February Happenings February 28, 2009

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!

 

blog neglect… October 19, 2008

Sorry.  October has been a busy, busy month.

Talk the Talk has gone really well the past two weeks.  The night it began (Oct. 7th) fifteen students came!  We talked about culture and values in America versus Slovakia as a big group, then split students into small groups to talk about their own values and how that shapes their lives.  We also talked about how belief in God (or unbelief) affects culture and values.  This was a great topic to begin Talk the Talk on because we quickly got a chance to see the spiritual backgrounds of the students and things that are important to them.  I was able to talk with a  Jewish girl (married to a Muslim, by the way) and (traditional) Catholic girls about my personal relationship with Christ and how that affects what I value.  The Lord is growing my heart and giving me compassion on these students with each conversation I have.  The next night we talked about university life.  There were only three students there, but we were able to sit down and talk more intimately with them, so it was still a good night.  

This week’s meetings have gone really well also.  Tuesday night we had sixteen students…some from the previous week, but many new ones.  We discussed travel, and the students really seemed to enjoy this night.  We had everyone show on the map where they were from and tell one interesting thing about their village.  Then they shared where they would go if they could go anywhere in the world.  New York and California were the most popular answers for travel in the US.  England, Australia and Greece were also some popular places.  Wednesday we had “fun” night, and talked about some things we liked to do for fun.

This week I’m planning on meeting with many of the students I’ve met to spend time with them one on one.  Pray these meetings would go well and that I’d have an opportunity to share the gospel with each student.  Also pray for direction for our team as we decide what to do when Talk the Talk ends this week.  Students began asking Tuesday if this was “really the last week” so we’re considering starting an English Bible study.  It would be open to anyone…and we’re hoping we could specifically target the nonbelievers we’ve met who want to continue to practice their English with us.  Pray the Lord would show us the next steps in continuing our relationship with these students.

In other news, autumn is in full swing.  The weather has been beautiful the past few weeks!   

There are lots of upcoming events.  Our Fall Conference is next weekend.  Pray that many students would make the decision to come this week and that God would use this weekend to grow and challenge believers and draw unbelievers into relationship with Him. 

Then the next weekend, we’re taking a team trip to ROME.  

Then it will be November.  I can hardly believe it.

Here’s a fun picture of the time we spent a few hours filling out papers for our visas.  As of this week, I think I finally have everything I need to live here legally!

Talk the Talk October 6, 2008

This week we are starting an english club called Talk the Talk for students at Presov.  (More about that here.)  We did a lot of promotion last week–hanging up signs, handing out flyers, and chalking the sidewalks–and are praying for 50 students to come to the first meeting tomorrow night.  Please pray with us that we’d have a great turnout and that relationships with these students would begin being built tomorrow night!