Food Glorious Food...

A whole pan of coffee served with a ladle

One of the things I love about living and serving in Slovenia is the relational aspect of the culture. Meeting up with people seems to always involve food of some kind and most definitely coffee! I have learnt that Slovenes love their coffee, it's almost a way of life for them. It is not common for to go to other people's houses, instead you meet them at a kavarna (coffee shop just doesn't sound as good or encompass the full meaning of the place) where you can sit and talk for hours. I have been firmly informed that the stuff Starbucks/Costa/ any other chain you can think of do not serve anything more than hot water and milk. Even mentioning the words 'instant coffee' produces blank stares and questions of why one would even think about drinking it!

Coffee here is made Turkish style on the stove. The picture to the right is a very extreme example. My housemate did indeed make a whole panful and served it with a ladle. She was quick to assure me that it wasn't normal but it was because she was providing for a large number of people at once. Even though this was different from normal coffee is still made in a pan, strong and with residue left in the bottom of the cup. I love it!

British Sunday Dinner

In Britain it is completely normal to open your house up to friends and guests especially on a Sunday (at least that was my experience growing up). As I've already said, it's not that common here. As a house, we've decided we want to be different. We're all in ministry although in completely different contexts. We all wanted to be able to feel free to invite people over and to make them feel welcome in our flat. It's great, it's not a constant flow of people in our flat (yet!) but it is a steady trickle of people in and out. As such we decided that it would be a nice idea to host a British Sunday dinner last Sunday.
Many of you may know that I was brought up by a very proud Yorkshire woman (as in my Mum is very proud to come from Yorkshire, not that she herself is proud). I believe that she would have considered herself a failure if she had not taught us how to make a proper Sunday roast complete with homemade Yorkshire puddings. I'm sorry Mum, we didn't have them the traditional way as a separate course before the meat and vegetables, it seemed a step too far after I'd had to explain that they were savoury and not actually a pudding! The meal was a complete success! We provided for 7 people (including ourselves), a mixture of Christians and non Christians. It was such a joyful time together, getting to know people better and being able to share some of our culture (even though we produced so much food we only finished the leftovers today). I even didn't mind missing the England world cup football match, people are my priority here.

That's not just a glib sentence ending, it's a really important part of my work here. People are the priority, I can study for as much as I want but if I'm not meeting with people then it's almost useless. It's a bit harder over the summer holidays as lots of people are away but my prayer is that I can be building on the relationships I've already made. Please pray for me as I'm the one who needs to take the initiative and as an introvert it's a bit out of my comfort zone. I love being with people once I'm there or if other people invite me but it take an extra effort for me to reach out to people. We were talking about this a bit in ministry training this week - as much as I love the studying part, it's no good if it's not put into practice by spending time with people. If that just happens to be accompanied by food or coffee then so be it.

On the practical side of things, thank you to all of you who were concerned about our plate being returned by the neighbours. It has now been brought back complete with some chocolates possibly from Latvia or Russia, I'm not really sure. I've also seen the older lady from next door a couple of times. I really wish that I could communicate with her more than about the weather. This week I started language lessons finally. It's so great to be able to sit down and talk about the areas I need help with. There is still so much to learn but I feel that the real learning can begin now. I've arranged with my tutor (who is a Christian from my flatmate's church) to have 2 lessons a week until the end of September when I will be starting group sessions at the university. In terms of my residency I've not heard anything yet so I'm still waiting for the letter that will give me an appointment to go back. I don't think there are any problems, it's just of matter of waiting on the bureaucracy.

I will finish this blog post with another story of the worldwide church of God. Two Sundays ago was the annual church picnic. It was an absolute blessing of a day. The weather was good, the food was good and most importantly I had an amazing time of fellowship with my church family. They have really made me feel welcome and as part of the church here. In amongst the people there was an Australian family who are serving in a Middle Eastern country. They were visiting the Australian family who are based at my church. I got into conversation with the wife and as we were talking about England she mentioned the name of the town Shrewsbury (the county town of Shropshire and where I was born). In some surprise (since tourists don't often go to that part of England) I asked her if they'd been to church there. Her answer was no because they'd been visiting friends in Wem and gone to church there. Of all the places in England they could have gone to, they went to the town, to the church that my family belonged to until I was 6 and we moved to St. Albans. Wem has a population of 5,000 people, I certainly never expected it to come up in conversation with Australian missionaries in Slovenia. God definitely has a sense of humour!

P.S I'm also writing my prayer letter today, if you would like to be added to my mailing list please email me at s.re.deacon@gmail.com.

A Small Piece of Heaven...

View from my window

I was thinking today about writing my blog post and realised that I haven't really taken any photos in the last two weeks so I will apologise in advance for the slightly random nature of the choices I've made. When I went to All Nations college last year one piece of advice I remember is that I should take photos of everything that interests me when I first arrive because after a while it will just become normal. I think this process has started to happen!

Anyway, I realised that I should do something quickly about it and decided to take a photo of the view from my bedroom window. As you can see I have a great view of mountains and forest. When I sit at my desk and work it doesn't feel like I'm in the middle of a city!

As I was taking said photo my flatmate walked past the door and decided it was a good idea to take a photo of me taking the picture... I promise I wasn't falling out of the window! I am so grateful for the flat I have been provided with. I've properly unpacked now and feel for the first time that I have a place to call my own. (Yes that is a Welsh flag on my desk chair!)

Me taking a photo from my bedroom window

It's taken a couple of weeks but both my flatmates have also managed to move in now. We decided early on that we wanted to be a witness to our neighbours and to get to know them if we possibly could. We knew that if we waited too long it would become strange to introduce ourselves so we decided to use the opportunity granted us by being new to knock on some doors. We followed the directions of the Slovene as to what was culturally appropriate and took a plate of nice biscuits and a packet of coffee to two different neighbours. We first attempted it a few days ago with the flat opposite. A family lives there and we (when I say we, I mean my two flatmates) spoke to the youngest son who is probably in his late teens. He took the plate but it hasn't been returned. We're not sure if it will be now but it's very rude to go and ask for it back again.

Taking gifts to the neighbours

We decided to try again today with an older lady who lives next door. She seemed so pleased to meet us and invited us in to talk with her for a while. She seems to be very lonely and I think will be grateful for company. I would love to be able to communicate with her but for the moment I am dependant on my flatmates for that. The neighbour has already been back today returning our plate and with it a whole load of cherries. Please pray that this will be the start of a fruitful relationship with her and that we can be a blessing on her and her family who seem to visit fairly often.

Thank you to all of those who have been praying for me over the last couple of weeks as I've been trying to sort out my paperwork for residency. I went last week and started the process but I didn't have all the paperwork I needed. I went back again this week and it seems that everything should be fine. I will need to go back again but I don't envision any problems. I've applied for residency for two years. I don't know how long I'll be in Slovenia yet but if I stay for another year then I won't need to go back. It also means that whatever happens with Brexit I'll have legal residency in an EU country so there'll be no problems with me staying here through that time.

This last week has been a very busy time for me. I suddenly had a lot of meetings to go to which has been great but also tiring. I had my first Ministry Training session last night. It was a really helpful time as we're starting to look at 1 Corinthians and the roles of those in ministry positions and the rest of the church. I've also heard back about a language tutor and hopefully those lessons will start soon. I've signed up for a course at the university of Ljubljana in October but this will help me over the summer months.

You're probably wondering why I entitled this post A Small Piece of Heaven... as I haven't mentioned anything related to it. I thought I would save this story for last. The American organisation Campus Crusade for Christ (Cru for short) has quite a presence in Slovenia, at least six people come to my church and I know that there are others going to different churches. Anyway they arranged for a group of 40 students to come for about a month to run different mission activities. They have attempted to spread them around the different churches but we still had 14 at church last Sunday. They doubled the size of the congregation! Normally my church has headsets for interpretation but they had been forgotten, instead the students, plus me, were sat at the back with an interpreter in the middle speaking loud enough for all of us to hear. In addition to this we had a small group of people from Indonesia. I'm not exactly sure what their connection to the church is or how long they are in Slovenia for. Fortunately one of the Slovene members studied Mandarin at university and so interpreted for them. I don't know what language they spoke but not all of them understood Mandarin and so they were also interpreting between themselves. I hope you can begin to picture the scene, the preacher at the front speaking in Slovene and at least three other languages being spoken at the same time. Added to this, yes there's more, REC has no creche so small children usually sit and play quietly (ish) at the back. We seemed to have more toddlers than usual and so banging was added to the noise. It was a crazy scene but one I wouldn't trade, a small piece of heaven with people of all ages from 3 continents speaking 4 languages all praising God together!

Getting Settled...

Bubble Tea in Ljubljana

So one month in and I think I'm starting to get the hang of this whole living in Slovenia thing. I'm starting to make friends and build relationships in the church which is really encouraging. I know I'm making mistakes and I know that I still will make mistakes but that's ok, it's all part of the learning process.

I'm very thankful that so far I don't seem to have suffered any effects of culture shock although every so often something will remind me of England. It's not homesickness exactly but a reminder of what has been left behind. Often it's not even big things, so for example I was watching Mojster Miha (or Bob the Builder) and seeing all the English names in the credits really made me think of England! It really surprised me that something as small as seeing a British name would give me a jolt. Apart from that I feel really at home here.

This week I had a new cultural experience -  bubble tea. I know that it is Taiwanese rather than Slovene but I was invited to try it by a girl in the youth group and it was a really good time to get to know her a bit better. If you don't know what it is, it's basically iced tea with things in the bottom. Often it's tapioca balls but in my case it was fruit pieces. Although I enjoyed it, I think I prefer good old fashioned British builders' tea!

So how am I spending my time? I think this will be a frequent theme across my posts. I still don't have a clear plan as to how I'm supposed to be spending my time but with the broad ideas of language learning, building relationships and getting involved in church activities I'm trying to use my time wisely. I'm keeping track of everything I'm doing so I can see how many hours I'm spending doing different things. It also helps because it shows me that I am working hard even when it doesn't necessarily feel like I am. That being said, I'm really enjoying getting to know the people around me and at my church. They have all been so welcoming especially in inviting me over after church on a Sunday. I'm starting to feel part of the church and part of the community here.

My old apartment block

Today I moved into my new flat and said goodbye to my old one (4th floor in the picture). My bags are still unpacked and there's lots of organising to do but I'm grateful that I finally have a place I can call home! If you would like my address please let me know and I'll send it to you.

I'm a bit sad to leave my old flat - yes it was full of other people's stuff and I couldn't get properly settled but it was there that I learnt how to live in Slovenia. I learnt how to use the bus, how to do the shopping and most importantly how to get to church and other activities. I know I will learn how to do things here and that it will be easier this time but it does feel a bit like I'm starting the process again.

That being said, I can now start on the important paperwork etc that will allow me to stay here longer term. On Monday one of my housemates will go with me to start the process. Apparently employees at the department for foreigners moving to Slovenia don't speak any other languages apart from Slovene... I'm sure it will be an interesting experience!

Sava Bohinjka which flows into Lake Bohinj

To finish this post off,  I'll share a pretty picture from a visit to Bohinj last week. If you've heard of Lake Bled, Lake Bohinj is often described as being more spectacular still. To be honest I prefer Bled but Bohinj was well worth the journey. It's one of those places that really make you marvel and wonder at God's creation. I am so thankful that God has brought me to serve in such a beautiful country! I know that's not the main point of being here but seeing places like Bohinj really reminds me of who truly is in control over all situations and I thank God because I know He is in charge!

First Steps...

A lake near my flat in Ljubljana

Wow, I can't believe I've been here for two weeks already! It seems to have gone quite quickly and slowly at the same time. Everyone has been very welcoming and bearing with me as I work out how to live here and what is expected of me. I am very grateful for the people God has placed in my life here, especially my flatmate who has been really helpful in a lot of the practical things.

A massive answer to prayer since I've been here is that I have found somewhere to live for the rest of my time here. Where I am at the moment was only ever temporary. To be honest I've not even bothered to unpack my suitcases - there isn't really the storage space for that anyway. It really feels like God has provided this new flat for us at just the right time. I will be living with my current flatmate and a Slovene girl. The flat is owned by a Christian and he wanted Christians/ missionaries to live there. It's a lovely place and is at a really reasonable rate. Overall we're very grateful for it!

Maribor

So apart from finding somewhere new to live, I've been spending my time trying to work out what my role is here. It's been a bit of a mind shift realising that what I used to do in my spare time around my job is actually what my work here is. Last week the only thing I was told I needed to do was to attend the youth group on Friday evening and a women's group on Saturday. I therefore took the opportunity to visit Maribor (in the north east of Slovenia) on Wednesday and Koper (on the Mediterranean coast) on Thursday. It was great to see more of the country and to meet people living and working in those places. I've been slowly learning that spending time to know more about the culture and the country of Slovenia is actually part of my role here. In order to develop relationships with people, I need to know all I can about the country and its history. The trip to Maribor in particular was a good opportunity to meet with the Zveš team (the equivalent of UCCF in the UK).

Whilst they were in a meeting I wandered around Maribor and visited the regional museum. That was an experience! I've never been in a museum like it and I've been in a lot. Sufficed to say I was the only person visiting and so I went around with a lady who opened up all of the galleries for me. Each one held completely different items from archaeology to tin soldiers - it was interesting but all a bit bizarre! Afterwards I met the Zveš people for lunch. This included a couple I had stayed with on a previous visit to Slovenia so it was a good time to catch up with them. It seems like everyone knows everyone in the Christian community in Slovenia as it's so small but I still find it funny when I meet new people and we have friends in common. Overall it was an encouraging trip and a good time seeing more of the country and the work that is being done in different places.

Me in Koper

These past couple of weeks have been a good time for settling in and I feel like I've been quite busy in different ways but at times I've felt a bit frustrated. In the UK we like to have a plan, or at least I do. I'm used to working to a timetable, being places on time and being given jobs to do. Here it's a lot more laid back. It's all about the development of relationships which take a really long time. This means that part of my job is to spend time with people, getting to know them etc. It's difficult to think of that as work though.

My last few weeks in the UK were actually very good preparation. Even though I was unemployed I tried to use my time wisely (I wrote about it in a previous blog post http://doberdanslovenia.blogspot.co.uk/2018/03/dealing-with-wait.html). Now I'm here at times it's felt very similar. I've been waiting for a meeting with Peter (the pastor of the church REC) to work out what I'm supposed to be doing. I had that meeting yesterday and it was very helpful. I now feel like I can at least plan my time knowing what is expected of me. I will be going to the youth group once a week, the women's Bible study once a fortnight, ministry/ theological training sessions run by Peter probably once a fortnight and obviously church every week. The rest of my time is to be spent in language learning and once I get to know people more meeting up with them and developing relationships. In Slovenia things take time and it is only through the slow building of friendships that people will hear the gospel and hopefully be changed.

Going back to my childhood with Fireman Sam

In terms of the language I'm hoping to get a tutor over the summer and then I will join in with classes at the university in the Autumn. At church I'm grateful that there are people who are willing and able to interpret for me. I'm trying to listen to the Slovene and I know that immersion in the language is the best thing for me. In the meantime I'm still using an app on my phone. I've bought a children's book and yesterday I spent the afternoon watching Fireman Sam in Slovene...

So, please keep praying for me as I get to grips with the reality of living here and I pray that God would use me to reach people and to encourage those who already know him. Please keep praying for this spiritually needy country and thank God for the faithful people He is using here to reach Slovenes.

Having Landed...

Finally I'm here! I've landed in Ljubljana and I seem to have brought the English rain with me!

This was the view from my bedroom window earlier today, there are mountains behind there somewhere!

I was picked up from the airport yesterday by Peter Novak, the pastor of the church I am working for, and he took me over to his house for some tea and to say hello to his family. It was great to catch up with them all again. After that I was taken to my new flat. I am temporarily in a spare bedroom but will move in a few days into a bigger room.

The people I've met here so far have been lovely and very welcoming. I've been taken to the police station and I've been grocery shopping and I've managed to get a Slovene phone number. All in all I feel I've been quite productive! My room currently looks like a bomb site as I've started (and given up) trying to put my belongings in some kind of order. In all the excitement of moving, I did manage to forget one vital piece of equipment - my laptop charger! I'm doing this blog now, earlier than I thought, so that I've given you all an update if I run out of battery! Later we're going to see if we can replace it, if not it'll be posted on from England! I can't believe that out of all of the things I might have left behind, I managed to leave something so important! Please be praying that I can get it sorted soon.

It did clear up a bit very briefly!

All is not lost though, I have a tablet and now plural phones so I'm still contactable and I'm still able to do most things.

The big question now is what will I be doing? To be honest I'm still not sure on the details yet. Peter dropped me off yesterday and said "See you Sunday." I think I'm being given space to settle in and get used to the country etc. It is nice to have the time to get used to my surroundings and it has been very helpful living with people who know what they're doing in terms of life organisation.


So the plan for the next couple of days, unless I'm told otherwise, is to get to know some Christians from the area. Tonight there is a birthday/ leaving party being held in my flat. This will be a good opportunity to get to know people my age. Tomorrow I'll be going on a walk around part of Ljubljana. I would have liked to have able to get out and wander around the local area just to get my bearings but that will have to wait until the weather clears up.

Sunday is obviously church and this will be I guess my first official time going there. I'm really looking forward to getting to know people and being able to build relationships with them. Slovenia is a very relational country and so if my time is best spent served chatting over coffee, who am I to complain? Now if only this rain would go back to England...

On the Brink...

I've been accused again of neglecting my blog so I'm sorry I haven't posted recently. This past few weeks has been spent preparing myself both spiritually and physically for the move to Slovenia. I'm almost there and I'm ready to be on my way.

I'm very grateful that God seems to have been paving the way and making things relatively smooth. I have accommodation sorted out for at least the first month which I am incredibly thankful for. I will be living with another British missionary already based in Ljubljana. My address for the first month will be: Kunavarjeva Ulica 12, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia. This will change as it is not a long term solution but I will update this when I know more.

In the meantime I have been making good use of the recent lovely weather to sit outside and work on my first prayer letter. If you haven't received a copy of this and would like to, please email me at s.re.deacon@gmail.com.

As ever I am incredibly grateful for all your support, financially, spiritually, physically and emotionally. I know that I could not do this on my own and it's only through your support and God's strength that I am on my way now. If you would like to support me financially please email me at s.re.deacon@gmail.com.

This is only a short quick blog post but I am looking forward to flying out on 3rd May. Only a week and a half to go eek!

Ready, Steady Go...

It feels like it has taken a very long time to get to this point! It's been over 2 years since I first visited and fell in love with the country of Slovenia, a year since I was last there but now I can officially say that I am finally on my way!

After all the waiting things came together very quickly! I got the go ahead from ECM and the church to start liaising with Slovenia last Thursday and since then I have been able to organise accommodation and when I will arrive. My flight has been booked for 3rd May! I am also very excited that I will be living with another British missionary who works with students at the local university. I am very grateful that she has made it possible for me to live with her and that she has been willing to answer all and any of my questions.

It's all starting to feel very real. Before I could talk about it all and what will happen but now I need to start organising it all. There seems like a lot to do and it's a bit overwhelming. I am ever so slightly terrified about it all!

God has been so good to me in this period. It's been a long wait but I can see how He has been going ahead of me and making the timing perfect. I am very grateful that things seem to be coming together well.

The next month is looking like it will be fairly hectic. This week I am prepping for my church's Holiday Bible Club which I will be helping with next week. I will be working with the stream for 11-14 year olds so I've spent this morning wandering around Swindon trying to write a treasure hunt. Tomorrow will be spent writing a Bible study. Being unemployed has allowed me to help out with this for the first time and I'm looking forward to it all. It's also good practice for things I may be doing in Slovenia. This essentially means that I won't have much time to sort things out for a couple of weeks! There is much to do and I'm praying that I won't forget anything.

My church in Swindon is organising a commissioning service for me on 29th April - the last Sunday before I go. I will leave Swindon for St. Albans on 1st May and will be on my way at lunch time on 3rd May.

Please continue to pray for me now that the wait is over. Please pray that I will be able to organise everything I need to and that I feel prepared to go. I would also appreciate prayers for strengthening in faith and that I will continue to trust in God for all things. I know that I will face many trials and battles in the weeks and months ahead but I know that God will be with me wherever I go.

For now I am rejoicing - I am finally off to the country that is to be my new home for at least the next year!