Most people who have travelled to Košice, know, love and appreciate of the fountain in the middle of hlavna (main street). Others, who have never had the fortune of seeing it in person, have heard about the wonder of this fountain. The problem is, it’s tough to describe. Once, I described it to Lauren with the song livin la vida loca, so I added it to this video, just so you will see how true it is.
People come and sit by the fountain little kids dance to the music, and life just stops when you’re there. I hope you enjoy the lights and the water and the combination of it all.
I wanted to take a chance to say happy birthday to my great friend Rebecca Buchanan. I met her on summer project in Daytona in 2005 as staff, when me, her, Sal, and Meredith roomed together. It was a great summer of sand, discipleship, Moes, and conversation. As time went on, I continued to keep in touch with her, and visited her a few times in Charleston. Rebecca is currently on staff with Crusade in the low country of South Carolina, sharing the gospel with students and doing the essential work of meeting with people. She is a great encouragement to me in my walk with the Lord and in my life stage. I enjoy her sense of humor, her laidbackness, and her appreciation for hipster, vintage, bluegrass, indie and thrift. I’m thankful for our conversations since I’ve been over in Slovakia, even if it is just to give advice on how to do taxes as Crusade staff (I still don’t think any of us know how with accuracy.) Reb is my roommate at most conferences, until this year when I straight up abandoned her to go on STINT, sorry Reb. She says she’ll take me back. Reb calls me her “most resourceful friend” and I’m thankful to be of help whenever, wherever. She keeps me non-mainstream, and pushes the way I think. I’m thankful for you Rebecca Buchanan and I’m glad our friendship has withstood the test of time and staff life.
John Mayer, sings these lyrics in his song titled, “Something’s Missing”
“Something’s missing, and I don’t know how to fix it, Something’s missing, and I don’t know what it is, no I don’t know what it is, at all” You can see a pictorial representation, in this video (below).
These lyrics, and this song, have been the theme of my Spring semester here in Slovakia. I’ve seen girls say this, time and time again. One girl, in particular, Miška, who became a believer almost a year ago, is growing in her faith. Several times she told me she had the opportunity to share with classmates that something was missing in her life, and now she knows what it was; Jesus.
Another girl that I have the privilege of working with, Zuzka, shared with me recently that she feels like she now has purpose in life and that she knows God wants to use her to tell others about the hope of eternity. (Me with Miska and Zuzka pictured below)
We’ve continued to use a tool called Soularium on campus, where we engage with students in conversation over a set of 50 pictures and a survey with questions like these, “which 3 images would you use to describe your life” and “which picture would you use to describe your spiritual journey so far.” Students will say things like “I know there is a light, but I don’t know how to get to it,” (Kristina) “I think God is standing on the other side of the door but I don’t know how to open it.” (Julia) When students say things like these, I feel completely privileged to engage in conversations with them about spiritual things and the joy of knowing Christ.
In addition to working with students like Miška and Zuzka and doing Soularium on campus, I also had the chance to be trained in a new strategy, called Story of the Soul at the Eastern European Headquarters in Budapest. Story of the Soul “is a conversational journey in a coffee house-like setting. The Gospel is shared after considering stories the soul of man has been telling for eons through: film, music, classic literature, pop culture, poetry, artwork, and history.” Check it out on you tube (below).
and a few pictures from my time in Story of the Soul training…
I also have the privilege of organizing a summer project to Serbia! Where we will be working in a Slovak village with high school and college students. There are still many details that need to be worked out and students that need to sign up! Please pray for Kristina, Baska, Jozo, Sebastian, and Ivan to come with us to Serbia! We really believe that Serbia will be a major catalyst for our students to see God use them! Pray with us for BIG things. You are a blessing to me!
Please look around on my blog, in addition to this update there are also posts about my life overseas, a new video series I’m starting called, “what I’m going to miss about Slovakia, ” my top 5 travel items, as well as an update on a recent women’s weekend (please withhold judgement and keep in mind this is not the south!) Please leave a comment! I love to know who reads my blog and what you think.
Thanks for your support and for praying for the gospel to advance on the hard soil of Eastern Europe!
I just returned yesterday from women’s weekend. We were joking all weekend because we felt like it was really men’s weekend due to all of the hiking/walking we did to get to the place where we were staying, oh and did I mention, we took shots, okay, well just one shot, but we all did it together — all 14 of us. Apparently it is tradition when you are invited to a Slovak’s village - they give you shots and hot wine. But, I have never taken a shot before - so this was a new experience for me. Not only that but we made our own fire, grilled spikacky and klobasa (sausages and hotdog type things), had to start a fire in the inside oven to make the radiators heat up, chopped our own fire wood, and so I threw in some grunting and scratching just so it would be an authentic men’s weekend. We got a ride to the bus stop (praise) good thing since it was a 2 hour walk away, and it was raining. Once at the bus stop we waited for an hour before the bus came…in the rain. A true cultural experience. Here is a picture from the adventures.
I read this on a daily basis to know which tram will be at what stop and when, so I can take it to my desired destination. I kind of forget that this looks like a complete puzzle to most, but to me it’s my daily life, and it’s survival. So this is quite literally how I get where I’m going.
