wanted to go try to find work on his own. Another worker tried to convince him to stay here and work, but he had already made up his mind to leave. I guess it showed me that sometimes you can only do so much and now all I can do is pray for him.
It is hard to believe that it is already almost halfway through June now, and I have just about a month left here before I come home. I have started to think about how it will be exciting to go home, but also really hard to leave here. I am trying to just spend a lot of time with the people here and enjoy every day left.
Thank you for your prayers and support!
-Jessica
Updates from Slovakia
A lot of fun things happened in May, both here at the center and as I was traveling. One weekend I went to visit my old placement in Horná Mičiná for their confirmation, and I enjoyed visiting with everyone again. It was really interesting to see what confirmation is like in Slovakia, and how it is similar to and different than confirmation in America. Saturday evening the confirmands had an examination at the church. Each of them had to stand in front of the congregation and answer seven questions about the mission of the church, the Bible and confirmation. The pastor then asked the congregation if they agreed that these young people were ready and fit to be confirmed. Sunday morning was the confirmation service and it was interesting how important this Sunday was for everyone. The church was decorated with white flowers, the girls being confirmed wore fancy white dresses and the boys wore suits, and the church was full of people. During the service the confirmands were presented with a Bible and a certificate, and the pastor said a prayer for each of them. The confirmands sang two songs for the congregation and presented the pastor and church-keepers with flowers, thanking them for their work. The Lord’s Supper was also celebrated on this special occasion. After the service I was invited to a party for Miška and Paťa, who are sisters that were confirmed. It was a lot of fun being a part of the celebration they had after confirmation, and getting to spend some time with the people from the village.
I took a long weekend trip to Budapest with Mark, Mary, and Ashley (three of the other American volunteers in Slovakia). It was great to spend time with them, and we had a wonderful time in Budapest. As much as I love the work here it is always refreshing to get away for a bit and spend time with other volunteers. One of the Friday nights last month the group of ladies here at the center had a night out, and it was so much fun! Eva (one of the directors), Monika (one of the worker’s wives, Janka (one of the worker’s wives), Kristen, Claire (Kristen’s friend who was visiting from America) and I went to a nice pizza restaurant in Poprad for the evening. We ate pizza, drank Kofula (the Slovak soft drink) and had Mak štrudla (a pastry with lots of poppy seeds) for dessert. It was so much fun to spend more time with them and get to know them better.
One of the things I have noticed is the emphasis on fellowship among the community here. At one of our Bible studies last month we read Philippians 2:1-2 where Paul writes, “If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose” (NIV). We talked about how the community here can have this unity that should be among Christians. How can we work together and serve one another as Christ did? I think true fellowship is often neglected in our churches today. Of course there is often a “fellowship hour” after church or every so often, but I am not sure if this is always the same fellowship Paul talks about. Last month we had a longer Bible study one morning with some of the workers and I was thrown off guard a bit, but reminded of what true fellowship is. Vlado (who is in charge of the finances), Igor (who works construction with the guys), Momci (who also works construction with the guys), Pali (the cook), and I had read a passage from the Bible and talked about it as we usually do. Then, they began to talk about how they had been feeling at work recently, about feelings they had about the work with the guys here, and their Spiritual life. I couldn’t believe that I was sitting there with four men just expressing our feelings for maybe an hour and a half! Maybe this is normal for some people, but I was a bit surprised. It made me think about when we had read the passage from Philippians, and that this was a way the work team builds fellowship, better enabling us to do service. In order to do the social service and Christian outreach work that is done here it is necessary for the community to be like-minded (my Bible points out that like-minded does not mean uniform in thought, but the common disposition to work together to better serve). It is something that we are always praying about, and we are always talking about how it can improve so that we can serve better.
The work that I have been doing here has been going well; Kristen and I continue to help in the kitchen, have English classes, Bible studies, and teach swimming. The last week in May Pali needed to help with the construction work that some of the guys are doing down the street, so we took over in the kitchen for him. It was a busy week and somewhat stressful to be responsible for breakfasts and lunches here, but we were happy to be able to help. It was also nice to see how encouraging everyone was of our Slovak cooking. Everyday the guys and the workers told us our cooking was wonderful and complemented everything (even if it was something really easy…or not very good!). Their encouragement was so helpful though! English and Bible studies are about the same with some days having a good number of people and other days just a couple. Now that the weather is warm playing futbal outside has become a popular evening activity as well.
Along with the enjoyable things about the work, there were also some difficult things happening last month. One of the guys who always came to English and Bible studies left the center. He dropped out of school and went to the Czech Republic to find work. This was difficult, because he came to talk to me often when he was having problems in school or with other guys here. We had talked about his school many times before and I really wanted him to be able to finish. He has so much potential, but he was not doing well and wanted to go try to find work on his own. Another worker tried to convince him to stay here and work, but he had already made up his mind to leave. I guess it showed me that sometimes you can only do so much and now all I can do is pray for him.
It is hard to believe that it is already almost halfway through June now, and I have just about a month left here before I come home. I have started to think about how it will be exciting to go home, but also really hard to leave here. I am trying to just spend a lot of time with the people here and enjoy every day left.
Thank you for your prayers and support!
-Jessica
May Newsletter - Kristen in Slovakia
May Newsletter
Spring is finally here
May brought about warmer weather and many exciting things in Velky Slavkov. Claire came and visited in the beginning of May, so we were able to spend time together and do some traveling before coming back to my placement. We started in Vienna where she flew in and explored the city for the day. We managed to stumble upon the Thiel Choir, my college choir, who were on tour in Europe for the week unbeknownst to us and we heard their concert in St. Stephan’s Cathedral. We also visited Bratislava, Slovakia’s capital city, and Krakow, Poland. We saw many castles and palaces, historical buildings, Auschwitz II, churches and cathedrals, marketplaces, gardens, and much more. Afterwards, we came back here to my placement for a few days and she was able to spend time with the people here and work with us in the kitchen and teaching English. It was wonderful to see her and have her experience a small taste of my life here.
Also, while Claire was here we had a girl’s night out with Eva (my host mom), Monika (the woman who’s family now lives at the center and who’s husband works at the center), Janka (the wife of one of the workers), and Jessie. Eva had finished her final exams for school so we went to celebrate by going out to their favorite pizza place for pizza and Kofola (the Slovak version of cola with a hint of licorice which I actually enjoy more than coke or pepsi). We had a good time with lots of laughter and enjoyed spending time together outside of the center.
Randomly one morning Jessie and I were told by my host dad, Stano, that soldiers and army trucks were going to be coming. A little confused by what he meant but knowing that we had understood the words, we waited to see what would happen. As it turns out, two giant army trucks and soldiers did appear that morning at Myln. They had come to deliver leftover army food and our center was the place to store it for all the centers in the eastern area of Slovakia. The boys spent most of the morning moving the boxes into our dining room and it was amazing how many boxes were in there by the time they finished. Over this month, many different centers have come in with vans and trucks to haul most of it away. And of course we get to eat the food as well. Jessie and I tried the canned meal of cabbage, sausage, and rice which was better than expected, and the tea which wasn’t quite as good. Also, we have become masters of opening cans with an army can opener which isn’t near as easy as it looks and is a rather useful talent now since our normal can opener has broken. I’ll be bringing one home if anyone wants to give it a try.
Also, over May I had the opportunity to get to know the Matas family much better. They recently moved into Mlyn and are now living in the flat where my host family used to live. Vlado Matas works here at the center with the finances and Monika, his wife, teaches English in Poprad. They have two children, Oliver, age four, and Kubko (Jakub), age six. Monika had us over for dinner for the first time at the end of May and she is definitely the typical Slovak hostess with lots of pushing for us to eat vast amounts of food and offering anything to eat or drink that she could think of. She is very sweet and fun to talk with. The two little boys had a lot of fun with us and enjoyed tying us up to the table and blindfolding us, as well as showing us their toys and giving us marshmallows to eat. We laughed a lot that night and have enjoyed stopping by for coffee or to talk since then. Whenever we see the little boys they run over to give us hugs, show us something like the fort they had built, or to play with them.
Finally, May has thankfully brought about some nice, warm, sunny weather which we have been able to enjoy by spending a lot of time outside. I love to go running out on a dirt path in the back by the mountains and open fields. Hiking in the Tatras Mountains, which are right in my backyard, is another enjoyable outdoor activity right now. Also, there are often games outside with the boys, usually either soccer or volleyball. And, of course, many cookouts which feature cooking sausages over the fire.
Thank you very much, as always, for all of your support and prayers. I really do appreciate them. I hope that everyone is doing well and enjoying their summer!
God’s blessings,
Kristen
Spring is finally here
May brought about warmer weather and many exciting things in Velky Slavkov. Claire came and visited in the beginning of May, so we were able to spend time together and do some traveling before coming back to my placement. We started in Vienna where she flew in and explored the city for the day. We managed to stumble upon the Thiel Choir, my college choir, who were on tour in Europe for the week unbeknownst to us and we heard their concert in St. Stephan’s Cathedral. We also visited Bratislava, Slovakia’s capital city, and Krakow, Poland. We saw many castles and palaces, historical buildings, Auschwitz II, churches and cathedrals, marketplaces, gardens, and much more. Afterwards, we came back here to my placement for a few days and she was able to spend time with the people here and work with us in the kitchen and teaching English. It was wonderful to see her and have her experience a small taste of my life here.
Also, while Claire was here we had a girl’s night out with Eva (my host mom), Monika (the woman who’s family now lives at the center and who’s husband works at the center), Janka (the wife of one of the workers), and Jessie. Eva had finished her final exams for school so we went to celebrate by going out to their favorite pizza place for pizza and Kofola (the Slovak version of cola with a hint of licorice which I actually enjoy more than coke or pepsi). We had a good time with lots of laughter and enjoyed spending time together outside of the center.
Randomly one morning Jessie and I were told by my host dad, Stano, that soldiers and army trucks were going to be coming. A little confused by what he meant but knowing that we had understood the words, we waited to see what would happen. As it turns out, two giant army trucks and soldiers did appear that morning at Myln. They had come to deliver leftover army food and our center was the place to store it for all the centers in the eastern area of Slovakia. The boys spent most of the morning moving the boxes into our dining room and it was amazing how many boxes were in there by the time they finished. Over this month, many different centers have come in with vans and trucks to haul most of it away. And of course we get to eat the food as well. Jessie and I tried the canned meal of cabbage, sausage, and rice which was better than expected, and the tea which wasn’t quite as good. Also, we have become masters of opening cans with an army can opener which isn’t near as easy as it looks and is a rather useful talent now since our normal can opener has broken. I’ll be bringing one home if anyone wants to give it a try.
Also, over May I had the opportunity to get to know the Matas family much better. They recently moved into Mlyn and are now living in the flat where my host family used to live. Vlado Matas works here at the center with the finances and Monika, his wife, teaches English in Poprad. They have two children, Oliver, age four, and Kubko (Jakub), age six. Monika had us over for dinner for the first time at the end of May and she is definitely the typical Slovak hostess with lots of pushing for us to eat vast amounts of food and offering anything to eat or drink that she could think of. She is very sweet and fun to talk with. The two little boys had a lot of fun with us and enjoyed tying us up to the table and blindfolding us, as well as showing us their toys and giving us marshmallows to eat. We laughed a lot that night and have enjoyed stopping by for coffee or to talk since then. Whenever we see the little boys they run over to give us hugs, show us something like the fort they had built, or to play with them.
Finally, May has thankfully brought about some nice, warm, sunny weather which we have been able to enjoy by spending a lot of time outside. I love to go running out on a dirt path in the back by the mountains and open fields. Hiking in the Tatras Mountains, which are right in my backyard, is another enjoyable outdoor activity right now. Also, there are often games outside with the boys, usually either soccer or volleyball. And, of course, many cookouts which feature cooking sausages over the fire.
Thank you very much, as always, for all of your support and prayers. I really do appreciate them. I hope that everyone is doing well and enjoying their summer!
God’s blessings,
Kristen
Thursday, May 15, 2008
April Newsletter - Mark in Slovakia
Ahoj and Greetings from Slovakia.
Well April has arrived quickly. Spring has arrived. What an experience
to see Life coming back into the surrounding hills. Green leaves and
flowers of every color. It has been so much fun seeing kids playing
outside. Sometimes after-school I play soccer or hockey ball with the
kids. It is nice getting to know some of my students when I don't have
to teach them English. I am meeting new people and getting to know
friends better. I've celebrated name days and birthdays. I've started to
call this once completely foreign place home. And in that there is
something significant.
And as usual I have been writing some other updates on my Blog for those
of you who are Internet savvy. The address is http://www.moltron.net/
I also have many more pictures available at
http://flickr.com/photos/themoltron
Spring in my Village has to be the most beautiful I've ever seen. All
the houses have flowers and the hills surrounding the village are filled
with green and yellow pastures. The trees have blossoms and will soon
bear fruit. Almost every house has a Slivka or Plum tree.
In the Slovak Culture there is a name celebrated on everyday and mine
was on April 25th, Marek. The name day or Menniny is celebrated like a
small birthday. You receive little gifts, cards and blessings from
everyone. I had a fantastic day. It was also great seeing the kids in
the Village named Marek too and we celebrated together.
Another small event that was really enjoyable was Pan Zigmund's Birthday
or Narodenniny. We celebrated at Spevakol or Choir Practice. He brought
his Accordion and we played and sang a bunch of traditional Slovak
songs. It was amazing. I'm not sure how old Pan Zigmund is but he is so
young at heart. He is one my favorite people in the Village. He, the
other volunteer Oli and I keep the bass section of the Choir going.
I'm not sure of what else to share this month other than with what I am
struggling with internally. I'm realizing how close it is getting to the
time I will be leaving. It seems like the weeks get faster and faster.
In one sense I'm glad to be going home but now I'm just starting to get
to know people and grasp the language. I feel like my heart and my head
are often in several places. In some small way I'm starting to grieve
leaving. The people, the language and this place have become a part of
me. My return home will be another journey all together.
I'm starting to get to know people more and I wish I'd had these
opportunities earlier. I'm trying to value every moment I have to speak
Slovak and these people who are now part of my life. There are other
moments when I think these people are crazy but, then a kid says
something funny or one of the old ladies tells me I need to find a
Slovak girl and then I'll learn perfect Slovak. It is strange to think
at the beginning of my journey here, I wasn't sure what to expect and I
still not sure. I am different person. Not only because I've gotten used
to the Slovak Culture and Language but also, because God has molded my
heart to be a little more like Jesus in some small way. I've learned to
see people through eyes love. It is said if you climb the hill of
struggle you suddenly find, the hill you thought was so hard to climb
has become a blessing. A new favorite song of mine by Sanctus Real
describes how I am feeling and how important it is walk this journey
with God is
"Whatever You're doing inside of me,
It feels like chaos but somehow there's peace,
It's hard to surrender to what I can't see,
But I'm giving in to something heavenly..."
The Biggest struggle for me is not knowing what I am going to do next. I
feel torn between home and this new place I call home. Will I come back?
Will I not? Will I forget the Slovak I learned? Will these people
remember me? Will I remember them? These are all really tough questions
that only God knows the answers to. So as I struggle, I'm learning what
trust is and embracing my fears about the future. If you expect to share
the Gospel and not be changed yourself then you are not sharing the
Gospel. If God is love then the Gospel is Love. Love can be painful
sometimes. God has a habit of turning people's lives upside-down. It has
already since I've arrived in Slovakia. I'm not so sure I want it to
happen again. On the other hand God's journey are always the most
exciting. If I could have one wish for all of you it would be that you
would trust God and let him turn your life upside-down a little. That is
when you experience the Gospel.
Please continue to pray for me and the other Volunteers around the world.
Lord,
Love is a crazy thing,
It is Joyful and Painful,
Help us to embrace the unknown,
Help us to realize that life changes,
Give us peace about the future,
Shack up our Lives a little,
That we may live for you and not by Fear.
Amen
God's Blessings and Peace be with you,
- Christ’s Servant in Slovakia
Mark
Well April has arrived quickly. Spring has arrived. What an experience
to see Life coming back into the surrounding hills. Green leaves and
flowers of every color. It has been so much fun seeing kids playing
outside. Sometimes after-school I play soccer or hockey ball with the
kids. It is nice getting to know some of my students when I don't have
to teach them English. I am meeting new people and getting to know
friends better. I've celebrated name days and birthdays. I've started to
call this once completely foreign place home. And in that there is
something significant.
And as usual I have been writing some other updates on my Blog for those
of you who are Internet savvy. The address is http://www.moltron.net/
I also have many more pictures available at
http://flickr.com/photos/themoltron
Spring in my Village has to be the most beautiful I've ever seen. All
the houses have flowers and the hills surrounding the village are filled
with green and yellow pastures. The trees have blossoms and will soon
bear fruit. Almost every house has a Slivka or Plum tree.
In the Slovak Culture there is a name celebrated on everyday and mine
was on April 25th, Marek. The name day or Menniny is celebrated like a
small birthday. You receive little gifts, cards and blessings from
everyone. I had a fantastic day. It was also great seeing the kids in
the Village named Marek too and we celebrated together.
Another small event that was really enjoyable was Pan Zigmund's Birthday
or Narodenniny. We celebrated at Spevakol or Choir Practice. He brought
his Accordion and we played and sang a bunch of traditional Slovak
songs. It was amazing. I'm not sure how old Pan Zigmund is but he is so
young at heart. He is one my favorite people in the Village. He, the
other volunteer Oli and I keep the bass section of the Choir going.
I'm not sure of what else to share this month other than with what I am
struggling with internally. I'm realizing how close it is getting to the
time I will be leaving. It seems like the weeks get faster and faster.
In one sense I'm glad to be going home but now I'm just starting to get
to know people and grasp the language. I feel like my heart and my head
are often in several places. In some small way I'm starting to grieve
leaving. The people, the language and this place have become a part of
me. My return home will be another journey all together.
I'm starting to get to know people more and I wish I'd had these
opportunities earlier. I'm trying to value every moment I have to speak
Slovak and these people who are now part of my life. There are other
moments when I think these people are crazy but, then a kid says
something funny or one of the old ladies tells me I need to find a
Slovak girl and then I'll learn perfect Slovak. It is strange to think
at the beginning of my journey here, I wasn't sure what to expect and I
still not sure. I am different person. Not only because I've gotten used
to the Slovak Culture and Language but also, because God has molded my
heart to be a little more like Jesus in some small way. I've learned to
see people through eyes love. It is said if you climb the hill of
struggle you suddenly find, the hill you thought was so hard to climb
has become a blessing. A new favorite song of mine by Sanctus Real
describes how I am feeling and how important it is walk this journey
with God is
"Whatever You're doing inside of me,
It feels like chaos but somehow there's peace,
It's hard to surrender to what I can't see,
But I'm giving in to something heavenly..."
The Biggest struggle for me is not knowing what I am going to do next. I
feel torn between home and this new place I call home. Will I come back?
Will I not? Will I forget the Slovak I learned? Will these people
remember me? Will I remember them? These are all really tough questions
that only God knows the answers to. So as I struggle, I'm learning what
trust is and embracing my fears about the future. If you expect to share
the Gospel and not be changed yourself then you are not sharing the
Gospel. If God is love then the Gospel is Love. Love can be painful
sometimes. God has a habit of turning people's lives upside-down. It has
already since I've arrived in Slovakia. I'm not so sure I want it to
happen again. On the other hand God's journey are always the most
exciting. If I could have one wish for all of you it would be that you
would trust God and let him turn your life upside-down a little. That is
when you experience the Gospel.
Please continue to pray for me and the other Volunteers around the world.
Lord,
Love is a crazy thing,
It is Joyful and Painful,
Help us to embrace the unknown,
Help us to realize that life changes,
Give us peace about the future,
Shack up our Lives a little,
That we may live for you and not by Fear.
Amen
God's Blessings and Peace be with you,
- Christ’s Servant in Slovakia
Mark
Monday, May 5, 2008
April Newsletter - Jessica in Slovakia
Jessica’s April Newsletter
Updates from Slovakia
Each month I am here seems to go by faster and faster, and April just flew by so quickly. The work here continued as usual and I kept busy on the weekends with some trips around Slovakia. Helping Pali in the kitchen is still a lot of fun, and Kristen and I are learning a lot about Slovak cooking. While Pali was out sick for a couple of days we were able to cook lunch for everyone and made some of our favorite Slovak meals. We also realized even more how much work goes into preparing a big meal for about thirty people!
We continue to have English classes on Wednesday and Friday evenings. This past month we taught vocabulary words about the city (street, post office, restaurant, etc…). We taught how to say where they are going and where they will go during the week. We also taught about the weather and how to say that it is sunny, rainy, cloudy, and so on. It can be difficult at times because they want to learn a lot, but have trouble retaining everything. However, they enjoy learning what they can, and it is good time to spend with them. It is really nice when some of the guys try to talk to me in English, even if it is just “Hello, how are you?”. The Bible study with the guys continues to be each Monday evening, and similar to English classes, sometimes there are a good many guys there, and other times a small turn out. However, it is always a nice time to spend together. We have been working through the book of Acts, and usually concentrate on a couple of verses each week. This past month we had one of our Bible studies outside with a bonfire, and it was nice to have this time for fellowship too.
The weekends this past month were exciting, because I took some trips around Slovakia. The first weekend some of the other volunteers and I traveled to Sečovce to visit another volunteer’s placement. It was a really nice and refreshing time to spend together. We spent some time in Košice, which is the second to largest city in Slovakia, and in Michalovce, which is a city close to this area. We were also able to attend an English worship service at a Lutheran church in Košice that Sunday morning. After eight months of services in Slovak, it was wonderful to be able to understand everything so easily and to just have the familiarity of an English hymnal.
Last Saturday Marek, a Slovak volunteer who comes here on the weekends took a group of about fifteen guys along with Kristen and me to Prešov, a city about an hour from here. The children’s homes in Slovakia put on a special concert each year where each of the different homes has children performing by singing, folk dancing, or break dancing (quite a variety!). The guys really enjoy going and seeing people from the homes that they grew up in. I enjoyed spending this time with them and seeing the program the children’s homes put on. Towards the end of the concert Marek took Kristen and I to his church for their mladež (youth group gathering). One of the girls, Zuzka, was an exchange student in Indiana for a year, and she was very helpful in translating for us. It was a lot of fun to meet some high school aged students and see what an active youth group is like in Slovakia.
Last Sunday Kristen, Pali, his friend Mirka, and I were able to go to Lomnicky Štit, which is the second to tallest mountain in the High Tatras (2,655 meters). Zuzka’s mother (Zuzka lives next to us and her husband works here) gave us tickets to go up to the peak of the mountain. We went by car to the village of Tatranska Lomnica (about 15 minutes away) and from there took cable cars up to the peak. It was a beautiful clear day and the view from the top was amazing.
As the weather has been finally getting warmer here it has been nice to spend more time outside, and we have been able to do more activities outside. The guys enjoy playing futbal (soccer), riding bicycles, and just sitting outside listening to music. It has also been fun to cook sausages over the fire for dinner every once in a while. Overall April was a great month and I am looking forward to the next couple of months here!
Updates from Slovakia
Each month I am here seems to go by faster and faster, and April just flew by so quickly. The work here continued as usual and I kept busy on the weekends with some trips around Slovakia. Helping Pali in the kitchen is still a lot of fun, and Kristen and I are learning a lot about Slovak cooking. While Pali was out sick for a couple of days we were able to cook lunch for everyone and made some of our favorite Slovak meals. We also realized even more how much work goes into preparing a big meal for about thirty people!
We continue to have English classes on Wednesday and Friday evenings. This past month we taught vocabulary words about the city (street, post office, restaurant, etc…). We taught how to say where they are going and where they will go during the week. We also taught about the weather and how to say that it is sunny, rainy, cloudy, and so on. It can be difficult at times because they want to learn a lot, but have trouble retaining everything. However, they enjoy learning what they can, and it is good time to spend with them. It is really nice when some of the guys try to talk to me in English, even if it is just “Hello, how are you?”. The Bible study with the guys continues to be each Monday evening, and similar to English classes, sometimes there are a good many guys there, and other times a small turn out. However, it is always a nice time to spend together. We have been working through the book of Acts, and usually concentrate on a couple of verses each week. This past month we had one of our Bible studies outside with a bonfire, and it was nice to have this time for fellowship too.
The weekends this past month were exciting, because I took some trips around Slovakia. The first weekend some of the other volunteers and I traveled to Sečovce to visit another volunteer’s placement. It was a really nice and refreshing time to spend together. We spent some time in Košice, which is the second to largest city in Slovakia, and in Michalovce, which is a city close to this area. We were also able to attend an English worship service at a Lutheran church in Košice that Sunday morning. After eight months of services in Slovak, it was wonderful to be able to understand everything so easily and to just have the familiarity of an English hymnal.
Last Saturday Marek, a Slovak volunteer who comes here on the weekends took a group of about fifteen guys along with Kristen and me to Prešov, a city about an hour from here. The children’s homes in Slovakia put on a special concert each year where each of the different homes has children performing by singing, folk dancing, or break dancing (quite a variety!). The guys really enjoy going and seeing people from the homes that they grew up in. I enjoyed spending this time with them and seeing the program the children’s homes put on. Towards the end of the concert Marek took Kristen and I to his church for their mladež (youth group gathering). One of the girls, Zuzka, was an exchange student in Indiana for a year, and she was very helpful in translating for us. It was a lot of fun to meet some high school aged students and see what an active youth group is like in Slovakia.
Last Sunday Kristen, Pali, his friend Mirka, and I were able to go to Lomnicky Štit, which is the second to tallest mountain in the High Tatras (2,655 meters). Zuzka’s mother (Zuzka lives next to us and her husband works here) gave us tickets to go up to the peak of the mountain. We went by car to the village of Tatranska Lomnica (about 15 minutes away) and from there took cable cars up to the peak. It was a beautiful clear day and the view from the top was amazing.
As the weather has been finally getting warmer here it has been nice to spend more time outside, and we have been able to do more activities outside. The guys enjoy playing futbal (soccer), riding bicycles, and just sitting outside listening to music. It has also been fun to cook sausages over the fire for dinner every once in a while. Overall April was a great month and I am looking forward to the next couple of months here!
Sunday, May 4, 2008
April Newsletter - Ashley in Slovakia
Life in Hybe
Ashley, Young Adults in Global Mission
Hello all! Happy spring! (Actually I feel a bit bad sending spring cheers, as you have had snow through this entire month…sorry about that.) The weather is finally getting warm, and it’s so exciting! All through winter I kept asking, “How warm is May, usually? How hot will it be in June? July?” Their weather here is supposed to be pretty comparable to our weather in Minnesota and Wisconsin, so I was hoping for really warm weather this summer. But the answers I kept getting weren’t so hopeful. “Um, well it actually never really gets THAT warm here” or, “It should be pretty warm by the end of July, or early August, around the time you’ll be leaving to go home.” That made me a bit disappointed, but I’m happy to report now that the weather has been pretty warm in the past few weeks! I’ve spent quite a few nice afternoons reading outside against our fence in the driveway path, sporting my big green sunglasses. My host mom and Starka think I’m a bit strange, and often come out to give me more towels or pillows to sit on, and ask me if I’m cold. I will really be tempted to drag a beach towel and lay out in the yard in a bathing suit with a book and my tunes, once the weather gets really hot, but then they make think I’m REALLY crazy. So we’ll see.
The process of getting to know the kids and teenagers in the youth group has been a bit slow and challenging at times, but it’s still going steadily. The pastor is always very encouraging and tells them that they must speak in English to me for practice, but they are still shy. I think they are afraid of speaking because they’re embarrassed of their English, therefore most of my communication with them is in Slovak. This is good practice for me, presents limitations obviously, but we are getting along better and better all the time. I had a really nice time playing with a group of kids last week at the playground equipment near the church. I played tag and hide and seek with them (which was pretty great, I haven’t done that in a LONG time!) and I learned 6 new names: Dominik, Marek, Filip, Tomas, Linda, and Dominika. They even tried to speak some English with me, which was quite exciting! I count that as a lot of progress. Their approaching me in Slovak is progress for sure too, but their attempts to speak with me in English really mean a lot to me. This coming week we will be going on a 3-day retreat together, so I’m looking forward to that opportunity to hang out with them, and will update you on how it goes next time!
I have also found another way to communicate with them this month (well, maybe the younger teens and children, more so than the older kids, but they still find it amusing too). I introduced my cheek flapping talent to them, and it’s gone over REALLY well! Haha! Who’d have thought some stupid useless talent would’ve come in so handy here? Not me, for sure. It’s a super impressive talent, let me tell you! (Or maybe not so much…:-P) When I was 14 and our family hosted a foreign exchange student (Yay Paarnaq!), she dazzled me with her cheek flapping abilities and inspired me to learn. And so I spent a lot of time practicing, and now I’ve passed it on in Slovakia. It’s been a really funny way to connect with the kids, and I’ll take whatever connection I can get! Some of the kids I’d never talked to before, the ones who were to nervous to approach me, now come up to me and smile and point to their cheeks, “Mozes?” (which means, “Can you?”) And then they giggle or smile. It’s pretty fun. I also do a nostril-sucking trick, but this one isn’t as popular (thankfully, because I usually feel lightheaded if I do it too much). Thanks God, for giving me the ability to do stupid things with my face! (Here is a picture of Radko’s reaction to my cheek flapping!)
My english classes are becoming more and more comfortable, so that’s exciting! I have some faithful regulars for my community classes now, especially for my beginner class. The same three come every week, and we have a pretty fun time together! It’s a nice challenge for me, speaking only Slovak while teaching them, and in return I get the chance to learn some things in Slovak from them. I really appreciate their willingness to learn the basics, and their enthusiasm with writing and practicing their notes. Their attitudes, and the informal and small class size make the classes really enjoyable! Also, my days teaching at the Liptovsky Hradok school (with the boys) have been really fun this month. I’ve spent a lot of class time helping the boys prepare for their conversation exams in May, having one-on-one conversations with them about various topics. If you’d like to read more about the funny times I’ve had there, please check out my blog and read “Giggly Boys.” I’m especially happy to be there because of the fun atmosphere and because of how much fun I have with Zuzka! She’s a riot.
I got together with volunteers a few different times this month. Kristen came to visit for a nice weekend! We spent most of it with Zuzka, taking her boys for a hike, and she also came to both Mladis and Dorast youth group meetings with me. Also, some of us met up in Secovce (near Kosice) for a weekend to visit Mary. We spent some time with the pastor she works with, Mariana, and had dinner with her family. I had the chance to participate in a Bible study in English (led by Mary), which was really exciting! After Easter, I was feeling especially frustrated with the language barrier at church, so I really appreciated that time, as well as the English church service we went to in Kosice! At the service, we got to meet some other volunteers from the ELCA (volunteers of all ages), which was really fun! They aren’t here through the Young Adults in Global Mission Program, but through the ELCA teaching program. We had the chance to visit with them during fellowship time at the church, as well as visit their apartment afterwards. It was fun to meet more Americans (some from Wisconsin!) and share experiences about living here long-term (most of them have been here longer than a year).
Something that has been a bit strange for me in this past month or so is the attention I’ve been getting in the area. Everyone keeps telling me that I’m such a “celebrity” now, because in the last two months I’ve been featured in the church magazine “Zvon,” in the city newspaper, in the Liptov newspaper (the newspaper that covers the bigger region), as well as the country-wide newspaper for educators and school members. My picture has been in all of these, articles of information, interviews with me, as well as interviews with my family (from when they came to visit in March). I’ve met people on the street, and they tell me, “Ah, I saw your article and picture! I know who you are!” It’s a bit strange. I guess it’s pretty common for foreign volunteers to come to Slovakia to teach English, but they are usually only sent to Bratislava or Kosice, to the bigger cities. It’s really rare for a small village to have a native speaker around to help with English classes, or to attend church activities. I’m pretty grateful that I’m in a smaller community (although I admit it’s challenging at times, coming straight from Minneapolis, which I loved so much) because the relationships and experiences I have here will be much more personal. I have the opportunity to get to know people really well, I feel safe and looked after, and the atmosphere is just cozier than it would be in a city.
Also, one thing I wanted to tell you about is something that happened in March, but I thought I would save it for my April newsletter: my family (Mom, Dad, and Jake) came to visit me here in Slovakia!!! It was so amazing to see them, and sometimes now it doesn’t even seem like they were really here, a bit hard to believe. They were here for about a week, and it was a whirlwind, but really fantastic! We spent a few days in Hybe, where they had the opportunity to meet my host family (my mom even made Halusky, the traditional food of Slovakia, with my host mom and grandma!), Zuzka and her family, the pastor and his family, as well as many other people from the church and community. They had the opportunity to visit both of the schools I help teach at, see both the adult and youth choirs reherse, sit in on a Lent church service, have dinner with 3 different families, and have hot chocolate at an old castle-made-restaurant. After our time in Hybe, we traveled to Koseca to visit the people and places from my first placement. It was really special that they met people from both parts of my year, and that they were able to see so many things during their time here.
In Koseca (and the area around it) they were able to see the nursing home where I worked and lived, meet some of the nurses, residents, and Zuzka! (And of course, Frankie the bird too.) We went to visit Obchodna Akademia in Ilava, where I first helped teach english, and met with the teachers and the headmaster of the school. We even went into a few of the classrooms while class was in session! They let the students ask my family some questions, and it was pretty entertaining. We also met other friends and people in my life from Dubnica, and then we were on our way again. We next traveled to Bratislava and spent the night there, getting a little taste of Slovakia’s capitol, and took a day trip to Vienna, Austria the next day. In Vienna we tried some fun restaurants, toured the Belvedere Palace, saw the St. Stephens and St. Peters cathedrals, and were able to tour the city center for awhile. We all had a great time together, and it really meant a lot to me that all four of us could be together! We ended the exciting, jam-packed week with a goodbye in Bratislava, and although goodbyes are always hard, it was much more content than the first time. I’m quite excited to see them again on August 19th in Minneapolis!
Although we had no prompt this month for a question to respond to, I thought I would add a quick response to last month’s question. “ How is your leadership shaped by the crosscultural or multicultural experience you are facing?“ My response to this would be that it has been shaped into something completely different than I’ve ever had to deal with, because of the language barrier challenge. I’ve felt so frustrated at times because it has been a bit impossible to be a leader (in a traditional way). I would really like to help teach Sunday school classes, or sometimes lead a discussion at a youth group meeting, but the language barrier prevents me from doing so. It has been difficult, trying to think of myself as a leader in this context. I guess my leadership role, in this way, can be filled only with actions and the example that I set with my attitude. It’s not exactly the way I had imagined “leading“ when I was preparing for this year of service, but it has taught me to think outside of the box.
From this prompt, also, I got to thinking about leadership within the communities I’ve served in this year. It is always valuable life experience to work with different types of leaders, watch them, learn from them. This has been a unique experience, in that I’ve had the chance to work with religious leaders this year. I’ve worked near or with pastors in both of my placements and have had two really different experiences. During orientation we were told, “You’re probably going into this year thinking, ‘I don’t have any expections‘ but it’s not true. You all have expectations, whether you think you do or not“ and I’ve found that to be true in many different cases. One being the attitude and leadership of pastors. I had an interesting conversation with my fellow YAGM volunteers about this topic, and some agreed that they’ve had similar reactions to the pastor’s they’re around. I think it really has been great life experience, seeing how different religious leaders approach their communities, their jobs, and how their attitudes reflects their actions.
Ok, well this is quite long, so I better wrap it up. Thanks so much for reading this, for your support! I ask you to also check out my blog when/if you get a chance. I’m trying to be more consistant with adding blog entries, and knowing that you guys are reading them makes me excited (and gives me the energy to write even more)! I hope this finds you well! Thanks again
God Bless,
Ashley
Ashley, Young Adults in Global Mission
Hello all! Happy spring! (Actually I feel a bit bad sending spring cheers, as you have had snow through this entire month…sorry about that.) The weather is finally getting warm, and it’s so exciting! All through winter I kept asking, “How warm is May, usually? How hot will it be in June? July?” Their weather here is supposed to be pretty comparable to our weather in Minnesota and Wisconsin, so I was hoping for really warm weather this summer. But the answers I kept getting weren’t so hopeful. “Um, well it actually never really gets THAT warm here” or, “It should be pretty warm by the end of July, or early August, around the time you’ll be leaving to go home.” That made me a bit disappointed, but I’m happy to report now that the weather has been pretty warm in the past few weeks! I’ve spent quite a few nice afternoons reading outside against our fence in the driveway path, sporting my big green sunglasses. My host mom and Starka think I’m a bit strange, and often come out to give me more towels or pillows to sit on, and ask me if I’m cold. I will really be tempted to drag a beach towel and lay out in the yard in a bathing suit with a book and my tunes, once the weather gets really hot, but then they make think I’m REALLY crazy. So we’ll see.
The process of getting to know the kids and teenagers in the youth group has been a bit slow and challenging at times, but it’s still going steadily. The pastor is always very encouraging and tells them that they must speak in English to me for practice, but they are still shy. I think they are afraid of speaking because they’re embarrassed of their English, therefore most of my communication with them is in Slovak. This is good practice for me, presents limitations obviously, but we are getting along better and better all the time. I had a really nice time playing with a group of kids last week at the playground equipment near the church. I played tag and hide and seek with them (which was pretty great, I haven’t done that in a LONG time!) and I learned 6 new names: Dominik, Marek, Filip, Tomas, Linda, and Dominika. They even tried to speak some English with me, which was quite exciting! I count that as a lot of progress. Their approaching me in Slovak is progress for sure too, but their attempts to speak with me in English really mean a lot to me. This coming week we will be going on a 3-day retreat together, so I’m looking forward to that opportunity to hang out with them, and will update you on how it goes next time!
I have also found another way to communicate with them this month (well, maybe the younger teens and children, more so than the older kids, but they still find it amusing too). I introduced my cheek flapping talent to them, and it’s gone over REALLY well! Haha! Who’d have thought some stupid useless talent would’ve come in so handy here? Not me, for sure. It’s a super impressive talent, let me tell you! (Or maybe not so much…:-P) When I was 14 and our family hosted a foreign exchange student (Yay Paarnaq!), she dazzled me with her cheek flapping abilities and inspired me to learn. And so I spent a lot of time practicing, and now I’ve passed it on in Slovakia. It’s been a really funny way to connect with the kids, and I’ll take whatever connection I can get! Some of the kids I’d never talked to before, the ones who were to nervous to approach me, now come up to me and smile and point to their cheeks, “Mozes?” (which means, “Can you?”) And then they giggle or smile. It’s pretty fun. I also do a nostril-sucking trick, but this one isn’t as popular (thankfully, because I usually feel lightheaded if I do it too much). Thanks God, for giving me the ability to do stupid things with my face! (Here is a picture of Radko’s reaction to my cheek flapping!)
My english classes are becoming more and more comfortable, so that’s exciting! I have some faithful regulars for my community classes now, especially for my beginner class. The same three come every week, and we have a pretty fun time together! It’s a nice challenge for me, speaking only Slovak while teaching them, and in return I get the chance to learn some things in Slovak from them. I really appreciate their willingness to learn the basics, and their enthusiasm with writing and practicing their notes. Their attitudes, and the informal and small class size make the classes really enjoyable! Also, my days teaching at the Liptovsky Hradok school (with the boys) have been really fun this month. I’ve spent a lot of class time helping the boys prepare for their conversation exams in May, having one-on-one conversations with them about various topics. If you’d like to read more about the funny times I’ve had there, please check out my blog and read “Giggly Boys.” I’m especially happy to be there because of the fun atmosphere and because of how much fun I have with Zuzka! She’s a riot.
I got together with volunteers a few different times this month. Kristen came to visit for a nice weekend! We spent most of it with Zuzka, taking her boys for a hike, and she also came to both Mladis and Dorast youth group meetings with me. Also, some of us met up in Secovce (near Kosice) for a weekend to visit Mary. We spent some time with the pastor she works with, Mariana, and had dinner with her family. I had the chance to participate in a Bible study in English (led by Mary), which was really exciting! After Easter, I was feeling especially frustrated with the language barrier at church, so I really appreciated that time, as well as the English church service we went to in Kosice! At the service, we got to meet some other volunteers from the ELCA (volunteers of all ages), which was really fun! They aren’t here through the Young Adults in Global Mission Program, but through the ELCA teaching program. We had the chance to visit with them during fellowship time at the church, as well as visit their apartment afterwards. It was fun to meet more Americans (some from Wisconsin!) and share experiences about living here long-term (most of them have been here longer than a year).
Something that has been a bit strange for me in this past month or so is the attention I’ve been getting in the area. Everyone keeps telling me that I’m such a “celebrity” now, because in the last two months I’ve been featured in the church magazine “Zvon,” in the city newspaper, in the Liptov newspaper (the newspaper that covers the bigger region), as well as the country-wide newspaper for educators and school members. My picture has been in all of these, articles of information, interviews with me, as well as interviews with my family (from when they came to visit in March). I’ve met people on the street, and they tell me, “Ah, I saw your article and picture! I know who you are!” It’s a bit strange. I guess it’s pretty common for foreign volunteers to come to Slovakia to teach English, but they are usually only sent to Bratislava or Kosice, to the bigger cities. It’s really rare for a small village to have a native speaker around to help with English classes, or to attend church activities. I’m pretty grateful that I’m in a smaller community (although I admit it’s challenging at times, coming straight from Minneapolis, which I loved so much) because the relationships and experiences I have here will be much more personal. I have the opportunity to get to know people really well, I feel safe and looked after, and the atmosphere is just cozier than it would be in a city.
Also, one thing I wanted to tell you about is something that happened in March, but I thought I would save it for my April newsletter: my family (Mom, Dad, and Jake) came to visit me here in Slovakia!!! It was so amazing to see them, and sometimes now it doesn’t even seem like they were really here, a bit hard to believe. They were here for about a week, and it was a whirlwind, but really fantastic! We spent a few days in Hybe, where they had the opportunity to meet my host family (my mom even made Halusky, the traditional food of Slovakia, with my host mom and grandma!), Zuzka and her family, the pastor and his family, as well as many other people from the church and community. They had the opportunity to visit both of the schools I help teach at, see both the adult and youth choirs reherse, sit in on a Lent church service, have dinner with 3 different families, and have hot chocolate at an old castle-made-restaurant. After our time in Hybe, we traveled to Koseca to visit the people and places from my first placement. It was really special that they met people from both parts of my year, and that they were able to see so many things during their time here.
In Koseca (and the area around it) they were able to see the nursing home where I worked and lived, meet some of the nurses, residents, and Zuzka! (And of course, Frankie the bird too.) We went to visit Obchodna Akademia in Ilava, where I first helped teach english, and met with the teachers and the headmaster of the school. We even went into a few of the classrooms while class was in session! They let the students ask my family some questions, and it was pretty entertaining. We also met other friends and people in my life from Dubnica, and then we were on our way again. We next traveled to Bratislava and spent the night there, getting a little taste of Slovakia’s capitol, and took a day trip to Vienna, Austria the next day. In Vienna we tried some fun restaurants, toured the Belvedere Palace, saw the St. Stephens and St. Peters cathedrals, and were able to tour the city center for awhile. We all had a great time together, and it really meant a lot to me that all four of us could be together! We ended the exciting, jam-packed week with a goodbye in Bratislava, and although goodbyes are always hard, it was much more content than the first time. I’m quite excited to see them again on August 19th in Minneapolis!
Although we had no prompt this month for a question to respond to, I thought I would add a quick response to last month’s question. “ How is your leadership shaped by the crosscultural or multicultural experience you are facing?“ My response to this would be that it has been shaped into something completely different than I’ve ever had to deal with, because of the language barrier challenge. I’ve felt so frustrated at times because it has been a bit impossible to be a leader (in a traditional way). I would really like to help teach Sunday school classes, or sometimes lead a discussion at a youth group meeting, but the language barrier prevents me from doing so. It has been difficult, trying to think of myself as a leader in this context. I guess my leadership role, in this way, can be filled only with actions and the example that I set with my attitude. It’s not exactly the way I had imagined “leading“ when I was preparing for this year of service, but it has taught me to think outside of the box.
From this prompt, also, I got to thinking about leadership within the communities I’ve served in this year. It is always valuable life experience to work with different types of leaders, watch them, learn from them. This has been a unique experience, in that I’ve had the chance to work with religious leaders this year. I’ve worked near or with pastors in both of my placements and have had two really different experiences. During orientation we were told, “You’re probably going into this year thinking, ‘I don’t have any expections‘ but it’s not true. You all have expectations, whether you think you do or not“ and I’ve found that to be true in many different cases. One being the attitude and leadership of pastors. I had an interesting conversation with my fellow YAGM volunteers about this topic, and some agreed that they’ve had similar reactions to the pastor’s they’re around. I think it really has been great life experience, seeing how different religious leaders approach their communities, their jobs, and how their attitudes reflects their actions.
Ok, well this is quite long, so I better wrap it up. Thanks so much for reading this, for your support! I ask you to also check out my blog when/if you get a chance. I’m trying to be more consistant with adding blog entries, and knowing that you guys are reading them makes me excited (and gives me the energy to write even more)! I hope this finds you well! Thanks again
God Bless,
Ashley
April Newsletter - Kristen in Slovakia
April Newsletter
April Happenings
The warmer spring weather in April brought about some more weekend trips and the opportunity to visit some different cities in Slovakia as well as the usual work here. Some of the different cities that I was able to see were: Kosice, Michalovce, Secovce, Tatranska Lomnica, Presov, Levoca, and the mountain peak of Lomnicky Stit.
The first weekend in April, the four female American volunteers in Slovakia decided to meet and visit Mary’s placement which is in Secovce. First we all gathered together and explored the city of Kosice, which is the second largest city in Slovakia. Later that evening, we went to Mary’s pastor’s house where we were able to stay the night and enjoy the small excitements in life like homemade pizza, girl scout cookies, and tortilla chips with salsa – the things that you don’t realize you miss until you taste them again. On Saturday we were able to see more of her home village and meet her host family and went into the nearby city of Michalovce to explore the city and meet the pastor and her daughter for coffee in the afternoon. In the evening, her host family let us use the grill to make dinner (I learned the Slovak word for “to grill” is “grillovat,” no joke!) and we had a good time with that once we finally got the fire started. Then, Sunday we were able to go back into Kosice in the morning and go to an English service that is held there (there are several American teaching volunteers there as well as some families whose husbands work in the US Steel industry there). I enjoy the Slovak worship services here a lot but it was wonderful to be able to have a service where we used the LBW (Lutheran Book of Worship) and everything was said in English, including the sermon. Definitely an exciting weekend with a taste of things from America in it.
The next weekend we had a nice surprise when the mother of Zuzka, the woman who lives next door to us, invited Jessie, Pali, and I to accompany her to the village of Tatranska Lomnica and then up to the second highest mountain peak in the Tatras Mountains, Lomnicky Stit. We headed off on a gorgeous morning and arrived to find that we were too late to get the tickets to head up the mountain peak so we ended up walking around and enjoying the spring weather in the village. We took a walk up and around this nice pond with tons and tons of frogs, the historical church, a really fancy hotel, and then back through the village, and ended in a café where we enjoyed coffee and cake before heading back. Zuzka’s mother bought the tickets for two weekends in advance and we made plans to return then.
When we did return, we had another gorgeous day where the weather was very clear and we were able to make it up to the top. To get up the mountain you have to take cable cars up to the top, much like the ones you find in an amusement park except they are going up the steep side of a mountain and move much faster. The view from the top was amazing, although very cold with a lot of snow still left, and well worth the trip up.
Our friend Linda, one of the German volunteers here with our program, also made a trip out to visit Jessie and I here in Velky Slavkov. We enjoyed some hiking in the Tatras, shopping in Poprad, and visiting the historical city of Levoce. Also, while she was here, Monday night for Bible study we had a nice change of pace and had a bonfire outside. We gathered together and cooked sausages, had some guitar playing, and just enjoyed spending time together.
Last weekend, we had the opportunity to visit yet another city, Presov, the fifth largest city in Slovakia. Every year the children’s homes in the area put on a free concert and Jessie and I were asked if we wanted to go with the boys to see it. Of course we said yes if there was room for us, and the boys were really excited for us to go with them. The concert was an interesting mix of programs – everything from traditional songs and dance with costumes, to hip-hop and break dancing, to singing pop songs (in Slovak and even one in English). It was a really enjoyable experience and afterwards Marek, the weekend volunteer here, asked if Jessie and I wanted to go to Mladez, the youth group at his church while the boys went to the dance party that was held after the concert. We said yes so he took us there, found someone who speaks English to translate, and told us to have fun. We played an ice breaker type game outside with the group and then went upstairs. There was a wonderful video presentation which one of the guys in the group put together, where there was a video made up of pictures and video clips that illustrated how his life had changed now that he has become a Christian. It was really powerful and moving. Then we had a Bible study which was translated for us and finally, we wrote down prayer requests and exchanged them with others and had some time for prayer. It was a great opportunity to experience a different church and youth group.
Everything else here in the placement is still going really well too. Bible studies, English class, working in the kitchen, and teaching swimming are all still fun and a good way to continue to grow in my relationships with people. I am very thankful to all of you for all of the emails, letters, and prayers. I hope that everyone is doing well at home!
God’s blessings,
Kristen
April Happenings
The warmer spring weather in April brought about some more weekend trips and the opportunity to visit some different cities in Slovakia as well as the usual work here. Some of the different cities that I was able to see were: Kosice, Michalovce, Secovce, Tatranska Lomnica, Presov, Levoca, and the mountain peak of Lomnicky Stit.
The first weekend in April, the four female American volunteers in Slovakia decided to meet and visit Mary’s placement which is in Secovce. First we all gathered together and explored the city of Kosice, which is the second largest city in Slovakia. Later that evening, we went to Mary’s pastor’s house where we were able to stay the night and enjoy the small excitements in life like homemade pizza, girl scout cookies, and tortilla chips with salsa – the things that you don’t realize you miss until you taste them again. On Saturday we were able to see more of her home village and meet her host family and went into the nearby city of Michalovce to explore the city and meet the pastor and her daughter for coffee in the afternoon. In the evening, her host family let us use the grill to make dinner (I learned the Slovak word for “to grill” is “grillovat,” no joke!) and we had a good time with that once we finally got the fire started. Then, Sunday we were able to go back into Kosice in the morning and go to an English service that is held there (there are several American teaching volunteers there as well as some families whose husbands work in the US Steel industry there). I enjoy the Slovak worship services here a lot but it was wonderful to be able to have a service where we used the LBW (Lutheran Book of Worship) and everything was said in English, including the sermon. Definitely an exciting weekend with a taste of things from America in it.
The next weekend we had a nice surprise when the mother of Zuzka, the woman who lives next door to us, invited Jessie, Pali, and I to accompany her to the village of Tatranska Lomnica and then up to the second highest mountain peak in the Tatras Mountains, Lomnicky Stit. We headed off on a gorgeous morning and arrived to find that we were too late to get the tickets to head up the mountain peak so we ended up walking around and enjoying the spring weather in the village. We took a walk up and around this nice pond with tons and tons of frogs, the historical church, a really fancy hotel, and then back through the village, and ended in a café where we enjoyed coffee and cake before heading back. Zuzka’s mother bought the tickets for two weekends in advance and we made plans to return then.
When we did return, we had another gorgeous day where the weather was very clear and we were able to make it up to the top. To get up the mountain you have to take cable cars up to the top, much like the ones you find in an amusement park except they are going up the steep side of a mountain and move much faster. The view from the top was amazing, although very cold with a lot of snow still left, and well worth the trip up.
Our friend Linda, one of the German volunteers here with our program, also made a trip out to visit Jessie and I here in Velky Slavkov. We enjoyed some hiking in the Tatras, shopping in Poprad, and visiting the historical city of Levoce. Also, while she was here, Monday night for Bible study we had a nice change of pace and had a bonfire outside. We gathered together and cooked sausages, had some guitar playing, and just enjoyed spending time together.
Last weekend, we had the opportunity to visit yet another city, Presov, the fifth largest city in Slovakia. Every year the children’s homes in the area put on a free concert and Jessie and I were asked if we wanted to go with the boys to see it. Of course we said yes if there was room for us, and the boys were really excited for us to go with them. The concert was an interesting mix of programs – everything from traditional songs and dance with costumes, to hip-hop and break dancing, to singing pop songs (in Slovak and even one in English). It was a really enjoyable experience and afterwards Marek, the weekend volunteer here, asked if Jessie and I wanted to go to Mladez, the youth group at his church while the boys went to the dance party that was held after the concert. We said yes so he took us there, found someone who speaks English to translate, and told us to have fun. We played an ice breaker type game outside with the group and then went upstairs. There was a wonderful video presentation which one of the guys in the group put together, where there was a video made up of pictures and video clips that illustrated how his life had changed now that he has become a Christian. It was really powerful and moving. Then we had a Bible study which was translated for us and finally, we wrote down prayer requests and exchanged them with others and had some time for prayer. It was a great opportunity to experience a different church and youth group.
Everything else here in the placement is still going really well too. Bible studies, English class, working in the kitchen, and teaching swimming are all still fun and a good way to continue to grow in my relationships with people. I am very thankful to all of you for all of the emails, letters, and prayers. I hope that everyone is doing well at home!
God’s blessings,
Kristen
Thursday, April 10, 2008
March Newsletter - Mark in Slovakia
Mark's Missionary Notes
Ahoj and Greetings from Slovakia.
Well here is my March Update. My March was spent mostly in preparation
for Easter or Velka Noc. I was great to experience some of the very
unique customs and celebrations. March was also filled with many guests
and fun.
And as usual I have been writing some other updates on my Blog for those
of you who are Internet savvy. The address is http://www.moltron.net/
I also have many more pictures available at
http://flickr.com/photos/themoltron
I have continued to teach English in school. I find it one of the most
challenging things I do here. I try to plan exciting and interesting
lessons but every week it is a gamble. Sometimes they seem interested
and other times not. As my Slovak is getting better it makes teaching
more difficult because they don't want to speak English. Despite this
frustration I keep trying, they are learning probably more than I think.
I have also been teaching drum lessons to several of the kids. This is
also a challenge because sometimes they kids show up and sometimes they
don't. I have to remind them to come often. When they do show up I enjoy it.
The weeks leading up to Velka Noc were a fun time in youth group. We
took the time to read the story of Jesus' journey to the cross. We then
made an illustrated time line. It was amazing how many things we forget.
We sometimes think we are familiar with story of Easter that we forget
to remind ourselves of the details. It took us 2 weeks to read, draw and
discuss the events. For me, it helped to get a better picture of the
passion of Christ and just how great Christ's love is for us. I can only
hope that the youth somehow got as much out of it as I did.
Good Friday or Velky Piatok was a big service. We had about 400 people
at the service. The church was packed. I sang with the choir and heard
the kids' choir sing. They had the brass ensemble perform and some
people play guitar. It was fantastic. Communion is served only at larger
events and significant times during the church year. It took about an
hour for everyone to receive it.
The Saturday of Velka Noc, or Biela Sabotu, we had more youth than
usual. Mostly from young people returning from school for the holiday.
We played a quiz game about the events of the Resurrection and
immediately after. With questions like, how many times did Jesus appear
to his followers after his death? How many people saw Jesus Alive? The
answers aren’t simple and it sparked some lively debate and thorough
searching of the bible for answers. From what I have found Jesus
appeared at least 5 times and he appeared to at least 20 people
according to combined facts from all the gospels. Don't take my word for
it. Find out for yourself.
The Monday after Easter was filled with a very unusual tradition. The
tradition involves young men getting girls wet and then hitting them
with green branches called a Korbača. The girls then give the guys
Chocolate and a Ribbon to be proudly displayed on the boy's Korbača.
Basically this only process is a huge flirting ritual. I had one of the
youth guys make me a Korbača.
Flo, one of the other volunteers from Germany, was leaving early Monday
morning. We waited until midnight and went to visit Zorka, who is the
vicar and lives next door in our building. We knocked on her door and
when she opened it, she was rather surprised. Nothing quite like being
splashed with water and being hit by Korbača and then reciting the rhyme
goes with it. "Šibi ryby mastné ryby, kus kolača od korbača" She then
gave us a ribbon with her name on it and chocolate.
After Zorka we travel to another house that at 3 young ladies living
there. When the first girl answered the door we surprised her with
water. She then told us to wait so she could get her sister. At the same
time the mother Shouted, "Already, it's so early, quick give me your
water buckets, I'll go fill them." It was quite a shock to see the
mother and the other girls helping us. After all the girls had gone
through the ritual we were invited in for coffee and snacks and each
girl gave us a ribbon for our Korbača. Well it was early in the morning
so no one else was up so, we went to bed. Later in the morning at a more
reasonable hour I went around the village with some of the other young
men participated in this ritual at several other houses. It was a fun
day and I met many nice girls.
They also traditionally have a small service. The Pastor arranges for
all the doors to be locked except for one. Then when all the ladies file
out of the Church he can hit them with his Korbača. Apparently they
considered it Good Luck, and wishes for Health and Beauty in the future
when they are hit by a Korbača. With the women being treated like it is
often said they boys should watch out the next day but usually nothing
happens.
March was also filled with a variety of Guests. Flo's family arrived to
spend Easter weekend in Vrbovce and then go to the High Tatry. It great
to meet new people and see the family of people I work so closely with.
His mother father and 2 younger sisters were quite a joy. Zorka and I
were invited to join in their family Easter egg hunt/walk after the
Service on Easter. When Flo and his family left for the High Tatry
another group of guests arrived the next day. Oli had spent his Easter
in Germany with family and arrived back with his Pastor and 2 friends.
They spoke decent English and Oli was able to translate well. I also
have been picking up a little German too so that helped. We had some
interesting conversations about life in Slovakia. They were here in
Vrbovce for about 3 days before they returned. After all these big
events I was feeling a little tired and wanted to return to a somewhat
normal routine.
Well, what I have I learned this month? I learned how Slovak's celebrate
Easter or Velka Noc. I learned and strange tradition of hit girls with
sticks the day after Velka Noc. I have also been learning about patience
and catching God's plan. Much like the Disciple's after Good Friday, I
sometimes think, "Where is God?" When I'm frustrated with working on
something I see no end to or I'm teaching English with kids who really
have not interest or when I have to chase to remind kids tom come to
youth group or drum lessons all the time and then they don't show up.
The disciples heard everything Jesus said but they just weren't sure
what was next. On Easter and many times after Jesus reminded them, "I'm
here! I'm Alive".
We too need to be reminded that Jesus died for our sins but he is a
Living God. When the 2 women went to take care of Jesus' body in the
tomb, they met an Angel who said, "Why are you looking for the living
among the dead?" We must ask this question to ourselves when we are
frustrated or lack vision. The fact that Jesus was resurrected as he
promised makes all his other promises more real. How can a dead God keep
his promises? He can't but Jesus is Alive.
I am reminding myself of God's Grace everyday that he is working, he is
living. I may not see results of my work now or even in a few months but
God is there, walking with me through all my joys and frustrations.
Lord,
Thank you that we worship you, a Living God
One who keeps his Promises
Help us to remember
You are Alive and walking with us
This is not another figure of speech, it is True
You showed yourself to the Disciples
And later gave of yourself to them your Holy Spirit.
We are your Disciples too!!
In your Holy Name, a name that has power of the living and the dead
Jesus Christ
God's Blessings and Peace be with you,
- Christ’s Servant in Slovakia
Mark
Ahoj and Greetings from Slovakia.
Well here is my March Update. My March was spent mostly in preparation
for Easter or Velka Noc. I was great to experience some of the very
unique customs and celebrations. March was also filled with many guests
and fun.
And as usual I have been writing some other updates on my Blog for those
of you who are Internet savvy. The address is http://www.moltron.net/
I also have many more pictures available at
http://flickr.com/photos/themoltron
I have continued to teach English in school. I find it one of the most
challenging things I do here. I try to plan exciting and interesting
lessons but every week it is a gamble. Sometimes they seem interested
and other times not. As my Slovak is getting better it makes teaching
more difficult because they don't want to speak English. Despite this
frustration I keep trying, they are learning probably more than I think.
I have also been teaching drum lessons to several of the kids. This is
also a challenge because sometimes they kids show up and sometimes they
don't. I have to remind them to come often. When they do show up I enjoy it.
The weeks leading up to Velka Noc were a fun time in youth group. We
took the time to read the story of Jesus' journey to the cross. We then
made an illustrated time line. It was amazing how many things we forget.
We sometimes think we are familiar with story of Easter that we forget
to remind ourselves of the details. It took us 2 weeks to read, draw and
discuss the events. For me, it helped to get a better picture of the
passion of Christ and just how great Christ's love is for us. I can only
hope that the youth somehow got as much out of it as I did.
Good Friday or Velky Piatok was a big service. We had about 400 people
at the service. The church was packed. I sang with the choir and heard
the kids' choir sing. They had the brass ensemble perform and some
people play guitar. It was fantastic. Communion is served only at larger
events and significant times during the church year. It took about an
hour for everyone to receive it.
The Saturday of Velka Noc, or Biela Sabotu, we had more youth than
usual. Mostly from young people returning from school for the holiday.
We played a quiz game about the events of the Resurrection and
immediately after. With questions like, how many times did Jesus appear
to his followers after his death? How many people saw Jesus Alive? The
answers aren’t simple and it sparked some lively debate and thorough
searching of the bible for answers. From what I have found Jesus
appeared at least 5 times and he appeared to at least 20 people
according to combined facts from all the gospels. Don't take my word for
it. Find out for yourself.
The Monday after Easter was filled with a very unusual tradition. The
tradition involves young men getting girls wet and then hitting them
with green branches called a Korbača. The girls then give the guys
Chocolate and a Ribbon to be proudly displayed on the boy's Korbača.
Basically this only process is a huge flirting ritual. I had one of the
youth guys make me a Korbača.
Flo, one of the other volunteers from Germany, was leaving early Monday
morning. We waited until midnight and went to visit Zorka, who is the
vicar and lives next door in our building. We knocked on her door and
when she opened it, she was rather surprised. Nothing quite like being
splashed with water and being hit by Korbača and then reciting the rhyme
goes with it. "Šibi ryby mastné ryby, kus kolača od korbača" She then
gave us a ribbon with her name on it and chocolate.
After Zorka we travel to another house that at 3 young ladies living
there. When the first girl answered the door we surprised her with
water. She then told us to wait so she could get her sister. At the same
time the mother Shouted, "Already, it's so early, quick give me your
water buckets, I'll go fill them." It was quite a shock to see the
mother and the other girls helping us. After all the girls had gone
through the ritual we were invited in for coffee and snacks and each
girl gave us a ribbon for our Korbača. Well it was early in the morning
so no one else was up so, we went to bed. Later in the morning at a more
reasonable hour I went around the village with some of the other young
men participated in this ritual at several other houses. It was a fun
day and I met many nice girls.
They also traditionally have a small service. The Pastor arranges for
all the doors to be locked except for one. Then when all the ladies file
out of the Church he can hit them with his Korbača. Apparently they
considered it Good Luck, and wishes for Health and Beauty in the future
when they are hit by a Korbača. With the women being treated like it is
often said they boys should watch out the next day but usually nothing
happens.
March was also filled with a variety of Guests. Flo's family arrived to
spend Easter weekend in Vrbovce and then go to the High Tatry. It great
to meet new people and see the family of people I work so closely with.
His mother father and 2 younger sisters were quite a joy. Zorka and I
were invited to join in their family Easter egg hunt/walk after the
Service on Easter. When Flo and his family left for the High Tatry
another group of guests arrived the next day. Oli had spent his Easter
in Germany with family and arrived back with his Pastor and 2 friends.
They spoke decent English and Oli was able to translate well. I also
have been picking up a little German too so that helped. We had some
interesting conversations about life in Slovakia. They were here in
Vrbovce for about 3 days before they returned. After all these big
events I was feeling a little tired and wanted to return to a somewhat
normal routine.
Well, what I have I learned this month? I learned how Slovak's celebrate
Easter or Velka Noc. I learned and strange tradition of hit girls with
sticks the day after Velka Noc. I have also been learning about patience
and catching God's plan. Much like the Disciple's after Good Friday, I
sometimes think, "Where is God?" When I'm frustrated with working on
something I see no end to or I'm teaching English with kids who really
have not interest or when I have to chase to remind kids tom come to
youth group or drum lessons all the time and then they don't show up.
The disciples heard everything Jesus said but they just weren't sure
what was next. On Easter and many times after Jesus reminded them, "I'm
here! I'm Alive".
We too need to be reminded that Jesus died for our sins but he is a
Living God. When the 2 women went to take care of Jesus' body in the
tomb, they met an Angel who said, "Why are you looking for the living
among the dead?" We must ask this question to ourselves when we are
frustrated or lack vision. The fact that Jesus was resurrected as he
promised makes all his other promises more real. How can a dead God keep
his promises? He can't but Jesus is Alive.
I am reminding myself of God's Grace everyday that he is working, he is
living. I may not see results of my work now or even in a few months but
God is there, walking with me through all my joys and frustrations.
Lord,
Thank you that we worship you, a Living God
One who keeps his Promises
Help us to remember
You are Alive and walking with us
This is not another figure of speech, it is True
You showed yourself to the Disciples
And later gave of yourself to them your Holy Spirit.
We are your Disciples too!!
In your Holy Name, a name that has power of the living and the dead
Jesus Christ
God's Blessings and Peace be with you,
- Christ’s Servant in Slovakia
Mark
Thursday, April 3, 2008
March Newsletter - Kristen in Slovakia
March Newsletter
Easter in Velky Slavkov
Christ is risen. He is risen indeed, Alleluia. Happy Easter to everyone! The highlight of March was Easter. We really did not do much here related to the season of Lent until the week before Easter. On Palm Sunday, Kvetna Nedela, we went through a series of readings from the Old Testament with the boys, which is used in the churches here. Then on Good Friday, Velky Piatok, we had a service here with the boys where we read through the passion of Christ in the Gospel of Matthew. Following this we watched the movie “The Passion of Christ” which was a really good visual representation for some of the boys who weren’t quite as familiar with the Bible and the crucifixion story. It really made an impression on some of them.
On Saturday, Jessie and I decided to bring some American traditions to Slovakia and dye Easter eggs with the boys. In Slovakia they decorate egg shells after they have the egg inside blown out through a small hole, so the boys were amazed that the eggs were still full when they were decorating them. We had a lot of fun playing around with the crayons and dye and ended up with about 50 decorated eggs. On Easter, since Jessie and I had weekend service(meaning we did the cooking, planning of activities, and general watching over of the boys), we went to the Lutheran church next door earlier on Sunday morning and enjoyed the service there. Afterwards, we finished cooking lunch, resin (schnitzel – pork which is breaded and fried), potato salad, and chocolate for desert, while the boys had an Easter service upstairs.
Surprisingly, Easter Monday here is also a big holiday. The tradition is that the boys drench the girls (we are talking about with buckets of water or dragged over to the bathtub, not just a little cup of water) and all week the boys were excitedly telling us about this. We were a little worried, especially since when we woke up and heard a girl outside screaming, but since we still had service we were busy making lunch and managed to remain dry. Along with this, it is also a tradition for the boys to spray the girls with cheap perfume which the stores carry especially for this occasion. We did manage to experience this when one of the boys sprayed us.
Also, to carry on sharing American traditions, we planned an egg hunt for the boys on Easter Monday morning using both the dyed eggs we made as well as some plastic eggs filled with candy. Unfortunately it snowed a lot the night before and that day, so we had to have it inside, but this is a big building so we made do just fine. The boys had a good time finding the eggs and eating them.
Everything else here is going pretty much the same as always. On our Monday night Bible studies we are still working our way through the book of Acts. Some of the topics of our recent Bible studies were anger management, spiritual gifts and how to apply them in our lives, prayer, and temptation and how to deal with it in our lives. Our Bible studies start and end with us singing praise songs and praying together. In the middle we read the passage from Acts and then have a discussion. Jessie and I have started asking and answering the questions in Slovak that we have prepared ahead of time, so that is an added challenge. It is a good chance for us to have discussions with the boys in a smaller group so that they are more willing to be open and share.
English lessons are also going well. This month we have learned about rooms in the house, clothing, parts of the body, and morning routines. We have done activities such as designing their own house and labeling the rooms, writing sentences about the clothing they are wearing, labeling parts of the body on pictures cut out of a magazine, crossword puzzles, word searches, dialogues, singing “head, shoulders, knees, and toes,” playing Simon Says (Kristy or Jessie Says), worksheets with matching and fill in the blank, and much more. We have a few students who are working very hard to learn English and are enthusiastic for the lessons as well as the others who wander in and out randomly when things look interesting. It is fun to have lots of hands-on activities for them.
Well that is a small taste of life here in the month of March. As always, I enjoy hearing from all of you. I hope that everything is going well for you and your families.
God’s blessings,
Kristen
Easter in Velky Slavkov
Christ is risen. He is risen indeed, Alleluia. Happy Easter to everyone! The highlight of March was Easter. We really did not do much here related to the season of Lent until the week before Easter. On Palm Sunday, Kvetna Nedela, we went through a series of readings from the Old Testament with the boys, which is used in the churches here. Then on Good Friday, Velky Piatok, we had a service here with the boys where we read through the passion of Christ in the Gospel of Matthew. Following this we watched the movie “The Passion of Christ” which was a really good visual representation for some of the boys who weren’t quite as familiar with the Bible and the crucifixion story. It really made an impression on some of them.
On Saturday, Jessie and I decided to bring some American traditions to Slovakia and dye Easter eggs with the boys. In Slovakia they decorate egg shells after they have the egg inside blown out through a small hole, so the boys were amazed that the eggs were still full when they were decorating them. We had a lot of fun playing around with the crayons and dye and ended up with about 50 decorated eggs. On Easter, since Jessie and I had weekend service(meaning we did the cooking, planning of activities, and general watching over of the boys), we went to the Lutheran church next door earlier on Sunday morning and enjoyed the service there. Afterwards, we finished cooking lunch, resin (schnitzel – pork which is breaded and fried), potato salad, and chocolate for desert, while the boys had an Easter service upstairs.
Surprisingly, Easter Monday here is also a big holiday. The tradition is that the boys drench the girls (we are talking about with buckets of water or dragged over to the bathtub, not just a little cup of water) and all week the boys were excitedly telling us about this. We were a little worried, especially since when we woke up and heard a girl outside screaming, but since we still had service we were busy making lunch and managed to remain dry. Along with this, it is also a tradition for the boys to spray the girls with cheap perfume which the stores carry especially for this occasion. We did manage to experience this when one of the boys sprayed us.
Also, to carry on sharing American traditions, we planned an egg hunt for the boys on Easter Monday morning using both the dyed eggs we made as well as some plastic eggs filled with candy. Unfortunately it snowed a lot the night before and that day, so we had to have it inside, but this is a big building so we made do just fine. The boys had a good time finding the eggs and eating them.
Everything else here is going pretty much the same as always. On our Monday night Bible studies we are still working our way through the book of Acts. Some of the topics of our recent Bible studies were anger management, spiritual gifts and how to apply them in our lives, prayer, and temptation and how to deal with it in our lives. Our Bible studies start and end with us singing praise songs and praying together. In the middle we read the passage from Acts and then have a discussion. Jessie and I have started asking and answering the questions in Slovak that we have prepared ahead of time, so that is an added challenge. It is a good chance for us to have discussions with the boys in a smaller group so that they are more willing to be open and share.
English lessons are also going well. This month we have learned about rooms in the house, clothing, parts of the body, and morning routines. We have done activities such as designing their own house and labeling the rooms, writing sentences about the clothing they are wearing, labeling parts of the body on pictures cut out of a magazine, crossword puzzles, word searches, dialogues, singing “head, shoulders, knees, and toes,” playing Simon Says (Kristy or Jessie Says), worksheets with matching and fill in the blank, and much more. We have a few students who are working very hard to learn English and are enthusiastic for the lessons as well as the others who wander in and out randomly when things look interesting. It is fun to have lots of hands-on activities for them.
Well that is a small taste of life here in the month of March. As always, I enjoy hearing from all of you. I hope that everything is going well for you and your families.
God’s blessings,
Kristen
March Newsletter! - Jessica in Slovakia
Jessica’s March Newsletter
Updates from Slovakia
This month Tyler came to visit me and we had a great time traveling and spending time at the center here. I had a nice break from work and we were able to travel to Vienna, Banska Bystrica, Krakow, and Bratislava. After traveling he was able to see my day to day life here in Veľký Slavkov. Everyone enjoyed meeting him and appreciated his musical contributions to our Sunday morning worship. It was a lot of fun to have someone from home here, and I was able to explain some of the cultural customs to him and teach him some basic Slovak.
Veľká noc (Easter) in Slovakia
Easter was a different experience for me while in Slovakia and I celebrated the holiday much differently than in America. The Lutheran churches in Slovakia do not have an Ash Wednesday church service so the beginning of Lent felt different without that. Kvetná Nedeľa (Palm Sunday) was celebrated here at the center with a service of Bible readings, prayers, and singing. Tyler was here for this service and played piano for the songs, which sounded really nice. Holy week was different, because there was not a Maundy Thursday service. However, there was a service for Veľký piatok (Good Friday) here with the guys. It was very informal, as the services are at the center, but it was nice to be able to get together and read the passages in the Bible about Jesus’ crucifixion. From Friday until Monday Kristen and I had service, which means that we prepared the meals for everyone here. It kept us busy for the weekend, but we also enjoyed doing some activities with the guys. Saturday afternoon we made a lot of hard boiled eggs and showed them how we dye eggs in America. We used these and some plastic eggs filled with candy for an Easter egg hunt on Monday morning. It was fun to share this American tradition with them and they enjoyed the candy! Easter Sunday I attended the church service at the Lutheran church in the village. It was a nice service, but a little unusual to be bundled up in my winter coat, scarf, and gloves during church on Easter! Then Kristen and I prepared the Easter meal, which consisted of Zemiakové šalat (a special potato salad) and rezeň (breaded pork that is fried).
The guys were excited for Easter Monday because of one of their Slovak traditions. During the morning boys and men dump water or perfume on girls and women. After the girls get wet they are supposed to give candy to the guys. Guys generally go from house to house getting girls wet, and enjoying it very much. I had heard a lot about this day before and when I woke up in the morning I was watching my every move. I actually heard a girl yelling “Pomoc!” (Help!) when I woke up and I thought I was really in for it being in a house full of guys. Surprisingly, Kristen and I were both safe, because we were working in the kitchen cooking their lunch. We got some threats in the morning and one guy filled a huge pot of water “to make coffee” (and he never drinks coffee) but when we asked him if he wanted lunch on time or not he had mercy on us. We ended the day dry, and with only having a couple sprays of some nasty smelling cologne.
Easter here was different than at home, and it almost did not really feel like Easter to me. I thought a lot about what was different and similar between Easters at home and Easter here. At home there is so much other stuff that goes along with Easter. Usually I get dressed up to go with my family to church on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, and the services are more formal and traditional. On Easter Sunday at home it is also a big deal to get dressed up nicely for church, and spend the day with my family. As I thought about what I missed about Easter here I realized that the most important part about Easter was the same. It was a time of remembrance and celebration of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Even though it would have been nice to be with my family during this holiday, I was able to be with the guys here who do not have families to be with.
Leadership
What does it mean to be a leader within the church? How is my leadership in the church shaped by the cross-cultural context I am in? Franklin shared an interesting quote with the volunteers this month regarding these questions. Eric Law writes, “In a multicultural community, doing the work of justice requires us to understand the different perceptions of power from different cultural points of view. Doing justice in a multicultural environment requires us to understand the consequences of these cultural differences in power perceptions. Doing justice commands us to reveal this unconscious and disproportionate distribution of power. Doing justice compels us to develop new leadership skills that can confront injustice”.
I think a lot of times the term leadership implies that someone with more power or more experience is directing or in charge of a group of people. However, I have been discovering the problems with this form of leadership, especially in a cross-cultural context. In a group where one person is dictating or directing I think it is very difficult for members to grow and learn from one another. Not only this, but in a cross-cultural context it can give the impression that one culture stands above another. The guys here have been receiving the message from society that they are not as smart or that they are less of people because they are Gypsies. I need to be a leader here in a way that will confront this injustice and not perpetuate it. When Kristen and I lead Bible studies and English classes we try to engage the guys as much as possible and create a dynamic where they are just as much involved as we are. If we were to simply try to lecture them on the Bible or how we think they should live their lives there would be this disproportionate distribution of power that Eric Law talks about. Not only would we be perpetuating the injustice they already experience, but it would be boring for them and for us. Especially in Bible studies I think it is really important for the leader to make sure there is dialogue in the group, because we can help each other learn. Maybe it is better to think of a leader as someone who can guide the group and help engage everyone in this dialogue where we can learn from one another.
Thank you for your prayers and support!
-Jessica
Updates from Slovakia
This month Tyler came to visit me and we had a great time traveling and spending time at the center here. I had a nice break from work and we were able to travel to Vienna, Banska Bystrica, Krakow, and Bratislava. After traveling he was able to see my day to day life here in Veľký Slavkov. Everyone enjoyed meeting him and appreciated his musical contributions to our Sunday morning worship. It was a lot of fun to have someone from home here, and I was able to explain some of the cultural customs to him and teach him some basic Slovak.
Veľká noc (Easter) in Slovakia
Easter was a different experience for me while in Slovakia and I celebrated the holiday much differently than in America. The Lutheran churches in Slovakia do not have an Ash Wednesday church service so the beginning of Lent felt different without that. Kvetná Nedeľa (Palm Sunday) was celebrated here at the center with a service of Bible readings, prayers, and singing. Tyler was here for this service and played piano for the songs, which sounded really nice. Holy week was different, because there was not a Maundy Thursday service. However, there was a service for Veľký piatok (Good Friday) here with the guys. It was very informal, as the services are at the center, but it was nice to be able to get together and read the passages in the Bible about Jesus’ crucifixion. From Friday until Monday Kristen and I had service, which means that we prepared the meals for everyone here. It kept us busy for the weekend, but we also enjoyed doing some activities with the guys. Saturday afternoon we made a lot of hard boiled eggs and showed them how we dye eggs in America. We used these and some plastic eggs filled with candy for an Easter egg hunt on Monday morning. It was fun to share this American tradition with them and they enjoyed the candy! Easter Sunday I attended the church service at the Lutheran church in the village. It was a nice service, but a little unusual to be bundled up in my winter coat, scarf, and gloves during church on Easter! Then Kristen and I prepared the Easter meal, which consisted of Zemiakové šalat (a special potato salad) and rezeň (breaded pork that is fried).
The guys were excited for Easter Monday because of one of their Slovak traditions. During the morning boys and men dump water or perfume on girls and women. After the girls get wet they are supposed to give candy to the guys. Guys generally go from house to house getting girls wet, and enjoying it very much. I had heard a lot about this day before and when I woke up in the morning I was watching my every move. I actually heard a girl yelling “Pomoc!” (Help!) when I woke up and I thought I was really in for it being in a house full of guys. Surprisingly, Kristen and I were both safe, because we were working in the kitchen cooking their lunch. We got some threats in the morning and one guy filled a huge pot of water “to make coffee” (and he never drinks coffee) but when we asked him if he wanted lunch on time or not he had mercy on us. We ended the day dry, and with only having a couple sprays of some nasty smelling cologne.
Easter here was different than at home, and it almost did not really feel like Easter to me. I thought a lot about what was different and similar between Easters at home and Easter here. At home there is so much other stuff that goes along with Easter. Usually I get dressed up to go with my family to church on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, and the services are more formal and traditional. On Easter Sunday at home it is also a big deal to get dressed up nicely for church, and spend the day with my family. As I thought about what I missed about Easter here I realized that the most important part about Easter was the same. It was a time of remembrance and celebration of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Even though it would have been nice to be with my family during this holiday, I was able to be with the guys here who do not have families to be with.
Leadership
What does it mean to be a leader within the church? How is my leadership in the church shaped by the cross-cultural context I am in? Franklin shared an interesting quote with the volunteers this month regarding these questions. Eric Law writes, “In a multicultural community, doing the work of justice requires us to understand the different perceptions of power from different cultural points of view. Doing justice in a multicultural environment requires us to understand the consequences of these cultural differences in power perceptions. Doing justice commands us to reveal this unconscious and disproportionate distribution of power. Doing justice compels us to develop new leadership skills that can confront injustice”.
I think a lot of times the term leadership implies that someone with more power or more experience is directing or in charge of a group of people. However, I have been discovering the problems with this form of leadership, especially in a cross-cultural context. In a group where one person is dictating or directing I think it is very difficult for members to grow and learn from one another. Not only this, but in a cross-cultural context it can give the impression that one culture stands above another. The guys here have been receiving the message from society that they are not as smart or that they are less of people because they are Gypsies. I need to be a leader here in a way that will confront this injustice and not perpetuate it. When Kristen and I lead Bible studies and English classes we try to engage the guys as much as possible and create a dynamic where they are just as much involved as we are. If we were to simply try to lecture them on the Bible or how we think they should live their lives there would be this disproportionate distribution of power that Eric Law talks about. Not only would we be perpetuating the injustice they already experience, but it would be boring for them and for us. Especially in Bible studies I think it is really important for the leader to make sure there is dialogue in the group, because we can help each other learn. Maybe it is better to think of a leader as someone who can guide the group and help engage everyone in this dialogue where we can learn from one another.
Thank you for your prayers and support!
-Jessica
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
March Newsletter - Ashley in Slovakia
A highlight for me this month was also the history book party event. A man who lives in Hybe just recently finished writing his second book, a history book about the village. In celebration of the book release, the town had a ceremony to celebrate. The celebration took place in a fairly small room (or at least too small for an event like this) in the city building of Hybe. I went to the celebration with my host family, and by the time we got there the whole room was filled with people, as well as the hallway leading into the room. The only place we could manage to squeeze into was the back corner on the right side, right next and literally IN two trees. It was quite funny. My host sister Katka and I giggled quite a bit as we swatted branches out of our faces, and tried to arrange them under and between our arms. Anyways, the ceremony was nice. My friend Vierka, who works as an assistant to the mayor of Hybe, opened the ceremony with a welcome message and poem (although I couldn’t understand much of it). Both an accordian player and violin player played a piece of traditional Slovak music, and Stanislav Ziska spoke a bit about the book and his process of writing it. At the end of the ceremony, we all stood in line to shake his hand and receive a free copy of the book! It was awesome! It’s a nice hard cover book with a lot of pictures (which is great, since I’m not able to read most of it). After the ceremony, everyone gathered in another small room (even smaller than the first) to have a reception, complete with cakes, fruit, alcohol and many other drinks and snacks. This is pretty typical of Slovak celebrations: everyone gathering in a small room around a giant table full of food and drinks, always standing instead of sitting because there isn’t enough room, and socializing and toasting to events. Anyways, the book is a really nice keepsake, and even more special because my host sister Janka had him sign it personally to me. Stanislav Ziska is also my host sister’s history teacher, so that’s pretty fun. She says he is a really great teacher and he is a big reason that she enjoys history so much.
Something new that happened this month was the start of my community English classes. The pastor and a woman from the church thought of the idea to open up a basic English class for whoever was interested in the community, so we held a meeting to see who was interested. It turns out that quite a few people were interested, so the one community class for beginners turned into three community classes (beginner, intermediate, and second intermediate). They have been an interesting challenge, because even though the classes are split up into different levels, there is still a broad mix of ability within the classes.There are mostly adults in my beginner class, and a mix of teenagers and young adults in my two upper level classes. It has been going pretty well and it’s been another great opportunity to meet more people in the community.
Here are some other random highlights for this month: I got my first Slovak Bible! It’s a children’s Bible, so hopefully I will be able to read and understand all of it by the time I leave in August. That is one of my goals. My host sisters and I bought matching kiddy toothbrushes! We were pretty exciting. I love how my family enjoys buying matching things. It’s hilarious, and it really makes me feel like part of the family. I have a green rabbit toothbrush, Janka has a blue puppy toothbrush, and Katka has a purple elephant toothbrush. Good times! I was interviewed for two papers, and for the church magazine (that’s usually published 4-5 times per year). The magazine for our church is called, “Zvon,“ which literally means “bell“ in Slovak. The newest printed edition came out on Easter Sunday, including my interview and picture! Wow, I felt sort of famous! The interview is also published on the church’s website, in both Slovak and English. You can find the interview on the church website (link provided on my blog), as well as on my blog itself, under the posting title “My Interview.“ And, this month I took my first trip “out back“ to see the Turcanova’s animals! I asked my host sisters, sometime in early February, if we could go visit their animals (they live in a little barn that is connected to their garage, right behind the house). They thought I was a little strange, but said yes. And so we finally went in March! They have two rabbits (which they eventually butcher and eat), a cow (which they maybe butcher and eat?? I’m not sure), twelve chickens (or so...they say they don’t actually know), three sheep, and two pigs. One big pig (who they will butcher in a few weeks, to restock their freezer’s meat supply for the upcoming months), and a little pig (who will be butchered next year sometime). I thought it was nice to go back there, just to see how many animals the Turcanovas had, and just because I think it’s fun that the barn is attached to the house (and they live right in town by one of the grocery shops). But from my excitement and interest, they made the assumption that I’ve never seen or been around farm animals before. I tried to explain to them the area in which I live, but I think they still think I’m a bit crazy. But we got to go visit the barn anyway, so I was a happy camper! I also have become a regular at a community aerobics class, held at the school gym on Monday nights. This has been a really nice way to get involved in activity without the language barrier being a roadblock, and it’s been a nice way to work off the steady Slovak diet of meat, potatoes, and chocolate cake.
One more really fun event for the month was the youth choir recording a cd! The younger kids and teenagers are all grouped together to make the youth choir, and they have been practicing these 18 songs for months and months. They finally recorded a cd a few weeks ago, recording all 18 of the songs, complete with flute and recorder additions and solos from the Pastor and some of the kids. And, from me! When I arrived in Hybe back in January, the kids in the youth choir learned a song in English to sing for me in church. Well, we sang this same song for the cd recording, but instead of letting the tape recording sing the main part for them, I sang it and the kids filled in the rest of the song and joined in at the chorus. It was pretty fun, and I hope it sounded ok. We are all anxious to see how the songs turn out! Will keep you posted, and hopefully you’ll get a chance to listen to us sing in the future.
Thanks for reading, and thanks for all of your support! This month I’ve been updating my blog more often, and fixing it up, so please check it out when you have a chance! Ok, hope you all had a fantastic March, and a blessed Easter!
God Bless,
Ashley
Something new that happened this month was the start of my community English classes. The pastor and a woman from the church thought of the idea to open up a basic English class for whoever was interested in the community, so we held a meeting to see who was interested. It turns out that quite a few people were interested, so the one community class for beginners turned into three community classes (beginner, intermediate, and second intermediate). They have been an interesting challenge, because even though the classes are split up into different levels, there is still a broad mix of ability within the classes.There are mostly adults in my beginner class, and a mix of teenagers and young adults in my two upper level classes. It has been going pretty well and it’s been another great opportunity to meet more people in the community.
Here are some other random highlights for this month: I got my first Slovak Bible! It’s a children’s Bible, so hopefully I will be able to read and understand all of it by the time I leave in August. That is one of my goals. My host sisters and I bought matching kiddy toothbrushes! We were pretty exciting. I love how my family enjoys buying matching things. It’s hilarious, and it really makes me feel like part of the family. I have a green rabbit toothbrush, Janka has a blue puppy toothbrush, and Katka has a purple elephant toothbrush. Good times! I was interviewed for two papers, and for the church magazine (that’s usually published 4-5 times per year). The magazine for our church is called, “Zvon,“ which literally means “bell“ in Slovak. The newest printed edition came out on Easter Sunday, including my interview and picture! Wow, I felt sort of famous! The interview is also published on the church’s website, in both Slovak and English. You can find the interview on the church website (link provided on my blog), as well as on my blog itself, under the posting title “My Interview.“ And, this month I took my first trip “out back“ to see the Turcanova’s animals! I asked my host sisters, sometime in early February, if we could go visit their animals (they live in a little barn that is connected to their garage, right behind the house). They thought I was a little strange, but said yes. And so we finally went in March! They have two rabbits (which they eventually butcher and eat), a cow (which they maybe butcher and eat?? I’m not sure), twelve chickens (or so...they say they don’t actually know), three sheep, and two pigs. One big pig (who they will butcher in a few weeks, to restock their freezer’s meat supply for the upcoming months), and a little pig (who will be butchered next year sometime). I thought it was nice to go back there, just to see how many animals the Turcanovas had, and just because I think it’s fun that the barn is attached to the house (and they live right in town by one of the grocery shops). But from my excitement and interest, they made the assumption that I’ve never seen or been around farm animals before. I tried to explain to them the area in which I live, but I think they still think I’m a bit crazy. But we got to go visit the barn anyway, so I was a happy camper! I also have become a regular at a community aerobics class, held at the school gym on Monday nights. This has been a really nice way to get involved in activity without the language barrier being a roadblock, and it’s been a nice way to work off the steady Slovak diet of meat, potatoes, and chocolate cake.
One more really fun event for the month was the youth choir recording a cd! The younger kids and teenagers are all grouped together to make the youth choir, and they have been practicing these 18 songs for months and months. They finally recorded a cd a few weeks ago, recording all 18 of the songs, complete with flute and recorder additions and solos from the Pastor and some of the kids. And, from me! When I arrived in Hybe back in January, the kids in the youth choir learned a song in English to sing for me in church. Well, we sang this same song for the cd recording, but instead of letting the tape recording sing the main part for them, I sang it and the kids filled in the rest of the song and joined in at the chorus. It was pretty fun, and I hope it sounded ok. We are all anxious to see how the songs turn out! Will keep you posted, and hopefully you’ll get a chance to listen to us sing in the future.
Thanks for reading, and thanks for all of your support! This month I’ve been updating my blog more often, and fixing it up, so please check it out when you have a chance! Ok, hope you all had a fantastic March, and a blessed Easter!
God Bless,
Ashley
Thursday, March 20, 2008
February Newsletter - Ashley in Slovakia
FEBRUARY NEWSLETTER
Hello everybody! Wow, the month of February was a busy one, it flew by really quickly!! It was another month of adjustments for me, almost like another September, getting familiar with all of the new wonderful people in my life at my new placement. I’ve been really blessed here in Hybe, and am thankful for everyone and for all of the new adventures I’ve had this month.
To kick off the month, I was formally invited to “Ples rodicov a priatelov Zakladnej skoly v Hybiach”, also known to everyone in the community as simply “Ples.” This is the formal dinner and dance party held every year for friends and family members of the Hybe School. My first few weeks helping with English at the school went well, and the teachers warmed up to me quite quickly! They invited me to Ples during my second week of teaching, and I accepted (not really knowing what it was). When I told me host family later that evening, they shrieked in excitement and my sister Katka ran to get her ball gown. I didn’t realize the event was formal (dress/suit and tie formal). When the night of the ball came, my host mom and sisters were CRAZY excited to dress me up. I was their Barbie doll for the evening. They ran around the house, yelling “SHE NEEDS A PURSE! SHE NEEDS EARRINGS! WHERE IS THE GOOD PERFUME?!?” My host sister did my hair and put me in her formal graduation party dress and pointy white dress shoes (both of which I would never wear at home). It was the first time in my life I’ve carried a glittery purse, worn a shiny pink shawl, and worn so much make-up that I could’ve scraped it off in layers, but it was a really fun bonding experience for me with my host mom and sisters. The ball was a really fun time! It was fun to see everyone all dressed up. The oldest students from the Hybe School wore matching dresses and suit/tie combos, and performed a few dance numbers to open the ball. After that, the dancing and celebrating began! At midnight they served cabbage soup, as they traditionally do every year. Enjoyable night for all!
Another highlight for the month was the youth group’s trip to Orava (a little city in the mountains, about 70 kilometers from Hybe). We (myself and 11 others) went up to stay in Adrianka’s (pastor’s wife) brother’s cabin in the woods. The scenery there was beautiful, and the cabin was secluded and quiet. It was a bit insane at times, spending four days in a little cabin with 11 teenagers who don’t speak a lot of English, but it was a great experience all in all. I ended up connecting with some of the kids more, so I’m thankful for that time. Some of the things we did: Had worship, played guitar and sang, cooked soup, made snowmen, read and relaxed, played games, had theme discussions on youth in pubs/disco clubs, homosexuality, love and relationships, and the Holocaust (they were roughly translated for me later, so I got something out of them), and watched movies. We watched some movies in the Czech language (because Slovak subtitles on films are rarely available, and the Czech language is so similar to Slovak that all of the Slovak people can understand Czech). We even watched a movie in English, and I tried to translate for them! Ha! That wasn’t a booming success, but I did get a few things across and it was pretty exciting when they understood.
In the middle of the month, the other volunteers and I decided that we wanted to plan a weekend to get together and visit each other’s placements (since I am not terribly far away from two of the other volunteers). We met together on a Friday in Velky Slavkov (a small village about 30 kilometers from Hybe, where we had our language training classes back in September) to visit Kristen and Jessica at their placement. They work at a center for gypsy boys (around the ages of 18-24) planning activities, helping in the center’s kitchen, teaching English and swimming, running Bible studies, and more. We even got to get in on an English lesson on Friday evening when we were there and hang out with some of the boys a bit. I’m really enjoying seeing the other volunteers’ placements and getting to experience them a bit first-hand. I’m glad we all think it’s important to visit each other during the year and get a feel for what each other’s lives are like. On Saturday I took the volunteers back here to Hybe to have dinner and sleep over at my host family’s house. My host family was REALLY excited to have 5 Americans visiting, and they learned the names of places of the home states of all of the volunteers. They also came with me to church the next morning. We went up in front during the service and introduced ourselves, and where we were staying for the year! The pastor was excited that everyone was in Hybe together and requested that we sing a song during church, so we sang, “Open the Eyes of My Heart Lord.” I thought it would be a good choice because the youth group in Hybe also sings the song (in Slovak and English), so they knew it and could follow along with it. It was a really great weekend, and as always I enjoyed spending time with my fellow YAGM’s.
While the month was full of great events, it was a challenging month for me as well. After becoming familiar and independent after four months in my old placement, it was difficult to go back to square one, new cities and villages, new bus and train routes and schedules, new methods of doing things, new lifestyles, and more. The transition, from living practically alone to living with a host family, has been intense at times because I’m confronted with the language barrier all day and every day. Also, this is the halfway point for my year and the realities of life after my year of service have started to hit me. What will I do next year? Where will I find a job? How will I deal with readjustment back in the U.S.? How will I process this year of volunteer experience after it’s finished? God only knows. For now I’m just trying to live life day-by-day here (which has proved to be challenging at times), trying to stay in the moment. Dealing with these challenges has helped me to become a more patient and tolerant person, and for that I am grateful.
So the question to address for this month’s newsletter was a bit overwhelming, so I thought I would choose small pieces of the questions to reflect on a bit.
“Theologian Kathryn Tanner argues that Christians form a ‘separate’ group within the wider culture by virtue of how we see ourselves in an intimate relationship with God. But, God’s grace finds us as no more deserving than others outside the Christian community, she says. While Christian identity can lead to lives of peace and love; and we believe that the power of the grace of Christ transforms human lives; can we really congratulate ourselves on the possession of some unique perfection?”
I think this is a really good point, and was glad to see such an important reflection question pop up in my newsletter email. I think the answer to the question is no, that we can’t congratulate ourselves on some unique perfection, because we are in no way perfect. We are all human, and we are sinful. Some of the best friends I’ve had in my life have been Christian. And some of the best friends in my life have not been Christian. I don’t feel that I am any more deserving, or any better than them. I think we all struggle in life, and everyone is at different stages in their faith walks (or not on faith walks at all), and it is reality. I think that people understand things differently. They understand the idea of a family differently. They understand other parts of the world differently. They understand societal duties differently. They understand God differently. God made us all to be different. Christians come in all shapes and sizes, different bodies, minds, gifts and abilities. I believe that my job as a Christian is to love and accept all of them to the best of my ability, regardless of their ideas or beliefs.
This leads into another question asked, “Is there or should there be a distinct Christian ‘culture’ vis-à-vis the world around us?” I believe the answer is no. If God made us all to be different, and put us in different parts of the world with different beliefs and/or ideas, I don’t see how it’s possible for one distinct Christian ‘culture’ to exist. I say accept differences, and embrace them, because differences are what make God’s world and people interesting. What should be the basic common thread amongst Christians? LOVE God. LOVE each other.
And another question, “Where do we as a church stand in our societies?” I believe that the purpose of the church, of God’s house, is not to seclude ourselves into a ‘separate’ group, but to create a foundation. This foundation is solidity and comfort fellow Christians seek, in order to meet fellow Christians and find more inspiration needed to go out and live their lives in the way God intended, and to shine as His examples. The purpose of the church is to invite and to welcome, not to seclude.
These questions are important, and a lot to think about! Hopefully you followed my thoughts alright, they were a bit difficult to organize with all of the questions to ponder. Ok, thank you VERY much for reading, for checking out my blog, for all of your support!! I appreciate it more than I can express!
Until next time,
Ashley
*To read more about my experiences, please check out my blog online at: www.ashleyrenslovak.blogspot.com
Hello everybody! Wow, the month of February was a busy one, it flew by really quickly!! It was another month of adjustments for me, almost like another September, getting familiar with all of the new wonderful people in my life at my new placement. I’ve been really blessed here in Hybe, and am thankful for everyone and for all of the new adventures I’ve had this month.
To kick off the month, I was formally invited to “Ples rodicov a priatelov Zakladnej skoly v Hybiach”, also known to everyone in the community as simply “Ples.” This is the formal dinner and dance party held every year for friends and family members of the Hybe School. My first few weeks helping with English at the school went well, and the teachers warmed up to me quite quickly! They invited me to Ples during my second week of teaching, and I accepted (not really knowing what it was). When I told me host family later that evening, they shrieked in excitement and my sister Katka ran to get her ball gown. I didn’t realize the event was formal (dress/suit and tie formal). When the night of the ball came, my host mom and sisters were CRAZY excited to dress me up. I was their Barbie doll for the evening. They ran around the house, yelling “SHE NEEDS A PURSE! SHE NEEDS EARRINGS! WHERE IS THE GOOD PERFUME?!?” My host sister did my hair and put me in her formal graduation party dress and pointy white dress shoes (both of which I would never wear at home). It was the first time in my life I’ve carried a glittery purse, worn a shiny pink shawl, and worn so much make-up that I could’ve scraped it off in layers, but it was a really fun bonding experience for me with my host mom and sisters. The ball was a really fun time! It was fun to see everyone all dressed up. The oldest students from the Hybe School wore matching dresses and suit/tie combos, and performed a few dance numbers to open the ball. After that, the dancing and celebrating began! At midnight they served cabbage soup, as they traditionally do every year. Enjoyable night for all!
Another highlight for the month was the youth group’s trip to Orava (a little city in the mountains, about 70 kilometers from Hybe). We (myself and 11 others) went up to stay in Adrianka’s (pastor’s wife) brother’s cabin in the woods. The scenery there was beautiful, and the cabin was secluded and quiet. It was a bit insane at times, spending four days in a little cabin with 11 teenagers who don’t speak a lot of English, but it was a great experience all in all. I ended up connecting with some of the kids more, so I’m thankful for that time. Some of the things we did: Had worship, played guitar and sang, cooked soup, made snowmen, read and relaxed, played games, had theme discussions on youth in pubs/disco clubs, homosexuality, love and relationships, and the Holocaust (they were roughly translated for me later, so I got something out of them), and watched movies. We watched some movies in the Czech language (because Slovak subtitles on films are rarely available, and the Czech language is so similar to Slovak that all of the Slovak people can understand Czech). We even watched a movie in English, and I tried to translate for them! Ha! That wasn’t a booming success, but I did get a few things across and it was pretty exciting when they understood.
In the middle of the month, the other volunteers and I decided that we wanted to plan a weekend to get together and visit each other’s placements (since I am not terribly far away from two of the other volunteers). We met together on a Friday in Velky Slavkov (a small village about 30 kilometers from Hybe, where we had our language training classes back in September) to visit Kristen and Jessica at their placement. They work at a center for gypsy boys (around the ages of 18-24) planning activities, helping in the center’s kitchen, teaching English and swimming, running Bible studies, and more. We even got to get in on an English lesson on Friday evening when we were there and hang out with some of the boys a bit. I’m really enjoying seeing the other volunteers’ placements and getting to experience them a bit first-hand. I’m glad we all think it’s important to visit each other during the year and get a feel for what each other’s lives are like. On Saturday I took the volunteers back here to Hybe to have dinner and sleep over at my host family’s house. My host family was REALLY excited to have 5 Americans visiting, and they learned the names of places of the home states of all of the volunteers. They also came with me to church the next morning. We went up in front during the service and introduced ourselves, and where we were staying for the year! The pastor was excited that everyone was in Hybe together and requested that we sing a song during church, so we sang, “Open the Eyes of My Heart Lord.” I thought it would be a good choice because the youth group in Hybe also sings the song (in Slovak and English), so they knew it and could follow along with it. It was a really great weekend, and as always I enjoyed spending time with my fellow YAGM’s.
While the month was full of great events, it was a challenging month for me as well. After becoming familiar and independent after four months in my old placement, it was difficult to go back to square one, new cities and villages, new bus and train routes and schedules, new methods of doing things, new lifestyles, and more. The transition, from living practically alone to living with a host family, has been intense at times because I’m confronted with the language barrier all day and every day. Also, this is the halfway point for my year and the realities of life after my year of service have started to hit me. What will I do next year? Where will I find a job? How will I deal with readjustment back in the U.S.? How will I process this year of volunteer experience after it’s finished? God only knows. For now I’m just trying to live life day-by-day here (which has proved to be challenging at times), trying to stay in the moment. Dealing with these challenges has helped me to become a more patient and tolerant person, and for that I am grateful.
So the question to address for this month’s newsletter was a bit overwhelming, so I thought I would choose small pieces of the questions to reflect on a bit.
“Theologian Kathryn Tanner argues that Christians form a ‘separate’ group within the wider culture by virtue of how we see ourselves in an intimate relationship with God. But, God’s grace finds us as no more deserving than others outside the Christian community, she says. While Christian identity can lead to lives of peace and love; and we believe that the power of the grace of Christ transforms human lives; can we really congratulate ourselves on the possession of some unique perfection?”
I think this is a really good point, and was glad to see such an important reflection question pop up in my newsletter email. I think the answer to the question is no, that we can’t congratulate ourselves on some unique perfection, because we are in no way perfect. We are all human, and we are sinful. Some of the best friends I’ve had in my life have been Christian. And some of the best friends in my life have not been Christian. I don’t feel that I am any more deserving, or any better than them. I think we all struggle in life, and everyone is at different stages in their faith walks (or not on faith walks at all), and it is reality. I think that people understand things differently. They understand the idea of a family differently. They understand other parts of the world differently. They understand societal duties differently. They understand God differently. God made us all to be different. Christians come in all shapes and sizes, different bodies, minds, gifts and abilities. I believe that my job as a Christian is to love and accept all of them to the best of my ability, regardless of their ideas or beliefs.
This leads into another question asked, “Is there or should there be a distinct Christian ‘culture’ vis-à-vis the world around us?” I believe the answer is no. If God made us all to be different, and put us in different parts of the world with different beliefs and/or ideas, I don’t see how it’s possible for one distinct Christian ‘culture’ to exist. I say accept differences, and embrace them, because differences are what make God’s world and people interesting. What should be the basic common thread amongst Christians? LOVE God. LOVE each other.
And another question, “Where do we as a church stand in our societies?” I believe that the purpose of the church, of God’s house, is not to seclude ourselves into a ‘separate’ group, but to create a foundation. This foundation is solidity and comfort fellow Christians seek, in order to meet fellow Christians and find more inspiration needed to go out and live their lives in the way God intended, and to shine as His examples. The purpose of the church is to invite and to welcome, not to seclude.
These questions are important, and a lot to think about! Hopefully you followed my thoughts alright, they were a bit difficult to organize with all of the questions to ponder. Ok, thank you VERY much for reading, for checking out my blog, for all of your support!! I appreciate it more than I can express!
Until next time,
Ashley
*To read more about my experiences, please check out my blog online at: www.ashleyrenslovak.blogspot.com
Monday, March 10, 2008
Feb. Update!!!! - Mark in Slovakia
Mark's Missionary Notes February 2008
News about what God is doing in Slovakia
Ahoj and Greetings from Slovakia.
February has been an interesting month with comic and frustrating
moments. There were
moments when the month seemed to take forever and moments when it seemed
to fly by very
fast. This marks about the mid-point of my year here, it is hard to
believe. Thank you all for your
continued prayer and thoughts. Please pray for all the other people who
are serving in various
places around the world as well.
And as usual I have been writing some other updates on my Blog for those
of you who are
Internet savvy. The address is http://www.moltron.net/blog/
I also have many more pictures
available at http://flickr.com/photos/themoltron
For me February is usually the month where things seem to drag on and
you feel like somehow
that the great new beginning of a year had in January is long gone. For
me this month has been a
time when many of cultural frustrations are starting to come to the
surface. I'm also realizing that
it is about that time I have to start considering what I will do when I
get home. Despite all these
things this month has been fun.
February has been interesting because we've been catching up on the some
of the smaller projects around the village. The Kulturny Dom (Civic
Center), which is being renovated, is full of junk and old clothes. We
have cleaned, burned or thrown away most of these things making it
easier to get some of the larger work done. In the process we have found
old newspapers and others antique things. It is interesting seeing how
the village and cultural has changed. In the Stara Škola (Old School)
where we live, we have been doing some small repair projects that
involve some electrical work. Much of the stonework around the
church is starting to fall apart this includes the front steps to the
church. We have been working making some to concrete steps. I am not an
expert but we take our time and think things through we end up making
really nice work. When projects are more of a mental challenge it makes
the work that much more enjoyable.
The youth group has been going well, although sometimes we ended up
planning things at the last
minute. One of these last minute plans was the week before Valentines
and we talked about what
it means to love and what love is. Discussion is not a very popular
thing in Slovakia for some
reason. So our conversation was somewhat brief but I think they got
something out of it. We then
made Valentines for people they might not usually give Valentines to. We
encouraged them to
not just say love your neighbor but show it. As much as I want the kids
to get out of youth group,
I find planning and preparing a source of spiritual renewal.
The following weekend I had the opportunity to take a mini-vacation to
Velky Slavkov and Hybe where some of
the other American Volunteers are. It was great to see them and see some
other Slovak faces than the ones in my
Village. One fun thing we did was visit and Wild West Tavern in Poprad.
(On a side note: Most of what the
Slovaks know about the Wild West is from German author Karl May who was
never actually in America.)
Nothing like the Wild West in Slovakia. In Velky Slavkov I visited the
home for Gypsy Boys. I
helped Kristen and Jessica (the volunteers working there) with an
English class and had some interesting
conversation. In the area I live there is not a very large gypsy
population. So it was interesting to interact with
them. Getting to know them as people instead of just those Gypsy boys.
After my short trip it was back to work. This particular week the
students we out for vacation. Because of this we were
invited to several families to eat lunch instead of going to the school.
I don't think I have ever been more stuffed in my life.
Slovaks enjoy eating and feeding people. One of the other Volunteers
hears quite often "Food is for eating" implying you
should eat even when you're not hungry. It was an enjoyable week
visiting and talking with the various families. I feel like
I'm getting to know the village more and sense of appreciation for the
work I am doing here.
As I've mentioned before Language is a constant struggle. I am learning
something new everyday and the more I learn the
more I find I don't know. The struggle now is trying to learn and
communicate beyond just getting by. Some days I just
don't want to speak Slovak, some days I do. One of the things I'm
learning is that this year for me has been an exercise in listening.
Learning to understand and really listen even when I don't have a strong
desire to so.
One of my other struggles is related to Alcohol. They have a very
liberal view of Alcohol and
generally most people drink in moderation. It is not uncommon for
everyone to have a shot of
Slivovica (Plum Liquor) before lunch or dinner. The struggle I have is
with how they treat and
ostracize members of the community who are Alcoholics. It happens in
America too but here
because Alcohol is such a commonplace thing for everyone being an
Alcoholic is common and to
find recovery or help of any kind is non-existent. One such man is
Ivanko; he is unemployed and
works at the church doing various things on occasion. The other
Volunteers and I have tried to be
his friend and encourage him when he sober. There is really little else
I can do. I pray that he
finds hope in the situation and that my actions will make others see how
to love their neighbors.
One of the small things I do on occasion is assist (or should I say
lead) the Kid's Church. The Pastor has asks us to fill in when he can't
find someone at the last minute. It is difficult but, we try and the
kids seem to enjoy it. During the sermon the kids leave the church and
have a small lesson for about 30 minutes or so. It is quite a struggle
to keep about 15-20 kids entertained and
teach a bible lesson when you don't know the language. Many of the kids
we know from teaching school or from guitar and drum lessons, so they
help us. For all of you who say they can't lead a kid's bible study try
doing it in Slovak.
As I am passing the mid-point I can't help but think of home more often.
One of the many things
that give me a sense of home is music. Especially one particular song
during my times of struggle and longing.
"So if I stand let me stand on the promise that you will pull me through
And if I can't let me fall on the grace that first brought me to you
If I sing let me sing for the joy that has born in me these songs
But if I weep let it be as a man who is longing for his home"
This Chorus from a Jars of Clay song has spoken to me and given me strength.
The last line particular speaks to me especially, I am here enjoying my
time and serving the Lord
but I am a man longing for his home. I am thinking about and craving for
the familiar. Hot Dogs,
Peanut Butter, Baseball, Family, Friends, English Language. I began to
think about what home
means to me. It's not just a place. It is people, small things and
cultural quirks. It is a feeling of
being accepted and loved for who you are. I then began to think, what
about our Heavenly home?
Do we as Christians have a sense of what our Heavenly home will be? One
Vision of heaven is
described in Revelations,
"The main street was pure gold, translucent as glass. But there was no
sign of a temple, for the
Lord God – The Sovereign-Strong – and the Lamb are the temple. The City
doesn't need sun or
moon for light. God's Glory is its light; the lamb is its Lamp! The
nations will walk in its light and
earth's kings bring in their splendor. Its gates will never be shut by
day, and there won't be any
night. They'll bring the glory and honor of the nations into the City.
Nothing dirty or defiled will
get into the City, and no one who defiles or deceives. Only those whose
names are written in the
Lamb's book of Life will get in." Rev. 21:21-27
What a description of Heaven. A whole City in the presence of God. We
should be people who
are longing for a heaven home, a place of God's Presence. A place of
love, forgiveness and grace.
When the early immigrants came to the United States they set up
communities to reflect a sense
of home. You can see it in the China Towns and Little Italys. It just
feels like you are walking
into another culture sometimes. This sense of making a home in a foreign
land is reflected in the
bible during Israel's exile in Babylon. God commanded the Israelites to
make homes in the place
they were. "Make yourselves at home there and work for the country's
welfare, Pray for her wellbeing."
- Jeremiah 29:7 Later Jeremiah announces "[God] will show up and take
care of you as
promised and bring you back home" in verse 10. Jesus showed us how to
live and through his
death and Resurrection made it possible for us to be citizens of heaven.
God's command is not to
twiddle our thumbs but, to make a heavenly home here on earth so that
when he comes in full
glory we will be that much more familiar, that much more prepared.
What are we doing to reflect a sense of our Heavenly Home? How are we
conveying Forgiveness
and Grace? I am realizing this longing I have for home is a reflection
of a deeper desire for my
heavenly home and deeper desire to see God's Presence Reflected no
matter where I am.
Lord,
Let us be people who long for our heavenly home,
Helps us Pray that it will come sooner
But, that we would build reflections of your hope
Here and now in the places we live and work
Amen
God's Blessings and Peace be with you,
Christ’s Servant in Slovakia
Mark
News about what God is doing in Slovakia
Ahoj and Greetings from Slovakia.
February has been an interesting month with comic and frustrating
moments. There were
moments when the month seemed to take forever and moments when it seemed
to fly by very
fast. This marks about the mid-point of my year here, it is hard to
believe. Thank you all for your
continued prayer and thoughts. Please pray for all the other people who
are serving in various
places around the world as well.
And as usual I have been writing some other updates on my Blog for those
of you who are
Internet savvy. The address is http://www.moltron.net/blog/
I also have many more pictures
available at http://flickr.com/photos/themoltron
For me February is usually the month where things seem to drag on and
you feel like somehow
that the great new beginning of a year had in January is long gone. For
me this month has been a
time when many of cultural frustrations are starting to come to the
surface. I'm also realizing that
it is about that time I have to start considering what I will do when I
get home. Despite all these
things this month has been fun.
February has been interesting because we've been catching up on the some
of the smaller projects around the village. The Kulturny Dom (Civic
Center), which is being renovated, is full of junk and old clothes. We
have cleaned, burned or thrown away most of these things making it
easier to get some of the larger work done. In the process we have found
old newspapers and others antique things. It is interesting seeing how
the village and cultural has changed. In the Stara Škola (Old School)
where we live, we have been doing some small repair projects that
involve some electrical work. Much of the stonework around the
church is starting to fall apart this includes the front steps to the
church. We have been working making some to concrete steps. I am not an
expert but we take our time and think things through we end up making
really nice work. When projects are more of a mental challenge it makes
the work that much more enjoyable.
The youth group has been going well, although sometimes we ended up
planning things at the last
minute. One of these last minute plans was the week before Valentines
and we talked about what
it means to love and what love is. Discussion is not a very popular
thing in Slovakia for some
reason. So our conversation was somewhat brief but I think they got
something out of it. We then
made Valentines for people they might not usually give Valentines to. We
encouraged them to
not just say love your neighbor but show it. As much as I want the kids
to get out of youth group,
I find planning and preparing a source of spiritual renewal.
The following weekend I had the opportunity to take a mini-vacation to
Velky Slavkov and Hybe where some of
the other American Volunteers are. It was great to see them and see some
other Slovak faces than the ones in my
Village. One fun thing we did was visit and Wild West Tavern in Poprad.
(On a side note: Most of what the
Slovaks know about the Wild West is from German author Karl May who was
never actually in America.)
Nothing like the Wild West in Slovakia. In Velky Slavkov I visited the
home for Gypsy Boys. I
helped Kristen and Jessica (the volunteers working there) with an
English class and had some interesting
conversation. In the area I live there is not a very large gypsy
population. So it was interesting to interact with
them. Getting to know them as people instead of just those Gypsy boys.
After my short trip it was back to work. This particular week the
students we out for vacation. Because of this we were
invited to several families to eat lunch instead of going to the school.
I don't think I have ever been more stuffed in my life.
Slovaks enjoy eating and feeding people. One of the other Volunteers
hears quite often "Food is for eating" implying you
should eat even when you're not hungry. It was an enjoyable week
visiting and talking with the various families. I feel like
I'm getting to know the village more and sense of appreciation for the
work I am doing here.
As I've mentioned before Language is a constant struggle. I am learning
something new everyday and the more I learn the
more I find I don't know. The struggle now is trying to learn and
communicate beyond just getting by. Some days I just
don't want to speak Slovak, some days I do. One of the things I'm
learning is that this year for me has been an exercise in listening.
Learning to understand and really listen even when I don't have a strong
desire to so.
One of my other struggles is related to Alcohol. They have a very
liberal view of Alcohol and
generally most people drink in moderation. It is not uncommon for
everyone to have a shot of
Slivovica (Plum Liquor) before lunch or dinner. The struggle I have is
with how they treat and
ostracize members of the community who are Alcoholics. It happens in
America too but here
because Alcohol is such a commonplace thing for everyone being an
Alcoholic is common and to
find recovery or help of any kind is non-existent. One such man is
Ivanko; he is unemployed and
works at the church doing various things on occasion. The other
Volunteers and I have tried to be
his friend and encourage him when he sober. There is really little else
I can do. I pray that he
finds hope in the situation and that my actions will make others see how
to love their neighbors.
One of the small things I do on occasion is assist (or should I say
lead) the Kid's Church. The Pastor has asks us to fill in when he can't
find someone at the last minute. It is difficult but, we try and the
kids seem to enjoy it. During the sermon the kids leave the church and
have a small lesson for about 30 minutes or so. It is quite a struggle
to keep about 15-20 kids entertained and
teach a bible lesson when you don't know the language. Many of the kids
we know from teaching school or from guitar and drum lessons, so they
help us. For all of you who say they can't lead a kid's bible study try
doing it in Slovak.
As I am passing the mid-point I can't help but think of home more often.
One of the many things
that give me a sense of home is music. Especially one particular song
during my times of struggle and longing.
"So if I stand let me stand on the promise that you will pull me through
And if I can't let me fall on the grace that first brought me to you
If I sing let me sing for the joy that has born in me these songs
But if I weep let it be as a man who is longing for his home"
This Chorus from a Jars of Clay song has spoken to me and given me strength.
The last line particular speaks to me especially, I am here enjoying my
time and serving the Lord
but I am a man longing for his home. I am thinking about and craving for
the familiar. Hot Dogs,
Peanut Butter, Baseball, Family, Friends, English Language. I began to
think about what home
means to me. It's not just a place. It is people, small things and
cultural quirks. It is a feeling of
being accepted and loved for who you are. I then began to think, what
about our Heavenly home?
Do we as Christians have a sense of what our Heavenly home will be? One
Vision of heaven is
described in Revelations,
"The main street was pure gold, translucent as glass. But there was no
sign of a temple, for the
Lord God – The Sovereign-Strong – and the Lamb are the temple. The City
doesn't need sun or
moon for light. God's Glory is its light; the lamb is its Lamp! The
nations will walk in its light and
earth's kings bring in their splendor. Its gates will never be shut by
day, and there won't be any
night. They'll bring the glory and honor of the nations into the City.
Nothing dirty or defiled will
get into the City, and no one who defiles or deceives. Only those whose
names are written in the
Lamb's book of Life will get in." Rev. 21:21-27
What a description of Heaven. A whole City in the presence of God. We
should be people who
are longing for a heaven home, a place of God's Presence. A place of
love, forgiveness and grace.
When the early immigrants came to the United States they set up
communities to reflect a sense
of home. You can see it in the China Towns and Little Italys. It just
feels like you are walking
into another culture sometimes. This sense of making a home in a foreign
land is reflected in the
bible during Israel's exile in Babylon. God commanded the Israelites to
make homes in the place
they were. "Make yourselves at home there and work for the country's
welfare, Pray for her wellbeing."
- Jeremiah 29:7 Later Jeremiah announces "[God] will show up and take
care of you as
promised and bring you back home" in verse 10. Jesus showed us how to
live and through his
death and Resurrection made it possible for us to be citizens of heaven.
God's command is not to
twiddle our thumbs but, to make a heavenly home here on earth so that
when he comes in full
glory we will be that much more familiar, that much more prepared.
What are we doing to reflect a sense of our Heavenly Home? How are we
conveying Forgiveness
and Grace? I am realizing this longing I have for home is a reflection
of a deeper desire for my
heavenly home and deeper desire to see God's Presence Reflected no
matter where I am.
Lord,
Let us be people who long for our heavenly home,
Helps us Pray that it will come sooner
But, that we would build reflections of your hope
Here and now in the places we live and work
Amen
God's Blessings and Peace be with you,
Christ’s Servant in Slovakia
Mark
Sunday, March 2, 2008
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
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
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