July 31, 2010

What a fabulous day. We are exhausted and exhilarated as we walked, hiked, shopped, learned, and ate to our heart's content. This was by far the best meal, the best panoramic views, as well as one of the best historic experiences at the open air museum Pribylina. We left Martin at about 8:00am, to return 13 hours later.

Our first jaunt was in the High Tatras, which were adorned with lofty clouds that reflected in the still waters of the lake. Our hike included wild berry picking, schools of fish feasting on bread, breath taking views of the mountains, ski resort, jumps, lifts, scoreboard, and summer festivities. We mingled groups, posed for photos, and laughed our way around the lake. We finished this adventure watching Robert take on the ropes course. This course involved planks, ropes, loops, ladders, zip lines, and two rescues by the staff. We cheered and applauded his courage and agility.

Our next stop was Pribylina, an outdoor museum of relocated buildings from villages that were to be flooded after the dam was built. It included a hunting lodge, school, barn, wood shop, church, etc. The architecture was incredible, with wood carved pews, two ornate altars, pieces of original frescoes, vaulted ceilings, and authentic furnishings. We were quite taken with a wire crafts woman who wove and knotted copper wire around eggs and glass bottles - beautiful!

Finally, Dinner! Strbske pieso! The soup was so so wonderful I had more than my share- 2 1/2 bowls with ham and beans. The main course was sour kraut, (my favorite), and pork cooked three different ways. Of course, there were potatoes and dessert- their famous poppy seed cake. After a perfect day of picturesque weather, the rain began to pour. Nothing like finishing a perfect day with entertainment by nature, with lightening, thunder, and raindrops really the size of cats and dogs! It was dry by the time we landed in Martin. Who could ask for anything more? We are enjoying God's grace in nature's beauty, relationships around us, and safe adventures.

Dona

Friday, Field trip day!

After the barbeque last night, we took a walk around the square. The weather was cloudy but mild. The square was fairly quiet, with a few other couples strolling, and several young roller bladers. On returning to the dormitory, as I turned the key in the lock, the heavens opened up and rain POURED down. It rained all night. By morning it had reduced to a light drizzle. Today was a half day. We worked until noon. After breakfast and devotions I joined Bill in the Elementary School for work. Hard work. We unloaded 2 truck loads of material, then began mixing mortar and troweling it onto the walls. Sheets of fiberglass netting went up, pressed into the mortar and smoothed, preparing the surface for stucco on Monday, while others continued teaching English. The students are so enthusiastic and smart! They are a real joy to teach and to just spend time with.

After lunch, as we headed for the train station, the clouds parted and the sun came out. The train to Zilinia took about 1 hour, with one change of trains. Zilinia is a beautiful little town with not one, but 2 squares, lined with shops and restaurants, where many of us went searching for treasures to bring home: decorated eggs shells, decorative wire platters, ceramic bowls and many other beautiful tidbits, at very reasonable prices. There are 2 large churches, both Catholic, and very beautiful. Randy, Julie, Donna, Priscilla and I went to "The First Slovak Pub" with two of our students, Lucas and Sylvia, who live in Zilinia. We shared a bowl of goulash, and 2 garlic soups in bread bowls and some very nice local beer. On the way back down to the train station, Priscilla and I wandered into the Franciscan Church and found a concert was about to start! We stayed and listened to a small orchestra play Mozart, Mendellson and Bach. Wonderful way to end a fantastic day. We rode the train back and hustled to the Hotel Brilant for dinner.....the best one yet!
Tomorrow we head for the mountains: the High Tatras for some hiking, the lunch in a valley near the Low Tatras....or is it the Fatras? Whatever.
We worked hard all week, and will play hard this weekend, to be refreshed and ready to begin our work teaching and building again. Each day we see the Lord at work, and thank Him for all the Blessings He bestows on us. Our love to all of those at home following our adventure, and a special Hello to Angie from Bill!

Breck Thomas

July 29, 2010

After days and days of rain, we walked out of our classes at the morning break to see sunshine, blue sky, and white fluffy clouds...what a needed change! It inspired Dona and Melissa’s high school group to go for a walk. I was privileged to be able to accompany them as we all walked to the Billa (their grocery store). The lesson being discussed before we left was on adjectives. How perfect - the entire walk we were able to ask the girls to describe - in English - how to get where we were going. “Walk past the green metal fence and the tall yellow building on the left, then past the round, dry fountain...etc, etc! Entering the store was even more fun as we helped them identify the fruits and vegetables, cheeses and more - all using their English rather than their Slovak. They are such bright talented students - with kind hearts and generous spirits. We were able to experience that later in the afternoon as two of the students stayed to cook our group a native Slovakian dish (but that will be shared in another blog...!)

For now - on to our field trip for today...

The beautiful little church on the hill is hundreds of years old. It overlooks a peaceful looking village and some of the greenest hills I have ever seen - more beautiful than a movie or postcard could ever portray. As we walked up the pathway to the church, we couldn’t help but snap our cameras - first to the hills on the left with grazing animals and then to the cemetery on the right. We were in awe of the countryside and it was hard to round up the group (especially us “first timers”) to go inside for the start of the service. When we entered through the huge wooden doorway, we were taken aback by the beauty of the sanctuary. The sun shone through long slits in the thick walls casting a sort of “heavenly” light on the scene. As anyone who enters a Lutheran church service late knows...the only seats left are in the front row, so we proceeded to sit down. Pastor Adrian provided an inspirational message - and the sound of our voices singing familiar hymns brought goosebumps and some tears to many of us! The acoustics in the small church multiplied the strength of our notes and to me, we sounded as melodic as a well-rehearsed choir from St. Olaf or Luther College! It was amazing! Rarely has a mid-week church service been so memorable.

After the service we returned to the Bible School to find Bohdan hard at work at the BBQ grill. Plates of chicken, sausage, and vegetables were already prepared and more was being added! It tasted delicious! It was nice to sit down with all the members of our group and the builder’s group from Minnesota as well. We relaxed, listened to good music, and truly enjoyed each other’s company. No concerns about curriculum copies...or numbers of students...or construction supplies...just a chance to talk and listen to great music. (Was Louis Armstrong really there? He sounded just like him!) Then it was off to bed for some needed rest. The day was beautiful - and we thank the Lord for everything we experienced.

-Julie

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

The hills are vibrant and verdant with lush grass and flowers. The rain keeps coming, but so does our joy and love for our mission here in Slovakia. A team joined us today from Minnesota to continue the renovation and building projects that are already in place. The school is alive with learning and service, a constant reminder of God's plan.
I am fortunate to be working with a wonderful group of high school youth. There are 7 students, Melissa, and myself. We laugh, sing, and draw about our experiences and feelings as we learn about verbs, adjectives, and prepositions. I am impressed with the level of interest, the higher level thinking, and politeness of the students. They are truly a delight to teach and it is inspirational to see their desire to learn a foreign language and hang around with us Americans.
My favorite food so far is the salad served at lunch. It is filled with cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce, and olives. Everyday it is freshly prepared by a loving group of girls in the kitchen. We are so fortunate to have this service for us.
Each day brings new insights for me into second language learning and teaching. I look forward to their smiles tomorrow.
Dona

Off to a great start

Dear Friends,

This is Tuesday evening and we have had two days with the Slovakian children, teens, and adults, as well as assist in the remodeling of the Christian Elementary School. Robert, Melissa, and Estella have helped with the children's week long summer day program sponsored by the congregation, with 52 happy children. Tomorrow Robert goes with the children on the train to Kremnica, the ancient gold and coin minting site. They love his joy and spirit! Melissa is helping Donna to do a super job with the teen class of 8 enthusiastic and kind kids. Pastor Jerry and "Nipomo" Bill are working on renovating/painting walls in two classrooms. The rest of us are working 9:00am - 3:00pm with our groups of motivated and focused beginner/intermediate/advanced students, all 34 of them.

We are over any jet lag and had a good night's sleep last night - many of us for the first time since leaving home. The staff is very kind to us and they are an inspiration. The weather is just like at home - summer cool and we have been having rain. This evening the Minnesota Builders arrived and these 12 sets of hands will be attacking the mammoth remodeling job in the newly acquired school rooms; more about that later.

We love you all and pray for you as you please for us - health, focus, and team unity of purpose and care - dobry den (good night)!

Pastor Randy

Breck and Priscillas Excellent Adventure

We left LAX on Tuesday, only 1 hour late. We arrived in Vienna in the early afternoon on Wednesday. 20 people, 2 to 3 checked bags each, and only 3 missing. Not bad. 1 we recovered late that night, the other 2 caught up with us in Kracow, Poland on Thursday. Kracow is beautiful, but VERY hot and muggy this time of year. We spent a lot of our time in the huge market square, supposedly the largest in the world. It was large, I admit. It was lined with restaurants around the perimeter, all with outside patio eating from traditional Polish to Mexican. ALL the menus had English subtitles, and most of the Poles there spoke English....almost like they were expecting us....go figure. We visited a couple of huge, beautifully ornate churches and the grounds of the Royal palace compound in the evening. There was never a time when less than 2 churches were in sight! I heartily recommend Kracow as a destination, and give yourself more than 2 days to take in the beautz of this ancient city
Friday we took a trip to Auschwitz. We toured the concentration camp in 100 DegF heat, walking the gravel roads between barracks with the various exhibits. The tour guide was very knowledgeable and thorough. It was very easy to see how one could die just from the horrid conditions and back breaking labor. Hundreds of thousands died that way, and more than a million went straight to the gas chambers. A terrible reminder of the potential drawback of God granting us freewill. I see clearly now why not keeping God in our hearts leads to incredible inhumanity and madness. I can not say more right now, it is too painful.
Saturday we arrived in Martin, Slovakia. Our dormitory is a building the was used by the Communist regime as a pig barn. It has been restored by earlier American pilgrims into a beautiful 2 story building with Dorm type rooms upstairs and classrooms downstairs, where we begin classes tomorrow. We still have no idea how many students we will have, nor what level of English proficiency they will have. Until we sort THAT out, we are not even sure which classroom we will teach in. Very exciting! The staff here is very friendly and helpful and has made us feel welcome. We attended the church service today, and even though it was in Slovak, with some translation it was very comfortable. All the music and hymns were recognizable and the liturgy was familiar in form. It is a wonderful reminder of how close we are as children of God, no matter where we live. Gods Peace to you all until next time.

Breck Thomas

Arrival in Martin!

We have had a great first few days traveling together as a team. Our jet-lag is almost diminished, and we are now in Martin, Slovakia preparing for our mission of teaching and building tomorrow. Here is a quick recap of what we have done so far:

We met at LAX airport Tuesday afternoon in a smooth, effortless fashion. It couldn't have gone better; within 5 minutes, we all met at the curb in front of the international terminal. Amazing! Jeff from Saint John's drove a van from the northwest with most of the Saint John's , Bethel, Gloria Dei, and Peace, members; Andy drove the Hope, Fresno crew from the north; meanwhile Angela and Julie made it there safely too. We had a close connection in Heathrow due to a delay in our LAX flight, but we made it on and had a safe trip to Vienna. We continued our travels (1 more hour) by driving on a bus to our stop for the night in Bratislava, Slovakia, and after a late dinner, we finally called it a night.

The next morning (Thursday), we loaded onto the van for the 6 hour trip to Krakow, Poland. Once arriving, we had a great tour of the Old Quarter section of the city by our tour guide Andrew who led us by the Barbocan, through the old gate, the city square (Europe's largest), St. Mary's church, and the Royal Wawel castle. Then we broke up into smaller groups for the rest of the evening to wander the square, shop, and enjoy the many, many, many sidewalk cafes. Perogees (sp?) and gelatto were a big hit.

Friday a group of the team toured the horrible "man's inhumanity to man" Auschwitz, one of the main concentration/Jewish extermination camps during WW2, while another group toured the Jewish Quarter of Krakow, touring Shindler's Factory. Both trips were impacting to us as we learned and understood more about that time.

Saturday Katka from the Lutheran Bible School in Slovakia came with a city bus to greet us and transport us to the Bible School in Martin, Slovakia. We were introduced to the facilities, settled in, and began preparing for our 2 week mission of teaching English and building. And today, Sunday, we worshiped (with headsets and translator) in the beautiful church on campus here at the Bible School, shopped at Tesco (similar to a Walmart), and are having preparation meetings. We are sorry for this first blog being so late, but we just now were able to use a secure site. We plan to update the blog daily with members taking turns. Thank you for your prayers and may you be deep in God's peace!

Angela and Pastor Randy