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!
