Starting to Get Back to Normal...

Summer is coming and life is slowly getting back to normal here in Slovenia. My Slovene teacher described it as: outside life goes on, inside things are still weird. Most things have started to reopen although most children won't be going back to school before the autumn. People are still quite cautious but with only 4 new cases in the last week, it definitely seems like the worst is past us now (unless of course there is the dreaded second wave!)

This has meant that I've finally been able to go out for coffee and ice cream and start meeting people in person. It was quite gratifying to find out that the waiters at my favourite coffee shop still recognised me and knew my order! It's amazing how great the little things are, sunshine, meeting people in person etc. I know many of you are still a long way away from this so I won't go on about it too much!

Of course there are still restrictions. Using the bus for the first time was an adventure. Half the seats have notices on them forbidding their use. All public places including the bus have hand sanitiser everywhere and we still have to wear our masks within indoor public places (unless it's a cafe or restaurant, it's not quite so easy to eat and drink with a mask on!)

In terms of church meetings, we are still online for most things. A lot of this is due to the fact we don't have our own building and so we have to wait until we're allowed back into our rented space. Tonight, though, we will have our first youth group together in an outside space. It will be really good to see them all again.

Just a note of encouragement to end this post. Within the last month a student from another part of Slovenia became a Christian and somehow found our church's details online. She has been joining our ladies group Bible study for the last couple of weeks. I didn't quite understand exactly how it all happened (it was all in Slovene), how she became a Christian and why she is meeting with us, but it is great to see that God is still working. Coronavirus has not and will not stop his work!

The Lockdown Eases...

 My apologies to those of you in countries still with strict lockdown measures in place. Here in Slovenia we are, thankfully, finally starting to ease the lockdown. In the last week there has been at most 6 new cases in a day so we are definitely in a good place to start getting back to normal. This means that places such as cafes have started opening up again although only their outside portions. Public transport is now operational again although with very strict instructions listed at the bus stop (5 points** to whoever works out what the list in the picture means*. *No points if you already speak Slovene. **Points don't necessarily mean prizes). It's not surprising really but I liked the fact that they put up a dummy's guide to using the bus during this period! Schools will soon be opening up again but only for certain grades. We are also now allowed to travel around the country. I'm definitely looking forward to the opportunity to get out of Ljubljana!

My biggest fears lately have been how all this affects my return to the UK that is currently scheduled for the end of August. I have heard that Ljubljana airport is due to reopen next week which is great. I just have to wait and see if my flight will go ahead as scheduled. I'm praying that it will all go well. My parents had been due to come visit me at the beginning of June but this will obviously have to be postponed. I had hoped that they would be able to take a suitcase of stuff back with them but I guess this means that I will have to leave a few more things than I hoped here in Slovenia. The good news is that I'm definitely hoping to be back in Ljubljana by next September. Plans need to be confirmed and obviously I need to raise the finances to continue serving God in Slovenia (if you want to know how you can help in this way, please email me at s.re.deacon@gmail.com). Please be praying for me as I try to make plans for the future in this very uncertain time.

Although things are starting to open up, it's still not certain when my normal activities will resume and when we will be able to meet again as a church. Churches who own their own buildings are starting services again, although it looks like they will be socially distanced with little or no fellowship. My housemate who goes to the Pentecostal church described it as turn up, listen to the sermon, go home straight away! My church does not own its own building and so we are governed by the decisions of the organisation who own and run the building we use on a Sunday. We also rent space for our youth groups so again we have to wait and see what they say. This means that I'm going to be living online for at least the next couple of weeks. I am, as I'm sure many of you are, very grateful for the invention of the internet during this period. Although I can't meet with people face to face, I am still able to meet with them and I continue to be encouraged by the girls I meet with on a regular basis. I'm now just counting down the days until I can see people in real life again and have a proper coffee and ice cream with them!