Singing Strangers in Slovakia

All I could think of when we stepped inside the apartment building was that it felt like we were in a scene from God's Smuggler. The outside of the building itself looked enough like the many other such buildings comprising this area: decidedly square, about seven stories high, trees out front, bold colours and patterning painted on the stucco sides. But beyond the glass front door, steep concrete stairs, pale green paint and a retro elevator no larger than a telephone booth are enough to impress one with the sense that the clock has just rewound to another era. Yep, I loved it. Although we had only just arrived in Slovakia, I anticipated that this would be one good billeting experience.

Outside the church where we are running the Kids' Camp

Stepping off the elevator, we walked over to a sixth floor door which opened at once. An older lady was standing behind it, smiling, and she greeted us with a kiss on either cheek. She doesn't speak much English and my roommate and I certainly cannot speak Slovak. Communication, then, has involved a few words of each language, some German phrases, and a lot of Google Translate--with some both hilarious and unfortunate results which I will refrain from repeating here. 

Kofola, a really great Slovakian soft drink
reminiscent of cola--
but spicier with something like aniseed

One of the first Slovak words I learned was "paprika:" pepper. Indeed, breakfast Tuesday morning included meat, bread, tea, tomatoes and peppers. The first pepper slice I had was mild enough, so I had another--not realizing that the seeds have some serious kick to them! Leaving the table, I leaned back to rub my still jet-lagged eyes, and then paused, horrified. My whole face was on fire! Stumbling to the washroom turns out to be a highly difficult task when one's eyes are swollen shut, but it makes for a great learning experience. 

Scene sighted on an evening's stroll through town

But then, learning curves are part of plunging into any new culture, aren't they? And I'm loving the chance to dive (or belly flop) into this one. We've now completed three out of four days of our kids' ministry here, and it's been getting more exciting with each one. I broke out some coloured string to show the kids some of the string figures I've used previously in Mexico and Uganda, and it's been a hit. I thought I had brought enough string for the whole three weeks, but I ran out just three days into ministry! 

Small group time, between singing and English lesson at the camp

The camp days, for which I hope to have more pictures posted soon, have been a blast involving everything from English teaching to playground excursions to dancing to Slovak Sunday School songs. Some real spiritual breakthroughs have seemed to occur here as well. Today, for instance, was the day we presented the message of Jesus, with many of the kids going home at the day's end having been touched by His love. A large portion of the kids are from church backgrounds, as religiosity runs high here, but whether one has grown up in church is irrelevant to whether one has encountered the Living God. And that, I am excited to say, is what has been happening to young hearts here in Slovakia. Please continue to pray for both the children and the Canadian/Slovak leadership team as we wrap up the week of camp here in Nove' Zamky. We seriously can tell that people are praying for us, even from the other side of the world, and that is a blessing we do not take lightly. :)