Today we are doing serious packing and organizing for our departure early Tuesday morning. Besides our carry-ons we now have one checked bag with all the baseball equipment. It is full to the 50lb limit! I must admit to giggling a little as I packed the checked bag. I can only imagine the reactions of friends from High School if they knew Laura Crisler (who never did a sport in her life!) was going to teach kids how to play baseball.
While completing our last minute lists and calls and sorting I am overwhelmed by the funds that continue to come in. We are in awe of the generosity of so many of you. At the same time we can't help but wonder what God has in mind for this trip. Why has He given us more money than we asked for? What are we supposed to do with it? I feel compelled to share with you the amazing ways God has blessed us through our fundraising. He alone could provide such blessings and we are immensely thankful.
We started our fundraising in February. We planned for three fundraising events and then prayerfully left the rest up to God. We conducted freewill soup suppers four times in February, the Teens of our congregation put on a Sweethearts Dinner for Valentine's Day, and we sold Easter sugar cookies in April. These events totaled $4175. Our initial budget of plane tickets, food, class supplies, playground materials, etc. was (and still is) $7485.00. Each of our families committed to personally paying for half of our plane ticket costs. As of Friday, our financial support totals an amazing $11,155.50. This support came from approximately 70 individuals or families.
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. " ~ Jeremiah 29:11
I want to share with you how we have specifically been supported by some:
1. One family offered to cover the expense of sending our belongings ahead of us. We had planned to do this to simplify the airport and going through customs with two children. We have confirmation that our boxes arrived safely. This was a blessing for which we cannot say thank you enough.
2. Two families wished to fund the building of the playground. One of these families sacrificially gave of their own savings which was intended to build a "fort" in their own backyard. I cannot wait to share this story and their family picture with the children in Varazdin.
3. Another woman who lives in low-income housing gave me a crumpled envelope with $20. While this might seem a small donation, it was truly an example of a widow giving all she had.
4. Another special friend handed me yet another envelop with cash. She too has seen a life of trials, but God has worked in her heart and the Spirit just gushes out of her. At the time she was living in a shelter but recently got a job driving a taxi. Her instructions were to use the money to cover all our taxi fares..."from one taxi driver to another" she said.
5. Friends through Ray's work insisted on supporting us despite knowing we had met our goals. Their generous check for $500 will most certainly bless the lives of people in Croatia.
6. A very special family to us also sacrificially gave $500. Their check came with special instructions. Each adult was given $100 and each child $50. We are asked to use the money for a need we observe when we arrive. I am excited to share the stories of this money when we return.
7. Another couple very special to us gave us their entire tax return - $300.
8. A business owner in Wamego donated a large piece of luggage to transport all the baseball equipment.
9. And finally, one gentleman offered to purchase K-State baseball hats for the kids to wear while they are learning baseball. He not only purchased them, but paid to ship them as well.
I could go on and on. I hope you see here how God is working already. When our "feet are on the ground" I'm sure there will be more stories to tell.
It is just not enough to tell you all thank you for your support, so I hope you read between the lines because the Spirit is there whispering.
Love,
Laura
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Sunday, June 21, 2009
We are nine days away from leaving for Croatia. Seems this time would never arrive - yet here it is; time to pack and hope we don't forget anything! I want to give you an update on our work, fundraising, and plans.
Our focus has shifted a little since our original plans were ensued. One of Mladen's dreams is to have an "LST-style" camp for children in the village where he grew up and where his parents still live. For those who don't know, LST is a program where adults can practice their English skills using a workbook based on the book of Luke. It has been a very successful program all over the world, and it is how our church was originally connected to the Varazdin church.
Originally we planned to do a week of lessons for children in the Varazdin church. Our theme was "Walking With Jesus". We had activities centered around maps, passports, suitcases, and some of the events within Jesus' ministry. All of these materials and activities will still be used. Renata will take them with her to camp to teach children from all over Croatia later this summer.
Given Mladen's dream for his village and his desire for us to teach children baseball while we are there a new plan has been formed. We will be spending five days (10 am to 1 pm) of our trip in the village teaching bible lessons and the game of baseball. We are all excited about this, especially now that there is a general plan established. We even discovered a children's devotional book based around baseball. Since Mladen has assured us all the kids know the basic stories of the Bible (they have Catholic-based bible classes at school) we have focused our lessons on Christian living, actions, words, and being an example to others. The children will be creating books with the bible stories, the baseball terms, etc. These will be in English and Croatian in hopes of improving their English. Our plan is to have four days of learning the basics of the game with the final day being a "real" baseball game. Should be a great time!! Oh, and I almost forgot, Mladen has also asked us to bring cowboy hats. In his words, "it will be a great hit, they love cowboys here!" Should be some comical pictures! Thanks to Dave and Jan Vanderbilt for donating hats for us to ship and wear.
We have not forgotten the Varazdin children! Michelle and Laura will be teaching the children during three worship times at the Varazdin church. We are looking forward to this as it will give the women who ALWAYS teach the children a deserved break. And, of course, we still plan to build a play structure for the church yard in Varazdin. We will probably spend most afternoon and evenings on this project.
Time to pray: please pray for us this week that we are patient with each other. I know as the time nears tension may be high as Ray wraps up things at work and I try to plan for international travel with two small children. Pray for dad and his migraines. He's had several in recent weeks. It would be a blessing if he did not have any while we are gone. Pray we remain united as a Team and that Satan is not allowed a foothold in our attitudes or communication. We will try and update this blog while we are gone. I hope we have internet available so you who have so generously supported us can know how things are going.
With such a focus on children, I keep being reminded:
Jesus loves the little children,
All the children of the world.
Red and yellow, black and white
They are precious in His sight.
Jesus loves the little children of the world.
Our focus has shifted a little since our original plans were ensued. One of Mladen's dreams is to have an "LST-style" camp for children in the village where he grew up and where his parents still live. For those who don't know, LST is a program where adults can practice their English skills using a workbook based on the book of Luke. It has been a very successful program all over the world, and it is how our church was originally connected to the Varazdin church.
Originally we planned to do a week of lessons for children in the Varazdin church. Our theme was "Walking With Jesus". We had activities centered around maps, passports, suitcases, and some of the events within Jesus' ministry. All of these materials and activities will still be used. Renata will take them with her to camp to teach children from all over Croatia later this summer.
Given Mladen's dream for his village and his desire for us to teach children baseball while we are there a new plan has been formed. We will be spending five days (10 am to 1 pm) of our trip in the village teaching bible lessons and the game of baseball. We are all excited about this, especially now that there is a general plan established. We even discovered a children's devotional book based around baseball. Since Mladen has assured us all the kids know the basic stories of the Bible (they have Catholic-based bible classes at school) we have focused our lessons on Christian living, actions, words, and being an example to others. The children will be creating books with the bible stories, the baseball terms, etc. These will be in English and Croatian in hopes of improving their English. Our plan is to have four days of learning the basics of the game with the final day being a "real" baseball game. Should be a great time!! Oh, and I almost forgot, Mladen has also asked us to bring cowboy hats. In his words, "it will be a great hit, they love cowboys here!" Should be some comical pictures! Thanks to Dave and Jan Vanderbilt for donating hats for us to ship and wear.
We have not forgotten the Varazdin children! Michelle and Laura will be teaching the children during three worship times at the Varazdin church. We are looking forward to this as it will give the women who ALWAYS teach the children a deserved break. And, of course, we still plan to build a play structure for the church yard in Varazdin. We will probably spend most afternoon and evenings on this project.
Time to pray: please pray for us this week that we are patient with each other. I know as the time nears tension may be high as Ray wraps up things at work and I try to plan for international travel with two small children. Pray for dad and his migraines. He's had several in recent weeks. It would be a blessing if he did not have any while we are gone. Pray we remain united as a Team and that Satan is not allowed a foothold in our attitudes or communication. We will try and update this blog while we are gone. I hope we have internet available so you who have so generously supported us can know how things are going.
With such a focus on children, I keep being reminded:
Jesus loves the little children,
All the children of the world.
Red and yellow, black and white
They are precious in His sight.
Jesus loves the little children of the world.
Friday, April 17, 2009
Our final fundraiser was Easter Sugar cookies. We had 65 dozen ordered and we were blessed to raise $1150.00! The photos below show my wonderful helpers: Blake Bowman, Traci Bowman, Callie Kostelich and of course mom. It took nearly 12 hours to frost and decorate 785 cookies. Dad brought pizza and Drew and Janet provided comic relief and moral support!
785 cookies ready for frosting. 
Callie frosting more eggs. 
Almost finished.
The completed project !
Friday afternoon and Saturday morning everyone came to pick up their cookies!
785 cookies ready for frosting.Blake & Jonathan getting boxes ready.
Blake also cut 458 pieces of ribbon and the tissue paper for me.
Traci & mom frosting away!
We made 390 eggs and 390 bunnies.
Callie frosting more eggs. Almost finished. The completed project ! Friday afternoon and Saturday morning everyone came to pick up their cookies! Thank you to all who supported us through this project!
Monday, April 6, 2009
Thursday, April 2, 2009
A History of Varazdin
The first historical written reference to Varaždin was in 1181, when KingBela III mentioned the nearby thermal springs in a legal document.
Varaždin was declared a free royal borough in 1209 by the King Andrew II. The town was the economic and military center of northern Croatia. Due to Turkish raids, the town was structured defensively around the old fortress, and acquired the shape of a typical medieval Wasserburg.
At the end of the 14th century, Varaždin fortress passed to the hands of the Counts of Celje. Over the following centuries Varaždin had several owners, the most influential being Beatrice Frankopan, Margrave Georg of Brandenburg, who built the town hall; the last was Baron Ivan Ungnad, who reinforced the existing fortification. At the end of the 16th century Count Toma Bakac Erdody became its owner, assuming the hereditary position of Varaždin prefects (župan), and the fortress remained in the ownership of this family until 1925.
In 1756, the Ban Franjo Nadasdy chose Varaždin as his official residence, and Varaždin became the capital of all of Croatia.
In the 18th century Varaždin was the seat of many Croatian noblemen, and in 1756 it became the Croatian administrative centre. The fire of 1776 destroyed most of the town, resulting in the administrative institutions moving back to Zagreb. By the 19th century Varaždin had been completely rebuilt and expanded, with flourishing crafts and trade, and later the manufacture of silk and bricks.
Varaždin, with its unique monuments and artistic heritage, represents the best preserved and richest urban complex in continental Croatia. The Old Town (fortress) is a beautiful example of medieval defensive buildings. Construction began in the 14th century, and in the following century the rounded towers, typical in Croatia, were added. Today it houses the Town Museum.
In 1523, Margrave Georg of Brandenburg built the town hall in late baroque style, with the Varaždin coat of arms at the foot of the tower, and it has continued in its function until the present day. There is a guard-changing ceremony every Saturday.
Varaždin's Cathedral, a former Jesuit church, was built in 1647, and is distinguished by its baroque entrance, eighteenth-century altar, and paintings. There are many baroque and rococo palaces and houses in the town.
Varaždin is one of the few Croatian cities whose industry did not directly suffer from the war in 1991. Besides textile giant Varteks, it also has nationally important food (Vindija), metal, and construction industries. The Information Technology and financial and banking sector as are well developed. Further economic development has been encouraged with the creation of a free investment zone.
(information from various resources)
Varaždin was declared a free royal borough in 1209 by the King Andrew II. The town was the economic and military center of northern Croatia. Due to Turkish raids, the town was structured defensively around the old fortress, and acquired the shape of a typical medieval Wasserburg.
At the end of the 14th century, Varaždin fortress passed to the hands of the Counts of Celje. Over the following centuries Varaždin had several owners, the most influential being Beatrice Frankopan, Margrave Georg of Brandenburg, who built the town hall; the last was Baron Ivan Ungnad, who reinforced the existing fortification. At the end of the 16th century Count Toma Bakac Erdody became its owner, assuming the hereditary position of Varaždin prefects (župan), and the fortress remained in the ownership of this family until 1925.
In 1756, the Ban Franjo Nadasdy chose Varaždin as his official residence, and Varaždin became the capital of all of Croatia.
In the 18th century Varaždin was the seat of many Croatian noblemen, and in 1756 it became the Croatian administrative centre. The fire of 1776 destroyed most of the town, resulting in the administrative institutions moving back to Zagreb. By the 19th century Varaždin had been completely rebuilt and expanded, with flourishing crafts and trade, and later the manufacture of silk and bricks.
Varaždin, with its unique monuments and artistic heritage, represents the best preserved and richest urban complex in continental Croatia. The Old Town (fortress) is a beautiful example of medieval defensive buildings. Construction began in the 14th century, and in the following century the rounded towers, typical in Croatia, were added. Today it houses the Town Museum.
In 1523, Margrave Georg of Brandenburg built the town hall in late baroque style, with the Varaždin coat of arms at the foot of the tower, and it has continued in its function until the present day. There is a guard-changing ceremony every Saturday.
Varaždin's Cathedral, a former Jesuit church, was built in 1647, and is distinguished by its baroque entrance, eighteenth-century altar, and paintings. There are many baroque and rococo palaces and houses in the town.
Varaždin is one of the few Croatian cities whose industry did not directly suffer from the war in 1991. Besides textile giant Varteks, it also has nationally important food (Vindija), metal, and construction industries. The Information Technology and financial and banking sector as are well developed. Further economic development has been encouraged with the creation of a free investment zone.
(information from various resources)
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