Christmas Time...

Christmas with the Family... Jonathan's big gift was a djembe. So Josh and him played together a lot on Christmas. One of my gifts was the first season of I Love Lucy. Caleb was excited to get a little taste of European Chocolate. I was so thankful to be home for the holidays. I love my family...

The Blackout...

We played games, ordered Pizza Hut, and sat by the fire.

Life...

"My Dad would get these far-off looks in his eyes and he would say 'Life doesn't always turn out the way you plan'. I just wish I'd realized at the time, he was talking about MY life" (Sandra Bullock in While you were Sleeping).

We have to put my dog, Copper to sleep. He's really sick. I sat in the rain with him for an hour and a half yesterday. He cant move. Ive never had a dog die before. I didnt realize how hard it would be.

I got in a sorta fight with my friend. I hate fights, even when they are just sorta fights. We are planning on getting together to smooth things over.

I spent the evening with Mike and Amber yesterday. I was sad so Mike let me hold his Denver Bronco's McCaffery Beanie Baby. We watched The Devil Wears Prada. That made me laugh.

Im going to my brothers in Kirkland now. We are going to bbq steak. Its just been a sad few days.

I have some nice christmas photo's though that I will post soon. Until then...

Passports and BirthCertificates

Yesterday I ran around downtown Seattle with my mom. Trying to get myself a new passport. My old one was starting to look real bad and I was getting border gaurds who were starting to glare at me. So in order to get back to Slovenija I needed to put a rush on this passport. Which meant first getting a new Birth Certificate (my original one is in Slovenija--I hope). Then having a meeting at the Passport Agency. A few hours and a hundred and fifty dollars later they told me I could pick it up tomorrow--which is today.
Amber and I finallly get to see each other today! We are having breakfast together and then she will come to Seattle with me to get my passport. I can hardly wait to spend time with her! Oh and Becky flies in today too.....not sure when I will see her but probably really soon!
Ummm and I still have a few more gifts to buy for Christmas---yikes! Well I better go get ready to go...

Portland Time...

What a whirlwind!! Here is a bit of what I did down in Portland....
Saturday Night: Met up with Heidi and Matt and Heidi's boyfriend Chris. We went downtown Portland, sat in the Heathman and listened to Jazz...oh the Portland life. I LOVE it!!
Sunday: Church. Dropped by The Pearl then over to Glenwood. The Glenwood quilters gave me a quilt!! Stood up in the service. I hate standing up. People were really sweet though. I really love that church. Went out to eat at a place on the Portland waterfront. Again, love the Portland life! It was Johnny, Melissa Jones, Aaron Lemen, Joel and Andi McMartin, and Natalie Christianson. That evening went to a party at John MacMurrays. Saw a bunch of people from Good Shepard that have come over to Slovenia on mission trips. Played a bit with John's kids...they are really cool kids.
Monday: Heidi Mae day! We had breakfast at this cute French Resteraunt. Got our nails done. Laughed a lot. Then met up with Johnny, Ryan Donovan, and Matt Baldwin. Had Thai food on 23rd in Portland. Walked up and down 23rd....its always so pretty during winter! Made Gingerbread houses with Heidi and Chris. Drank Hot Apple Cider--burned my tongue. Laughed a lot more.
Tuesday: Today. I had this video interview thing at Multnomah. I definitely should have been more prepared then I was. At the interview I ran into Sky Cady who was also being interviewed, random! After the interview sat in Starbucks and read. Hmmm White Mocha Valencia.... Had lunch with Kristin Gibb at Red Robin. Talked about how she is moving to Slovenia soon! Then headed back up to Seattle. On my way I stopped in Longview to visit my friend Paul. He's a youth pastor of over 200 highschool kids! It's so wild to see all my friends so grown up and doing so many...grown up things!
Now Im back in Seattle with my family.... yup thats whats been going on lately....

Back in the States

Ok so I arrived safetly back in Seattle. Just in time too cause the night I landed we had a HUGE wind storm. Trees were uprooted EVERYWHERE and one million people lost their electricity. I slept 11.5hrs and didnt hear a thing! However the next day--we were one of the million---my dad climbed up on our roof to fix our shingles and he fell off the ladder and broke his elbow! So my first day back I spent in Urgent Care sitting in the waiting room with my mom playing Mexican Train (If youve never played its a lot of fun!!). Today was relative day as my Grandparents came over for brunch and then this afternoon the family went down to Olympia for a big family get together. All except for Dad, he found out he probably needs surgery and so he stayed in bed today! After the family time I drove the rest of the way down to Portland where I will be for the next few days. Im staying with my dear friend Heidi Mae and will be hanging out with Matt and a few other fun friends! More to come....

Babysitting in Zagreb

Well babysitting was a blast! The first day we wanted to go explore Zagreb, but after waking up and taking the kids to school we went back to bed and slept till 11am... kids were done around 12 so that gave us just enough time to shower and jump in our car and go get em. The next day however we were a lil more on top of things. We got out, explored what we thought was the Center, but still not sure where exactly we were!! Oh I got a marriage proposal from Brenden. After talking about our 15year age difference we decided to be ring buddies! All in all it was a fun surprise trip to Zagreb!!

Zagreb

So basically this morning Anna and I packed our bags and jumped in our car for a last minute trip to Zagreb (captial of Croatia). Some JV missionary friends, the McSheffries (postmodernirish.typepad.com) needed a babysitter for their three children and Anna and I JUMPED to the rescue!

Today consisted of Pictionary Junior, a walk with all the kids and the dog, charades, grilled cheese and tomato soup, and our own private viewing of the classic Chicken Run.

Tomorrow will begin a bit earlier then usual... 6am (!!), we will take kids to school and have a few hours to ourselves to go explore Zagreb, and then pick the kids up, and begin all the fun and games again!!

We are here until Tuesday night. I have Wednesday to get ready for America. Thursday morning I fly out!

Just an ordinary day...

8am Woke up & rode my bike to the office (yes we now have an office).
10:30am Rode my bike to Naja's school. We went shopping. Then talked about our
lives while sitting on my couch. Then she went back to school.
1pm Neja dropped by and her and I went and met Nina at one of my favorite coffee
shops. Yes I know every waiter and they all know me. I accidently hit one once. He
came up behind me and I guess I assumed the worst...not really sure what I was thinking actualy. But he dropped his tray. yup, that waiter REALLY remembers me. Anyway, in the course of our conversation Nina asked if we could start a Bible Study together. I thought really hard and said, well I guess. :) Im thrilled!
3pm Came home grabbed rent money and headed back out to go the bank.
Coincidentally I ran into my landlord. He told me he's thinking about going on trip around the world. Yah, i think he is able to afford those kids of things.
5pm Made dinner. Taco Salad. Yummmy....
5:30 Walked downtown. Got on an EXTREMELY crowded bus. Rode to my dance class.
6:30 Danced. The girls that are normally there were gone. There were new girls.
And somehow Naja and I ended up in the front row....not sure how that happened.
9pm Naja's mom gave me a ride home. Checked email. Got one from my Grandpa. He was replying to my birthday wishes. Its his birthday today. He is 73years old. I
love my Grandparents.
9:30pm Updated my blog and am now thinking about getting some more
dinner....Im hungry again.

Nina and I at her Senior Prom.........Yup just a typical Tuesday!

These are a few of my Favorite Things...

The pictures is Thanksgiving Dinner with some JV friends...
Im Thankful for life. For newness and rest. For joy and hope. For times when I have to wrestle. For friends that know me. For family. For worship. For Truth that changes me. For hugs. For laughing. For the Josiah Venture talent show. For my apartment with green walls. For coffee. For a trip home to America. For pilgrimage. For the sunshine. For autumn leaves. For sweators. For piano music. For my couch. For white chocolate peppermint mocha's. For european chocolate. For anticipation. For Jesus' life that gives me life.

A Thanksgiving in Czech

In Czech last Wednesday, many Josiah Venture families gathered to spend the week together. I am still amazed at the incredible family Ive been given here in Europe!! Throughout the week as a family we played card games, worked on puzzles, ate amazing food, watched family home movies, had a talent show, and laughed a lot! Oh we have a new team member! Her name is Erin Thomas and she is out in Kranj with Joel and Amy. Here our some of our new team pictures! Below are some pictures from the Talent Show. Yes I am in the background of one of the Dances! Kiley Jackson and Bekah Patty did a Pipi Longstocking song and dance. And then we had the 3rd annual return of "Pink Henry"--Nathan and Gracie Pitcher did a fun Dance! We laughed a lot that night!

Girls Retreat

Did I ever tell you that Anna and I led a girl's retreat? We took our Bible Study Girls to the Slovene Seaside. We sent them off by themselves to think, pray, and spend time with the Lord. It was a really great weekend of reflection and listening for the voice of the Lord! In the evening we went to a fancy resteraunt and ate amazing food. The next morning we went home. It was short but really refreshing and needed for our group of girls.

Junior Highers

Once again we had another event for our junior highers. This time the theme was Art and Expression. I still feel like we are at the newness stage of this ministry. No one really knows anyone that well. Im trying to figure out what I have in common with junior high girls to talk about. But Id say overall it went well. I brought out my huge supply of beads and taught girls how to make jewelry. While other kids did random art projects such as clay, spray painting, and charcoal drawings. There has been one girl that I have started to feel a connection with and her name is Nika. She is actually in Meagan Jacksons (daughter of the missionaries I work with) class at school and so Ive met her a few times before. She is a lot of fun and speaks English really well for her age! I hope we become friends! Above there is a picture of Nika and I. And then one of me with my "team" for the day. AnnaMaria, myself, Ursa (oor-shuh) , Meagan, and Nika (knee-kuh).

Harvest Parties...Lots of em!

So recently I was asked to help with the junior high ministry that we were creating. Im not giving up highschool, but I am adding junior high. Im actually working more with the leaders of the group. Its a bit of a transition because Im so used to highschoolers and Im trying to figure out my new role and all... but Im really excited about it. Anyway, We recently had both a junior high and a highschool Harvest Party. Enjoy the pics!
Below is a picture of one of our leaders-Matjea (red hair) with one of our junior high girls- Ursa. We dunked for apples. And just did crazy junior high games!

Highschool

Here was the Highschool Party.... We of course played weird games: marshmellows and coke...gross!! We Carved Pumpkins. And just had a lot of fun hanging out. It is definitely easier for me to do the highschool group because I know the kids so well and its what I have been doing for the past few years.

Guess what? I have a new apartment!

Ok ok Ive lived here since June, but we finally painted and bought furniture!!! Take a peek!










Anna and I painted with our new friend Ana. She goes to Art school and she was the girl for the job. This is my kitchen/dining room....Living room......



And have I mentioned our incredible landlord??? Not only is he a cook from Italy who also has a place in Naples, and let us paint our apartment however we want, but he also looks exactly like Captin Jack Sparrow.... dreadlocks down to his waist and everything.

Friends and Ikea trips...

Dasa and Neja and I at David and Katka's wedding. Dasa (far left) is a girl I see probably once every 5 months....She is really a fun girl and I just wish I knew her better! For more pictures of Davids wedding you can go to his website http://www.davidinslovenia.com/gallery/

In other news Anna and I went to Ikea yesterday. We thought it closed at 7pm and were thrilled that we got there at 5pm (its in Austria). Come to find out they actually close at 5pm. Anna and I sprinted through the store--thankfully we knew already what we wanted--and within about 15mins had a couch, a chair, some pillows, a rug, and a shower caddie. I think it was the quickest Ikea trip EVER! I look at my living room and feel like Im living out of a Real Simple Magazine---or maybe Ikea magazine---Pictures of our new living room still to come...

Where do I live??

Often there is a bit of confusion as to where I actually live...At times in the States I will talk to people and they will say things like...."Ohh I have friends that live in Slovakia! I wonder if you know them?" or "So what is life in Slovakia actually like?" . Im not really sure how to answer these questions, if I lived in Slovakia I might. However, I live in Slovenia. There are definitely a lot of similarities however. For your enjoyment... (click on the image to enlarge).

Free Wireless...

I havent gotten internet in our new apartment yet. So I come to a coffee shop with free wireless almost daily. Coming to a coffee shop regularly has its advantages and disadvantages.
The waiters know your usual.
Wine is cheaper then Water.
You know the best times to come..they often have parties at night so I come in the morning hours...less people.
I get in on more of the highschool gossip.... I watch who is getting coffee with who, exciting stuff!
Oh and you get to be friends with the waiters. Which again has advantages and disadvantages. Anna and I stopped by one night to talk to one of the waiters. He's, one of those guys who is really sweet, "oh bless his heart"... Anyway, we stopped to talk to him because we noticed he had been working at least a 10hr shift. And I think it looked as though we were two of his fans...the owner and one other waitress were in the back giggling at us as we talked with him. Ah well...so goes life...
At least its free internet!

They got married!

Back from Czech...

At 12:30am we rolled up to the front of my apartment after a 10hr trip home from Czech. I think this was the best confence Ive been to....

Im excited to think about Dave Patty's teaching...
Im glad to jump back into ministry...
Im thankful to be friends with some new people...
Im so relieved to be home...
I will post more pictures when I get em...
I will write more when Im more awake...
*click on the pic to see it bigger....can you find me?

Another Trip

This afternoon I’ll load up with a van full of my close friends and together we’ll head 8 hours north to our annual Josiah Venture fall training conference in the Czech Republic . We’ll be taking a deep look at discipleship and specifically what it means to live with “Christ in me.” We need a living connection with Christ, which will transform us and cause our lives to bear fruit. When the life of Christ is flowing through us freely, in a consistent way, we can expect to see healthy growth and transformation. We would love your prayers for safety on the road there and back and also that this theme wouldn’t just be a concept but that our lives would truly reflect Christ in us. Thank you all for your faithfulness in sharing the burden of ministry and have a wonderful weekend.

Piran

So I left on a little get away to the Slovene seaside. The city of Piran is beautiful!!! I left Monday afternoon, walked along the coast and had a nice dinner. Tuesday I spent most of the day by myself, reading, praying, and swimming in the Adriatic. Later that evening Anna and I met up and had dinner and coffee until late in the evening. It was the end of a perfect day. This morning Wednesday we woke up, jumped in the car and drove the two hours back to Ljubljlana. Now Im sitting in the cafe down the street from my house, getting caught up on all i need to do... Sunday I leave for conference in Czech. I always look forward to conference and especially this one because Metka and Miso get to come!

life...

Picked up David and Katka at the airport today. Got my new computer. Now Im able to update my blog and check emails once again...Im sitting in a coffee shop getting caught up....I liked this picture so I wanted you all to see it! Enjoy!

Girls Camp 

Croatia and Slovakia

For Photos check out...... http://www.flickr.com/photos/26991059@N00/

A few weeks a go I co-directed the first ever Slovene Girls Camp!! This was a huge first for me and I was a little nervous as to how it woudl turn out. There were 26 of us all together that gathered on an Island in Croatia. The weather was beautiful and the atmosphere of the camp was really precious as well. The week was built around the theme of Beauty. With this theme we also talked about the Prince (Jesus Christ) who longs to know our hearts. Overall it seemed like Camp was a huge success and girls are already asking about next year!

Two days a go I returned from a week and a half in Slovakia where I worked at Josiah Venture Missionary Kids Camp. This is a camp that has emerged from a ministry headed up by Becca McMartin (a former Multnomah Student and missionary kid from Haiti). At camp I worked with The Ducks, a group of seven, 8year old girls (none of which had ever been to camp before!). And I thought directing a camp was challenging!! Although it was a lot of work, I had a fabulous time, running around, playing silly games, and singing fun camp songs!!

Co-Directing
Camp went better then I had expected and even hoped!! On a more personal note, directing was on of the most challenging things I have even done! It definitely pushed me into many areas that I am not very strong in and challenged my trust in the Lord. Wheh! I really could not have done it without my Slovene Co-Director Glorija. She was definitely my right hand girl! I also had the privilege of working with Laurel Jenkins, a close friend of mine from Multnomah Bible College. Laurel is working with highschool students with her husband Brad on a military base in Germany with a ministry called Malachi. Laurel brought four of her highschool girls to Croatia to help out. It was so fun to work with someone I already knew so well and deeply respect!! After returning home Josh Patty mentioned to me that he was dreaming about how we can do multiple all girl camps next year! Im not sure if Im quite ready to think about that yet....!

Girls Camp
There were 26 girls (leaders included) that came to camp. It was small but very sweet and intimate! Every morning we would listen to a story from Dubrovka (the Pastors wife of the church we attend). Her stories would address different issues such as identity, significance, and spirituality. The afternoons were filled with laying out on the beach and doing different Art projects. After dinner our night program would begin. Based on the book, Keeping a Princess Heart in a Not-So-Fairytale-World, we discussed issues of beauty, pain, and ultimately how Christ is the Prince of our souls. It was the gospel in very different words, but very powerful and effective! My heart is rejoicing when I think about how this girls camp met an incredible need in the country of Slovenija and Im excited to see where it takes us!

Josiah Venture Missionary Kids Camp
This was my second summer of working at JVK Camp. This is a camp led by Becca McMartin; her target is the kids of Josiah Venture, kids that are third culture kids. These kids are unique because they are not fully from the culture of America, or of their Eastern European home, but have in fact formed their own culture with pieces of both cultures. This camp is significant because it is one of the only places where these missionary kids feel as though they truly belong--with other third culture kids. Becca has done an incredible job ministering to these kids and I was privileged to join her for a week. It's not at every camp where you hear, "I cant read my English Bible, I can only read in Czech!". It was a fun week!

The Ducks
All of the Josiah Venture kids are split up into different groups based on their age. I worked with the Ducks last week. It was their first time ever at camp and they were really excited to be there! Words that I would use to describe them are: Sweet, Sensitive, a bit Sassy and Spunky. I really felt like the mother duck, everwhere I went I had a little trail of girls following me. It didnt take long to fall in love with them!

Thanks for taking the time to read whats going on in my life! Pictures will be coming soon...

A Czech Circus???

Ok, so random fact I forgot to mention....at our last conference (in May) our whole group was surprised with an exclusive, private showing of a Czech circus traveling through the area. Everyone loaded into 3 charter buses without being given even a hint of where we were headed! I live the most bizarre life!

The Circus Master is missionary Dan Hash who wore a headset connected to Mel and Lucka who fed him "translation" of the real lines being spoken. We laughed so hard we hurt as we listened to his improvisation. 

Ok so this isnt actually me....but Im pretty sure I had the same look on my face the whole time. This is one of the missionary kids enjoying the circus.