Hungary, Bosnia, and Cevapi :)

Last weekend our leader had to go pick up a car and a pastor from the airport in Budapest, so he asked if we wanted to go with him. Of course our answer was YES, although after I was informed we were staying in a hostel, I wasn’t so sure. After being talked into it, I decided that it couldn’t be so bad. We took a 6 hour train ride (with no A/C or very much ventilation) to Budapest and arrived about 6pm. So we had very little time to see Budapest, but we decided we were going to see as much as we could in this one night. We went to a local bistro and had some Hungarian dishes, they were delicious, and then our self-guided tour began. We walked all over town, took the metro, trams, buses, and even got a little lost in a dark alley, but it was amazing. It was such a beautiful city and I wish we got to spend more time there. Our night came to an end a little after midnight, where we then stayed in a hostel, which was definitely not as bad as I had imagined. Then the next morning we had to head to the airport to pick up the pastor of one of the churches here in Croatia.

On Sunday we attended our first church service. It was all in Croatian, so we could not understand much of anything. So we were able to figure out the passage and just read it. There are two college guys here from America and they were able to give their testimonies in English, and someone translated for the congregation. This week we finished all the remodeling of the church by painting all the last odds and ends. It was a blessing to be able to help in the process, but it was definitely a lot of hard work.

House Church Remodel

We also finished all the remodeling on the church, so we got to do a little relaxing this week also. 

We got to do another Kids Club in the Roma village this week, which was much smaller and a lot easier to connect with all the kids. There were about 10 kids there and they got to hear the story of Noah and the ark, where we were able to tell that them God always keeps his promises. It actually brought tears to my eyes, thinking of how one day all these kids with very little hope could come to know Jesus through this ministry. I got to snag a little baby and hold her the whole time and I finally got her to laugh and smile at me. Afterwards we had ice cream for them, which they really enjoyed even though it was melted.

Other than that this week was filled with language classes, most every day. We have learned numbers, greetings, how to introduce ourselves, and some other important questions.  Our teacher is very nice and patient with our Southern accents and our terrible pronunciation. Through our language class, we were able to make a connection with a lady that runs a bakery down the street. She does not speak much English at all, so we were able to use the little that we know in Croatian to have a short conversation with her. We now try to go there frequently to continue talking with her and getting to know her. Our language classes have also helped with the Kids Club, because we can now interact with them a little better.

Bosnia! 

"Cevapi"

We did get to make a trip across the border to Bosnia. Bosnia is actually right across the river from the town that we are staying in. So we actually just parked at the border and walked over. There is a meal in Bosnia that is very popular called "cevapi." We tried it in Croatia and we weren't very pleased, but it was insisted that we try it again in Bosnia because that is where it originated. We did, and it was actually a lot better there.  

We also got to go around to different neighborhoods and apartment complexes to pass out invitations to our kids club (aka VBS) and the baseball camp. Our 3rd week has already begun, but I will update about that later. Please pray for the kids both camps and for the church group here leading them! Our prayer is that seeds are planted and for children to get a more positive view of the church, unlike the older generation here. 

Keep the prayers coming, it is still very difficult with the language barrier and the cold hearts toward the church. Thanks for all your prayers ahead of time!

Hello Croatia!

       Off to West Palm Beach for Orientation

         Hello to all of our supporters and prayer warriors! Thank you so much for all of your prayers so far, they have definitely been felt. After our 13 hour layover in Germany we were ready to turn around and come back home. We finally made it to Croatia and have been nonstop ever since.

        

      We got in late Friday night and our leader had our apartment ready for us. This is our apartment building for the summer. As you can tell their apartment buildings are pretty plain from their time as a communist country, but they are all very nice inside with a lot of room.

     

      Saturday we met with our team here to discuss plans and details for our trip. We also got a small tour of the town we are in so that we are able to get around and go to the market. Sunday we were able to go to a Croatian baseball game, because our leader is an umpire for the league. After we got back from the game we went to a village just outside of our town where the Roma people live. Roma are what we would call gypsies. They are very poor and their houses are in pretty bad condition. They get most of their things by going through the garbage and or asking for money. Very dark community in desperate need for hope. We got to be a part of a kids club that they do on a weekly basis. The kids seem to love the club, but mainly the attention and love they get from the leaders. Their goal and ours while we get to participate is to love on these kids and be able to share Bible stories with them so that one day they may receive Jesus. Then also to be able to reach the parents through this. A long process ahead, but God is good and anything is possible. We also got to go to the center court in town to watch Croatia play in the first rounds of the Euro Cup. This was lots of fun and definitely an experience to see all the dedicated fans, as you can see in the picture we dressed for the occasion also.

        From Monday until Wednesday we have been working at the church that they have started. They have just bought a new house so that they do not have to rent out a building. They are doing a lot of construction and so we have been transporting bricks, scraping bricks, working on the house, and saving as many bricks as we can for future use. I've had the opportunity to help in the kitchen and learn how to make some Croatian dishes, while most of the men do all of the hard work.

       This week has been fun so far, we will hopefully start language classes in the next couple of days. We are excited and ready for these classes because the communication barrier has probably been one of the hardest things. Please continue to pray for us as we get to minister to the Roma children and for strength as we work at the church. Also for us to form relationships with the locals around us so that we may be able to share the gospel and invite people to church. We are only here for a short time, but would really like to use all of our opportunities to glorify God.

       We got to celebrate our 2nd anniversary at a local restaurant, which was beautiful and delicious. They also had an English menu which was a plus :)
       Disasters thus far, is that I can't use my hair dryer or straightener because I didn't realize I needed a converter instead of an adapter. But before I realized all of this I tried to use my adapter and blew the fuse. So now we have no adapter to the European sockets. Secondly, I almost broke our washer, and we wouldn't have been able to wash clothes, but luckily I stopped it before that occurred. Lastly, our landlord forgot to inform us that we are supposed to drain the water in our shower very slowly, or else it will leak into our neighbors below us! So we had a Croatian man come out of his apartment and try to explain the problem to us with little ability to speak English.