Storming a Castle and Being Simply Amazed

Slovakia flag atop the main tower of Strenco Castle

Each and every day of this trip I am amazed by what I encounter. I am amazed by the Bible School and Bible School staff, I am amazed by their passion and determination and focus. I am amazed by the Vancouver group and their energy and drive. I am amazed by the beauty of the countryside all around Martin in the Turiec Valley.

Vah River between Vrutky and Strenco

I am amazed by the Slovak people and their pride in their country and history. I am amazed by the students who are attending and have attended the Bible School Summer English sessions that we put on. Their lives interest me and their stories are incredible. They are motivated, educated, young, old, from nearby, from far away, some have very little to their name, but they all have a name and a family and a country. They are making the choice to be at our English classes to try to improve their English and in turn continue to improve their way of life or their family's way of life and overall their country's way of life.

And as a team, we are striving to provide each student with the best learning environment possible. We are reaching out to them and connecting with them. We spent today learning about their families and we in turned shared ours. And suddenly, the classroom changed from a structured class to a conversation about Adam's family and as he talked he showed us pictures. Then we learned about Eva's family and Kaja's family and so on and so forth. I asked them how many brothers and sisters they had and I ended up learning their dog's name and what silly tricks he gets into. I learned about what they parents do. And they told me, all in English! They were so eager to share and they were so eager to learn!

We modified our daily teaching schedule to include the showing of the movie Fireproof. If you haven't seen this movie, you need to. I would suggest a box of Kleenx but seriously, it is very motivational and inspiring. It deals with healing a marriage but more importantly, it deals with our personal relationship with God and how if we don't have our relationship with God in line, we can't expect to have our earthly relationships, of any sort, to be in line.

Here comes the train!

Arianna walking into the Martin train station

After the movie, we ended classes early for the day because the Bible School leaders planned a special afternoon trip to a near by castle. We took the train (with the herding and guidance from Sisa and Hedwi of the Bible School Staff) from Martin to Vrutky to Strenco and walked through the village of Strenco, up the mountain to the castle gates.

Vah River footbridge in Strenco

Village limit

Storming the gates of Strenco Castle

I give great credit to Sisa and Hedwi for getting the large group of us (between us and the Vancouver group, we were about 30 people plus some of the students tagged along) to Strenco and back without any hiccups as it was very similar to trying to herd cats. We were greeted by picturesque cottages, blossoming wildflowers, a crossing of the Vah river by bridge, a fast moving mountain tributary, and bird calls as we climbed. The air was warm but the shade refreshed our energy. And once we began our tour, the inside of the castle was very cool due to the thick walls holding in the night air.

Inside the kitchen

View from kitchen into a courtyard

View from the north side of the main tower

Sara O and myself atop the main tower

View from the top of the main tower in Strenco Castle

We were guided by a very knowledgeable lady that shared about the history of the immediate area as well as the castle itself. I particularly enjoyed seeing the fridge, the top of the main tower and a model of what historians believe the castle looked like in its hay day. Stenco Castle was in ruins and has been partially restored.

View of Strenco Village from a castle window

Spiral staircase in Main Tower

At the end of our tour, we were treated to a short concert in the chapel. We listened to a piece by Mozart and were serenaded out of the chapel with another time period song on the piano. As we meandered back to the train station, conversations between the students and the 'teachers' were happening. I was able to talk with four young ladies who have a great English background already and are still here to improve upon their base. We talked about the castle and sports and pets and more. It feels wonderful to connect with students and to learn about them.

Waiting for the train back to Martin after the Strenco Castle hike-Priska, Breck, Sisa, Pastor Randy, Jennifer, Pam

View from Vah river trail in Martin

When we returned to the hotel, I took off on a run/adventure to find the trail along the river. Success! I ran on both sides and both directions and I filed away a few more places to explore later this week. The Fresno group was treated to a dinner with their good friend Carmel (sorry for the spelling) who had spent all of last summer helping at their church. And upon my return, I found my mom and dad had reconnected with a past student of theirs, Martina. I joined them for a dinner on the Square and learned more about my mom and dad's past years adventure and I learned all about Martina, who is a city attorney here in Martin!

Priska, Breck and Martina

I had heard about the experiences you have on this trip from years past. I had heard about the life changing moments and life long connections you make in three short weeks. But I hadn't expected to feel that way so soon or even at all. I had figured it was a feeling some people who went had, but now I am discovering first hand, we all are and those who have gone, all did in some way, shape or form.

I wish I had more time to share more about the days prior today but alas, it is late here and I must get some rest to be ready for tomorrow's adventures. Its can get tiring, being amazed all the time! :)

Erica