First UMC Keller Blog

Our trip is almost over, but we have one more Sunday to spend in Slovakia.  This morning half of our team went to Partizanske for morning worship and the other half stayed in Trnava.  I chose to go to Partizanske because David and I were there with a mission team in 1997.  When we arrived we were greeted warmly by the congregation.  The total attendance this morning was 10 including the lay pastor, Yaroslav Sklenar. 

When we were there in 1997 the congregation was much larger, at least 50 members, and most of them were young families.  The church was started during Communist years by some young women who were teachers at a music school.  They began by meeting in each other’s homes for prayer, Bible study, and sharing a meal.  They became known throughout Eastern Europe for the Christian music they composed and secretly distributed.  The Communist organization knew of the church.  New church starts were not allowed under Communism and the young congregation came under pressure to disband.  If they would affiliate with an established Christian denomination they could continue to meet.  They chose to become Methodist and arrangements were made through the Methodist bishop.  Because they had started as an independent organization they never fully adapted to being a part of the Methodist connectional system.  About 7 years ago they broke away from the Methodist church and became independent again.  The Partizanske United Methodist Church was left with a building and only a handful of members.  The congregation still struggles and is in danger of being closed.  Some of the Methodist church leaders in Slovakia wanted us to go there to offer encouragement as representatives of the larger Methodist family.

The lay pastor at the church is originally from Serbia.  He explained that his ancestors went to what is now Serbia about 250 years ago.  The region of Serbia where he grew up has several villages populated by persons with Slovak ancestry.  Slovak is the dominant language in this area.  Kornelia Francisty, the pastor we worked with in Piestany, is from one of the Serbian/Slovak villages.  During morning worship at Partizanske we sang hymns from a Methodist hymnal written in Slovak and published in Serbia.  An older gentleman played the electric organ.  Some of the hymns were familiar to us, such as the gospel hymn “In the Sweet Bye and Bye”.  Our group of 4 sang a couple of songs and Jacque and I each gave a testimony of how God has worked in our lives.  Palo had been asked to preach, but he told us he would just give his testimony because he had no time to prepare a sermon since he had been traveling with us all week.  He did not translate so we don’t know what he said, but the testimony was as long as a sermon might be.  Slovaks are storytellers and Slovak testimonies are usually long stories. 

The congregation had prepared some typical Slovak snacks and desserts.  After worship the chairs were put in a circle and we ate and visited.  They wanted to know about Texas — doesn’t everyone have an oil well and a 10-gallon hat?  They also asked how we have been effected by the economic crisis.  In Slovakia they have been growing their economy in recent years by attracting auto manufacturing plants.  Labor is cheap there.  With the decrease in car sales worldwide, they have felt the negative effects of the economic downturn.  After the congregation left we visited with the pastor and his wife and 2 sons in their apartment upstairs.  Many of the Slovak Methodist pastors live with their families in an apartment above the sanctuary. 

The part of our team that stayed in Trnava reported that the worship service was filled with good music as usual.  Even the first-timers on our team have that sense of family when they are worshipping in Trnava.  There were good-byes and lots of tears were shed.

Sunday afternoon the team went to Sered United Methodist Church for an afternoon of music.  The Sered church is one of the few Methodist congregations in Slovakia that survived through the Communist years.  The church has existed for about 70 years.  Janko Tagaj, Lubos’s cousin, is the pastor.  He has visited our church in Keller a couple of times.  This is the church in which Lubos and his wife, Olga, grew up.  Lubos’s father, Michal, at one time was the lay pastor there.  Once a month Michal organizes a Sunday afternoon of Christian music.  It is like a “gospel singing” that churches used to hold years ago.  Michal leads the singing and people call out requests.  Special music from groups or individuals is mixed in with congregational singing.  Our team sang a few songs.  Again we sang some familiar songs as we did in Partizanske.  I believe I could go to a Methodist church anywhere in the world and would hear familiar songs.  We are a part of a big Methodist family.

When we got back to Trnava we made plans for leaving on Monday.  We had our last Slovak meal (really good food!)  and our last zmrzlina (ice cream).  Milos, Evieta, Josef, Palo, and Mielka came to our hotel to say their good-byes and give each of us a gift.  These were the ones who traveled with us all week.  Their children, Kristina, Ono, and Andy, also came to say goodbye.  They worked with our youth team that went to Trnava in 2006. 

This is the last post.  We left Trnava at 3:00 a.m. Monday morning.  We are now about 4 hours away from DFW airport and are looking forward to seeing our families.

Jacque said to say she met a young man from Coppell in the bookstore at the Frankfurt airport.  Small world!  Also ask the team about the train story.  I didn’t have space to include it in the blog.

Thank you for your comments on the blog.  It was exciting each time we heard from you.  We knew you were with us in spirit. 

After breakfast this morning we were ready to head back to Trnava.  Lubos wanted us to sing one song together before we left.  We gathered in the dining room of the hotel and sang “He Has Made Me Glad”.  The kitchen workers paused to listen.  Maybe we sang to say thanks for the good hospitality we had received from the Catholic family who runs the hotel.  A short distance from Svit is a national park that has a beautiful mountain lake.  We stopped there to take a hike around the lake and breathe in its peacefulness. 

Lunch was in a restaurant featuring Slovak foods.  We wanted to sit in the outside dining area so we could listen to the live music and watch the wood carver at work, but it was too cool in the mountains this day.  The dolls in native dress that were featured around the dining room reminded me of Helen Trimarchi in her native costume.  She would have liked this restaurant.

Along the way to Trnava we stopped at a small building on the side of the road.  I couldn’t imagine what we were doing there, but Josef had requested we stop so he could buy bryndzn, sheep cheese.  We were in the part of Slovakia where it could be found.  As we came closer to Trnava we began to see the large fields of sunflowers.  And finally we were back in our Trnava home.

We were with the children of the gypsy community again today.  As we drove into the area where they live the children waved to us and began running toward the school.  At the school they gathered in a basement room, sitting in small chairs.  When all were there their Pastor Lubos gave a brief introduction then led them in singing for us as he played guitar.  They sang with gusto and obvious enjoyment.  It was clear they knew the songs well.  The children were facing the front of the room  and we were behind them so they had their backs to us.  I wanted to take pictures so I went in front of them and could see their faces as they continued singing.  Seeing the enthusiasm in their faces brought tears to my eyes.  I thought of Mark Patterson  who visited the gypsy church near Jenkovce as a member of our 2005 music team.  He could hardly talk about his experience without tears.

After the singing we divided the 50 children into 4 groups.  The American-Slovak team split up among the groups.  Kathy and I worked with Milos, Evieta, and Mielka with 10 preschool children.  We played singing games and learned their names.  Matus, age 3 and Dominik, age 5, are brothers.  Matus didn’t talk to us, but his brother completely took care of him making sure he had supplies and knew what to do.  After a while we took them outside to the playground.  All of our preschoolers with teachers gathered on a jungle gym and various people took pictures of the group.  Little Kristinka was next to me, holding on to me to keep from falling.  When the photos were done the other children got down from their perches on the jungle gym, but Kristinka continued to hold onto me.  I thought, “O.K. beautiful child.  You can go home with me.”  Evieta said later that she also picked out a child she wanted to take home.  After outside play we went inside where they enjoyed playing with paper, crayons, and scissors for a good half hour.  Finally, time was up and they were so pleased to learn they could take their booklets of  paper home with them.  All the team members reported later that their groups went fairly well and the children were very appreciative of our time with them.  The praise band played a few songs.  The children kept saying, “One more song, one more song.”  Finally they had to quit playing because it was about to rain.  Lubos told them we would come back next year, but they wanted it to be sooner.  As we drove away they followed us down the road, waving a last good-bye.  The children in the gypsy community of Gerlachov live in humble dwellings with dirt streets.  But their village is surrounded by nature’s beauty at its best with the mountains providing an awesome view.  I wonder if they appreciate it. 

Back at the hotel we had lunch and made our afternoon plans.  One group would go on a mountain hike with Palo.  Another group would go with Lubos to shop.  The High Tatras mountains are a tourist area and the villages in the region have many small shops.  A couple of us stayed at the hotel to catch up on sleep.  About 6 p.m. Donna and I were still the only ones at the hotel so we walked to a place where we could get a better view of the mountains.  Then we walked to a small grocery to get food for supper.

Finally, about 9 p.m. the shoppers and hikers returned, excited about what they had bought in the shops and the wonders of nature they had seen.  We finished the day with another team sharing from Slovaks and Americans.  There were many stories about the joy of being with the children, but the team also appreciated the opportunity to have down time together when friendships could grow.  We could feel the language and cultural barriers within the team begin to dissipate.                                                                                                                                                                          

We were back at the camp today, but this time to be with the children.  After breakfast we played a few games with them then it was time for the morning singing.  The counselors were so caring with the children.  They obviously enjoyed being with them.  They had all the fun songs to sing with the campers.  I even recognized one from my days as a camper.
Following the singing the special activity was a marshmallow roast.  Some counselors had built a campfire.  I had carefully packed marshmallows and graham crackers in a suitcase to bring from Texas and David bought chocolate in Frankfurt.  None of them, even counselors, had ever roasted marshmallows, but they had heard of it.  This was another request of the camp director — bring marshmallows.  We decided we would go beyond the request and bring the ingredients for s’mores.  This was a big hit with both children and counselors.  They kept roasting marshmallows until all the graham crackers were gone.  I think one little boy ate so many he couldn’t eat his lunch.  After this activity it was time for morning worship.  Our team stayed behind for a few minutes to clean up our trash and when we came into worship we got a big round of applause.
Lubos led the worship through music.  Timo, his son, was on drums and the Trnava group — Milos, Evieta, Mielka, and Josef — were up front singing with him.  I was impressed by Lubos’s ability to adjust the music and message to fit the audience.  Last night it was all about teenagers.  This morning he appealed to children.  To me it seems the Holy Spirit works through him in his music and his preaching.  All 22 children plus their counselors participated in music and the spoken word for an hour as he brought God’s message to them.  He told us later he wasn’t sure what he would say, but as he observed the children the words came to him.  Toward the end he asked if anyone would like someone to pray with them and 4 children raised their hands.  Counselors prayed with those children as the rest of us prayed.  We were all touched by being a part of this worship experience.
After worship it was lunch, then on the road again.  This time to Svit and Gerlachov for our next event.  On the way we were getting more into the High Tatras, Slovakia’s mountain range.  In Svit we checked into the hotel, had supper, and headed off to an evening at the gypsy mission in the village of Gerlachov.
This mission point is a new church start that reaches out to the gypsy community, the outsiders in Slovak society.  Pastor Lubos (not to be confused with our Lubos) has been there for about 6 months.  He is a lay pastor and his brother is a pastor in Bratislava.  There is a shortage of ordained Methodist ministers in Slovakia.  At supper our Lubos told me we would go there, but we didn’t know who would come or if anyone would.  When we arrived there were chairs set up outside.  I counted 41 children and some adults, and people were still coming.  The praise band set up and began playing.  The music continued for a couple of hours.  I think the crowd numbered about 100 at its highest.  We were doing this in a school playground.  Children would sit for a while then get on the jungle gym and the mothers or older siblings would follow them.  During one of the lively songs Patti and Palo were having fun moving to the music.  Donna stood up to join them and an older man from the community came over to dance with her to the music.  The crowd loved it.  It seemed like a breakthrough happened.  It was no longer us and them, but all of us together dancing and singing for the joy of the Lord like King David.  The little girls brought a bouquet of wild flowers to Donna.  Then they brought flowers to all the women on our team as the music continued.  The band began to play Christian music that is similar in style to Gypsy music.  One of the young mothers was talked into singing a song with the band.  All the children were out of their seats in a circle dancing and singing.  What joy!
When we got back to the hotel all 16 team members, Slovaks and Americans, met together.  We each shared the story of a time during the day when we saw God at work.  Lubos talked about how we were truly partners “in mission together” as we worked together at the camp and with the gypsy community.  After sharing we

This morning we left our happy hotel home in Trnava and drove with Lubos, the praise band and some other church members to Ruzina where the Methodist church camp is being held this week.  The camp is for elementary through high school age and campers come from all Methodist churches in Slovakia.  There are only about 800 Methodists in all of Slovakia so the number of campers would not be huge.  There are 22 children ages 6-10 and about 50 in the 11-17 age group. 
The campground is apparently owned by the government and is available for groups to rent.  The camp is a facility built by the Communists for summer youth camps.  There are several of these campgrounds in Slovakia.  Now that Communism is gone, church groups often rent the campgrounds because they are cheap.  We learned that the majority of the campers are non-believers who were invited to camp by a Methodist church.  How appropriate that Communists, promoters of atheism, built camps all over Slovakia to indoctrinate youth and now churches are using the campgrounds to teach youth about Christianity.  God makes a path in the wilderness, but sometimes we don’t see it.  Viera, a counselor who is a member of the Bratislava United Methodist Church, told us she could tell by listening to the children and youth talk to each other that quite a few are not Christians.  It made me wonder.  Would someone listening to me be able to tell that I am a Christian?
As soon as we arrived at camp it was time for us to present our program.  Just before we left Texas we received a request from the camp director to do a 45-minute program on our Independence Day.  He knew we would be coming there soon after July 4^th.  So we gathered up some of the historical facts and a copy of the Declaration of Independence to bring with us.  For the presentation we used drama and the spoken word to explain the events leading to the Declaration of Independence.  We told who wrote it, who signed it, and the risk they took in being a part of this historical event.  We also gave an idea of what it said.  Then we described how we celebrate Independence Day now — picnics, parades, fireworks.  Those of us who presented the history part all commented to each other about how impressed we were with what our forefathers did.  None of us had studied that part of our history for several years.  For the last part of our program we sang “America the Beautiful”, “My Country ‘Tis of Thee”, and “The Star Spangled Banner”.  I was choked up and had tears while singing.  I so rarely stop to think about our history and the freedom we have to be thankful for.  After we finished our part they did some fireworks in honor of our Independence Day.  We appreciated the gesture of friendship. 
I wondered what the Slovak youth thought of our history because it is very different from theirs.  Through most of their history they have been under the control of invaders.  The Hungarian Empire ruled them for hundreds of years.  They freed themselves in 1918, but by about 1946 were controlled by the Soviets.  Soviet rule ended in 1989.  One young man who was a counselor explained their history to us.  He thought Czech and Slovak Republics should not have split because they would be stronger together.  This split occurred in 1993 and is still debated by some people. 
After supper the Trnava praise band played for quite a while.  We sang a couple of songs with them.  Lubos had told us their music would be directed toward teenagers.  They were really rocking for most of the evening.  A couple of Trnava people who came with us gave testimonies.
Our camp experience was good.  Some of the teenagers made a special effort to speak to us.  I think they wanted to practice their English, but it gave us a chance to get to know them.

Today was an almost free day when we could actually sleep in.  I think most of the team did sleep later than usual.  Everyone took the opportunity to shop at least a little.  One group went to Modra where beautiful pottery is made.

In the evening we all gathered at the church for a sharing time.  The church usually has Bible study on Tuesday evening, but this week we were the program.  Lubos wanted to hear about our church so we divided up the ministries and took turns speaking.  As we went through the different ministries I began to think it might be overwhelming for a small church like Trnava.  With 1600 members we should have a lot happening.  But they don’t need to match it.

After hearing all about our church it was our turn to ask them questions.  They currently have about 75 members and about 15 children in their church.  When I asked about outreach they thought of evangelism.  They sometimes do public evangelism on a street or in the park. They sing and pass out information.  Recently they had a garden party (picnic) at the church and invited unchurched friends.  One woman goes door-to-door passing out fliers about the church.  In August they will do a tent or bus ministry.  This involves having a bus or tent in a public place.  There is singing, preaching, praying and activities for children and youth.  People are invited to become Christians.

Following the church meeting we all went to the home of Milos.  He lives just a few houses down from the church.  He and his family had prepared a feast for all of us in their beautiful backyard.  After we had eaten Lubos got out his guitar and we all sang.  We have many songs in common so we were able to sing together, but each in our own language.  What a happy time it was.  After 7 years of visiting back and forth we recognize familiar faces when we come.  I think we do feel like a church family despite the language and cultural barriers.  We were preparing to leave when suddenly there was rain.  Josef, Milos, and Lubos drove us back to the hotel.

Tomorrow we begin our trip to Ruzina and the High Tatras, Slovakia’s highest mountains.

Today we had an opportunity to be with God’s own children, but I’m not sure our eyes and hearts opened wide enough to recognize them.
We were in Piestany today working with our friend, Kornelia, the Methodist pastor there.  I first met Kornelia in 2004.  She was sent to Piestany to start a Methodist church and the church is just now getting some members.  In the meantime she has had a ministry to the homeless providing a clothes closet and food pantry in her own home.  Kornelia and her family are originally from a Slovak community in Serbia.  She grew up in Serbia, but spoke Slovak.  During these years of getting the church started the family has been supported by her husband, Michal, when he could get work.  She has taught English classes to supplement the family income. 
Kornelia and her daughter, Lidia, met us at the train station and took us to the place we would be working.  On Sunday Jacque and I read the e-mail from Kornelia explaining what our team would be doing, but today when we arrived it immediately became obvious we had misunderstood what we were to do.  We thought we would do a few children’s activities, speak English with some adults who needed practice, go to lunch, spend the afternoon shopping, and finish the day with an evening meal at a restaurant with the church members.  To state it bluntly — we were wrong!
Since school is out Kornelia had made arrangements to meet at a secondary school.  We had available a gym, locker room with bathrooms, and some outside benches.  Kornelia brought 4 soccer balls, one toddler-sized riding toy, and an inflatable toy in which about 3 children at a time could bounce and play.  Within the next hour those we were to serve arrived:  about 7 young mothers with about 7 pre-school children and 3 elementary-age children, and about 10 children ranging from 8-16 years old who are living in a women’s shelter with their moms.
To say we were unprepared is a huge understatement.  We thought longingly of all the supplies we had left in Trnava.  Crafts, teaching materials, ideas for outdoor games.  We wished for interpreters.  Kornelia and Lidia could not be everywhere.  We wanted well-behaved, compliant children who would help us by trying to understand our hand signals and futile attempts to communicate without language.  We got toddlers and children hardened by life in abusive families.  Could it be any worse?
We divided our charges into 3 groups:  adults, pre-school children, all other children.  Team member assignments were made.  I worked with the pre-school children.  Most of them wanted to be with their “mamas”.  We were in the gym and the mothers were right outside on the benches.  The children went back and forth all morning.  What do you do with young children for that long with almost no equipment and no way to talk to them?  We played Ring-Around-the Rosy, London Bridge, and Hokey-Pokey.  We rolled balls.  When some of the children began a screaming contest inside the gym a mother (bless her) pulled paper, crayons, scissors, and several scarves out of her bag.  Then we did art work and dress up.  During the morning my thought was, “We can manage until 11:30 then we go to lunch and shop.”  At about noon we were told “lunch is on its way”.  Lunch finally arrived at 1:30.  While waiting for lunch we learned we would be continuing until 4:30 p.m.  We reassigned team members and with a better understanding of our situation began to make plans, still without supplies, of course.  Pre-school children would go to the playground, school-age children and youth would have organized games in the gym, adults would study holidays with a focus on Christmas and Easter.  All the young women were non-believers.  They were there for the English lessons.  Did our plan work?  Somewhat. 
Four of the pre-school children wouldn’t leave their mothers to go to the playground so I played with them outside within sight of their moms.  The little ones and I established enough of a relationship that they weren’t afraid to be with me.  Equipment was not a big issue since outside we had flowers, rocks, bugs and other entertainment. 
Mario, the rowdiest boy in the school-age group, went to the playground with the 3 little ones in hopes that this would make the school-age group more manageable.  Team members working with this group still had trouble with cooperation.  As one team member said, “I’m not used to children saying ‘no’ to me.”  I think the ‘no’ was very loud and very definite.  A Slovak, non-English speaking, woman who was there to help with the meal came to the team’s rescue and stayed with them for the rest of the afternoon.
I don’t know what the young women learned.  Hearing of Jesus’s birth, death, and resurrection is heavy stuff if you’re trying to understand it.  Does it lead you toward becoming a believer?  I don’t know.  Had they heard the stories before and walked away from belief?  Possibly.
Finally the teaching was over.  The team was exhausted.  Most everyone wanted to go back to Trnava, but still there was supper with the church members.  Misunderstanding the situation again, we didn’t go to a restaurant, but to Kornelia’s house.  Michal had prepared a very delicious, hearty soup.  No complaints about that!  The church group was a mother and child who had been with us all day.  The mother-in-law of our friend, Regina, came to eat with us.  I was disappointed my Slovak wasn’t good enough to communicate because Regina is my friend.
We could leave on either the 7 p.m. or 9 p.m. train and the team was anxious to go.  But we had heard that a person from Texas wanted to visit with us.  Jacque and I stayed and had the opportunity to visit with a delightful woman who is originally from Slovakia, married a Swedish man whose job takes them all over the world, and has lived near Houston for 2 years.  They are now in the process of moving back to Sweden.  Under the influence of Communism in Slovakia she was an atheist, but her Swedish husband helped her become a believer and they are active members of Assembly of God.  After a brief visit Jacque and I caught the 9 p.m. train and made it back home.
Today was a struggle.  Our picture of Slovak children is not so rosy now.  We realize we may have been with a select group last week at the Trnava church.  Today we were with God’s other children:  the non-believers, the children who don’t behave well, the ones who have been hurt by life in their families and in their place in society.  We met Mario, a defiant Gypsy boy who plays rough.  We met 2 older teen-aged boys who left halfway through the day.  We met young mothers who haven’t yet seen the need for God in their lives.  I am convinced God loves all God’s children.  But do we?  Is the dark-skinned Gypsy child who holds us at arm’s length and behaves poorly as precious to us as the child with curly blonde hair who is a real sweetheart?  Do we treasure the non-believer as much as the believer?  Certainly God does.  How can we do less?

The usual Sunday worship was entirely devoted to the children and youth presentation today at Trnava United Methodist Church. There was a lot of rushing around when we first arrived, but worship began approximately on time with all youth and teachers in their places. We began with praise music and prayer.

I was pleased to see in the congregation several familiar faces of people who had not dropped by during the week. Irakli and his sister were there. I remember when we first met him in 2004. He came every day to work with us on the building project. Toward the end of the week his mother sent a delicious cheese dish for the team. Now he is a third-year law student at the university.

It was a full house with extra chairs in the foyer. When the first song began I started crying. I can’t explain why, but I do this every time I come. There is such a spirit of joy in their worship services and I am grateful to be a part of that. The youth and children’s part of the worship included reading of scripture, dramatization of the Good Samaritan story, and singing songs in English. Children and youth told what they had learned and teachers praised the children. It reminded me of Christmas programs at the elementary school. Parents were snapping pictures constantly. When it was over the youth seemed to feel a sense of accomplishment and parents had a feeling of pride.

After worship we had an outdoor reception with little sandwiches and drinks. We met parents and had more visiting time with old friends. I think the English camp was successful and we might be asked to do it again next year.

With a free afternoon and evening before us, most of us decided to take the train to Bratislava, the capital city. We ate at a restaurant overlooking the Danube River and browsed in the little shops in the historic district. We were without a Slovak-speaking tour guide so we didn’t see a lot in the hours we were there, but it was a pleasant afternoon.

Tomorrow we begin phase two of our team work as we go to Piestany to help in a Methodist ministry to the homeless.

Kathy misses her iPhone.  I miss her iPhone also because if she had it she could find out what kind of tree has those strange, green, spiked balls and she could tell me so that I would know, too.  But she doesn’t have her iPhone so we just make guesses about that tree.

Sometimes, however, it’s time to put away the iPhone and all those other modern devices that distract us from seeing God’s beautiful, natural world.  Sometimes it’s good to just soak up the smells, sounds, and sights of nature even if we can’t give the official name of all the trees, flowers, and birds.  That’s what we did today.

We met our students at the train station, a short walk from our hotel.  I was never sure if we had 14 or 15 students because they kept moving around.  We also had extra adults to help us keep up with everyone and to enjoy the day with us.  After a 30-40 minute train ride (on a rather full train so we were spread through 3 cars) we arrived at Smolenice.  It appeared to be a small town with some quaint houses like you would expect to see in the Swiss Alps.  From the train station we set out on a 45 minute walk uphill to a national park.

In the area of the park were a church and a castle.  The church might be a popular place for weddings.  There were two weddings there today.  The castle is owned by the Palffy family who has about 4 castles in Eastern Europe.  We went to a picnic area surrounded by tall trees with a large meadow nearby.  There was a pavilion we used for cooking and serving the food.

Most of us headed out for a hike while some stayed behind to prepare the meal.  We continued going uphill, and as some of the adults huffed and puffed our way up the trail we were all treated to a beautiful wooded area, a small lake, and finally another meadow.  Some youth and adults played soccer in the meadow, but most rested.  After a while some were ready to go back for the meal.  A group of about 8 youth and adults went up another trail to the site of ruins from the 7^th century B.C.  The youth, all boys, seemed more impressed by the ruggedness of the trail than the age of the ruins.  One wall of the ancient settlement was quite large and in surprisingly good condition.  Palo told us to stop for a moment and imagine a settlement there with real people living in it.  I realized I had no knowledge of who lived in what is now Europe almost 3000 years ago.  I know something about Palestine and North America, but not Europe.  I suppose if I’d had Kathy’s iPhone I could have Googled “Molpir”, but instead I just used my imagination to think of what and who was there.

The rest of the afternoon was spent in fairly typical park activities.  We ate delicious Slovak sausage and garden fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, and watermelon.  Some played soccer while others just sat and visited.  We did a little teaching with Barbara helping them learn “tree, flower, bark, rock,” and etc.  We sang songs in English while Lubos played guitar.  There was general agreement that God had blessed us with beautiful, natural surroundings.  We were also blessed by nurturing our relationships with each other during this day at the park.  As we waited for the train to take us back to Trnava, Josef, in his best English and with help from Milena, thanked us for all we are doing for him and the other youth.  No iPhone was needed to get that message across.

Today was our final day of formal teaching.  Tomorrow we go with our students to Smolenice to see a castle, ancient ruins, and beautiful scenery.  The teaching will be less structured. 

We had 15 students today.  Josef, a part of the beginner class, brought a friend.  When he came in the door with her I could tell he was so pleased to have her there.  It seemed he wanted to share this special experience with her.  It reminded me of Andrew going to find Peter and bringing him to meet Jesus.  It was the most basic form of witness and evangelism.  “Come with me and see.”  Deni, a teenage girl, also joined us today.  She came yesterday and just wandered around.  I wasn’t sure why she was there.  Today she came back to get in a group and stay all day.

Pastor Lubos’s wife and daughters came by today.  I was delighted to see Olga, who is such a special person and Ester, who is all grown up now.  But it was a special joy to see Ema, who is 22 months old and a beautiful child.  Lubos said Ema is the boss of the family.

We were also blessed with a visit from Renata, who visited our church and was a guest in our home in 2007.  She brought her daughter, Miska.  Miska’s English is better than Renata’s so Renata had Miska ask David and me why we didn’t bring Miguel.  I so enjoy coming here and seeing our Trnava friends.

In mid-afternoon Barbara came to me and said, “I have to tell you what just happened.  It made me cry.”  Her beginner group was putting together sentences in English.  Matthew, the oldest and sometimes loudest of the group, had a sentence he wanted the group to write and went to Lubos to get some help.  When Matthew wrote the sentence on the tablet for the group it said, “Thank you to the USA team for teaching us English.”  When Barbara told me I cried, too. 

At the end of the day Lubos and Palo led us in some lively singing.  The youth sang lustily as John Wesley said we should.  Kathy leaned toward me and said, “I wish this wasn’t the last day.”  We were all caught up in the spirit of the moment as we rejoiced in sharing Christ’s love with each other.