When the Road Doesn't Quite Lead Where You Expected...

Predjama Grad (Yes it's a castle in a cave!)

Last week I had my parents visiting me. We had a great time together getting to see lots of different parts of Slovenia. I really enjoyed introducing them to the country I love so much. I also enjoyed getting to see places I'd not been before such as the Postojna caves and the Predjama castle. They really are well worth a visit if you ever visit Slovenia.
Most importantly, they were able to come to my church and meet some of the people I work with. They were even invited along to the youth group on Friday evening where they were interviewed!

I'm sad that they're gone but I know it won't be too long before I see them again as I'll probably have a short break in England over the Christmas holidays. The only sad part of their time with me is that I managed to twist my knee getting up off the sofa to let them into my flat. It's not too bad but I just need to be careful with it.

I thought this week I would be starting to get into my new routine now that the term has started properly. I was all set to write about my experience at the language school where I was due to start this week. Unfortunately that experience was very short lived! I had paid for the course and filled in a written placement test. I arrived on Tuesday morning where I had the introduction before we were taken one by one for an oral test. After I had finished my test I went and had coffee with some of my new classmates. I began to get a bit worried at this point because we had been told there would be only two classes and everyone I spoke to were complete beginners. We had been told that we would find out what groups we would be placed in before class on Thursday so I arrived in plenty of time only to find that I wasn't in either group!

Basically I was way too advanced for the beginner class but the other group were nearly fluent and so there was nothing for my level. There had been a misunderstanding and I should have been emailed so I didn't turn up. I'm actually grateful I did go along though because I was able to get the contact details of someone I met on Tuesday. Hopefully I'll be able to keep in touch with her.

My walk from the bus stop

Fortunately I have already been in touch with my previous private tutor and I'll be starting lessons with her again next week. It's not quite what I expected but I'm sure I'll make quick progress with her. I've also been promised a refund from the language school. I guess I'll try there again next semester. Anyway, as I was leaving the school and starting to make my way home I was trying to sort all this out and wasn't really paying a huge amount of attention to the buses. To be fair, the bus I got on had the wrong destination on the front and so I thought it was going my way. It wasn't! The next thing I knew I was at the end of the line, the wrong end of the line. Due to my stubbornness and slight embarrassment I didn't want to just get back on the bus and go the opposite direction, instead I decided to walk to the next bus stop. Thirty minutes later I was slightly regretting my decision especially with my sore knee but it was a lovely day and I explored a part of Ljubljana I'd never been to before. It was also slightly surreal to be surrounded by fields in the middle of the city!

This week has been a learning experience for me. Even though things are not going as I planned, I know that God has a reason for it all happening this way. I just need to keep trusting him through these changes to my plan!

Failures in Communication...

Today has been quite sad for me. It was my last language lesson with my private tutor. I have been very grateful and appreciative of the way she has helped me learn the language. It has also helped that she is a Christian because she has also been helping me with technical Christian language. The reason I have finished learning with her is because I will be starting to learn at the Slovene language school on 2nd October. It will be strange learning in a group setting but I think it will be good for me. It also means that I will have opportunities to make new friends and build relationships with different groups of people. Please be praying for me as I start to learn in a new way.

If you really want to know, these are prepositions and
endings for 4th, 5th and 2nd cases but it demonstrates
the fun that Slovene is!

Although I am making a lot of progress with the language (I have reached the equivalent of GCSE standard) I'm obviously not perfect and this has led to some interesting communications. The hardest thing for me is understanding Slovene when I'm not expecting it. My automatic response is to say that I don't understand and that I don't speak Slovene (ne razumem, ne govorim slovensko). Unfortunately if I'm taken off guard even this can fail. Last week I was stood at the bus stop when a lady started asking me something. I replied ne razumem, ne govorite slovensko. If you didn't spot the mistake, what I actually said was I don't understand, you (formal) don't speak Slovene. Well at least I was polite in telling this poor woman she didn't speak her own language. I did realise what I'd said and straight away managed to correct myself but she did look very confused.

Even today I've had lots of fun with the language. I got phoned at 7.30 this morning by a delivery driver. At first I didn't know who he was or what he wanted. I managed to explain that I didn't understand and he somehow found someone to speak to me in English. I don't know if they were with him or not. I have visions of him wandering the streets trying to find someone to speak with me...

In Slovenia, I have learnt that it is common for items to be passed on to people in some unusual ways. For example sometimes people will give packages to bus drivers to take with them and collected at another stop. It is also common practice for items/ letters to be left at petrol stations. It looked like I might have to pick up my parcel from my local petrol station which is always a fun experience (I have somehow managed it once before). Fortunately I was home when the delivery driver
rang again to say he was outside. He didn't have his friend/ random person to interpret for him so I somehow managed to muddle through enough Slovene to work out what was going on. I was very proud of myself!

Apart from the language, things are getting busy and I feel like I'm getting settled into a routine. The youth group started again last week and I have now had 3 Bible studies with the teenage girls. These seem to be going well and I appreciate that they are starting to ask questions and that we are having good discussions.

My routine will be slightly disrupted (in a very good way) as my parents are coming to visit. I'm looking forward to spending time with them and showing them the country of Slovenia. It is also a very good excuse for me to get to see all the places I've wanted to go to but haven't had the time/ money to do it. It actually will help a lot in learning more about the Slovene culture. Please be praying for them as they travel and for all of us as we drive around the country next week.

I'm sorry I don't have many interesting photos this week. One of the benefits of my apartment block is that we have a roof terrace and so get some amazing views across the city. I'll finish up by adding in a photo of the sunset over the hills surrounding Ljubljana. Apparently they're not big enough to be mountains but I'm from the south of England and they look like mountains to me!

Starting One to Ones...

This last fortnight has gone so quickly! I only realised this morning that it was time for me to write my blog again! Thank you to those of you who were praying for me as I travelled to England. I had a good time with family and friends. Unfortunately I was ill with a cold the entire time and had a flight from Venice to England that almost rivalled my trip to America a few years ago (if you don't know the story you can read about it here https://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/29/business/29road.html) Ok so it wasn't as bad as that one but we were sat on the plane in Venice for about 2 hours before we set off. Despite these setbacks I really did have a good time in England. I had to take most of the next week off to recover but it was worth it!

It's the beginning of a new term and so church activities are about to start back up. This means that I have also started preparing for my one to ones with some of the younger women in the church. In fact I had my first session yesterday. In this blog post I thought I would focus on some of the things we'll be looking at in these sessions. With the teenage girls we're studying the book of Proverbs. Some of you may be asking why Proverbs, I don't think it's first on many people's lists to study. I chose it, however, because I was reminded in my own study that it is a useful book for learning how to live in a way that's pleasing to God. It is full of God's wisdom that is applicable to all people in all situations in life. It is a great book for teenagers to look at as they work out how they should be living with all the pressures they face from society today. As well as Proverbs we're also looking at sections from a book called Battles Christians Face by Vaughan Roberts. This was first published about 10 years ago and was very helpful for me when I was in my late teenage/ early twenties. The first chapter is on image and identity. It was good for me to be reminded that we don't give ourselves identity but it is a gift of grace from God. It doesn't matter what the world thinks of us, what we look like, what we do etc because we have been chosen and given a new status by God.

I haven't started the second one to one sessions yet although hopefully they will begin in the next week or so. With one of the women in church we will be looking at Rejoicing in Christ by Michael Reeves. I must admit that I haven't actually read this book yet (although I have started). We chose to look at this book because it has been recently translated into Slovene and was recommended by the church. I have heard Mike Reeves speak and read other books of his. He has an easily understandable style and just effuses excitement and energy whatever subject he is talking/ writing about. The pages of the book seem to be jam packed full of gospel truths. I'm looking forward to reading it properly and learning more about Christ and the joy that we can have in him and in what he has done for us.

This next week is when things will start to get busy at church with normal activities like the youth group starting again. A few times people have commented that I arrived in Slovenia at a really weird time in the year. It was right at the end of the school year and so just as I started getting involved in activities, they stopped for summer. In reality I'm very glad I arrived when I did. I was able to get a sense and an idea of what life is like here during term time but then I had the summer to learn how to live here and to build on relationships with people. I was able to be involved in the church camps having already spent time with the people at church. It also means that I know what I will be involved with now that the summer is over. I am able to start afresh but not in an unknown capacity.

Please pray for the term ahead and especially for the people I will be meeting with regularly. Please pray that they will be learning and growing in knowledge of God and how to live their lives in a way that's pleasing to him. Please also pray for me as I seek to lead and be a good example to those around me. Pray that I will put my trust completely in God to guide and to help me especially when I am leading these studies.

Balancing Work and Rest...

Ok so I know I said I would be late writing this post but you know what, I decided to write this before I go back to England tomorrow rather than after. It's only been a week and a half since my last post so I'm sorry there isn't much new news. No don't stop reading, I still have things I want to share.

This last week and a half have really been a learning curve for me and not really in the way I expected. It's very tempting sometimes to share only the good points of my life here, of which there are many, but how will people know how to pray if I don't share the hard times too. Sometimes it's ok to turn around and say 'yes that was tough' but I know that God is sovereign over it all. After the highs of the summer with both camps I was involved in, I was quite looking forward to a week where I could relax and recuperate ready for the busy new year starting soon. I didn't expect it to be one of the toughest weeks I've had here - I was very lonely. Now I'm not blaming anyone here apart from myself (I'm really not writing this to make people feel guilty!). I purposefully didn't arrange meetings with people because I wanted the space away from people to recharge. Unfortunately both my flatmates were away for the week and the Bible study and my language lesson on the Wednesday were cancelled due to a national holiday. It essentially meant that I was by myself for the week. I had nothing to prepare and so I was just left with self motivated study - that was sadly lacking that week.

Before violins start playing in the background, I've realised that although it was hard at the time, it taught me valuable lessons about myself. However much I see myself as an introvert, I still need to be around people. God didn't create us to be alone, He created us as a community and this is something that I really need to remember.

So then how do I balance work and rest, time by myself and time with other people? It could become very tempting to go to the other extreme and fill my time with so much stuff I don't have time to feel lonely but that's not healthy either. I'm not going to claim I have the answers. I'm still figuring out this whole ministry life thing. I was, however, encouraged to plan things for my week this week and to try and have some things in my diary so I'm not left so isolated. Overall I just need to trust God. I know I'm in the right place serving him and I also know that I will have bad weeks, it's how I react to them that's important.

I'm now going to turn this blog post into an advert for Slovenia! I decided that I needed exciting plans for this last Monday. In fact I actually have been very busy this week which has been great! On Monday I decided that I wanted to travel to Lake Bled to go on the toboggan slide down the side of the mountain. If you've never heard of Lake Bled, Google it! It's one of my favourite places in Slovenia (apparently everyone else loves it too!) I persuaded my friend to come with me and I drove us there (yes I've learnt how to drive on the other side of the road). It was a beautiful day and really reminded me of the beauty and glory of God's creation. It was a great time of fellowship, both with my friend who came with me but also with some friends who live in the near by town of Radovljica. It was great to able to hear how God is working in their church and in another part of Slovenia. Basically it was a day I really needed, not just for the fun but for the fellowship and the joy of spending time here with other Christians.

On a completely different note, I will be travelling back to the UK tomorrow for the weekend. I will literally only be in the country until Monday. I will be spending a lot of time in transit (Ljubljana - Venice - London - St. Albans - London - St. Albans - Southampton - Swindon - Bristol - London - Ljubljana) so please could you be praying for travelling mercies, for energy and that I would both be encouraged and be an encouragement to all the people I spend time with this weekend!

The Mountains Are Alive with the Sound of Music...

I'm sorry to those people who've noticed that I'm a bit late with my post. I've been very good at writing them every two weeks and posting them on a Friday but it just wasn't going to work this time. On Friday I went with about 25 other people from my church for a weekend away - I thought I would wait until I got back to write my blog and so that's why I find myself almost a week late...

Anyway, apology over. We stayed in the Julian Alps which are on the border with both Austria and Italy. I have to say that I don't think that I've ever visited a place with such dramatic scenery, it was absolutely beautiful. It was also a really encouraging time away with my church family. The theme of the weekend for the adults was work and rest and for the children it was music. I again got involved in the music in the camp and was able to play my flute during the times we were singing together. I also led one of the sessions for the children and younger teenagers. My topic was attitudes to music in church whether singing or playing. I was really encouraged by their willingness to participate in the discussions. I had about 10 kids ranging in age from 8 or 9 to 15 or 16. It was an interesting challenge trying to prepare something that they could all learn from but the older ones were really good at helping the younger ones and they all joined in together.

On Saturday evening we had a really encouraging time of music together. The keyboard and the drum kit were brought outside and we all joined in singing and playing different songs and hymns. Strangely enough we finished off with Hark the Herald Angels Sing! It's not quite Christmas here but that doesn't mean that we can't still praise God for the birth of his Son. It was amazing to hear the sound of the music surrounded by the dramatic landscape although it was definitely mountains and not hills!


Another encouragement for me over the last week or so is that I've arranged with some of the girls at church to meet them regularly to read the Bible and discuss topics that are important to them. Please be praying for them as they seek to learn more about God and how they can live for Him in their everyday lives. Please also be praying for me as I seek to lead and choose appropriate subjects. This means that I will soon be meeting with 3 people from the church regularly and to discuss the Bible and Christian books. I pray that I will be an encouragement to them.


Apart from the two camps, summer has been fairly quiet. August has felt like a very strange month. I've either been preparing for or recovering from camps. I'm trying to be wise with my time and making sure I take time to rest and recover from the busyness of the camps. In all things though I can see God's hand at work. I'm very glad I arrived in Slovenia in May. It was a strange time to arrive but it meant that I was able to join in the church activities and get an idea of what happens during term time. Having the summer here has also given me time to settle in, build relationships and therefore prepare for the start of the academic year. Things are quiet now but I know that they will soon get very busy!

As I finish this post I will apologise again in advance as I don't know when I will write my next blog. I'm also due to be writing my next prayer letter very soon. Next Friday, however, I will be travelling to England for the weekend. It will be a very quick visit although I will be in Swindon on the evening of 26th August. Hopefully I will be able to see some of you there and catch up. I will try and write again on 28th August (please don't hold me to that). Please continue to pray for me and the church here and that God would be glorified in all things!

Who Knew Bunk Bed Hammock Camping was a Thing...

My hammock bunk bed!

This last week I've been camping with the church youth group on the summer camp. It was a really encouraging time with the young people. On the camp we had about 15 or 16 kids aged between 11 and 18. Most came from my church in Ljubljana but we had a few from a church in Maribor and still a couple of others from different parts of the country.

We travelled to the south east of Slovenia to stay at a campsite right next to the river Kolpa which forms part of the border between Slovenia and Croatia. On the map below, the blue dot is Ljubljana, where I live and the red pin is where we were staying.

The campsite

I've been part of quite a few camps over the years but I was so impressed with the teenagers we had on this one. They all got involved, helped without complaining and joined in all the activities whether they were Bible based or helping clear up after meals. Naturally there were a couple of smaller groups formed but for the most part they all interacted with each other and the older ones often helped out with the younger ones. It was a real joy to see!

The theme of the camp was freedom. We focussed on the issues of freedom from parents and freedom from school but that real freedom comes from God alone. I was really encouraged by some of the conversations I had and that some of the teenagers said that they wanted to get back into reading their Bibles more. Please pray for these young people as they go back to their normal lives that they would want to continue to learn more about God and living for him. Please also pray for me that I would be an encouragement to those in the church in Ljubljana. I am really thankful that I have had this time to get to know them better!

Location of the camp

My main role on the camp was the organisation of the music. I had to choose 5 songs that related to the theme, that I already knew, that were either already translated into Slovene or could be quickly and easily. It was an interesting task! I also had to choose a mixture of ones they already knew along with ones I could teach them. For those of you who are interested we sang: This Life I Live (Življenje ki ga jaz živim), Amazing Grace My Chains are Gone (Dar milosti prost sem verig), And Can It Be (Je vse to res), There's a Place Where the Streets Shine (Vem za kraj) and Great is He (Velik je).

The hardest part for me was learning how to sing these songs in another language especially when I know them so well in English! I was really aware that my pronunciation could have been better in places but they were all really gracious with me especially when I was teaching them new songs. It was great hearing the kids singing these songs at random times during the day. It was also a great joy for me to have random singing sessions during the day. Some of the girls brought ukuleles with them and their own music so we occasionally sat down and just played and sang together. One of these times was Wednesday evening. Some of the teenagers were playing a game together when one of the girls came and sat nearby with her instrument. Whenever we were out in the game we would run over and sing together until the next game started and we all joined in again. It was a definite highlight of the camp for me.

Much of the camp was also spent in outdoor activities. Being right next to the river inevitably led to lots of time spent in the water whether swimming or boating. It was a real relief to be able to cool down on some of the hot days. To be honest the teenagers would have been in the water whether it was hot or cold!

Another activity we were able to take part in was rock climbing. We crossed the border into Croatia to go to a Christian activity centre. The young people all seemed to really enjoy their time there and most of them gave it a go. They were split into 3 groups and took it in turns to climb the rock face. Once they had finished they were taken aside for a brief debrief. This was another encouraging time as it allowed them to talk about the things they had found hard. The group I sat in with managed to link it to freedom which was great. They talked about how it might feel like having more freedom if you climbed without ropes but in the end it was more dangerous and could lead to death. They were more free with the ropes as it allowed them to go further and have more security. This was then linked back to God and where our true freedom comes from!

I've been really encouraged by this camp and feel privileged that I was able to take part in it. That being said, despite working in a camping shop for 4 years, sleeping on the ground is not my favourite activity! One of the other leaders was sleeping in a hammock rather than in a tent and so I decided that on the final night, I too would sleep in my (own!) hammock. Unfortunately rain was forecast overnight... The other leader was prepared though, she had brought tarpaulin with her but there wasn't enough to cover both our hammocks separately. Cue the suggestion to sleep bunk bed style, which apparently is a thing. It was really comfortable! I slept in the top hammock and needed help to get in and out which did mean that I was somewhat trapped but I slept so well, well apart from the rainstorm at 3 in the morning which woke me up. I was dry, warm and comfortable... in a tree. Unfortunately the same couldn't be said for the tent I had been in. The rain somehow got in and soaked the feet and some of the belongings of the people in there. Who knew that sleeping in a tree would be drier than sleeping in a tent?

Growing Pains...

Giant light up robot in the centre of Ljubljana

I thought I would start this post with a literal story of growing pains! Yesterday I was in a shop when I realised that I couldn't reach the item I wanted. I tried jumping a few times but it wasn't working and there wasn't really anything to climb up... I had no choice but to ask for help. In England I hate having to ask random strangers to help me because of my height but it is definitely worse in Slovenia! So there I was in the middle of the shop and the only people nearby were a slightly older couple. I screwed up my courage and started trying to think in Slovene so that I could explain the situation. Trust me to pick a Spanish couple who spoke no other languages! Now I learnt French, German and Italian in school but never any Spanish. I realised that even though Italian is similar no other languages were coming to mind except Slovene. What else could I do but mime? There I was pretending to jump and point at the item I wanted until they finally understood! It just goes to show that even knowing some Slovene doesn't always help you in Slovenia!

These last couple of weeks have been fairly quiet but have been a good time for cultural growth. In the summer Ljubljana has a summer festival with outside concerts. They build a stage in the middle of one of the squares and have different performances every night. If you want a seat you have to pay but you can attend for free and just stand around the edges of the barriers. The opening night was a festival of lights. It was amazing! Complete with a giant light up robot, a light up ship and fireworks from the castle on the hill above the city. Imagine the Proms but outside and you might get a bit of an idea. The most impressive bit was the performance of the Montagues and Capulets from Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet (otherwise known as the Apprentice theme tune). It was a great time to spend with people and to get to know them better.

England vs Croatia

Another good thing for getting to know people better over the last few weeks has been the world cup. Slovenia didn't qualify after being beaten by England a couple of years ago. This has not stopped many of the Slovene men and boys (sorry to be sexist but it's pretty much true) getting very excited about all the football. Wednesday night was obviously the big match. It also happened to coincide with a Bible study. The timings worked out fairly well as the study started at 6.30 and the match didn't begin until 8. For those of you who aren't too sure on your geography, Croatia borders Slovenia and is another ex Yugoslav republic. I spoke to some Slovenes who didn't want them to do well due to rivalries but that was definitely not the case with the group I was with! The Australians were pretty neutral although some were supporting England. At times it felt like I was in Croatia with the excitement in the room. Someone was quick to assure me that they did love me really even though they were celebrating England's loss. It's hard to feel too sad about the result when I see the joy of people from a country that is always described as very small. Apart from anything else it was great to spend time with people from my church and getting to know them better.

This week has also seen a massive answer to prayer: I received my Slovene residency and have leave to stay here (if I wish) until August 2020. This was a metaphorical story of growing pains. I don't know what bureaucracy is like in other countries but it is terrifying here. When I arrived I had to register my presence at the police station in the district of Šiška where I was staying. I couldn't apply for residency to begin with because I didn't have a permanent address. When I moved I was able to start the process. This involves going to Tobačna which is the central office. Despite it being the office for foreigners, they refuse to speak English. I have heard so many horror stories of people going in and being shouted at for not speaking Slovene or saying the wrong thing or the wrong paperwork being started. My Slovene housemate was so lovely and helpful and she came with me the first time. Unfortunately I didn't quite have all the right paperwork with me but we were able to start the process and were told to come back with the rest of my documents. A week later we returned with the documents and were told that it should all be fine but I just needed to wait for an invitation to return when my application had been processed and accepted. At this point I needed to de-register from the police station in Šiška and then register in Moste where I now live. I was so thankful to God that the trips to Tobačna had gone well but I wasn't expecting problems at the police station. I rang up Šiška and thankfully they understood my English and de-registered me. It meant, however, that I still had a piece of official paper with my passport. For some reason this caused a problem in Moste. The police officer was really in a bad mood and was shouting at us because apparently my rental contract wasn't good enough (!) and that I still had this slip from Šiška. It was all in Slovene and I didn't really understand what was going on. We had to wait for quite a while for it to be sorted out but it finally was.

On Monday I received the invitation to go back to Tobačna because my application had been successful. I had 15 days to return but this was really awkward timing. A week had already passed whilst the letter was in the post and my Slovene housemate is on camp this week. My British housemate was also going away and really couldn't help. We managed to get another Slovene friend to come and sit with me which was an answer to prayer because I was really starting to stress out. After all that, the official spoke to me in English! That's pretty much unheard of in Tobačna. It also gave me the confidence to go back to Moste police station by myself to de-register now I have my residency. I was incredibly scared and worried that I would be yelled at in Slovene (although there shouldn't have bee any problems, you never know how they're going to react). Thankfully God answered my prayers and it all went well at the police station (apart from being ignored for 10 minutes whilst I waited to be served). All in all this experience has taught me that I can have the confidence to deal with Slovene bureaucracy although I would prefer to have a Slovene by my side every time. I just need to remember that God is with me and He will help me through the difficult and awkward situations!