Coming to the End of Summer...

The last few months have been quite strange ones for a variety of reasons. I took the opportunity during the summer break to travel a bit and to rest before the start of what I know will be a very busy period of time. I enjoyed a week back in the UK after travelling there by train and by bus (it took 39 hours if you were wondering). It was definitely an adventure despite the fact that all the border controls were required in the middle of the night!

The end of summer brought two exciting events. Firstly we, as a church, celebrated the baptism of two ladies. After church one (very hot) Sunday we travelled to a nearby lake (pictured). One lady has been coming to the church for a couple of years but has been facing opposition from her family. Please pray for her as she continues to witness to them. The other young lady is someone I have had the privilege of seeing grow up in the church and in her faith. Please be praying for her as she is about to start working as an apprentice this year with the church and with the local IFES group.

The other exciting event was the church weekend away. We were joined this year by a group from a
church in the UK and spent time looking at some Psalms of lament. We were reminded that these Psalms call us to Turn, Complain, Ask and Trust God when we are in times of difficulty. Despite the fact I was a bit ill with a cold, it was a great time of fellowship and encouragement.

Summer has now started to come to an end and the weather has started to cool down - frankly that's a relief! The young people have started back to school and so my normal termly activities will start again next week. This year I will be meeting with three teenage girls one to one - two I've already been meeting with regularly, the third has just started high school so I will be starting with a Bible Overview with her. All three have grown up in the church, please pray for them and me as we meet regularly and that they would be growing in their faith.

Finally there is one more big change in my work life that is about to occur. The three Australian missionaries who have been planning to come to Slovenia for the past year are finally arriving in the next couple of weeks. This will obviously be a massaive change for them when they actually get here. They will all spend the next couple of years in language school. Please pray for them as they transition and for all the paperwork to be sorted out smoothly. Please pray for me as I seek to help them settle in well and support them over the coming weeks and months. Thank God though that there are people willing to come and serve here, who want to help the people of Slovenia hear about God and learn more about him. Please continue to pray for the country of Slovenia and for all the work that is being done here.