Living In Slovakia: 4.5 Weeks (Written March 22, 2014)

It’s been four weeks now that I’ve been living among the Slovak… or one MONTH. Whoa! It seems like this time has gone by so incredibly fast and yet arriving here seems like ages ago. But there is no doubt that I am beyond grateful for the experiences that I am being given here in Slovakia.

           The past two weeks have held a lot! Our workshops started, got to travel, met anotherFusion, visited with old friends… If there is one thing that I have been thankful for in these last two weeks, it has been being able to see the world through another set of eyes. Being able to see God moving in so many different directions and ways that no man or group of people could ever try to put together on their own!

            I am teaching two workshops in Bratislava, acoustic guitar and bass guitar. I teach two girls in my acoustic workshop and one in my bass workshop. So I get an hour of time just me and these girls once a week! Our first meetings have been awesome! They are so talented and kindhearted; they make my job so easy! I really look forward to the relationships that I will build with these three girls individually and watching them grow musically and spiritually.

            March 12th I got to take a train by myself for the first time ever! I traveled from Bratislava to Bánska Bystricá to be introduced to the Fusion there. I was overwhelmed by how warm and relational the kids in that Fusion are! After being in the Fusion building for thirty minutes, before I knew it I was jamming with two of the students that had shown up early. There are few things that bring me so much pure joy, and random jam sessions with people that have a passion for music is one of them! I don’t speak Slovak, and these kids didn’t speak much English, but honestly, I felt closer to them in five minutes of playing together than I do to some people that I’ve talked with for hours. And THIS, this is the beauty of FUSION. This connection that’s made between leaders and students, or peers, can then be taken farther and you now have the opportunity to share God’s grace with them. Lives can be changed, by a simple jam session. It’s amazing how God gives us little blessings and huge opportunities like this.
           
            And this, honestly, is what has been stirring on my heart for the last week; Fusion. Why does Fusion have to stop in Eastern Europe? What would Fusion look like in the States? In Fort Collins? I wonder. And I’m praying. I don’t know the answer to those questions, but I sure am excited for God to reveal those answers to me. He may be calling me to full time missions, He may be calling me to Fusion in the Fort…. I don’t know. But I am thankful that I am able to see God’s hands at work and to be encouraged to pursue a life of ministry wherever I am, in whatever career I end up with.Because a life of ministry doesn’t have to be the life of a missionary.

            Last weekend I got to visit a friend from last summer’s camp that lives in Košice, Slovakia, which is six hours away from Bratislava by train.  I was blessed to witness how God is molding her into a beautiful woman of God and watch her pour herself into many different ministries with joy. It was while visiting a youth group in Prešov that weekend that I started to realize how wide God’s reach is. To see youth thriving with Christ in a small town, on the other side of the world, in a different language, was amazing. I can’t fully explain yet what that experience meant to me.

            I arrived back in Bratislava Sunday evening and continued workshops the next day. When Tuesday arrived, Amy and I headed up to a castle north of Bratislava, where I got to meet and spend the next three days with 50+ Josiah Venture women. I cannot express my thankfulness for this week. I feel honored to be a part of this ministry. A ministry that embraces genuine openness and honesty, grace and love, and family. These women have shown such vulnerability with the struggles they have and do face each and every day, and despite the brokenness and pain they experience, they choose to press forward with joy.
           
            God has taught me a lot this week about letting go of what is behind me. He has been reminding me that the shame I carry around on my back is no longer my baggage to carry, that it is the Lord’s and He has taken that with Him to the cross. He has reminded me of all the little things that keep me from looking straight forward to His face and He’s helped me to see who I am.

            Day by day,that answer becomes much clearer. Who am I?
During our last night here at the JV Women’s conference, I realized that I can begin to answer that question.

            I am someone who is choosing to live by grace each and every day.
           
            I am someone that chooses to trust in God’s spirit in me.

            I am someone who trusts that I am already redeemed and made clean and holy in Christ.

            I am someone who chooses to trust God each day to lead me towards maturity, not towards “fixing”.

            I am my Father’s delight.

            I am Christ In Me.


The JV women's retreat 2014
The JV women's retreat 2014


The Fusion room in Banska Bystrica.
The Fusion room in Banska Bystrica.
I got to wander around GORGEOUS VIENNA!
I got to wander around GORGEOUS VIENNA!

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