After our trip, we jumped headfirst back into ministry in Kosice and Presov.  The exam schedule here is much different than America.  Basically, students are studying and taking exams in December and January.  They can also retake exams up to three times (I think) if they don’t pass the first time.  Crazy!  Classes finally began around the second week in February.  

To kick off the semester we went to Presov armed with Valentine’s Day lollipops and surveys.  We gave out lollipops to students, which works as a pretty good icebreaker.  There isn’t much you can get for free in Slovakia (sometimes you even have to pay to go to the bathroom!) so standing around on campus handing out free candy comes as a surprise to most students.  We asked students to fill out a short survey on love, asking questions about what love looks like and if anyone is capable of giving perfect, unconditional love.  We had many great opportunities to share the love of Christ with these students who are hungering for this perfect love relationship.

We had another outreach the following week at the medical campus in Kosice.  We threw a palacinky, or pancake party, for students and had a great turnout–about 120 students.  We served the palacinky and had a Slovak student, Peter, share his testimony while students ate.  After the palacinky was gone, some students hung out for a while longer and we played “Move If”–a get to know you game where everyone sits in a circle with one person standing in the middle.  The person in the middle will say, for example, “Move if you have ridden on an airplane,” and everyone who’s been on an airplane will stand up and run to find a new seat.  It’s a fun way to learn more about people!

I’m enjoying meeting one on one with students I’ve met through these two outreaches.  We’ve really seen the Lord working in the lives of students we’ve been meeting to draw them to Himself.  I’m excited to see what the rest of the semester holds!

Next week we’ll begin Talk the Talk (english club) and Bible study in Presov.  Bible study will be mainly geared toward the believers we know (though anyone will be welcome to come)–giving them a place to fellowship with one another each week while learning how to study the Bible and share their faith with others.  Be praying that this will be a time of encouragement and refreshment each week for students, and that it will meet the need we have of cultivating a community of believers here.

I have no pictures from the past two weeks, but here’s a picture of the beautiful country I live in!  This was on the way to our winter conference in December.  And then, a picture of what I’m wishing for.  Color and sun and warm weather!

That’s how I’ve felt the past two months.  I really cannot believe tomorrow will be March!  I’m thankful, as March will hopefully be the end of snow, arctic winds, and wearing five layers whenever I go outside.  I’m looking forward to spring in Kosice!

January was a crazy month packed with three conferences and a long awaited vacation.  We traveled to Nerja, Spain for the STINT midyear conference, which brought Campus Crusade staff from all over Europe, Russia, North Africa, and the Middle East together for a time of teaching, praise and worship, and fellowship…all in English!  It was exciting to hear stories of how the Lord is working all over the world, and I left refreshed, encouraged, and ready to begin a new semester of ministry.

We left Spain and continued on to a little village in France, right on the border of Switzerland, where we stayed with a family friend of my teammate Amber.  We spent a day in Geneva, Switzerland touring the city. We saw the Reformation Wall, the church where John Calvin preached, and a lot of clocks and watches.

Our next stop was Paris.  I have heard many people say they weren’t very impressed with Paris because the city was dirty and the French people were rude.  Well, this was not the case for me!  I thought the city was pretty clean and the people were friendly and helpful!  It was also great because there were very few tourists there so nothing was crowded.  We were in Paris basically two and a half days.  The first full day we spent running (almost literally) from place to place.  The city is enormous and even with public transportation, you still had to sometimes walk a while to the place you were trying to get to.  We started out the morning at Notre Dame.  Cathedrals have become a pretty normal sight as they are everywhere in Europe, but this one was impressive.  The we walked by the Louvre on our way to walk up the Avenue des Champs-Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe.  If you are ever considering walking up the Champs-Elysees from the Louvre, know it is much farther than it looks.  From there we made our way to the Eiffel Tower. Around sunset we went up to the top to take in the city all lit up.  The last stop of the night was the Louvre.  We had an hour and a half to see 380,000 pieces of art, so we just picked out the highlights.  The Mona Lisa, which is pretty unimpressive, French crown jewels, and a smattering of other paintings here and there.

We spent our second day at Disneyland Paris!  We enjoyed sunny skies and zero to fifteen minute waits for almost every ride!

Our last stop on the journey was London.  I went through a mini culture shock hearing and seeing all the English.  And having to look the opposite direction when you cross the street because they drive on the other side.  London surprised me with how fast paced things are.  The typical European way of life is slow.  Very slow sometimes.  It reminded me a lot of New York, European style.  The first night we went up in the London Eye–a huge, ferris wheel type contraption with glass pods you can stand and walk around in.  You move very slowly around the wheel in this glass pod and from the top have a 360 degree view of the city.  The next day began with Starbucks and Krispy Kreme–a highlight for me.  Then we made our way to Buckingham Palace, Big Ben and Parliament, and Westminster Abbey.  For lunch we had fish and chips.  But I don’t like fish, so chicken and chips for me.  Later that night we went to see Wicked at the Apollo Victoria.  If you ever get a chance to see this show, SEE IT.  It was amazing.  

The next day, what was supposed to be the last day of our trip, we began at Abbey Road and took some pictures of us crossing the road like the cover of the Beatles’ Abbey Road album.  Then we went to Hyde Park, the Tower of London, and took some pictures of the Tower Bridge from the other side of the River Thames.  Our last stop of the evening was St. Paul’s Cathedral.

The next morning, the day we were to leave, we woke up to the worst snowstorm London has seen in eighteen years.  We’re talking maybe three or four inches here, but the city was completely shut down.  No buses, few trains, and only one metro line fully working.  We debated all morning on what to do, but as our afternoon flight hadn’t been cancelled yet, we decided to go ahead to the airport.  We surprisingly make it the whole way using public transportation, and get excited because our flight is delayed, but nonetheless, still scheduled to leave.  An hour later, almost all flights are cancelled, including ours.  We make our way to reschedule, and find out that we won’t be able to leave for TWO more days.  Though this was not good news, it ended up working out well for me and Stephanie.  Our hotel was next to a salon…and we were in England, where I could tell them how I wanted it cut without ending up with some crazy hairstyle.  

So, I maybe wouldn’t recommend a 17 day trip like ours, but I’m so thankful I had a chance to see so many new places!  

Check out more pictures from our trip at the link on the right!

The Christmas season was so much fun to experience in Slovakia!  Though it was strange not to be with my family on Christmas, I had a great time celebrating the birth of our Savior with my team, who have become like family.  Here are some pictures of why I love Christmas in Kosice!

Our tree and decorated apartment/a fun team–the lights!–parties with friends–decorating wafer houses–the big tree on hlavna–the pretty carved nativity in the Christmas market

I know spending a birthday at McDonald’s probably isn’t appealing to anyone over the age of five, but that’s where we went for my birthday dinner at my request.  McDonald’s is a pretty nice meal here!  After dinner Stephanie (her birthday is three days before mine) had a little party at our apartment, complete with oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and funfetti cake with rainbow chip icing!

The beginning of December we had a candy cane outreach on the campuses in Kosice and Presov.  A church in America supplied us with 1500 candy canes!  We stapled 1000 candy canes to an article that shares the gospel through the story of the candy cane.  We handed them out to students on their way to and from classes.  We also filled 500 holiday bags with a candy cane, the article, and a gospel tract and did surveys with students while handing them out in the dorms.  We got into some great conversations and have many contacts to follow up next semester.  We also got an incredible answer to prayer.  While handing out candy canes in Presov, Aaron met a Christian guy who wants to help him start a Bible study!  We currently have one Slovak guy involved with the our ministry right now (and 5-6 girls) so we have been praying specifically this semester to find some guys to be potential leaders in the ministry!

Here’s a picture of us assembling the bags…we were covered in them!

Our team traveled to Prague for Thanksgiving.  Everyone but Mikey had been to Prague before, so for the most part we didn’t run around the city like crazy tourists.  I spent most of my time relaxing, shopping, drinking Starbucks, and eating Cream and Dream (the world’s best ice cream!).  I had fun kicking off the holiday season in one of my favorite cities!

St. Vitus cathedral                                                                         Astronomical clock

Our November staff team social was a murder mystery party!  We had so much fun dressing up and (trying) to solve the mystery.  Knightess Rufus (Stephanie) was murdered.  Dara ended up being the murderer…she played her role very well.  I didn’t guess correctly, but a few people got it right!

The end of October we went on a very quick trip to Rome.  We weren’t even there 48 hours, but we were able to do and see all the big sights there.  The highlights of my trip:  cute earrings, gelato, and the Trevi fountain. Rome is at the top of my list for must see cities if you come to Europe…tied with Prague!  There are more pictures at the link on the right!

We had a halloween party for students a few days before halloween.  We had a great time dressing up and looking ridiculous!

Jeremy (I can't really remember what he is) and Dara, who kept us entertained all night.

Mario and Luigi

The states of matter...nerdy, but all we could come up with for free costumes!

Cindy and Mikey as each other

Today I’m attempting to get this blog up-to-date, starting with our fall conference.  We had a great weekend of fellowship, time in the Word, and discussion of what students were learning.  The theme of the weekend was Satisfaction Guaranteed.  Our speaker, an American on staff in Budapest, spoke on satisfaction in relationships, satisfaction as it relates to success, and finally, how satisfaction is ultimately found in relationship with Christ. 

The whole team

Presov girls...Biba, Zuzka, Miska, Steph, and me