Autumn and winter in Ljubljana can be quite a depressing time. Every morning I wake up to thick fog - some days I can't even see the crane that is working on a new housing development only a street away. The weather is getting colder and the days are getting shorter. All in all, it can be a hard time of year. Despite this, it has been exciting to see how God has been working over the past few week and months. The young people have been getting engaged with the weekly youth meeting and it's been great to see them all wanting to see what the Bible says. We have finished a series looking at some of the parables from Luke's gospel and have now started a series entitled: "Why should I..." We started last week with "Why should I trust the Old Testament" and this week we're moving on to the New Testament. Please be praying that these young people would understand why we have such great confidence in what has been written down for us.
Last time I wrote about wanting to start a new group for some of the older teenagers. Our first meeting will be next Saturday (25th November). Please pray for me as I prepare, and for the young people as they start to think about hard questions and how they can understand the Bible for themselves.
Last Sunday (12th November) we took a group of young people to visit a church in a town called Slovene Gradec. Some of their young people attend our camp in the summer and so it was a good opportunity to encourage the church there and to keep building on the relationships that have been formed amongst the young people. Thank God that we had safe journeys there and back (I ended up having to borrow a car and drive a group) and that it was a time of real encouragement for all involved. There are so few Christians in Slovenia that it's a real joy to be able to meet with our fellow brothers and sisters in another part of the country. Please be praying that we would continue to support each other around the country and that, although small, the church would be strengthened and encouraged.
Finally, I mentioned last time that a group from Australia was coming to visit. They stayed in Ljubljana for a week before travelling to Maribor for a second week. Give thanks for these students who were willing to come and serve and to see what it's like to be a Christian in Slovenia. Please continue to pray for the 3 Australians who are planning to move to Slovenia next year and for me as I will be in charge of their induction and orientation. Please pray that all would go smoothly and that their preparations would go well.
