I'm starting to see a trend.....it's 1 a.m.....for real! There have been so many great moments the last few days. One today was when Ray and were walking in Cakovec (a village near Brezje where Mladen lives and we played baseball the first year). There was a little street fair going on. I asked a lady what it was for, since it was a Friday afternoon, and she told me the children learn to make traditional crafts and items at school during the year and then they have this fair and sell the items at the end of the school year. So that was a nice little story. I bought one of her items. Then we walked down two more tables and some kids were looking at us a whispering. I guessed we looked different and I had on my ACU shirt so I think they were talking about that too. Then one says, "Jura! Jura!" (a very common name here, so I didn't think anything of it...yet) and lo and behold it's one of the kids we played baseball with two years ago. And then another. And then another one. Jura immediately asked me, "How is Jonathan?" :-) They were selling little painted wooden step-stools and children's chairs, so when you see the one in our house you will know where it came from.

We also spent more time with several church members the last few days. We've been to Zvonko and Zlata's home in the gypsy village. We've been to Darko and Miljenka's apartment. We visited Nadica's house twice. We've been to Josip and Ana's twice. Tomorrow we will go to Sasa and Danjella's house for dinner. But first we will have sarma, a Croatian dish with cabbage and sausage and potatoes. Apparently it is a "winter" food, but they are making it special for us since Nancy always talks so highly of it and I wondered what it was.

Tonight we did a mini-marriage seminar with 5 couples attending. It was blessed to be sure. We were anxious about the difference in cultures and generations, but of course we are all far more similar than different. We talked about God's commandements for husbands and wives to love and respect one another and the differences between the two. Then we briefly talked about the "5 Love Languages", which is available in Croatian so some were familiar. But the fun came when they all did the Lion, Otter, Beaver, Golden Retriever tests. I didn't know if it would make sense to them, but they loved it. And I could tell by their responses that they truly understood the concept. For those who know them, Josip and Ana are both Lions, but she is also a high Golden and he is a very high Otter. Ray commented that their house must be very loud. That was met with a lot of laughing and head shaking from their son, daughter-in-law, and grandson. Ana assured us she is a very faithful (Golden Retriever) Lion.

There will be more stories to tell when we are face to face. We thank you for your prayers and encouragement. We certainly can sense them. This week has flown by and though we are more than ready to see our kids, we wish there was more time too. Next time..... :-) We love you all!

Here we are again headed towards 1 am, however this time it is because of a full schedule, not a lack of sleepiness. I can't describe to you what a blessing our brothers and sisters here are to us. We come to encourage, but just as the teacher learns more than the students, they are the ones blessing us. Again tonight we were blessed with time together talking to God. This time with only Mladen and Renata. It is mutually a relief and encouragement to talk about worries and challenges and dreams as an international church family. And to pray and cry together as we seek what God would have for both of our families.

Today was another busy day. We took Hana to school and then shopped for lunch ingredients in the local open-air market (one of my favorite Croatian places!) We then registered our visit at the police station and then spent lunch and planning with Kavan and Molly. Their LST information meeting was tonight and it went well, from an observer's point. I will allow them to update you more specifically.

Following the meeting was Wednesday night class for the congregation. It was nice to see more familiar faces. Especially Darko and his wife, Miljenka. We look forward to time in their home tomorrow evening.

Last night we spent time with the weekly prayer meeting. As I thought about it today I continued to be in awe of the Spirit's aid in helping us all communicate. Instead of the common term "spiritual eyes", we definitely have been blessed with "spiritual ears". We cannot understand the literal words, but the emotions, the train of thought, the heart, shines through and leaves no doubt. It is in the eye contact. It is in shared tears. It is in a hand grasped during prayer. It is in a hug that communicates a year's worth of missing each other. If you don't believe the Spirit is alive and well today, come to Croatia. They will show you.

It's 1 am here and I'm having my first ever jet-lag. So....I'll catch you up a little on our trip so far. It's been great! We hade very easy travel getting here. We made all our connections and all our bags made it with us too. We have a busy schedule ahead of us. Today Molly and Kavan arrived and their travel was smooth as well. Tonight we spent a few hours at a church member's home for their weekly prayer meeting. Lots of prayer, lots of tears, lots of laughter, and lots of Croatian cookies! It was delightful. We are so thankful God has allowed us to be a part of His work here. It really is exciting to see what He has done in the past several years. They have come so far and they have such a bright future. They are truly our church family, there is no doubt. We only wish we could accurately describe those feelings to both those here and those at home.

Tomorrow we will register our stay with the police, have lunch with Molly and Kavan, and church in the evening. I'll also probably spend some time being beat by Rahela at her Wall-E video game. She is the third youngest and outgoing enough for herself as well as Hana and Rajan combined. Her English has improved so much we can communicate about pretty much anything. She did learn a new term today, "fieldtrip", since we knew Rachel and Papa were on a fieldtrip Monday. We have several visits planned to more church members this week, as well as a mini-marriage seminar Friday night, Baseball on Saturday, and kids' camp on Sunday. Then, home Monday. It will all fly by and we are trying to enjoy every moment.

Last night we took some time with Mladen and Renata and told them some stories about our humbling fundraising and some specific individual stories - you know who you are! - they were touched and overwhelmed. The funds we brought to share with them are clearly sent from God through you, so thank you on their behalf.

I must try and sleep now or I will regret it in the morning. Thank you for your prayers and meaniful support. We are thankful to be a part of this wonderful church.