Slowly Preparing to Leave...

Primož Trubar in Laško

It's been a few weeks since I last posted, I realise. After camp I needed a bit of time to recover and then last week I enjoyed a short holiday in a town not too far from Ljubljana called Celje. It's probably my favourite town in Slovenia and so it was great to be able to spend a few days there relaxing. I also took the train one day to a nearby smaller town and came across a statue of Primož Trubar, the Slovene reformer who wrote the first books in the Slovene language, To be honest it was the last place I was expecting to find a memorial to him...

The last few weeks have been a mixture of busyness and rest. It's all a bit strange really because everything is winding down. I feel like I should be working but actually most of my work has now finished. Next week I have my last language lesson, my last Bible study with one of the teenagers and last weekly meeting with a different girl. We then have our church weekend away and that will be the last big thing I am part of. This means that this Sunday will be my last time at church. Whilst I am very sad to be leaving, I'm trying to focus on all the good things that I will be going back to in the UK, not least being surrounded by people who speak English all the time!

I was talking with a friend today about I the practicalities and unknowns I face as I return. I have plans, contingency plans and contingency plans for the contingency plans! For those of you who don't know, my (second) flight back to the UK was cancelled and so I have now had to book a flight from Venice as there are no longer any direct flights from Ljubljana to London. This means that I have to fulfill the requirements to pass through Italy (which I only found out by chance yesterday!) as well as making sure I have the right forms for the UK. As it stands I will not have to quarantine when I enter the UK as both Italy and Slovenia are on the safe list but I can't take anything for granted. It seems that things change on a weekly basis and so I just need to prepare as best as I can and trust God that it will all go ok. As I was talking with my friend about this, I said well it's almost like moving to a new country where I don't speak the language and I'm not entirely sure what the plan is once I get there! At least with this cross cultural move I should be able to understand more of what's going on around me.

Even on a wet day Celje is still very pretty!

This will probably be my last post for a while as in two weeks time I will hopefully be sat in Marco Polo airport, Venice, as I wait for my flight. I probably won't post as often when I'm back in the UK but I will try and keep people updated. Please continue to pray for me as I leave and return to an uncertain situation, that I will keep trusting God for all things. Please also keep praying for Slovenia and for the church and work that is being done here. It is slow work but it is great to see how God has been working in the lives of the people I have met here over the past two years. It's been a great adventure but as I was reminded by my Bible study yesterday, the best is still yet to come. I may not know exactly what the next year in the UK holds for me and if and when I will be able to return to Slovenia but I know that God holds the future in his hands and He has promised a great hope and a future for those who trust in him!