Good evening from Croatia.  Today was a great day for us.  We began with our third session of Bible and Baseball in Brezje.  The lesson of the day was casting your cares on the Lord because He cares for you.  I was really excited to see the light come on for some kids as I explained the concept.  They then continued with baseball.  It is so fun to watch them play and practice.  The littler ones play at one end of the field with the tee.  The bigger kids play with Ray pitching.  We added in a few more rules today and they are absorbing it all amazingly well.  We continue to add in more children.  Our total today was 73!  Everyday other kids from the village come stand along the fence to watch.  We invite them to come the next day and they usually do.  Adults often stop and watch too.  Two men watched for quite awhile this morning and asked Mladen a lot of questions about the rules and positions.  The local soccer team was getting ready for practice and watched too.  This is so exciting for Mladen.  He is really excited for the visibility of Americans teaching the Bible and baseball.  This will give him a great way to begin conversations with more families in the village.

After a traditional Croatian lunch, we shopped for the playground materials for the Varazdin church.  This was a challenge as pressure treated lumber doesn't exist here.  All their construction is brick and concrete.  We were all very excited to make our purchases.  We ended up with something that simply needs to be assembled.  To say Mladen is very excited may be an understatement.  As we waited for our items to be loaded he said (with his hand on his heart), "It is so amazing.  Last year we had nothing and we were renting a building.  This year we have a building, renovations, and now a playground."

Tomorrow will be our final day of baseball practice before Game Day!  We are also making lunch for Mladen's family - Ham and Cheddar Rolls.  We're thinking of trying a Croatian McDonald's for supper tomorrow.  The kids are doing well but are starting to drag.  Two more intensive days before our schedule relaxes a little.  I thank those who are praying for them.  They have each REALLY done well with the unusual food, language, people, beds, cars....God has touched them to be quite the little missionaries.  We're half way there.  Please continue to pray.