Being Cultural

Walking to see cultural places

The last couple of weeks have been filled with cultural events. 8th February is a national holiday here in Slovenia and is their official day of culture. I went with a group of people from church on a long walk to see the birthplaces of some of the most famous writers. To be honest I'd only heard of one of them, France Prešeren, who wrote the national anthem. For me, it was more of an opportunity to spend time with people, although I did learn some new things.

Many of you will know that I'm part of an international choir here in Ljubljana. In the last week we've had two concerts, one at an art show and one at the women's prison. The concert in the prison was especially interesting since it looked nothing like prisons on tv. The Slovene government is making good use of their many castles and so the only women's prison in the country is in a castle (think more like a chateau) that was built in 1694. I obviously don't know what any of these women did to end up there but many of them looked very, very young. Although we didn't really get to speak to any of the prisoners, it was a good opportunity to bring a little bit of joy to a dark place. Although my choir is not Christian by any means, one of our favourite songs to sing is called Siyahamba (We are marching in the light of God). We regularly end our concerts with this song, singing in both Zulu and English. My prayer is that someone will hear these lyrics, wonder what they mean and maybe try to find out.

Over the past couple of weeks, members of my family and I have continued to face challenges and difficulties. Since the beginning of the year it's felt like one thing after another. In many ways it's been hard, but in others it has been good. Time and again I've been reminded that God is still in control of everything and all I can do is cling to him and do things in his strength, not my own. I'm reminded of the words Peter spoke to Jesus when asked if they wanted to leave him too. "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God." When times are difficult, the place to go is back to Jesus. I know that he is giving me the strength to carry on when I feel weak and weary. Thank you all for your prayers and please carry on praying for us. It is greatly appreciated.

The next month is looking quite busy as I write Bible studies, a Bible talk and a seminar, alongside all my usual activities and meetings. Please pray that I would have the energy to do all that I need to and that I would be trusting God with it all.

Happiness at Seeing Mountains...

I just want to start by saying thank you to all of you after my last blog post. It was encouraging to receive so many messages of support. I'm pleased to say that most of the issues and challenges my family has been facing have now been dealt with. I am so grateful for the support that I, and they, have received over the past few weeks.

Winter can be a difficult time for many people. Here in Slovenia, it can be downright depressing. The city of Ljubljana is surrounded by hills which means that many days are just grey. Weeks upon end with just grey cloudy skies! It means that the days when we can actually see the mountains in the distance are that much more special. It's hard to capture in a photo but I've tried in this picture taken at a junction I cross several times a week. When you can see the mountains, it's hard to imagine that they would ever be invisible. Then you go weeks without seeing them and you can start to forget that they even exist. I've always thought that this is quite a good analogy for God. Just because we can't see Him, doesn't mean that he's not working behind the scenes. Even if we forget about him, doesn't mean that he's not there.

Events in the last couple of weeks have led me to think and pray a lot about some of my work and ministry. Firstly I have been asked to increase my involvement with ECM International. I have accepted the role but obviously I will have to see what effect it has on my workload and ministry here in Slovenia. Secondly, most of you know that this school year I've set up a group for English speaking children. Unfortunately it's not really working for the families involved for a number of practical reasons (nothing to do with the group itself). I've been praying about how we can overcome some of the issues and be serving the families rather than being a burden for them. We're going to try meeting once a month rather than weekly. Please be praying for this ministry, that I would be trusting God with it and that He would be glorified by the work and whatever decisions are made.

It may still only be February but it's time to start thinking about our summer activities and the plans for that. We're hoping to be able to bring a group of teenagers over to the UK at the end of August. Please be praying for our plans and all the organisation that needs to take place between now and summer.

Trusting God Through Difficulties...

 

The last couple of weeks have not been easy ones for my family. Several of them have had some serious concerns and worries of different kinds. It has been hard for me here in Slovenia, feeling so far away from everything. It's not as though I could have done anything even if I was in the UK, but the distance has made me feel especially helpless. Thankfully, we have a great God, who hears our prayers and knows our concerns. One night last week I awoke at 4am to find more difficult news. It's at those times, when we feel most alone and helpless, that we know we're not.

I'm thankful and happy to say that most of the difficulties have now been solved, or are being dealt with. Please be praying for my family at this time and that I, and all of us, would keep trusting the Lord with it all.

In other news, we have snow! I took this photo from my balcony at 10pm on Monday night. We had already had a fall on Sunday night and all the roads had cleared so you can see how much was coming down. Slovenia is very good at dealing with snow. There's no such thing as school or airport closures, people just get on with life. It hasn't caused too much of a problem for me. Even if I can't cycle, I can walk most places or use the bus if necessary. That being said, some of the piles of snow (where it's been cleared from pathways) are bigger than me. I had an interesting moment when I was getting off the bus and was confronted with a massive pile I just had to kind of wade through.

In terms of ministry, life is continuing as normal. We had an encouraging youth group last week where we talked about propitiation (atonement) and what it means. We have been looking at big words that end in "shun" (yes, like the Colin Buchanen song) and it's been really encouraging seeing the young people really get to grips about what the Bible says. Tonight we'll be looking at justification. Please be praying that they don't just learn head knowledge but that they'll understand how it applies to them and why it's important to learn what the Bible says about these things.

The last couple of week may not have been easy but I have had some definite encouragements and most importantly, I have known that God has been with me through it all. As the Gettys wrote in their hymn:

"When trials come no longer fear
For in the pain our God draws near
To fire a faith worth more than gold
And there His faithfulness is told
And there His faithfulness is told

Within the night I know Your peace
The breath of God brings strength to me
And new each morning mercy flows
As treasures of the darkness grow
As treasures of the darkness grow

I turn to Wisdom not my own
For every battle You have known
My confidence will rest in You
Your love endures Your ways are good
Your love endures Your ways are good

When I am weary with the cost
I see the triumph of the cross
So in its shadow I shall run
Till He completes the work begun
Till He completes the work begun

One day all things will be made new
I’ll see the hope You called me to
And in your kingdom paved with gold
I’ll praise your faithfulness of old
I’ll praise your faithfulness of old”

How Quickly Things Change...

Three weeks before Christmas I was expecting to have a rather strange holiday period. Because of residency issues I was planning to stay in Slovenia, celebrate with friends and have a short holiday by the lakes. Then covid and other illness hit the church. My plans for youth group went out of the window. I'd prepared a couple of sessions of teaching and then a Christmas party. We ended up having the first session on Zoom and it reminded me once again how much I hated it. How did we ever do that for 2 years? In the end the second session was then cancelled for a variety of reasons. I guess I still have the material for next year right? We were able to have a Christmas party though!

Then, on 20th December, I received the letter I had been eagerly waiting for. The letter that said that my residency application had been approved and I just needed to go collect the document. All my plans suddenly went out the window. I quickly got in contact with my lawyer and established that I couldn't get the document before Christmas but that he was pretty certain I was allowed to travel. That day I cancelled my holiday, apologised to my friends and booked flights back to the UK.

View from the airport

Despite border force and train strikes, my journey to the UK was reasonably smooth, well apart from the policeman at border control at Ljubljana airport spilling his coffee over my passport... It seems to have survived its dousing OK (thank God!)

The Christmas time was a lovely period of rest, seeing all my family (including a niece I had never met before) and celebrating the birth of Jesus. Whilst the build up to Christmas was a bit strange, the end result meant that I could see many people in Swindon and at Saltford Community Church. Thank you all for your kind welcomes, support and encouragement.

I flew back to Slovenia on 2nd January (my slightly coffee stained passport didn't cause any issues) and was able to collect my residency document on 3rd. I am very thankful for all yours prayers and support. I really didn't expect it to come through this quickly. (I was worrying about what I would do if it didn't come in time for the ECM Biennial in Croatia in April!) Another thing to be thanking God for is that this time it is valid for 2 years. This means that I don't need to worry about reapplying until September next year. Thank God that everything has gone smoothly and that I am able to stay and continue the work I am doing here in Ljubljana.

For now, life is slowly getting back to normal. Youth groups start again tomorrow (the older one definitely, the younger one is still TBC) and my one to ones will start again next week.

Thank you for all your prayers and praise God for the way he has so obviously answered them!

Thanksgiving, Christmas Events and a Wait for Residency...

Games at the Ladies'
Christmas Event

I know, I know. I really will get better at posting on time! The last few weeks have been quite eventful and we're now officially fully into the swing of the Christmas season. This year I joined some American friends for Thanksgiving for the first time. It was a really lovely time spent together but I really do have to address one big question - the food! Pop culture and the media has told me for a long time that Americans love their Thanksgiving meal and that they look forward to it in much the same way we Brits look forward to our Christmas Dinner. Whilst I have to say that each of the foods was delicious, I'm still not convinced that sweet potatoes topped with toasted marshmallows and green fluff (lime jelly combined with cream cheese and marshmallows) really belong on the same plate as turkey, green beans, dressing (something like stuffing) and meat sauce... Yep, Christmas Dinner still wins!

Talking of Christmas, yesterday our Ladies Bible Study Group had our annual craft evening. It was a chance to invite friends and neighbours to come along, eat good food, make crafts, sing carols together and of course hear a short Christmas message. It went really well and several guests came along. I also took the chance to teach them all the carol Once in Royal David's City (in Slovene). It surprised me that it was new to almost everyone but I was reminded recently that until independence in 1991, Christmas was not celebrated and it was just another working day. This means that many people in Slovenia just don't have long lasting Christmas traditions in the same way we do in the UK. It was a joy though to see these ladies learning and appreciating a carol I have known basically my whole life. They liked it so much that they took the music home and are now planning to practice after church each week so that we can sing it at Christmas!

All good events have amazing food!

The next couple of weeks are looking quite busy for me as I have a lot of prep that I would like to get done before I take a break for Christmas. This Wednesday (7th) I am giving my next talk for the ladies on 1 Timothy 1: 12-20. Whilst by no means is it the most controversial passage in the book of 1 Timothy, it does have some hard things in there. Please be praying that I will be sensitive to my audience but without watering down the truths of the Bible. I am also preparing 2 sessions for the youth group on Christmas. I am using the book The Weirdest Nativity by Andrew Sach and Jon Gemmell as the basis for these sessions which looks at the Christmas story through the lens of Revelation 12. I have just about finished preparing the first session for this Friday but I still need to start on the second one. Finally, I am also writing the material we are using for youth group which is looking at big Bible words. There is a great song by Colin Buchanen called Big Words That End in Shun that gives the definitions of some of these words (eg Substitution, Jesus takes our place). We have already had the first 2 sessions and whilst I have written the 3rd, I really need to get more done before Christmas. This is partly so I can have a break over Christmas but also because I have a friend checking them for me and she's going to the UK in a week...Sufficed to say, I have plenty to be getting on with!

I know that many of you are praying for me and for my residency application. I'm sad to say that it's looking increasingly unlikely that I will receive my residency in time to come back to the UK for Christmas so I'm starting to plan for what I'll do in Slovenia. I had an appointment at the government offices last week and whilst they took my fingerprints and signature, all they could say was that my application was on a big pile, that it had not yet been processed and that all I can do is wait. Whilst I am obviously sad about this, I know that I just have to keep trusting God. I know that I am here for a reason, that I can only do all these things in his strength and that my residency will be awarded at the right time for his plan. Please be praying that I will keep trusting in and depending upon God!

An American Team and Exploration...

 I realise that it's been a while since I last wrote so I apologise for that. For those of you who get my prayer letter, you will have hopefully realised that I sent out a new one yesterday. The last couple of weeks have been pretty busy but good. Last week was a holiday here. Usually the school calendar lines up with the British one for the Autumn half term but because Slovenia has national holidays on both 31st October and 1st November, the school holidays were a week later than usual. The week before the holidays some of my American friends had another team come over from Alabama. When the last team came over in the summer I had a lot more free time to help out. This time I obviously had my own work to focus on. I still managed to spend a bit of time with them. I'm not sure how much I did but I think it was an encouragement to have another person around who knew the language, the country and the church situation here. On the Friday, 4 of the group came to Ljubljana to lead the youth group for me. I tried to make it an American themed social and so we had hot dogs and brownies and played games together. I think it was a good opportunity for the Americans to meet some of our teenagers and learn a bit more about what life is like here. It was also a good chance for the teenagers to get to meet the team and maybe learn a little bit more about them.

Last week was also busy but in a completely different way. As it was the holidays, my parents came out for a visit. It was lovely to see them and spend time with them. Due to my residency application, I'm not expecting to be allowed to leave the country at Christmas (although you can be praying that I receive it before then so I can go back) and so this was a lovely chance to be with them when I don't think I'll be able to see them again in person until April. Whenever people come to visit me, it's a great chance to explore new parts of the country or at least to revisit my favourite parts. This time I had to do all the driving so it was more tiring than I'd expected it to be. We also went to see some caves which were a bit more strenuous than I'd been expecting (500 steps down into the cave, a walk of a few km and then 500 steps back up out). We were very fortunate with the weather, only one day was rainy and so we worked around that. I think my favourite place we found was Divje Jezero (picture at the top) which was truly beautiful.

It's taken a few days since they left on Monday to get back into my routine which has been difficult for me, especially since I've had quite a busy week with lots of meetings. Please be praying for me and the work I'm doing here as we start to think about Christmas and the activities and teachings we'll be doing for that.

Please do also pray for my residency situation as I am a little bit anxious about it! 

Starting New Ministries...

This week has been quite full but also quite rewarding. Today was the start of a new childrens' group called Explorers. I saw the need in our church for a group for younger children, especially in the English language. Thankfully, I think I can speak English quite well... We advertised the group on Facebook and made contact with a couple of other families that way and so we had a total of 6 children (with a couple who were either too young or too old, who stayed with their parents). Most of the children came from Christian homes but there was one little girl who came  where I'm not entirely sure what the parents believe. I felt the group went quite well and hopefully they will all come back next week. I am thankful that children came along and they seemed to enjoy themselves. Please be praying for this new ministry and for the children who come along. Please also be praying that we would be able to make good contacts with the parents. 

This week was also the first time I'd given a talk to the Ladies' Bible Study that hadn't been written as part of my studies. I have started a series on 1 Timothy and we had a good discussion afterwards. It's really encouraging to be able to engage with these ladies and to talk about issues that they are thinking through and struggling with. This group are an encouragement to me and I love being able to spend time with them.

Other than that, I have fallen into a good routine with my one-to-ones, my language learning and the youth work I am doing. So far everything seems to be going well and all that I'm doing is well received. Please be praying for all the people I'm meeting with and for the ministries that I'm involved with. Please pray that I would keep depending on God alone and remember that it is only in his strength that I can do these things.

There are still a couple of other people that I would like to meet up with reasonably regularly but for various reasons these have not worked out. Please be praying for these girls and women, that I would be able to keep encouraging them even if we can't meet regularly.