Rest in the Midst of Busyness...

Highleigh Conference Centre

If you've read my blog or newsletter or even spoken to me lately you'll probably aware that these coming summer months are very busy for me. It's a great contrast to last year where I was trying to work out what I was doing or how to spend my time. In some ways I shouldn't complain, it's great to be doing things and to be involved in lots of activities. On the other hand, I know that I'm no use to anyone if I'm overtired and grumpy! One of the things I've had to learn is when to say no. It can lead to feelings of guilt - you can feel guilty that you're letting people down especially when you're paid to be there. The reality is that no one expects me to go to absolutely every event. As a worker in a (relatively) normal job, rest times were easy, evenings and weekends were there to be used however I wanted, well, I mean around all the church activities I was involved in. Now, I'm really needing to be careful about how I'm spending my time, balancing work and rest, time with friends and time alone. Despite this, I'm happier with too much to do than not enough. I may be tired, I may (slightly) grumble but I'm still loving every moment of living and working for God in Slovenia. That's the important thing to remember. Who am I doing this for? Why am I even here? To serve the One who gives ultimate rest. He is the One on whom I lean, the One who gives strength in times of weakness!

For those who are following my schedule, you will know that I was in England last week. I was there to attend a retreat for ECM Britain workers. It was a great time of fellowship and sharing with others who know what it is like to work in the mission field of Europe. We were staying in the beautiful Highleigh Conference Centre and I really enjoyed being able to catch up with people I had first met 2 years ago. It was a good opportunity to step out of my situation in Slovenia and think and pray about the joys and issues I am facing. I was also able to join my church in Swindon on Sunday. Again it was a really lovely time meeting many friends I hadn't seen in a year. I really appreciated the love and welcome I received from both groups of people. In many ways that week was a good rest from my normal work, a time to recharge and get prepared to return. In practical ways, though, lots of talking and travelling exhausted me. I returned last Monday and immediately had to prepare for a Slovene language test on Tuesday morning (despite little revision, I got reasonably good marks).

This week I am going to be attending another conference. At least this time it's in Slovenia, in Jeruzalem, a place I've been to several times. A group of pastors from Northern Ireland are coming over to meet pastors and workers from the Balkan region to learn from and encourage one another. I will be going straight from that on Saturday to a prayer day for a church plant in a town called Ptuj. On Sunday there will be a very exciting event for our church. One of our young people is getting baptised. He is one of a few people from different churches in the country. It looks like it will be a big event with people travelling from all over to Maribor to celebrate what God has done in these people's lives. Please be praying for all of these events, especially for those who are being baptised.
Pray most of all that I won't forget God in the midst of the busyness, that I will look to Him for my rest.

Things Just Seem to Happen to Me...

A grey day in Prague

It has become a bit of a running joke with my friends here that unusual things just seem to happen to me. Some of you may have heard the stories of my trip to America that ended with 3 hours sat in a hot plane on a runway (we made the news!), or the time the ceiling fell down in my parents' bedroom whilst I was home and I didn't notice... Things just seem to happen to me that don't happen to other people! More on this later.

The last two weeks have been a bit of a blur but a lot has happened. Last week I was very sad to say goodbye to my friends from New Zealand as they have decided to move back there. This did mean that I was up at 4 driving to the airport! I was sad to see them go, not least since I've lost my rugby buddies.

This month looks like it will be the start of a season of busyness and travel. I expect it to be this way until September if everything happens the way it is planned. As much as I enjoy moving about, being busy and spending time with friends and family visiting me, I do find it difficult when I don't have a set routine. Please pray for me over this time that I will be depending on God and that I won't drop any balls when I have a lot going on.

Last week I had the privilege of visiting a friend in Prague. It did mean spending 10 hours on a bus each way but I can't complain about Slovene, Austrian and Czech countryside. It was lovely to spend time with my friend and getting to know another European city. It was a bit strange for me though because Prague is very similar to Ljubljana. Czech is also very similar to Slovene, this meant that I was able to understand some of the posters on the metro. It was a bit like being in an alternate reality version of Ljubljana!

I'm now starting to think and prepare for my trip back to England next week. I'm back to attend a retreat for ECM Britain workers. I'll also be using the opportunity to visit the church in Swindon on the 19th. Please be praying for safe travels and also for the people I'll be meeting with. This trip will also be an opportunity for me to sit down and talk about plans for my future. This is obviously a subject that needs much wisdom and prayer.

Emona Stavba

Reception area of Emona Stavba

So as I was saying above, things just seem to happen to me and this week was no exception. This is a picture of the building in which my church has an office. I'm usually here at least twice a week for different meetings and Bible studies. Thankfully it's only a mile away from my house so I can cycle there in about 10 minutes (when you include all the traffic lights!) At the beginning of the year the owners of the building introduced a new system. Instead of having security guards there 24 hours, they set up an alarm system that would start at 10pm. This means that we have to leave our office on the 11th floor by then. Apparently there is some way of getting out with a card or something but it is a lot of hassle. You can probably guess what happened. Yep on Wednesday night we got locked in! I was there as part of the Ladies Bible Study and we were downstairs at 9.57pm but that was too late. At first I found it amusing but that soon wore off as reality set in. I was with 3 other ladies but none of us had the information to hand to be able to do anything about our situation. The next 15 minutes or so were spent ringing around trying to find out what we were supposed to do. Eventually we were given a phone number to call and someone was sent to let us out. We were actually only locked in for 30 minutes but in that time I was starting to think about which bit of floor in the reception area looked most comfortable... When the security guards eventually arrived, they were quick to tell us that we must have been late down (in Slovenia the customer is never right). When we insisted that we were down before 10, the response was ...maybe (that was only after they checked the time the alarm was set). I was never so happy to see the doors opened to let us out.

My strange week was compounded by me managing to fall off my bike yesterday. I'm completely fine, just a bit of a bruised hip and ego. It was a very wet day and I took a corner a bit too quickly and my tyres slipped. Thankfully I fell onto grass but I think it must have been quite a spectacular sight, at least I guess so by the way the man and dog nearby came running to check I was ok...

I'm now just praying that my next week won't be quite so eventful!