So They Stole My Bike but Left My Helmet...

Spot the Missing Bike

I think it's fair to say that this past month has had it's fair share of challenges. Up until now I think I've had a fairly easy time of it here in Slovenia. It's been a pattern in my life that things seem to plod along quite happily until suddenly lots of small (and not so small) bad things happen at once (Feel free to ask me some time about the defining week that led me to Slovenia in the first place!).

This past month has felt a bit like that. Nothing huge has happened, but lots of small things, one after the other. If you read my last post, you'll know more about things that have been happening. For a quick update on my thumb, I went to the orthopaedic specialist yesterday but he immediately decided to send me to a plastic surgeon instead. Apparently they have more knowledge about hands, who knew? I have an appointment on Monday so hopefully I'll know more then.
The title of this post kinda gives away the problem I've had this week. The picture quite nicely shows the scene I was presented with on Monday evening, just as I needed to use it! If you're British, you may well be asking the questions, was it insured and have I reported it stolen. The answer to both is a resounding no. Ljubljana is a very safe city apart from the loss of bikes. The police therefore don't care about one missing cheap second hand bike. The really sad thing though is that I'd just got it serviced and replaced the basket that was one rusty screw away from falling off. I think the nice new basket is what made it a target to be honest. It's been sat in the same spot outside my flat for the past year and there are definitely nicer ones to take...

Moving on to the bizarre parts of my past two weeks. Obviously, the thieves weren't safety conscious as they didn't take my helmet. However, this morning I got a message from a friend saying that someone had taken her helmet but not her bike...
If that wasn't strange enough, last week I saw a man casually taking an ostrich for a walk in the middle of Ljubljana...

Yes I've been facing a few challenges but the last month hasn't been without its joys. I've settled into a good routine and have especially been encouraged by the responses of the girls I meet for one to ones. In one group we're looking at the book of Esther and it's great to see the expressions and responses of one of the girls who doesn't know the story. In another group we've been looking at 1 John and the true meaning of love. It's a real joy for me to see how these teenagers are learning and growing. Tonight we're having a light party, celebrating the light the Reformation brought to Europe (Reformation Day is a National Holiday here and is on 31st October). It's been a lot of fun this week bringing together different ideas so hopefully it'll go well tonight.

Please be praying for me as I'm facing these challenges, that I would depend fully on God rather than my own strength. It's tiring facing one after another but I know that God is sufficient for me and that he can and will lead me through.
Anyway I'll just leave you with a picture that is just another reason why I love living in Slovenia. I took this picture on the bus last week. The Slovene literally translates as reserved for the reading of books. I'm not sure how successful the scheme is but at least it made me smile!

Sometimes Lots of Things All Happen At Once...

Today as I look out of my window, the sun is shining and it's a beautiful autumn day. We're well into the Rugby World Cup and at time of writing Wales is doing pretty well. I even tried to teach rugby to the youth last week. I'm not entirely sure how well it went down. They didn't seem to appreciate the whole passing backwards thing. At least I made the attempt and slowly I might be able to persuade them that it is a good game...

Last week was just one of those weeks, where everything seemed to happen at once. Firstly, it was the first week where I was really back to normal work. Everything has now started up again, which is great, and I now have a better idea of my workload and weekly rhythm. Yes I have more work than last year but I enjoy it all and I like to keep busy. Sadly not everything went smoothly. Last week I again attempted to join the language course. It seemed to be going well, the assessment was ok and then when I went to see if I had a class on the Thursday, hurray, I'd been assigned one. Unfortunately it was far too easy for me. I don't want to disparage other people or their learning but the range between me and some of the other people in the group was massive. The people themselves were lovely but it wasn't helpful for me to spend a lot of money just to make friends and not learn anything. I might have stayed to see if it got better but I had a frustrating conversation with the teacher after the class. I won't go into what was said but sufficed to say that it was that conversation that swayed me to leave. I'm not upset about it as I'm back again with my tutor and I know that I will continue to learn lots with her. I've also made the decision not to even bother applying for the course next semester. It would be my last semester and it's just not worth the hassle when I know I have a good teacher already.

Don't worry, nothing's broken, this is quite normal!

This now leads me to the second big thing that happened last week. I finally got to experience the Slovene medical system. If you know me at all, you will know that I'm no stranger to doctors and hospitals due to the number of injuries I've had. What you may not realise is that I do have an underlying condition that is probably a major cause of many of these problems. Anyway, I've managed to injure myself again. It happened when I was in England at the end of August. I'm not entirely sure what happened but my hand/ thumb started being painful. I tried to shake it off, thought it wasn't a big deal, but if anything it has got worse over time not better. I eventually realised that I couldn't put it off any longer. I would have to go to the doctor. I am very grateful that I have private health insurance as it has made my life so much easier (I'm not eligible for Slovene health cover). I firstly had to find a doctor that spoke English. I was surprised that I was able to get an appointment that afternoon. I arrived, went to the reception and I was just sort of pointed in the direction of a waiting room. I had no idea what was going on. Everyone else seemed to know what to do but I was just sat there! Eventually I was able to speak to a nurse and she took my Slovene identification card. I then had to wait again and pray that my identification would be returned to me! In the end it was all ok but in those 45 minutes when I was waiting, I was incredibly stressed. The doctor wanted me to have an x-ray and an ultrasound on my hand but apparently it's up to me to organise that. I was able to get an x-ray quite easily and they even gave me a copy of the images as a souvenir! The ultrasound was more difficult and stressful. I ended up speaking to about 4 different clinics each sending me from person to person and department to department. Fortunately most of them spoke good English with the exception of a few people thinking I said 'son' instead of 'thumb'. At one point I was asked for my son's details... In the end I've got an appointment on Monday so the saga continues.

All in all, it's been a busy and stressful couple of weeks but I know that God is in control of it all and that he is upholding me through it all!