I’m with Sam! I wish I could see what is going on! But there are obvious signs that the wind has changed and that darkness is being broken up! Our fourth and fifth camps were in full swing when Blake was reading through this part of The Lord of the Rings and we didn’t miss the irony of Tolkien’s words. Slovenia’s own story is enough proof of this without having to go to fiction .
I asked you to pray for “my girls”: Neja, Maja and Barbara. What started out 5 years ago as an English tutoring class, has now has become Bible study and one of my favorite parts of the week. In the spring the girls expressed an interest in being able to lead a discussion with unbelievers. Each of them took turns leading our time together and then we would evaluate and talk about how Jesus is relevant to the things we face in this world.Well, at English camp this year the three of them were responsible for the late night party activities and then individually they were in classes and discussion groups. Two of the girls had invited school friends to camp and prayed eagerly for opportunities to share with them. The short version is that now my disciples have disciples of their own! And they plan to start a new believer’s bible study together as a group. I just can’t get over how proud I am of them and how the Lord answered our requests above and beyond what we asked!
This week Josh and our team have begun a two week theology school course. When we arrived in Slovenia we quickly realized that in order to train young leaders we would have to begin at the beginning and start evangelizing first. We hadn’t expected that these new believers would move so quickly to the point of being prepared for leadership and further training. There is no Bible School in Slovenia and rather than send our people away to other countries; it’s our goal and desire to give them that training here. We found a great little place with a house for the guys, a house for the girls, meals taken care of and plenty of picturesque sites for study and prayer. Please pray for the 10 students who are beginning this course and will continue with supplemental studies through the next 2 years.We have begun our seventh year in Slovenia and while we continue to wrestle our way through obstacles; we feel very much at home here. The children have a great tutor situation in their school that has really helped to sharpen their skills. Blake and Rebecca finished the school year with a B average and Kendra was declared by her teacher to be “quite the leader in her class”. (That may be code for bossy but it’s clear she feels very comfortable there!) Luke is walking now and has been dubbed “Mali (little) Mister Josh”!
One of the developments in feeling settled here is that we feel the Lord directing us to look for a home to buy. In our 16 years of marriage we’ve always rented. We’ve always been in motion; having lived in three different countries in five different homes, not to mention the transition years of staying with family and friends. We aren’t quite sure what all this means since the housing market in this capital city is crazy expensive. And with four children, we are a bit larger than the average Slovene family. But we are asking the Lord to show us what His intentions are.I do feel at times like Sam, that I wish I knew what was going on. We are well aware that more is happening than we can see. But it’s a joy to be certain that the winds are changing, that the Lord is at work bringing about His glory and that all these days of camp, of meeting students, of establishing bible studies and youth groups; even days of just living life and going to school or the grocery store are part of His plan for Slovenia and her story in the church who He loves so much.
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations,” Ephesians 3:20-21
With Joy in the journey,
Josh and Kristi, Blake, Rebecca, Kendra and Luke
