Back in My Home Over the Sea

Two weeks ago I left Colorado to return to Slovakia once again to be there for 6 months. Having never gone out of state for school, this is the longest I will have ever been away from home... kind of scary.. but really exciting. 

I have truly been blessed by every minute I have spent here in my new home. Since the moment I stepped off the plane in Vienna, God has answered so many prayers and confirmed that I am right where He desires me to be. I have to admit that the week leading to my departure date was filled with anxiety, fear, and unease (which I knew to expect, but it was more than I felt comfortable with). I couldn’t remember why I was leaving. I worried that my personality would clash with my new host family. I worried that God would use this time to isolate me. I didn’t feel like I would have anything new to offer this time around. These were irrational and selfish fears, I know, but that does not erase the fact that they clouded my vision, and God’s vision, for this trip right as I was about to leave. 

When I got to Bratislava, nothing felt “new”.. nothing felt like it had drastically changed.. nothing felt “strange” or uncertain.. Driving through Bratislava felt familiar; comfortable; it felt like I had been away from home for awhile. Yet, it also felt like I was only gone for the weekend. 
Instead of the normal wrench in my stomach that I usually get while meeting new people and going through the normal small talk that comes with reunions, I felt pure peace and joy to be with these people. 

All this to say that I no longer have the worries, anxieties, and fears of two weeks ago, and I have been praising God every day for that. 

I am so thankful for the wonderful home that God’s placed me in in Senec. Miška is the Fusion leader in Senec, and I am with her in her parents' beautiful home. I am spoiled with how great her English is… she makes it so easy for me! Thursday night however, I got to sit and learn more Slovak with Miška’s mom, who does not speak any English. We agreed to teach each other our languages. :) 

On Sunday, I was introduced to my partner church in Senec, where I was welcomed and prayed for in their service. I’m looking forward to how God will build Fusion and this church into an effective team that reaches youth for Christ. 

On Tuesday, I got to reunite with my dear Fusion Bratislava AND Banska Bystrica friends. Oh, how I missed their energy, passion, and personalities! And Wednesday, I got to see Fusion Senec again. This is where I will be focusing most of my time and energy.  

There’s not much more to say than my heart is so happy. I thank God for the peace and confirmation that He has brought me these last two weeks. I thank Him for calling me here and for providing for this internship in every way. I’m grateful to all of you have helped me so generously to get here. God is doing a great work here in Slovakia; through this blog, I hope only to share this work with you in way that does it justice. 

First two weeks done. 
Lord, keep me gratefully and joyfully dependent on You each and every day. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

P is for Perfect

P is for Perfect. There are very few people like me that I have met, though I know there are plenty, that have a problem with commitment... No, I'm not talking about the relationship commitment that everyone talks about. I'm not talking about the guy who keeps wanting to hold your hand but won't ask you out on a date, OR the girl that writes the rest of her life away to that guy who asked her out, because obviously  he wants to marry her. No, I'm talking about the day to day commitments we make to ourselves, our jobs, our friends, and our families. I'm talking about the shift you promised to pick up for a coworker, the coffee you agreed to have at 8 am Friday morning, and the lab report you have due Monday night. Most people can handle their own schedules fine. They know when they need down time and they take it. They know when they need social time and they create it. They know when they need to get homework done and they do it. And they know when they need to ...
Read more

Introduction: Why Pride?

Pride. If I have learned anything in the last 10 months, it's a million things about pride . We ALL struggle with it to some degree; that's the frightening part. We all struggle with it, but do we all know that? Let me sum it up to you real brief: It's a disease. It's a germ. It's an annoyance. An addiction. A drug. A mask. A lie. It's anything you want to believe. It's anything except the truth. It knows you best. It preys on your weaknesses. It's discrete, but it's huge. It's subtle, but it's loud. It destroys. It burns and aches and rips. Pride is the one thing that can make you feel amazing and make you feel like you could throw up in a matter of minutes. Pride is the thing that can build a box of fantasies all around you until you forget what life actually  is and it has completely consumed you. Let me come out right now before you read any further and make sure you know that I will be the first to own up to my pride. It...
Read more

D is for Defenses.

P is for Perfect. R is for Replay. I is for Insecure Identity. D is for Defenses. Hello again, my friends. It really has been such a long time... and SO much has happened! Last post, was almost five months ago. I was in school, working, in a relationship, living in Colorado... Now I'm teaching teens how to play music, single, not in school and living with a dear family in Slovakia. Yup. As in the other side of the world, Slovakia. What?? To briefly fill you in, I had gone on a short term mission trip to Slovakia last summer and I loved the program that used music to teach teens about God and the Gospel. So I applied to be an intern through an organization called Josiah Venture for this spring semester, spent months working too many hours of overtime, recording music to sell for support, and boom. It all happened so fast, but here I am! Sitting in a different country, praying that God will use me in any way He wants, and missing Starbucks. (OK, so that last one may not be as ...
Read more