A Garden Party
Last year our team often commented on how well-behaved and respectful our students were. This year we were having issues with some children not being where they were supposed to be. Pastor Stefan talked to all the children about it yesterday. The team discussed what we could do to address the issues and make things run more smoothly. This morning during sing time Pastor Stefan reminded the children of the expected behavior and told what changes would be made. We were amazed at how quickly the behavior was corrected. I think spending time with the children outside of class helped. Also we assisted Abigail and Paige with the games by participating or cheering. Only one boy, Martin, had to be reminded. Martin simply had trouble sitting in one spot, but he obviously tried harder. This afternoon during snack time he passed a tray of sliced pound cake around to the team members. We learned later that he bought the cake at a nearby grocery store. Then he sliced it and put it on a tray like the cooks did at snack time. One could say he was trying to butter us up, but I prefer to think he appreciated how we handled his inability to sit still. We demonstrated that we cared about him even though he had difficulty with self-control.
Milos and Evieta invited the team and church members to their house for food and fellowship. They have a nice home with a beautiful garden of flowers, fountains, benches — a perfect place for a garden party. Josef, a neighbor of Milos and a church member, cooked on the grill — pork, chicken, sausage — it seemed he grilled all night. People brought side dishes and desserts. Evieta’s synthesizer was brought outside and Roger played music. One of the teenage boys, who is also named Josef and is helping with English camp, organized some of the other young people to do a skit at the garden party. They presented it to all of us. Later the children and youth all sat in a circle and played some of the indoor games we have learned at English camp. Then they sang some favorite songs. About half of our English camp participants were at the party. Maybe it is because of being a small church with about eighty members, but I am surprised and delighted by the interaction among adults, teenagers, and children. They do things together and take care of each other. For example, young Josef is living with Lubos’s family right now. His father has been sent to prison, his mother deserted the family, and the grandparents are taking care of the children. But it is not a good situation with the grandparents so he now lives with Pastor Lubos. How fortunate he is to have their help.
The garden party was a great time to spend a relaxed evening with our Trnava friends. Just before the party was over Kika brought me a gift bag with a teddy bear and a few other things. Regina explained that they had put it together for me to take to Miguel. Have I mentioned that Abigail has decided she wants to live here? The spirit of community that we feel in the Trnava congregation is very compelling. How could anyone not want to be a part of that? We can learn much from them about what it means to be a church family.