July 29, 2006

Pastor Dave

Thanks for Praying!! Surgury went well, i got an e-mail from him in the hospital. Swallowing doesnt hurt bad enough to keep him from eating (this is how i know he'll be ok!). He spent the night and is coming home Saturday.
Please pray that he will behave himself the next few days and not pull any crazy youth pastor stunts. and that all the healing that needs to happens.

ALSO....please read the post below and pray for Kristen and the team.

Pray for Kristen

so, pray for my Kristen, you know the really cool suitemate in N Ireland. she's halfway through Summerserve. She and the rest of the team are challenging Kids to run away from hell. Naturally the gates of hell are not happy about this.

Summerserve in Her words:
"Summerserve is a two week long mission trip that’s run by YFCNI (Youth for Christ Northern Ireland) every year. People come from America and Canada to join NIers and are broken up into teams of 10-12. I am leading a team of 11 in a parish called Magheralin - just over the hill from Warinsgtown. I have an assistant named Matthew Nichol and our team is comprised of 6 Americans and 5 Northern Irish.

Over the two weeks, we’ll be running a VBS, nightly drop-in center activities, neighborhood clean-up projects, detached youth work and whatever else arises as the Lord directs! While most of the structure of the two weeks is planned, the details are not. That is down to the team."

How to pray:
For the team:
- unity
- energy
- focus
- discipline
- that we wouldn’t waste opportunities
- that we would have fun
- that we would worship with our whole lives
- that people would see Jesus in us

For the parish:
- that the transition would be made between a Summerserve commitment and a
full-time disciple
- that the more traditional folks would be okay as we open the doors to the
‘hooligans’ of the parish

For the people they’re “ministering” to:
- that they’d see Jesus and choose to follow

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I love this girl, and if you dont you should! And regardless of you feelings or lack thereof for Kristen, she and this team are doing some amazing Kiingdom stuff, and need your prayers!

Check out her blog for more details, and probably an update with pictures when she gets home. The link is over to the right. Or click HERE

July 28, 2006

week 18

in which i befriend the paper cutter.

Welcome to week 18!

Thursday evening I went to the cinema for the first time. We saw the movie Poseidon. It was not a bad movie. The beautiful thing about it was that it is much less expensive to see a movie here, so there is less risk in seeing a movie. I would have regretted paying 7 dollars to see it but 75SK(about 2.50 US) was just about what it was worth. I am going to have such sticker shock when I come back to the States. Have I ever told you that I can get two scoops of ice cream for 12SK (under 50 cents)? Life is good in Slovakia. I eat a LOT of ice cream :)

Last Friday, we went to a different restaurant than usual for lunch, and I had a lesson in crossing cultures. The restaurant was crowded and there were no empty tables, so we split up and sat at two different partly full tables It was very stretching for me to sit down with total strangers. Interestingly enough, a Slovak will not sit down next to someone on a bus without asking first. And they will often stand rather than sit down. I learn something new every day.

Saturday was a relaxing day. I slept in, cleaned some, read some, and hung out in the evening at one of the open cafes that pop up along the street in the summer.

Sunday, I slept in by accident and missed church. On the upside, I was home to get the call form Jeff and Andrea who I stayed with in Kosice when I first came to Slovakia. They invited me to lunch as I got to spend the afternoon trading stories and hanging out with their family.

I did a lot of paper cutting this week. Entry tickets and food tickets and car tickets. Thousands of them. You name it, I helped print and cut it this week :)

Because of Tuesday I get to say the words CampFest video again!! After showing it to Marian and having Rina double check my Slovak spelling, there were a few details that needed addressed. I spent most of my day Tuesday back in the cycle of render, check, tweak, render..... export. It was fun. I also had a Slovak lesson. I am learning. I need to study more.

Wednesday = more paper cutting. All day. I bonded with the rotary paper cutter. It was nice actually, relaxing. A bit of mindless repetition. It gave me time to reflect and pray and daydream. I had a chance to listen to a few sermons that have been sitting on my computer for a while now.

Thursday (today) this morning Roman and I finished cutting everything (I hope :)) this afternoon I’m updating you all and dealing with some paperwork stuff. This evening I am going with a group of folks to see the second Pirates of the Caribbean movie.

Friday is the signing day for the new CampFest field in Svarin :) After tomorrow, it should be all final!! “Timothy School” is a conference for new believers in September. We hope to be able to hold it in Svarin! Also, Friday my dad is having surgery on a ruptured disc in his neck. I’m stressed to be so far away. Not that I could do anything if I was in Pittsburgh but STILL! My Friday prayer warriors have a full day.

Thank you to everyone who prayed for my social life. I was out more this week than I have been. Please pray that relationships will form from hanging out with these folks. More specifically that I will have courage to step outside of myself and initiate those relationships.

News from CampFest!! There is a problem with the lights. (I told you last week this is where Satan was gonna screw with us) The father of the guy who usually does the lights is very sick. He might not be able to come. There are other problems with the constructions for hanging the lights. In a classic translation issue, I have no clue exactly what the problem is, just that it requires prayer.

PLEASE KEEP PRAYING:
~CampFest
~Relationships
~Slovak Learning (I NEED to study more)

You all rock my world

questions

i have a lot of them.
who?
why?
when?
where?
can i?
should i?
what's next?
i'm a third of the way through my year....there is so much i thought i would have acocmplished by now that i haven't and so many things i never imagined i would do that i have.
and i dont know what's next.
and when i'm culture shocking and anxious and depressed, i dont know what i need.
and i'm gonna throw somemthing at the next person who asks me what my plans are for next April. casue i dont know.
and God's not telling. or i'm not listening.

July 26, 2006

curious thought i had on the bus

nuns.

they're supposed to be the brides of Christ right? so why do they wear mostly black? even the bride of frakenstein wore white.

am i going to get struck by lightning for this post?

July 25, 2006

princess complex resurfaces


:) found online. made me smile. i might need this. life is good.

July 22, 2006

crossing cultures

Slovak people will not sit down next to someone they dont know on a crowded bus, but in a crowded restaurant, they dont have a problem sitting down at a partially full table!
Yesterday we went to a different restaurant for lunch. There were 8 of us to find a table at noon. As it turns out, this was not going to happen. So we split and sat at two part full tables. This situation was a stretch for me. I commented to Ander about this, and he told me that I didnt have to touch them, share my food or even talk to them, and the other option was leaving. He was surprised because in NYC strangers sit down right next to each other on the subway.
So why do we define something like sharing a lunch table in a restaurant as an intimate thing, and not sitting next to a total stranger on the bus?

CULTURE that's why. Culture pops up in the strangest places. Phrases you use. ever think about how many different ways we use the word "blow"?
the wind blows
we blow out candles
Bombs blow up
enlarging a photo is blowing it up
inflating a beach ball is also blowing it up
blow is a drug

Think about the word "Hang".....

how about why you could say you were "on the bus" without someone thinking you were standing on the roof, but it doesnt work that way with a car?

Being faced with my weird culture and language and the fact that i cant really explain it, i am trying harder to ask "is there a reason for that?" rahter than "Why do you do that?" becasue chances are the "why" is jsut because that's how it is!

July 19, 2006

CHEWING GUM!!!

what kind of idiot director forgets/doesnt notice to make the actor SPIT OUT HIS CHEWING GUM!!!! i have an angsty guy who smiles a lot and chews gum....better luck next time staz

July 17, 2006

Me in two songs.

Sorry about all the posts that are just cut and pasted from some song or movie or whatever, but if you lived in my house you'd understand that we communicate like this, in lyrics or quotes. No matter what I feel like communicating, someone has probably already said it better than I could. The only weird part of this is just how many lyrics, quotes, and catch phrases my family can remember off the tops of our heads.

And just like every Sunday I called momma up last night
And even when it's not, I tell her everything's alright
Before we hung up I said
Hey momma, don't forget to tell my baby sister I'll see her in the fall
And tell mee-ma that I miss her
Yeah, I should give her a call
And make sure you tell Daddy that I'm still his little girl
Yeah I still feel like I'm where I'm supposed to be
Don't forget to remember me

Tonight I find myself kneeling by the bed to pray
I haven't done this in a while
So I don't know what to say but
Lord I feel so small some times in this big ol' place
I know there are more important things, but
Don't forget to remember me
Don't forget to remember me

~Carrie Underwood

Morning by morning I wake up to find
The power and comfort of God'’s hand in mine
Season by season I watch Him, amazed
In awe of the mystery of His perfect ways
All I have need of, His hand will provide
He'’s always been faithful to me.

I can't remember a trial or a pain
He did not recycle to bring me gain
I can'’t remember one single regret
In serving God only, and trusting His hand
All I have need of, His hand will provide
He'’s always been faithful to me.

This is my anthem, this is my song
The theme of the stories I'’ve heard for so long
God has been faithful, He will be again
His loving compassion, it knows no end
All I have need of, His hand will provide
He'’s always been faithful, He'’s always been faithful
He'’s always been faithful to me.

~Sara Groves

Great is Thy Faithfulness, Amen. Being a Vessel shaped the way I see God, and remember to let God shape me. I just have to remind myself every now and then.
I'm finally coming back into me I think (hope pray).
So, Don't forget to remember me, but more important, remember the Faithful One with me tonight.

July 13, 2006

i survived 2 more weeks (15 & 16 in case you're counting)

Dear wonderful people,

I promise that this will turn back into a weekly update, but I'm working myself back up to that. Three weeks last time, now two and next week we’ll be back on schedule :). The past two weeks were a continuation of my crazy homesickness and thanks to your prayers, I’m finally pulling the whole way out of it. That’s the short version, and here comes the blow by blow:

Week 15 (June 30-July 6)
Friday, I got all the elements (music, text, ect.) for the CampFest video and started coming up with a concept for that. After work, on a whim, I bought a rosebush (to replace the azalea I killed). This purchase was the direct result of getting caught in a summer storm and browsing in the Tesco to stay dry and kill 20 minutes (a dangerous past time!).
Saturday afternoon found me in a tree! I was helping pick cherries. I have not climbed a tree in forever. Everyone was amazed/terrified by the monkeylike way I was moving around the tree. And because I was in the tree, sadly there are no pictures of this. But the cherries were really good and the Biros family now has a winters worth of cherries canned.
Sunday after church I had lunch with Danka and Peto and their two little boys, Philip and David. I went to bed early. I love weekends!
Monday I roughed out the CampFest video (lets see how many times I can type “CampFest video” :))
Tuesday was the 4th of July. I told someone at work that and they said “yes and tomorrow will be the 5th.” They don’t celebrate my national holiday in Slovakia (of all the nerve!!). I worked on the CampFest video, bought a quarter of a watermelon, sang “America the Beautiful” under my breath all day, and called my family.
Wednesday was a day off work in honor of St Cybil and Method who (near as I understand) put the Slovak language into writing in 863AD. Slovaks could then have the bible in their own language. I guess I understand why no one was really excited about the 4th.
Thursday was back to work and the CampFest video (are you counting?) was again the main focal point of my day.

Week 16:
Friday was you guessed it, more editing of the CampFest video!! I made it to the 30 second mark, and wished that I had picked a passion that lent itself better to impressive sounding lists of things I have accomplished.
Saturday I slept in because I could, cleaned my desk and the bathroom. And read a book in the sunshine. Have I mentioned that I love weekends?
Sunday after church I went to lunch and hung out with Rina.
Monday I woke up with a horrible headache. The kind of headache that is made worse by light and being upright. I spent the day in bed with a blanket over my head.
Tuesday, I woke up and found out much to my delight that standing up didn’t make me feel like railroad spikes were being driven into my eyes. I went to work and spent another 8 hours on the CampFest video, finished another 13 seconds!! I also went to the bank without my passport again. Sheesh!
Wednesday I finished the CampFest video!!! CampFest video! CampFest video! CampFest video!! Also it was 87 degrees. And they are re-roofing the offices.. Everything is covered in dust and not air-conditioned!!
Thursday has been construction day at the office. Ander was rebuilding shelves, the roofers were hammering and drilling and roofing and I was trying to tweak the CampFest video. My headache made a brief reappearance and was beaten off by some Tylenol. The CampFest Video is waiting for official approval after this morning’s tweak session. This afternoon, I’ll either re-tweak the CampFest video, go back to

Tomorrow, I will be driving to Germany with a bunch of other people to attend Calling All Nations, an international worship festival being held in Berlin. There is a good chance that I will spend more time in the car than in Berlin, but I’m still excited about this. The festival is all day Saturday and we’ll drive back Saturday night and get in Sunday Evening!! Next week, will be full of whatever needs done for CampFest any final tweaking that needs done on the CampFest video and heaven knows what else!

I have still not received my visa, red tape and all that jazz. I have all my paperwork handed in before Micah came and I should receive it next week.

PLEASE PRAY:
~ For safe travel to Germany this weekend and a time of blessing for all in attendance.
~ CampFest Preparations. (a thousand little details)
~ My Slovak learning. (I am not good at studying like I should.)
~ That I will find the balance of stretching without running myself into the ground

Thank you for praying!

July 12, 2006

Lunch time already!!

i promise the past two weeks updates will be up tonight or tomorrow.

but to tide you over, i love desktops that automaticly change. this morning i got to work and this was my desktop.
Out to Lunch!

July 6, 2006

The Rose

it's only a tiny rosebud, a flower of God's design
But I can't unfold the petals with these clumsy hands of mine
Shy
The secret of unfolding flowers is not known to such as I
The flower God opens so sweetly in my hands would fade and die
new buds
If I cannot unfold a rosebud this flower of God's design
Then how can I think i have wisdom to unfold this life of mine?
Rose
So I'll trust in Him for his leading each moment of every day
And I'll look to Him for guidance each step of the pilgram way
From Above
For the pathway that lies before me, my Heavenly Father knows
I'll trust Him to unfold the moments, just as He unfolds the rose.
Rose

I got this poem in a frame as a HS graduation gift from Linda. It has sat on my desk for the past 5 years as a reminder that I need to trust Him. I need to be reminded a lot.

PS If i get enough comments i'll tell you all the story of how i aquired this rose bush as a direct result of a summer storm.

July 5, 2006

yesteday

yesterday, my country had it's 230th birthday. i bought a watermellon talked on the phone to my mom and sisters and micah (two seperate calls) and then went to bed early. some party eh?
today is a day off in honor of St Cybil and Method who put the Slovak Language into Writing in 823AD. Slovaks could then have the bible in their own language. 823AD PEOPLE!! their language celebraes almost 2,000 years. i guess I understand why no one was really excited about the 4th yesterday.

*edit* it was actually 863AD. but out of three numbers i remembered two! and when youre dealing in thousands of years ago how much diference can 40 years make? AND when youre me and it comes to numbers, 2 outta 3 ain't bad!