Back from Slovenia

I got back late Saturday night from my trip to Slovenia to help with Kriz, which is an intensive 2 week Bible and theology course for college students.

In all the trip was amazing. I not only got to see the country and city where my wife, daughter, and I will live one day soon, but I also had the chance to meet and begin some great relationships with the students we'll be working with. I could go on and on about how excited I am about each of the students, 3 guys and 6 girls, that attended the conference. They were definitely the highlight of my trip.

The conference went well. John MacMurray did a great job as he taught a New Testament overview as did Hondo Wynn with Bible Study Methods and Josh Patty who taught on the Holy Spirit. They threw a dog a bone and let me teach a couple times too. Speaking of idioms, it was fun to watch some of the americans teach and realize just how many figures of speech we use, which are tough to translate.

I loved my time there, though it was tough to be away from my wife and daughter. The students asked, "when are you coming back to live here?" To which I replied, "hopefully soon." So please pray that the financial support we need comes in so that we can go over to Slovenia and start a university ministry.

My Honey's Home

Matt came home two nights ago from his three week trip to Slovenia. We'll post about the trip soon (and send out some email updates), but this post is more of a reflection on just how much I enjoy Matt!

He brings so much laughter to my life!

Today we were running errands and had to make a stop at the gas station. He noticed that the skinny white guy pumping our gas had some Chinese characters tattood on his arms.

"Wouldn't it be funny if this guy's tattoo artist told him this was the symbol for 'faithfulness' or 'strength' when really it means something like 'fuzzy Q-tip'?"

Yeah, his comments are often random - but I couldn't help laughing out loud!

Hangin' with the fam

Last week my sister and I had to find some creative ways to stay cool because of the heat wave here. So we took Eliana swimming.

Tonight I enjoyed spending some quality time with my parents - watching America's Got Talent. (Gotta say that the chicken-catching country singer and the grannie comedian are my faves!)

opportunities abound

I met with Josh Patty (the country leader for Josiah Venture in Slovenia) for breakfast today and he showed me this cool little pizza place near their old house. He took me upstairs and said, "wouldn't this place be awesome for a church?" I could totally see it. It would be a great place for church plant one day. So, feel free to pray with me that God would use the church we will be a part of to start a church plant here. Pray that He would be preparing a dynamic Slovene dude to reach his culture with a message of hope.

A first time for everything

I arrived on Wednesday to Slovenia for the first time.

My first couple hours were spent sitting outside the airport at a cafe waiting for my ride to finish up his language class so he could swing by and pick me up. It was good, it gave me some time to sit and observe. I got to meet some college age Slovenes who were also waiting. They were cool, we chatted for awhile and then they offered to buy me a beer to welcome me. Though I declined (I arrived at 11:00 am) their hospitality impressed me.

Sharon and I have been thinking and dreaming about this place for a while as we have pushed forward on doing all it takes to get here. Though this stay will only be for a few weeks and not a few years, I am still very excited to finally see my future home. And oddly enough it feels a bit like home. That fact that we have already lived in Central/Eastern Europe for a few years previously gives Slovenia an air of familiarity and love. I look around and see the great potential for God to do some amazing things in this country. I also see the hard work and prayer coupled with the heartbreak and frustration that is often the precursor to such vitality.

I can't wait.

PS - I want to thank my wife for having a big enough vision to stay at home and take care of our little girl on her own for almost 3 weeks. I love you Sharon!!!