Five Days in Slovakia

(Saturday night, July 9)

This is the kind of moment you don't want to forget. I'm sitting in the living room of our awesome new home base tucked away in a scenic corner of  Slovenian farmland, bordering the town where we met with some local church groups tonight. An acoustic guitar is playing as my team members rehearse the songs we'll be singing at two separate churches tomorrow. The atmosphere is just asking for reflection, so let me tell you about some of the past week's adventures - from wrapping up camp...to waking up early to explore Nové Zámky on foot...to driving across Hungary and arriving at our new Slovenian Base Camp.

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The typical day at camp in Slovakia started with a team meeting at 7:00, after which we hung out with the kids (for me, this usually involved trying to teach multiple string figures to different kids at once!) until open session began. After some dancing, singing, an intro and a game came small group activities such as making a group flag or cheer. My group was nicknamed "Silent Unicorns with Diamonds", but others ranged from "Teletubbies" to "Meat-Eating Flowers." Next would come a lesson--one day I narrated the story of David and Goliath while Jonathan and Dr. Paulson acted it out--an English lesson, and more games.

Walking from the playground

Next we would round everybody up for the 20-minute walk through town to a nearby restaurant for lunch. Having taken over the entire restaurant, everyone would eat the same meal, starting with soup. Only once did I manage to somehow catapult half a bowl of soup across myself, shoulder to lap, much to the astonishment of my young onlookers! After lunch we would all go to a local (really cool) playground, of which there are an almost disproportionate amount in Slovakia. Almost every restaurant, green space, and even the church has at least a slide or a swing set. Finally, after returning from the park, everyone would meet for one last set of English lessons, small group and songs.

One of our lunches at the restaurant, a traditional meal \
I can't pronounce consisting of sweet bread and cream sauce

The evenings after debrief meeting would be filled with different activities each night--a walk to get ice cream one night, a practice for worship service the next, the worship service itself the next, and finally a wrap-up party with the campers and parents the final night (Friday). Besides enjoying the last chance to sing our camp songs and say goodbye to the kids, I was thrilled to be able to use string figures to do the "Gospel on a String" presentation I had learned in Uganda, this time with a slight apologetics twist.
Since the following morning was to be our last in

Not sure what we bought, and can't read the receipt either.
 But what ever it was, it tasted great!

Slovakia, my roommate, Wanita, and I decided to get up early and explore the town before meeting up with the rest of the team at 9:00. Thus, 5:59 AM saw us stepping out of the apartment building to stroll through the town, marvel at the unique architecture and watch the streets slowly come alive. We stopped at a little bakery and miniature grocery store along the way. There, I managed to (in my ridiculously limited Slovak) purchase the most interesting-looking item I could spot. Except to say that it turned out to be some sort of delicious cake, I have no idea what it was!

Colourful apt buildings across from our billet's apt in Slovakia

Returning home, we had just enough time for a breakfast of sausage, bread and cheese and a trip to a farmer's market with our hostess before piling into the team van. We hung out with the Slovakian team for the morning, going to a nearby park and feasting on pizza for lunch, and then we Canadians hit the road for Slovenia.

Buying Trdelnik, a type of Slovakian dessert,
before saying goodbye to our Slovakian friends

Driving through Hungary for the most part reminded me again of driving through Alberta with its wheat fields and wind turbines, or the Western States with their fields of sunflowers and corn...except for the Hungarian billboards scattered about the villages and the occasional sign pointing to Budapest.



























Several hours and one vehicle change later, the sunflower fields of Hungary morphed into the undulating woodlands and countryside of Slovenia. When the van, having traded the highway for a bumpy, narrow road some distance ago ultimately pulled into a beautiful acreage, we couldn't believe our eyes... And now I can't believe the time! I've GOTTA go to sleep, but let me close by saying thanks again for your prayers, and I look forward to seeing what God has in store for us on this next episode of the trip. :)