PRIDE

“Oh come, let us sing to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In His hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also. The sea is his for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land.  Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker! For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.”  Psalm 95:1-7 KOMPAS God has been faithful in so, so many ways through these past 8 months. I wish I knew how to tell about everything that He has been doing, but I myself don’t even know all that He has been doing during this time! I can however, give just a couple highlights from my last month here in Slovakia.  Fusions are Multiplying We started the year with 3 Fusions in Slovakia, an...

Recently, I have been struggling with the realization that not everyone, no matter how “healthy” their families seem to be, has been raised with the same understanding of the significance that our bodies and souls have. I grew up in a Christian environment, yes, but I also went to school in a non-Christian school and played on teams and in bands that were also non-Christian. I wasn’t naive to the fact that being Christian held different standards and different morals than the rest of the world, but still, there were morals.  I was however, too young to realize how empty the people around me were. I believed that they still were confident in who they were, what they wanted to do and be… I honestly believed that they were more confident in who they were than I was.   Now, several years later, I’ve been through quite a lot to reach a point of understanding who I truly am and what that means for my life. And in the last months my focus has started to shift from what it means ...

After one week off, we flew into our third and final camp by welcoming our American team at the airport... This was a special welcome for me as my dad was on that team! It felt SO good to hug my dad after 24 weeks! 6 months really didn't feel like a long time until I saw him and it hit me how long I had been away from home. And it again made me thankful for the peace and sense of "home" that God has given me here in Slovakia.  Welcoming my dad in the Vienna Airport This camp was my 3rd camp with this church in Bratislava. They have been doing camps for a long, long time and definitely know what they are doing! So it was pretty much as opposite from our Hungary camp as you could imagine ha. It was organized, people knew their jobs, people DID their jobs, lots of kids were signed up... The camp was really off to a strong start with a strong team. And it proved strong throughout the whole week. The Slovak team and the American team worked so well together to humb...

Oh boy. It just keeps getting harder and harder to summarize what God is doing here through Fusion in Slovakia.  We had a total of 3 camps this summer, two of which were based in Slovakia and one based in Hungary. Our first camp was summarized in my last post and in that same post I had asked for prayers for our second camp in Hungary. Hungary had a lot of obstacles... but it was just as successful as the other two this summer! Our team faced challenges in every area, around every corner, from the beginning to the end of every day at this camp, but we carried on.  God had put this camp on my heart a few months ago with these goals in mind: 1. To build up the local leaders in Fusion Senec by taking them on a "mission trip" to serve but also to have intentional time to encourage and develop their leadership skills.  2. To build these leaders up so that they could be a part of a new youth group in Senec.  3. To share the idea of Fusion in Hungary, and have ...

This last month has been long, exhausting, and so full. Our team has been tired, overjoyed, frustrated, and excited. I have been stressed, satisfied, proud, scared, tired, challenged, and encouraged.  I could not have asked for a better team for this summer. We have been blessed by each others’ strengths and weaknesses in countless ways and I am amazed at how God took the time to plan out every single relationship in our lives. He knew this team would come together WAY back before I existed and He knew how we would challenge and grow each other throughout this special summer.  June was filled with a lot of traveling… (not to say that the traveling is only in June, because it is most certainly not just in June.) We managed to visit and take part in every Fusion that is currently functioning in Slovakia!  I got to show my team where I have been living and what life has been like here. At the end of the month our team headed to Banska Bystrica where our ...

This last month has had a little bit of everything and a little taste of everywhere. Can I just say that I love traveling? I thought I would be exhausted by now... I haven't stayed in one bed for more than 5 nights in a row since February. I thought I would hate that, but actually, I love it. I have felt at home in Senec. I have felt at home in Bratislava. And these people have sustained me for all the other travels I embark on.  Trip #1 I went to Spain a month ago with my oldest brother, Dan! This time was so precious to me! I wish so badly that Ryan, our other brother, could have joined us but he was graduating from PA school. I'm so proud of him and how hard he worked these last 7 years in university. He has dedication and determination that I wish I had! Dan and I both flew into Madrid within an hour of each other, we met up and hit the metro exploring the city. Madrid is so beautiful.. The old cities, the streets, the people, the language. I was in awe! However, I hav...

My goodness, how the time flashes by before us! It has been 4 weeks since my last post, and 5 WEEKS since my last update on ministry here in Slovakia with Josiah Venture. There's a LOT to cover, but so many amazing things I am so excited to share with you! AND, today is my half-way mark in my 6 month internship.. Last year I was on a plane home already... I don't know how I could possibly do that again though... So much has changed in my heart since last year.  I know this seems like a lot, but I don't know how I can cut down the work that God has been accomplishing in the last 5 weeks in any shorter way.  Week 7: I celebrated Easter with my host family, helped lead worship, and then ended the day with the Chases back in Bratislava! It was great to be a part of such an important holiday in another country, another culture and family. That week was also busy while our Fusions did some final preparation for the Fusiondary Festival that we participated in that weekend in ...