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