Merry Christmas

From the team at Team Slovakia-East to all of you we wish you a very Merry Christmas, and a New Year filled with God’s great blessings.

Saturday, Sunday, and Monday

Just to catch up quickly with you all. We went on a excursion on Saturday to northeastern Slovakia close to the Poland and Ukrainian borders. We visited Dukla, the site of a major Czechoslovakia and Russia joint defense against German forces during World War II. There were many tributes to the help the Russian gave at that time. Little did they know that some years later the Russians would invade and that the nation by force.

We visited a replica of a Slovak village from the turn of the century that was very interesting. The cooperative efforts of the village people helped to make the village self sustainable. The village was located on the side if a hill that provide ample rain and water flow for drinking and also for water and wind powered machinery. On Saturday we also visited a museum dedicated to the memory of Andy Warhol whose family was from eastern Slovakia.

On Sunday we attend service at the Kosice Baptist Church. Thanks to Tomas Spissak for bringing us and our baggage to Kosice. It was Thanksgiving Sunday here when Slovaks that God for His mercy and grace. After morning worship there was a pot luck dinner before we met again in the sanctuary for more praise and songs together. Because there was so much food a time of eating followed the second worship service.

After the church we were the guest of our friend Milos and Hiroko and their children Meneri and Acari. We enjoyed the fellowship and Elaine and I were really happy to play games with the children. We had a great time of sharing and testimony together. Thank God that His family has no borders and is not limited by denominational differences.

After early breakfast (4:45 AM) Milos took Elaine and I to the Kosice train station to catch the 6:15 train to Budapest. Elaine and I are at Eden House for the evening. We were able to spend a little time in downtown Budapest but the rain really hampered any good sightseeing. The taxi picks us up at 4:00 AM (in nine hours) for a ride to the airport. Depart at 6:30 and arrive at 1:00 PM at O’hare on Tuesday.

Thursday and Friday – October 20th and 21st

Group of Students

Thursday was a good day at Sibirska school and we continued to work trying to get the students to participate to speak English.  After finishing the day at school we relaxed for the afternoon and evening to prepare for the last day at the school.

 

Our helpers at Sibirska

In the evening Jim went to a study group with some of the students we have met here.  It was an interdenominational group of believers from both catholic and protestant backgrounds.  The group meets weekly and discusses topics that are important for the adult believers here.  They discuss scripture and share testimony on victories and difficulties in their lives.  It was a good evening of  sharing and testimony that I enjoyed. (Plus draft Kofola)

AMEN!! Pirohy-Yeah

Friday, the last day at Sibirska school, was sad and joyous.  We celebrated the new and renewed friendships here.  We have been taken to and from classrooms by some students and we had a short thank you time with them.  After the day was completed we met with the director, assistant director and some of the English teachers for a proper goodbye time.  there were gifts exchanged and thank you offered to each other.

Good Friends Martina/Tomas

The last night in the DEPO was very active and full of young people. The highlight of the evening was pirohy made by Mary and Adja that they knew was a favorite of mine.  We played games and visited with each other.  After the DEPO time a small group of us went to McDonalds, the only one in Presov, just to relax and visit.  We said goodbye to our close friend, Kristian, then went home about 10PM.  We have a big day of sightseeing tomorrow for our last Saturday in Slovakia.

Tuesday and Wednesday – Oct. 18th and 19th

Sasa, Elaine, Marcella, and Simona

We have just completed our third day at Sibirska school.  Our time here is Slovakia is growing very short and it is hard to believe that we have been here for four weeks tomorrow.  The people that have taking care of us have done a stupendous and I want to thank them for their help and hospitality.  Each year when we come back we widen our circle of friends and as each of their circles of contact are added it seems that the possibilities here are endless.

Foosball

Classes here at Sibirska have gone very well as a group.  A few minor difficulties here and there are to be expected.  Tom Holloway has been a tremendous help to Elaine and I this week.  Unlike the last three weeks these students are much younger and their knowledge of English is not as broad.  It makes for some very challenging situations during instruction.

Alexander and Michal

At the Bible study Tuesday evening Tom gave his testimony after giving us a test of important names and dates in history and the accomplishments of these people.  At the end of the study Tom, Elaine and I received gifts from our partners here in Presov.  I will tell you that I received the greatest gift but you must wait until Bethel’s worship service on October 30th when Elaine and I hope to share about our time here in Presov.

Blanka and Adja

Tonight we were at the DEPO to play games with the kids.  With the final two day ahead of us we are beginning to feel the effects of withdrawal from our teaching and this wonderful country.  This weekend we will go the town of Andy Warhols family and visit a important war area near the border with Poland.

Sunday and Monday – Oct. 16th and 17th

Good friend Martin Javorsky

On Sunday we went to the Presov church and Jim spoke on ‘Connections’.  After church we went to lunch with a group of friends at a restaurant at the MAX shopping center.  It was a good meal and a super time of fellowship and visiting with friends.  After lunch we stopped at a shop where we could have coffee and a sweet dessert to complete the meal.

Nataly and Katka

Tom Holloway, IMB missionary, from Bratislava arrived at about 2:30 PM to help us in our teaching at Sibirska school this week.  Jim aqnd Tom are staying with Michal and Milka and Elaine is staying with our friends the Zuzkas.

Sibirska Teame guest of Zuzka. We had a good afternoon of talking.

The highlight of Sunday was the opportunity that Elaine and I had to talk with our friends at Bethel Baptist Church in Bourbonnais.  It was GREAT to hear from our church family back in Illinois.  We thank you for your prayers for us.  It has been over three weeks since we left Illinois and we miss you very much but life goes on and the teaching assignments continue.

Sibirska School

We began our first day at Sibirska Basic School on Monday.  The school is the local public school for kindergarten through junior high school years.  We are teach all student in grades 5,6,7,8 and 9; about165 students all together.  Today was a very good day for our introductory lessons and tomorrow we begin to challenge the students to speak more English.

Please pray that God would be glorified in our efforts here.

Friday and Saturday – 14th and 15th

Here is Chicago

We ended our time at ESO school on Thursday so that we could go to Gymnazium of St. Micholas, the school where Nika Vojtekova and Simon Ulincy attend.  Jim was there to teach three classes of students and he had the opportunity to stay longer and teach five classes before the end of the school day.

 

Any questions??

It was a really good day.  The students were very attentive and asked many questions about life in the US, world economy and political systems and differences between US and Slovakia.  We compared a day in the life of a high school student with that of a Slovak secondary student.  In Slovakia the students have very little choice in their classes other than what  foreign language to study, however all students are required to study English.

Heno and Jim discuss alternative energy

Friday night we went to the DEPO for a night with the youth.  I have forgotten to mention that each night we are at the DEPO that Mary brings us something to eat.  After spending time at the DEPO Jim went to the Most Cafe to meet and talk with some students.  It was a great way to end a Friday night.

 

Michal and his mother

On Saturday, Elaine was moving to the apartment of our good friends Zuzka1 and Zuzka2.  Jim and Michal traveled to Vranov Nad Toplou to see his family there.  His brother, Heno and wife , Veronika, have two children, Benko and Nella.  Michal’s mother’ name is Magda and Jim’s appetite was completely satisfied by her great cooking.  It was a great day and they arrived back to Presov at about 8 PM.  It is time for a good night’s rest before going to church in the morning.

Wednesday and Thursday October 12th and 13th

Dutch Blitz

On Wednesday the classes at the school were mixed with different level students because many of the students were on a trip to Prague.  We were able to meet with many of the same students many times that day so we were trying many different methods to get them to speak.  We are always told that it is a benefit for the students to hear native speakers of English.

The Fanthom

Wednesday evening we were at the DEPO for time to play with the youth that come for a good time.  Many games are there and Elaine is getting much better at Dutch Blitz while Jim began playing a game called Phathom.  The games are fun and the time goes so quickly.   There were about 30 older youth at last night’s meeting.

This is a leg

Today was the last day at ESO because we are going to another school.  Today’s lessons went very well.  The first class had about thirty students in it and the students described what they could see in the picture.  These students were separated for the final two classes and  I did the lesson about the life of Abraham Lincoln that explains ‘determination’.  This challenges the students to study and try to speak English.

Jewish Cemetery in VUKOV

Tomorrow I will go to the school where Veronika Vojtekova and Simon Ulincy are students.  We will only have time to teach this one day so please pray that all will go well during the classes.  I hope to tell them about school life in Illinois and about the US in general.

Monday and Tuesday 10th and 11th

Let me think about that

We have completed the second day at the third school.  ESO, another business secondary school, is a school for students wanting to focus on careers in business and also hotel management.  These students are taking English classes because the state and the school believe it is important for people in business to have English speaking skills.

Students speaking

Like many schools here students have good grammar skills but need ideas and opportunities to speak English.  We are trying to give them some hints and practices that can improve their skills.  The first day was for introducing and meeting the students and the second was for activities to use and some fun with songs.

Some tableclothes

Monday after school we went to an open house at the center where Martina Pecinova, a volunteer at DEPO, works.   She helps in daytime activities and crafts for the clients.  They have made many things including some beautiful tablecloths.

Ulicna family

Monday night Jim was the guest of the Ulinca family.  Some of the family members were in our first classes taught at the library in Presov.  It was a great evening of visiting and learning about each other.  Simon, the son, served as our interpreter for the evening of friendship and a large delicious meal of three kinds of Kolbasa, potatoes, cooked cabbage, fried meat, and Fasirka with plenty of good spirit shared by all.

Tonight we had Bible study at the home of Martin and Katka Javorska and their children, Katherina (five years old today) and Natalia.  After the study time we enjoyed treats and drinks and great fun singing songs.   I did not have my camera but I will get pictures from Martin to show you later.  It was a super time.

More Pictures of Kapusany

Castle from Vojtekovc

b

Close up

Tonka, Nika, and Elaine

a

c

d

Saturday & Sunday – October 8 & 9th

Vojtekovci visit

What a wonderful day we had Saturday.  We had a relaxing morning before meeting at Milka and Michal’s (M and M’s) for lunch before taking the bus to the train station then we took a train to Kapusany.  We were the guest of Jan and Iveta Vojtekovci and their daughters, Veronika and Antonia (Nika and Tonka).

Chapel at castle

After a nice visit full of snacks and drinks at their home Jan took us up near the Kapusany castle to see a chapel.  He had planned all along to surprise us with something special.   It was late and it would have been about a mile and a half walk up the steep hill.

View from castle

We were surprised and grateful when Jan’s brother, Stanley, came and drove us up the castle in his four-wheel drive Jeep.  The  view was incredibly beautiful but the wind was brisk and the temperature was much lower.  Stano parasails from the castle frequently and had just sailed 40 kilometers that day.  After the castle we stopped briefly at the home of Stano’s father-in-law.  All of this was planned by this very hospitable and lovely family for our enjoyment and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

At the castle

We then returned to the Vojtekovci home for just a great time visiting and playing games.  This is a very interesting and talented family.  The blog would have to go on forever to tell of the super time we had with them.  When we return I will share much more about them.  Then to finish the evening Jan drove us back to Presov so we did not have to take buses or trains.

At church

Today, Sunday, we started the day off well at worship service at Most Cafe with the Presov Mission Church.  Shane McNary , CBF missionary to the Roma population here in this area of Central/Eastern Europe.  Shane travels extensively so it was a treat to hear him speak.  His son, Taylor, did the translation sometime in English and sometimes in Slovak depending on what his father wanted at the time.  Both Shane and Taylor speak Slovak and English.

Fun on the bus

After church it was back to M and M’s for soup (from Milka)  and sweets (from Adja).  A short time later we were on our way to Kosice to be the guest of Karol and Janka Campovci for homemade halusky with Bryndza cheese.  Other treats were there for us to eat.   Hospitality and grace are present with each family that we come in contact with during our time here.

Eyes and ears...

Karol and Janka have four children, David, Sophia, Michal, and Tadek.  As grandparents away from our grandchildren, Elaine and I enjoyed their company.  Tom Thinker……, Head and shoulders……, Peep-eye, and other games were a hit for the evening filled with laughter and fun.  I am only sorry that we were not able to video Skype back to church.  Hopefully we will work that out for next week.

Train back to Presov

I think that about covers it for the last two days.  I hope you enjoy the pictures.   I am going to cut back to every other day to blog.  The blogs may be longer but it makes it easier on me.  Thanks ahead of time for your understanding.