Thursday, 11 July, 2013

Thursday, 11 July, 2013
Jennifer, Arianna and I have the BEST students. Educated, intelligent, motivated. We tore through the curriculum material in the morning. In a list of 25 vocabulary words, our advanced students only had questions on 2 or 3, and usually subtle nuances were the only things bothering them. We watched a 20 minute segment of "Fireproof" after lunch, and the discussed the vocabulary and slang from that. What a hoot! They love American slang, knowing that if they ever make it to the U.S they will hear it all the time, and they won't be clueless. We had some rollicking discussions on phrases from "to pick on someone", to the difference between "y'all" (singular) and "All y'all" (plural). They asked: "Why the difference?" We replied, "WE DON'T KNOW!

After class was out, we took a bus with the Washington group (about 40 of us, total) to a little village nearby where there is a tiny church. The door is inscribed with the year 1648, but the church has stood there since the early 12th century! The church, originally Catholic, was unconsecrated centuries ago and is now owned by the village. There are partially restored paintings on the walls, white washed over by the Communists, probably, but they are beautiful and inspiring none the less. There we had a church service led by Katka Valcova, one of the Bible School"plank owners". Tomas played the guitar and led the singing, in English and Slovak. The acoustics were so incredible that 40 average folks sounded like a celestial host. I could not finish a single song through my tears.

The communion service was very emotional. I have never felt closer to God than in that church (this was my second time there), and I am not alone in saying that.

After the service we took the bus to Vrutky, a small town north of Martin, to (of all things), a sheep farm and restaurant. There we had dinner, starting with a plate of sheep cheese, some smoked, some plain...delicious! Then they served 3 kinds of Halushky (sp!), a traditional Slovak dumpling dish. My favorite is the dumplings covered in bacon fat and bits of bacon! Tomas' band played soft jazz while we ate.

After dinner, Priska, Erica, and Sara O. disappeared up a rocky mountain trail while the rest of us explored the farm where we saw sheep, of course, goats,  a peacock, pigs, ducks, turkeys, rabbits and the occasional barn cat.

Then it was time to leave for our "homes" in Martin. A magical day of loving and sharing far from home!

Breck