WinterWonderland!

We've been busy over here! We had a Christmas party at the Jacksons, complete with a gift exchange, singing Christmas Carols, decorating cookies, and Mr. Beans Christmas! It was a blast! Then just last night Neja put a group together to go ice skating! It was a lot of fun, but VERY cold! Tonight we have our All Nighter New Years Party. Yoo hoo!

The Girls! Enjoying Christmas Together! 

The boys! Terry Jackson, Miha, Sabi, Gasper, and Miso. 

Christmas Party gift exchange!! Naja and I in the back, Josh Patty and little Anja holding her gift of Klementines. 

Getting warmed up-the skates were NOT comfortable!! Me, Johnny and Neja. 

(l-r) Ziva, me, and Neja 

After Christmas

Christmas Eve I had a nice dinner with the Jackson family and Johnny. We had goose! Id never really eaten goose before--but I enjoyed it. It kinda tasted like chicken or turkey. Not a very distinct flavor, but not bad! Later on that night we went to a Catholic Mass to spend some time with some of our highschoolers. It was a midnight mass--again a new experience for me. Im glad that I went, but I was soo cold for 1 1/2 hrs, even though I was bundled up in a coat, gloves and scarf!! That night I stayed at the Patty's house. By the time we had all gotten back from mass we had all started to wake up. Needless to say I was up to a pretty ridiculous hour, all because I was past the point of exhaustion! Christmas day was a lot of fun. We opened presents with the Patty kids--this took Hours!! And then Christmas night there was a Christmas Children's program. I was in charge of the dessert afterwards. It was so much fun having our youth group serve our church! I felt like we werent individuals but a team. We all helped each other out. And when we had downtime, we all huddled together out in the cold drinking hot coa coa, talking and laughing. To think that just about a year and a half a go there was NOTHING, and now--we have this group of kids that love the Lord and are serving in their church. My heart didnt have words to express my amazement at the goodness of the Lord.

Today is the day after Christmas. And its so odd that I seem to swing the pendulum of being ridiculously busy to having nothing to do. Last week I worked 10-11hr days. Right now, Im finding myself with the feeling that I have nothing to do. Its times like this that I dont want to look back on and feel as though it was a complete waste. And at the same time I think rest is incredibly important and stopping after a crazy week and not doing anything is probably a good thing!! Its just so hard to do when given an entire day! And sometimes I waste time.

Anyway those are my ramblings for today. I will try to post some pictures of our Christmas party when I get them. One of my girls, as she was leaving the party said, "Wow, this is what I want Christmas at MY house to be like. Without all the fighting."

Its good to know im here for precious girls like her.

Cookies...

A fun collage of cookie making

(l-r) Neja, Miso, Naja, Me, Mana Making sugar cookies

Today we made cookies! 250 sugar cookies....! Slovene's never use measuring cups or spoons so I felt like I had a cooking show, or class--I got to teach them how to cook, American Style! I had to keep a close eye on them too--since they had never used measuring cups before they had a habit of scooping and dumping, sometimes great big quanities and sometimes very small ones--they just had no idea why it was so darn important to follow the recipie!! It was a blast!! Tomorrow at our Christmas Party we will decorate them and then on Christmas, our youth group named, Več (means "more" in Slovene: pronounced: V-eh-ch) will serve the cookies after our Christmas program. I sure do love my job!!

A Slovene Snapshot

Here is a little peek into...
Newness ~
I left Slovenia in the middle of summer and returned in the winter. Snow is everywhere and it reminds me that life has continued even while I was gone.
We have a Youth Group now!! I loved watching 20 faces of students/leaders worshipping their savior! Most have professed faith and a those that aren't, just can’t seem to get enough of being with us. It is why I live in Slovenia- to see a movement of God among the youth here!

Life ~
I can say that I am feeling again the pain and joy of sacrifice. The first week was overwhelming as everything takes more thought and energy then in the States. There were some difficult and lonely days, but I am feeling like I am beginning to settle into this life once again.

Laboring ~
Without my girls receiving any direct discipleship, growth seems to have slowed. The good news however is that they are eager to jump back into Bible Study and a closer relationship with the Lord. I will be starting this on Friday…

Favorite Words ~
“I used to see the world in black and white, now I see it in color.” (Mana, 17yrs)
“If I was to describe my relationship with the Lord I would say that it is frozen.” (Lucy 17yrs)

Thanks for your part in this ministry!! Drop me a line if you have time, I am always so encouraged by your notes,

Please be in prayer for…

• Wisdom and Direction as I start up my 2^nd year of Bible Study with Neja and Naja
• Lucy, who accepted the Lord last summer and now seems to be lost.
• Mojca, who accepted the Lord last summer and is so busy that I haven’t been able to connect with her at all,
• The church here (and my home) seems as though it is being fought for, both spiritually and with old leaders in charge. Pray that the Darkness would be pushed back in powerful and tangible ways.

Sitting Still...

Im normally really good about only writing blogs when I feel as though I have something profound to say. I mean, I enjoy reading other people's rantings and ramblings, but I feel like mine are pretty much boring and no one would really be all that interested. Well, here I am, with NOTHING to say. Im back in Slovenia. Im starting my life off slow, mostly because Im still recovering from jet lag and I keep waking up at random times, such as 1pm. For some people, actually many people that I know, that is completely normal, but I normally dont like to sleep in until the afternoon...All this to say that lately my life has consisted of a lot of hours sitting in my apartment doing pretty much nothing but unpacking and reorganizing. Which in all honestly I haven't been doing that good of a job doing. I still have my carry-on sitting by my bed, full, and I have no idea where to put the stuff I have in it. Ive started planning out my life for next week and it actually is filling out extremely fast. There is a lot to do here. So I guess I should be glad for 4 days of nothing.... I have a hard time just sitting still though, especially if Im sitting still in an empty apartment. Oh one fun thing I did yesterday. I went to the Jacksons and had a Christmas Evening there. We watched Miracle on 34th Street. Read Christmas books. Did an advent calendar, sang a Christmas song, and read the Matthew version of the Christmas Story. That has definitely been my highlight so far.

Well, ok, thats all Im going to say right now, except for, I love hearing from you all out there, so if you get a chance, drop me an email, or a comment, That just might be my second highlight...