Another Step

Praise the Lord, we have found office space! Yeah! In our search around the city, one of our items on our "wishlist" has been checked off! God gave us a great little spot for an office and a multi-functional room. We hope to use that other room as a training room, or for practically anything. We are still searching for a building for church, we found a really great place, but it needs to be approved by the Headmaster of the University. Who we still have not been able to get an appointment with. "We'll call you." Has been the response from his secretary and the secretary of the Mayor. Please pray that there would be a space in their schedule for us to get plugged into to meet with these two men. Without their stamp of approval, (literally) we can't move forward.

But, in the mean time, we are going to change the format a bit while we are still in my house. Up until this time, it has felt more like small group than church. Which has been great up to this point, but we are really feeling the need to step it up a bit. So this means I get to rearrange my furniture! We are also going to be buying some new chairs, so that people aren't sitting on the floor, and getting some better lighting.

We are also going to be splitting our small group meeting on Wed into two groups, families and young adults. This will start on Feb 14.

Please pray also, as I want to get a small group going for women in ministry in our area. To this time, there is no venue really, for women in ministry to band together for encouragement and fellowship. So I wanted to change that! I've been talking to a few people, and those I've talked to are really excited about this prospect. It's just a matter of figuring out when....

Miracle Child

A couple weeks ago, a church planter here in Slovakia was in his car with his family travelling home when they were in a major car accident. All of them were spared, not one life was lost, but there were some injuries. Miro, the father, walked away with only minor injuries, as well as their infant son. But Mom and their two daughters did not fare as well. I'm not sure what injuries Mom sustained, but I know that since that time she also became quite ill and is still in the hospital. Their eldest daughter damaged her back, and is in a back brace. She is back to school, but can either only stand or lay flat, so it's difficult for her to study, and to live in general. Their youngest daughter, Miriam, was sleeping when the accident happened and when she woke up from her coma two weeks later, all her hair was gone, as they needed to operate on her head. Her right side was non-functional, but is has been returning to her. Her right eye, which they said would be blind, is able to see, although with some difficulty. Her spirits were incredibly low, you can imagine the shock... going to sleep and waking up completely a different person. But her spirits have been steadily improving, and her health is improving also. We know that it is in direct connection with all the prayers that have gone up on their behalf. Please continue to pray for this family, as they are still under a lot, and a lot more things still need to happen.


She is pictured here with her father, Miro. They came for a few minutes to the NLI church planter training in Zvolen just this weekend, and we took the opportunity to pray for them. If you can also notice Pastor Al there, my former pastor from Sherwood Park, he was the one giving the teaching. It was such a joy and a blessing to see him again. It's always great to see friends from home over here. I wish more people would do that!

Promised Land

After much delay, I have just today entered the land of having the Internet at home! And there was MUCH rejoicing.

To reply to the interest, the situation with the neighbours is simply this... people in Nitra are much harder than people are in Nove Zamky. A lot less friendly in general. And if you do something they don't like, they have no hesitations to yell at you. I also believe it's something the devil is using against me. Not to blame it all on the devil, but I do get the feeling that my neighbours don't want me here. We are doing some very spiritual things in this apartment... coincidence? I think not. I have been praying for them, blessing them, but no one likes to get yelled at.

Hmm...

Well it seems that the weatherman was incorrect. The snow that came didn't even last the night. It is colder now, but maybe just under 0 C. So much for predictions.

Please pray for my neighbours, they don't like me much.

It is beginning to look a lot like.... Christmas??

Yes, it was looking a lot like Christmas yesterday. Because yesterday, unlike at Christmas, it snowed. Unfortunately (or fortunately) the snow didnt stay. It was forcasted to snow all day yesterday and today, and tommorrow it should go down to -15 C. To this, I laugh and say HA! For one, because it didnt snow today and I highly doubt that it will get that cold by tomorrow. It"s 3C today. I don"t think so. And secondly, because if it did, that"s still a world better than what I imagine it"s like in Edmonton!

A Songbook

If any of you have spoken with Slavka Vimpelova in recent months, you'll probably know about her songbook that's she's been working on for... ever. This book contains all the worship songs from all over the country, and is an excellent resource for churches and for pastors in the areas of the country where they can't access this type of information. Well, it's been ready for the publisher's for awhile now, because she lacked the funds to print it. But, I am happy to report, WE (that means you!) were able to bless Slavka with a gift to get this project kicked off. The whole amount has not yet been achieved, but there is enough to get it started! Praise God!

Gong Show

This week has been an absolute gong show... from students not showing up to lessons, to trying to get car insurance, to not being allowed to use the parking space I've been using for months, to finding out today that I need to have a technical inspection. Arg. It's a good thing I have Jesus....

Name Day

Yesterday was my name day! In Slovakia, every name has a special day on which it's celebrated. It's like having 2 birthday's every year! It's great! A tradition I definitely wish we had in Canada! So, i had a nice dinner with Mark and Liz in Nove Zamky and just had a good time hanging out.

This past Sunday we had an all time high of people at church... 25 people! It was pretty crazy, I ran out of chairs and we had to push back the couches. We had a few people on the floor, so we all fit in! Yeah... we're growing! Please pray that we are able to find a space for us to rent... we need a public place.

Back to the Grind...

Well, after two weeks of holiday (it's nice being a teacher!), I am back to the grind... at least, I think... So many of my students have cancelled their lessons, each day I am curious as to how it will all turn out.

On Jan 6 I had the awesome experience of watching Jeff and Mirka tie the knot. It was so beautiful! They got married in a castle, how awesome is that???

A true Slovak bride... on the phone!

I also had some good times with Meagan while she was here. She was in Romania for her internship, and she came up for the wedding. But, using my powers of persuasion, I got her to come up a few days earlier. We had a lot of fun, visiting friends and seeing castles. And attempting to make crepes. Next time Meagan, I promise they'll be better!