God is Good!

Greetings in Jesus' name!

It is hard to believe that I have been here for a week and a half. It seems like I have been here for a long time because I feel right at home. Let me give you the rundown on what has been going on!

First of all, God has been so good in regards to how he has been using the teachings to minister to my life. One of the first teachings was on Catholics and Protestants. It was an engaging discussion as I realized I had a lot of misconceptions about the Catholic faith. From that lecture I learned that Catholics and Protestants have a lot in common. Regardless of some of the differences in how we carry out the church service and view church, we still come together on the central meaning of why we gather together and that is to worship God, the Creator, Redeemer, and Restorer. It has become one my heart's desire to see the divide between the Protestant and Catholic faith weaken in the name of Jesus. We also had lectures on Hearing God's voice and Intimacy with God. Both were very interesting discussions and the Lord has revealed himself in a powerful way. God is speaking and pouring over his deep love for me as well as his strong desire for me to go deeper with him. I am excited about the intimacy that God and I are fomring together. it is my prayer that I will know the heartbeat of God.

Everyday is scheduled almost to the max. Let me give you an idea of what a typical day is like. Wake up around 7:15. Have breakfast at 7:30. Quiet time from 8-9 a.m. Praise and worship/ Lecture 9-10:30. Coffee/Tea break 10:30-11...mmmm tea! Lecture 11-12:30. Lunch 1:00-2:00- We eat the traditonal slovak lunch which is soup and then the main course. Lunch is the main meal so we always have some form of potatoes as well as salad and some form of meat- usually its chicken or pork. Small group 2-3pm.. Work duties 3:30-5. Right now my work duty is to wash, dry and put away the lunch dishes. This is a lot of dishes! Thankfully, there is usually someone who graciously helps me which i appreciate greatly and I usually have wonderful in-depth talks with whoever helps me. It sure makes the job a lot more fun! Supper 6-7. At night the activities vary from intercession, lecture, local outreach and time to do assignments. Its quite the day, but its so worth it! Usually in my free time, I walk wiht some friends the 2 minutes to the historic downtown square. It is absolutely beautiful. The architecture is victorian style. I feel like I am walking the streets in a dream. Its wonderful! There are some wonderful shops in the downtown as well as some tasty ice cream shops that I am enjoying from time to time!

On the weekends we are free do whatever. This past weekend Ad, the base leader, planned an all day trip to an ice cave, hiking in slovak paradise and going to the oldest castle ruins in Europe. Unfortunately the ice cave was closed. However that gave us more time to hike in Slovak paradise which was gorgeous. Its in eastern Slovakia which is a 2 hour drive. We hiked for a good 3 hours. The surroundings were beatiful. There were waterfalls everywhere and we had to climb up steel ladders to get around them. Ahhhh it was absolutely breathtaking! The castle ruins were incredible. I couldn't believe how massive it was. I thoroughly enjoyed adventuring through the castle with the group. It has always been a dream of mine to go to a caslte and I am so happy it came true!

The community life has been incredible. We have so much fun together! Some highlights are having every meal together and having stimulating discussions about our cultures, the lectures, God, our families and friends, etc. At one meal time, I learned how to eat the proper European way with a fork in the left hand and knife in the right hand. I must say I am a bit awkard at this, but I am learning! Hopefully by the time I come home I will have the best table manners in Michigan! Another meal time I provided some excitement when I began to choke on some rice that went down the wrong tube. Thankfully, Andres, my friend from Sweden, performed the Heimlech manuever and the rice came flying out! It was defintiely a scary experience but I praise God for saving my life through the help of Andres!

At night time if we don't have anything planned, we hang out as a group and do fun things like have a dance party slovak style! We learned a slovak dance and then the Americans taught the electric slide. It was night full of laughs, sweat and great memories! Another night the Lord led us into a time of praying for each other, anointing the building we live in and its rooms- we did this to signify that this place belongs to God and that wherever we are we want to recognize we are in the presence of God and desire to grow deeper with him. We also had a praise and worship time. It was a powerful night! It was incredible to intercede as a team for each other and for the work that God wants to do in Banska Bystrica. What a blessing to be a part of the family of God!

This week the theme is Worship. Jon Dejong is our guest speaker. He is widely known for his talent in the acoustic guitar and song writing as well as for his desire for people to worship God. His definition of worship is the expression of a submissive relationship with God- Father, Son and Spirit. His teachings have been thought-provoking and inspiring.

Thank-you for all the prayers that you have lifted up to the Lord on my behalf. I have felt and seen them answered in a mighty way. Please ferevently keep me in your prayers.
Pray:
-for God to continue to give me a teachable spirit that is open to everything that is taught and that I will apply it to my life
- for God to continue to bless me with deep friendships.
- for my whole being to be aware of Gods presence and His voice and to listen when He speaks- that I will know the heartbeat of God.

Praise God:
-for the frienships that I am forming.
-for this amazing opportunity. I feel so blessed.
-for being a God who designed us to be dependent upon him. A God who craves intimacy with his sons and daughters. A God who is mighty and so worthy of praise!