Favorites from the week...

My kids hate it when I ask, "What was your favorite thing about...?"  They don't like picking one thing. So I ask, "What was one of your favorite things?"  This post is full of favorite moments from this week. 

We're near the end of camp. My boxes and bags are empty and the extras passed along for Spring camp on the coast. Our last session with kids was this morning. We had 22 between the ages of 4 and 9. We've had a great week with them. It's always a challenge to teach through translation. This week I've been blessed with a fantastic translator in Snjezana . It's also challenging to "teach" kids who already know most bible stories. Keeping their attention is my biggest challenge. We've done some fun activities and games which they seemed to have enjoyed. This camp is often used as an outreach from one friend to another so a few children weren't familiar with the stories. One little girl told me the first day: the New Testament is about Jesus and the Old Testament is just fairy tales. It was fun to see her realization that these stories are true. Three men were saved in the fiery furnace, Elijah was fed by ravens and angels, Jonah surrvived three days in a fish, and the Israelites were given daily food from heaven. :-)

One of my favorite things was watching everyone swim. For some it's their rare chance to swim all year. They swim and they swim and they swim and they sit in the sun and they eat and they swim some more. The temperature is refreshing but comfortable and the high salt content adds buoyancy. 

This morning during the worship service I looked through the crowd of people and saw - Croatians, Austrians, Slovenians, Germans, Americans, and Macedonians. It's my favorite part of this work. The Spirit is so evident. I love hearing a lesson in English, being translated into Croatian, while huddled on the steps an Austrian translates quietly for the Germans. I love singing tunes I know by heart, but the pronunciations call for all my attention.  A lifetime of singing those words in English allows for the heartfelt worship in Croatian now. 

Our team's favorite meal memory will probably the morning without bread. Croatians must have bread with every meal. One morning apparently someone forgot. There was no big bucket of bread next to the silverware trays at breakfast. We could see the confusion, then a bit of panic set in. Where is the bread?  After most had started eating the Cinta van pulled up with a large box of bread - maybe 15 large loaves. While it was sliced out of sight in the bread vultures started to circle. Once it came out of the kitchen there was a touch of chaos as the slices were snatched up.  It was quite comical to the American observer. And, yes, we procured our slices too. 

Zvonko might be my favorite non-Dominic Varazdin church member. ;-)  A few years ago his wife Zlata passed away from lung cancer. It was sad for us to be far away at that time. I'm sure there were many hard days since her passing but the light I see in him is so inspiring. He is a hard worker for God. His story involves a man at work talking to him about Jesus for nearly 10 years before he was ready to listen. He's been a light in his gypsy village ever since. One day last week I didn't need my alarm because Zvonko was there mowing the lawn. Zvonko fills communion trays. Zvonko leads the early morning prayer time here at camp. And, shocking to me, there was Zvonko last night in a video of the younger teens at another camp, participating in silly games, leading small groups of kids in bible study. It's so, so good to see a Christian man still using his life for good, despite heartache. 

Thank you for your prayers for Rachel's food and health. Many of you know I was really concerned about her food here at camp. We have been very blessed with understanding cooks. They've done their best, and while she's not eaten everything they gave her, she was well fed. Only one afternoon did her stomach bother her, and just for a bit. One cook in particular has been really helpful. She's fed Rachel but also helped me with a craft involving their microwave and their freezer. I had one last Kansas Russell Stover box so I gave it to her. I explained that people prayed ahead of time about Rachel's food, and she started to cry. Another unexpected mutual blessing. 

Today was a cool rainy day. About 20 degrees cooler than the previous days here. No swimming today. It poured down rain at lunch time. It's very dry vegetation and rocky here so the water runs quickly. The air cooled after the storm and everyone raced for their jackets and socks and shoes - so as to not get sick - that is still a belief here. We Americans and the Macedonians (about 6 of us) are the only ones left in sandals. It will be great sleeping tonight. :-)

Tomorrow will be our final day here. It's mostly a free day with a traditional fish meal in a the evening. There will also be a baptism in the afternoon. It'll be a good day. Then to Zagreb Tuesday afternoon and the long trek home on Wednesday. Thanks for your prayers - it sounds too cliché- but we really mean it!!

Time for Camp at Cinta

We've had a wonderful first several days in Varazdin. A lot of our time has been with the Dominic family. We have shared meals, laughter, and of course ice cream. Over the past 10 years they have become so dear to our family. I love being in their home, with their children, and hearing how God is working in their lives. While we are certainly missing our boys, Rachel and I love being here so much.

Rachel says her favorite thing so far is walking through the Square in Varazdin. For the first time we toured the inside of the Varazdin castle with Emily. That was probably my favorite new thing so far.

Since we've been here last, the church has changed locations. Their building is now in a very visible place and the members here have done so much work. It is really a great blessing and I know they will use it well.

The Varazdin church is a very busy group of people. Right now they have about 30 attenders, including children. Other than a new building, they have recently hosted an ongoing beginners English class, two Let's Start Talking teams, Alpha Course, published a magazine, a radio program, continuing to grow "Croatia for Christ", hosted camps for teenagers, visited Ukraine to encourage them through their unsettled times...and probably more that I just don't know.

Tomorrow we will repack all our bags and boxes and prepare to leave for camp early Tuesday morning. We will go in the church van with several other people. I'm excited to see a new part of this country. If our internet service works I will write a new update there.

Thank you all for your prayers. God is answering them. Please pray this week for Rachel and her diet requirements. It's about to get more complicated. Thanks!

(Please pardon any errors I don't catch. This is a tiny screen for much typing. :-) )

Broj šest

It's been awhile!  A lot of our most recent trips have been documented on our facebook page.  There are a lot of pictures and posts there.

Soon we will be in the air again, heading to Croatia for our 6th mission trip.  Rachel, Emily, and I are so excited to get there and get busy.  We will be helping with a multi-congregational  "camp" (retreat) on the coast.  This is something I haven't done in our previous 5 trips.  But it is something I'm familiar with since camp is how our family was first connected with the Varazdin church.  In 2005 (I think) my dad went to camp on the island of Krk off the coast of Croatia.  There the people of Croatia took up a place in his heart, which he also passed on to us.

In about a week we will be doing the same thing.  Already the people of Croatia are dear to Rachel and me, we are so excited to share that love with Emily too.  It's about time to pack our bags and journey across the ocean.  We sure would appreciate your prayers as we work with about 20 kids, and spend time with families from several congregations across the northern part of Croatia.

If our internet is available we will update both the Heart for Croatia facebook page and this blog.  It's always an encouragement to know you are out there following us.  We'd love to hear from you.  For the next couple weeks as you go to bed, remember we will just be waking up starting a new day.  We sure would love a covering of prayer to start each day.

Thank you for your prayers, thank you for your support.  We appreciate each one of you.

Thank you for 5 years!

Thoughts from June 29, 2013....

Imagine you are going to travel for 24 hours to the other side of the world to live with a family you don't know for 10 days. During that time you'll work tirelessly, have a different sleep pattern, eat different food, and constantly deal with a language barrier. Then you'll go home and wait a year till you see them again and repeat the process. How many times do you think this would have to happen before you felt like they were true friends? How long till you felt like their home was your home, where you understand the dos and don'ts? How long till you could accurately put away dishes in their cabinets and food in their pantry? How long till you could joke and tease without the fear of misunderstanding? How long till the small talk is unnecessary because there are deep and intimate issues to discuss and pray about? I can tell you, for each of these to be completely true, it was three years for us. We've now been to Croatia five times, three of which we have stayed in the Dominic's home. Each year the greeting phase shortens and the grieving at good-bye lengthens. The work there is equally as important as it is everywhere else, but for our family God has nestled the people of Brezje and Varazdin deep into our hearts. We think of them no differently than our own family. Rajan, Hana, Rahela, and Maja are as important to us as our own children. When we are with the Dominics there are moments of heart wrenching stress as we share our struggles, worries, and decisions; but there are moments to balance of unexplainable joy and laughter as we share stories from the past year and laugh about pointless things like chickens and small bags of sugar.

Many of you probably heard me say this was probably the last year for awhile for us visiting Croatia. We had reached our five year commitment. It was time for something new, someone else, etc. I suppose God got quite a kick out of me thinking I knew the future. While we are always careful to never commit for next year while we are there in Croatia, Ray and I both knew without a doubt our work is not over yet. Time will tell when God will have us return, but for now we are immensely grateful for all who have helped us in the past five years. During that time we have raised approximately $33,000.00 to pay for expenses. Donations have ranged from $10-$1000, and everything in between . We’ve baked approximately 3000 Easter cookies. And we’ve had aproximately 90 different donors. Many of you have faithfully given each year and for that we are especially thankful. Thank you just doesn’t seem like enough so we pray God will give you a sense of gratitude on our behalf and that He will bless you because of your support of us and therefore faithfulness to Him. Sincerely, Ray, Laura, Rachel & Jonathan

Unfortunately I am not able to update our blog for some reason from where we are staying, but it is working here at the church.  I will try again this evening to post about our travel time here.  It was really good.  Church this morning was a blessing.  It is always so fun to see each other again....a little taste of heavenly reunions.  We are all doing well and looking forward to the week to come.

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.

Thank God for Rain

Thoughts from Ray:

It may be a little untimely for Manhattan and a lot of the midwest right now, but rain was a blessing in Croatia today and many of us are thanking God tonight.


The original plan was to visit a national forrest today with Mladen's family. Late yesterday these plans began to unravel. Renata did not want to take Maja and Rahela to the mountains because there was a strong forecast for rain. Mladen assured us we could take his van and go ourselves, but that would not have been safe for Americans or Croats. The better plan appeared to be to stay in Varazdin, work on the "little cabin", and do some local shopping and sight seeing.


Not only was this the right decision on account that has rained nonstop all day, but it allowed for a fantastic evening. Our first two hour stop for the "young team" (not the "old team" - Rod and Morris) was Josip's house. He and Ana met us with with open arms and clepici filled with ham and cheese. Josip gave us a tour of his tailoring shop and he and Jonathan took a tour of the chicken coupe. I got the privilege of visiting with Sasha, Josip's grandson. I was increadible to see the future through the eyes of a 26 year-old Coatian wanting to start a family and planning for a career. I hope God is gracious to Sasha and Danjela. The laughter was great and the good-byes slow to come. Josip thanked God for rain.

Our next two hour stop was Darko's place (Josip and Ana's son). I would try to spell his wife's name but I would not spell it correctly, so we will affectionately call her "white chocolate". Yes there is an inside joke there. Once again we were met with fresh clepici bread only this time filled with chocolate and peach marmalade. Darko and his wife speak very little English and we speak even less Hrvatski, yet the hours disappeared quickly. As we left Darko prayed, "Thank you God for the rain, because if it had not rained, our brothers and sisters in Christ would not be at our house today."


I too now thank God for the rain that fell in Croatia on June 21, 2010. God's plans are better than ours. I would not trade all the trees and waterfalls in Croatia for what I experienced this evening. It is sad to leave tomorrow, but God knows how to send us off right!


To those of you who know me well - yes I cry when I type.

-Ray

A Note from Rachel & Jonathan

I attempted to have Rachel and Jonathan blog, me typing while they talk. The concept is apparently too vague to them. This is all I got after probably 15 minutes of trying. Oh well, Grandma will at least appreciate it. :-)

From Rachel:

"I liked seeing the big real castle. I like the ice cream. I liked the meatballs when we had our first lunch. Nadica has made me special food for lunch each day. I'm waiting to get a hug from Grandma at the airport. "

From Jonathan:

"I like Croatia. I like my toys here. I like my friend Jakov. I'm ready to see my house. I like riding the pedal tractor here. That's all."

Rehela & Rehela
The kid who came in the evenings for Kid's English & Bible lessons



Proof they really are here: Morris & his reader, Sara

The Ray Estes saw mill
Jakov, Jura's son, playing with Rachel at the BBQ at their house.

The storage shed nearing completion.

The Ladies Tea

Kids who came to play baseball.

Mladen batting.

Big American Meal. Kristin & Laura serving tacos.

Coach Kristin

Coach Molly

Coach Matt

Rod at baseball :-)

Better Late Than Never

So Laura said I should blog because my mom would love to read it. Here it goes...

There is so much to write about, almost overwhelming because I have gotten way behind in doing so. Yesterday (Sunday 6-20-10) was awesome, so much going on. In the morning we had services (in Croatian for the most part). Rod gave a great lesson about Jesus and when he was tempted by the devil out of Luke 4. It had been requested that we sing some songs in english so the congregation could hear some songs that they are familiar with in english. We sung Step By Step and the Greatest Commands. Josip, one of the members, was even prepared enough to have brought a voice recorder and recorded us singing. You can hear Molly over everybody else mostly because Josip was sitting right behind her. It sounds great even though it's on a hand-held recorder. After worship we had our "Great American Lunch" which consisted of soft-shelled tacos with the fixins. During and after lunch I primarily was playing cards with the kids. We played Texas Hold'em and I taught them how to play Liar Liar. It was a lot of fun.

I've made some great friends during my time here. I'm seriously considering coming back next summer for their summer camp for the whole church, Mladen askes me almost everyday to come to camp this year. I know God has been working through me on this trip in little ways and big ways. He has confirmed that I need to find a job or something that deals with working with kids and/or people in general. Last week Kristin presented I Corinthians 12 in our morning devo and challenged us to try to figure out what our spiritual gift(s) are. Me being the goofball that I am said that I have the gift of "fun." Everybody has constantly been thanking me for the time that I spend with the youth. It almost feels like I'm cheating the system because I'm having just as much fun as they are when I'm with them, it doesn't feel like I'm working or even serving, just that I'm having fun. At the same time I see many challenges that lie ahead of me if that is where God wants me to go. I'm a little apprehensive but know that He will show me the way. I'm a firm believer that God will get us where He wants us to go no matter how we get there, remember the story of Jonah? ;-) I am very grateful for everything He has put in my way, I wouldn't be the person I am right now without the paths He has laid out before me whether they were fun/happy/sad/hi/low/or whatever it may be.

Today is our last full day in Varazdin, it seems like we've been here longer than just a few weeks, like this is our home, it doesn't feel temporary though there is the knowledge that it is gnawing at the back of my mind.

Today will be our last full day in Varazdin. It had been in our plans to visit a National Park famous for it's waterfalls, but that was not the plan of God and I can now see why. Ray will finish the storage building today with his new friend Darko. The kids and I are looking forward to time in the square looking for a present for Keri. It will be a nice slow day - something we all need, though I'm certain the falls would have been beautiful - maybe next time.

Yesterday was our Big American Meal after morning services. Morris and Rod were happy to have 7 readers come. Several even came to worship as well. Mladen asked us to share with the congregation something meaningful about our time here. There were many tears from both our teams as well as the members. Some we have formed deep bonds with in just a little time. Especially Ray and Kristin have built close new friends. We made tacos for lunch again by Mladen's request. They seemed to enjoy them, though some were skeptical.

After saying all our goodbyes and an afternoon nap, we all enjoyed dinner together at a restaurant on the park. You can eat outside and it's nice, but Matt didn't bring a jacket (hence the FB quote) so we were inside - still nice. Dinner was followed by ice cream and we walked back to the church through a few cold rain drops.

Previous to yesterday was baseball. We spent two hours on the field practicing and playing a game. Even the adults present took a turn hitting in the end. It was a fun afternoon and the kids seem to enjoy seeing us and playing again. They wondered where Morris and Michelle were. (He had another Migraine/vertigo spell). Afterwards we enjoyed pizza at Mladen's with several church members who came to play baseball, as well as the lady who organized baseball last year.

I believe that is all for now. Thank you all for reading the blog. I often felt like Kavan, 'writing far too much for far too few' - but I know those who are close to us, or have been here are interested and I thank you for that. I apologize for possible grammar and spelling. I usually didn't have time to re-read my typing. What a blessing technology is! Knowing we could share stories via the blog and hear your comments and encouragements was wonderful. Thank you again. See you soon!

(If time allows, I will try and post a few more pictures this afternoon or evening.)

Today we will finally play some baseball! We are looking forward to a BBQ at Jura's (some of you know what that means :-)) and then an afternoon of baseball. It turns out God's plan was for frisbee this year, not so much baseball. When we arrived Mladen explained some strife within the village between kids loving to play baseball, the baseball organizer, and Mladen vs. the parents who hold a strong, traditional Catholic background. So for this year we take two steps back and one step forward. Change and openness comes slowly to most of us. We must remember that these people are being challenged by our beliefs. We must be sensitive and patient and allow God to do the planning, not us. We'll look forward to sharing pictures of our afternoon.

I want to share with you about yesterday as well. Kristin led a great devo on spiritual gifts and identifying our own. We spent some time talking about our own gifts and their role in this time here. God is good, of course, and He has truly used the gifts of all 9 of us in the past 6 weeks. I know as you hear the stories and patiently sit through the pictures and presentations you will see the use of the gifts as well.

Yesterday afternoon Ray and I were fortunate to visit a gypsy village where one of the church members lives. What an eye opening experience of the work here in Croatia. It was a little hard to describe, and may be better for a face to face story, but I was touched by the desire for us to be in their home. We are so often hung up on what we don't have in the U.S. 'I can't have her over because she'll see my house' - that kind of thinking. The joy and hospitality will stick with me for a long time. Sorry that is vague, but it is all I have processed thus far.

In the evening Kristin, Molly, and I hosted a lady's tea for the women of the church. We didn't know what to expect and I simply prayed that the women would feel comfortable in this unusual setting and feel compelled to share their stories of coming to be a part of a church. There were 3 of us, 5 church members, 1 member from the Zagreb church, and 1 guest of a church member. It was a very special time. Again, hard to describe, but I am confident you all know the feeling of the Spirit working. The three of us shared our very different stories of growing up and becoming a part of the Manhattan church. (I joked with Rod later that my story was very short - "I was born in Manhattan, went to the church all my life, the end.) Anyway, then was the moment of truth, would they participate as well? All I can say is there are far, far too many details to possibly remember and accurately write down. I sat amazed as every single woman told her story for the next two hours. And it was not just the short versions - for they have very complicated stories here. A LOT has happened in the past 20 years in Croatia. We heard of divorce, alcoholism, death, physical and sexual abuse, war, communism, poverty, pride, cults.....I could go on. It was simply amazing. In the end I told them how thankful I was for their sharing and honesty and laughter and the memories and lessons we will all have from that time. Even though we all have different stories they all end with Jesus and our desire to follow Him. Afterwards a lady told me I was glowing with the Spirit, let me tell you, that's all it could have been because this little introvert was totally exhausted after all that! Seriously, though, what a compliment. It was truly God who planted the idea in my mind and blessed it through its entirety.

Sorry to be repetitive, but again, we cannot thank you enough for your prayers, and words, and financial support. None of this is possible without that! God is good! See you soon. We are off to another day!

"I Will Always Stand Amazed"

I know Laura already blogged today, but I thought I'd go ahead and post this blog that I wrote earlier this morning.

In my perfectionism, I have hesitated to write a post to the blog because I was waiting for some great epiphany to come to me in order to share something really special. The fact of the matter is that every day in Croatia has been filled with epiphanies—about God, about myself, about the faith and faithfulness of others, and about the heart of the church here in Varazdin. There is no question that God’s hand is at work here.

So many of those whom the church have touched are on the cusp of their belief in Jesus as a savior. I am amazed at how they are enveloped into the everyday activities held with the regularly involved church members. People who are coming to read with Rod and Morris for LST have begun to bring their children to our evening activities. When they come, they are naturally accepted into the “clique.” It seems as though the progression into the church family is nearly seamless. I believe wholeheartedly that this is because God is working in the hearts and minds of everyone who is hard at work here to show the love of Jesus to others. Even as outsiders who do not speak but a couple of words in Hrvatski, we were accepted with warm and loving hearts.

Thank you all for your prayers for our work here, they are being answered every minute of every day. We are a blessed group to have such loving Christian families in two countries. As you continue to pray, please consider the remainder of our trip and the upcoming trip to Brezje for a day filled with baseball. Also, please pray for our team to have encouraging interactions as we meet with the women and men—that the language barrier can somehow be broken and we can communicate effectively.

I am attaching more pictures (for Mom of course!) because I know everyone enjoys seeing our story as much as reading it.

The kids racing each other to find the English word to match the picture.

Matching the word to the picture

The girls won the wedding challenge. They had to walk down the aisle spreading "flower petals," line up for a wedding photo, fill the punch cups with water using water blasters, make flowers out of construction paper, and build a wedding cake with marshmallows. The girls completed these tasks faster than the boys.

Matt, Molly, Rachel, and Kristin at Trakoscan (I think only Rod knows how to add accents, but imagine a hat over the s and an accent on the c). This is a 700 year old castle about 12 km from the Slovenian border. Unfortunately, only Matt had his passport, so we couldn't cross over the border for a stamp.

Good morning! As a day ends for you, another is beginning for us. We are nearing the end of the week and that means nearing the end of our work here. The days are being filled with meetings, events, meals, projects, and obligations as time is running out. For this entry I will post several pictures and share news with you via the captions. Initially, I will give an update on the LST team (since they never update their blog :-)) They are doing great. During the day the church building is like a bee hive with people coming and going constantly for all sorts of purposes. It is clear as an observer they have made a great difference. Their readers are joyful when they arrive and often stay late. The tone of the conversation is often very deep and serious - though of course I don't hear the words. At their party last night there was lots of laughter and smiles. It is amazing to watch the interaction between Croatian people. They easily converse and welcome a new individual to the group. I have witnessed this many times.


The following pictures are a sequence of Ray's project of building the tool shed ("lawn mower cabin") You can see the "gravel" I previously blogged about, followed by establishing a well, and pouring the concrete.




Maja and Renata enjoying a marshmallow. A rare treat in Croatia. :-)

Luca. Frisbees are constantly flying around here!

Matt's standard position. Either pushing kids on the swing set, kicking a soccer ball, or catching frisbees. Sounds like an ideal mission trip, right? He is tired at the end of the day. If the kids are around, there is a constant, "Matt! Matt! Matt!" Which they pronounce "Mott" :-)

Rod, The "LST Almighty" :-)
This quilt was given away at the LST party last night. The man examining it is a tailor.
We have the best lunch lady! She cooks for us every day and it is alway different and alway good. I look forward to telling you her story more when we return.

Mom always said, "Don't throw rocks!"

Sunday was a very busy day here.  Before worship we helped peel approximately 10 lb of potatoes for Mladen's dad.  He cooked "goulash" (we would call it beef stew) for the entire church +3 other congregations.  It's wonderful stuff!  In the afternoon I taught the smaller children a lesson on Jonah.  Several kids I remembered from last year.  We had fun making little whales.  Meanwhile, Ray and Matt led a class/discussion for the teenagers.  They shared their stories of growing up in church and how their upbringing effects their lives now.  They said it was difficult to get the kids to talk, but felt they were able to convey their message.

In the evening Rod, Matt, Kristin, and Molly enjoyed a concert by Jura and his orchestra.  It contained many American movie and cartoon themes.  We would have loved to go, but the kids were at melt-down stage, so we stayed home for a movie and popcorn, cheese, apples and ice cream.

Today, Monday, was finally our first "normal" day.  We began with an devo and were joined by Dejan.  Then, as Rod and Morris,  began reading we began moving "gravel" inside the forms for the concrete pad for the storage shed.  I put gravel in quotes because it's a loose term for gravel in American eyes.  When the dump truck brought it this morning we just starred at each other.  To put it in perspective, about half of the rocks are the size of my fist, with a few more the size of both my fists, with the remaining rocks slightly larger than typical American gravel for a road.  At this point I must honor our students for their hard work this morning.  I have not yet told you that the gravel is on the opposite side of a chain link fence from the building site.  So for a couple hours this morning.  We used our hands to throw the rocks over the fence and into the forms to prepare for concrete coming tomorrow.  They didn't complain!  :-)  They were awesome.  I did hear one of Rod's readers as I prepared lunch ask, "What are they doing out there?"  Ha!

I will post pictures of all these events in the future.  Now that you are updated and I am prepared for the kids' activities tonight, I must go continue to move rocks.  As always, thank you for your prayers, comments and emails.  They are truly working and encouraging and I know we all look forward to sharing more personal stories when we return.

Maja & Deena

Yesterday, Saturday, we baked bread with one of Morris' readers, Spomenka. (Kristin and Molly are staying at Spomenka's house.) She had brought bread to an LST party and he asked her to teach him how to make it. It was a fun morning. The bread is called "Varazdiniski Klipici", or Varazdin Bread. It is typically plain/empty but she indicated cheese, meat, fruit, etc. could be added. We got a little carried away with the additions. Some had cheese, some chicken lunch meat, and several had peach preserves. When it was Morris' turn he added marshmallow, chocolate, and a sprinkle of coffee. Spomenka just shook her head. :-) It was really delicious and turned out to be our lunch. It was an excellent example of the personal friends LST readers can become. She was touched by our interest and it was a very positive morning for all of us.

Spomenka

Today we enjoyed lunch with Mladen and his family. What a blessing to see our children play as if we've been gone a week instead of a year. Matt, Molly, and Kristin have already made a wonderful impression on so many people. They are seeing firsthand the genuine heart these people have for Jesus and the people of Croatia. We planned our upcoming days. They are sure to be busy, but we are ready to get to work after a day of resting a planning. In the picture above you can see Hana and some of our baseball kids from last year. Notice the K-State hat. They were very excited to see us and we're looking forward to an afternoon of baseball next Saturday.

Mom, Mom, and Mom: As you can see the students are doing great. :-)

We're Here!

We safely arrived in Croatia this afternoon after about 26 hours of traveling.  I apologize in advance for the randomness this will surely take on due to lack of rest.  The flights were fairly smooth with only a minor delay in New York City on the runway.  The kids did great on the planes and Jonathan did not complain of his ears at all.  The biggest relief was to see each of our pieces of luggage come around the carousel.  Jura met us at the airport just to say hi as he was in Zagreb for a concert (he plays the clarinet in the Croatian Army Band).  Mladen picked us up and Nadiza and Vessna had a wonderful lunch ready for us at the church building.  It was kind of a soup over mashed potatoes with whole bell peppers with meat and rice cooked inside.  She even had a small pot of it especially for Rachel (gluten free).  Nadiza's son is taking Kristin and Molly to their place to stay right now.  One of Morris's readers offered her apartment for part of our team....a BIG blessing.  We were first told it was 10 minute walk away, eventually the story became a 15 to 20 minute walk away.  We'll see.  :-)  All in all a long and very good day and we are all ready for some great rest.  Tomorrow we will visit the police station and receive our visitor's passes.  Thank you for your prayers and support.  We really appreciate them and you!

The bags are nearly packed. The activites are planned. The supply/curriculum luggage is at weight capacity. We've been prayed for by the elders. We're ready. One more day and we'll be in Croatia. Thank you again for all your support. As you pray, please ask God to ease Jonathan's double ear infection. We visited the dr. as a precaution today and thank goodness we did. I'm sure the antibiotic will help clear it up. Thank you for your prayers.

Some of us are smiling in the picture, must have been when Gene was asking that our luggage stay with us throughout the traveling.