Outreach in BB

We- David, Nikola, Domino and I- played at an outreach put together by a couple in Banska Bystrica (BB) who have a ministry to the gypsy community there. The outreach was held in an old communist-era women's prison in BB, which has now been turned into housing for gypsies. In other words, we were playing in the "backyard" of everyone's homes and lives. Anyway, we had a lot of children attend as well as some teens and adults. We all had a great time, and were able to spend time with the kids (me) and youth/adults (D, D & N) after we played and gave testimonies. After the outreach, we spent the evening with Stefan, Jolana and their two colleagues, Matus and Lucia, talking and getting to know each other a little better. It was so much fun and the perfect way to end a great day. 

Stefan N. introducing us...

One of the children who attended...

Nikolas, the boy in the red, was my buddy... we played balloon volleyball together after the program...

I can't over how cute gypsy children are.... I just love their eyes and smiles and how full of life they are...

Jolana N., holding the pink bucket, giving out awards/prizes to kids...

Excited but a little shy...

I found this little girl's crocheted socks both frightening and awesome all at the same time...

Some of the youth watching prizes/awards being handed out...

This little guy was adorable... I was contemplating taking him home with me... 

Singing....

Cuties!!!!!!

Wait a Minute [Miss] Post[lady]

Okay, it's official that everyone in the village knows I'm in a relationship with The Boy now that the post lady is giving him my mail/packages to give to me. I'm not kidding; this happened two days ago. The Boy showed up at the house holding a box and said, "This is for you." I must have looked confused because he said, "Oh, it's not from me; it's from America." I asked where he'd found it (I didn't remember seeing any boxes laying around after getting home from teaching); he shrugged and said, "The post lady asked me to give the box to you because she's got too much work to do or something." I didn't know whether to start laughing at the fact that she knows we're together and taking advantage of that, or the fact that she's too busy to do her job of delivering mail! Either way, it's funny.

Anyway, the box was a belated birthday present of American goodies that totally delighted the senses! Thank you so very much, Brooklyn!!!!!! I love it all and it will definitely come in handy. The fortune cookie even made it here relatively unharmed. Thanks for thinking of me!!!!!

Lucy

I am not sure who or how, but this is something that is truly beautiful and moving (scroll down for the video). I think it shows the love of two parents for their daughter and in turn the love of a daughter for her two parents.

Your thoughts and prayers would be appreciated for this meeting and the decisions that will have to be made. It hurts. It's breaking. It's numbing. It's ache-inducing. God is in control. God grants comfort. God grants wisdom. God grants peace. May He grant it even more now.

Aching

Reading the latest on little Lu last night sent me into shock. And this afternoon the full weight of what bother-in-law wrote engulfed me. And I didn't know how to react/think/function. My heart was so heavy and felt like it was ripping in half. I was dropping clean dishes I was trying to put away so I could wash the dirty ones in the sink and babbling incoherently about whatever it was I felt the need to go on and on about just to get my mind off the situation. The Boy sat at the kitchen table observing me silently until, I guess, he just couldn't take one more falling dish (or maybe it was the way I was half-heartedly marching around the kitchen talking about asinine things) and said, "Em, stop! You have a problem?" I instantaneously dropped forks, knives, spoons and spatulas on the counter with a loud clatter, muttered "No, I don't have a problem," and leaned against the sink in a futile attempt to appear normal and with it. Then I released: released the words I didn't know I wanted to say. The few tears I didn't know wanted to come out of my eyes. My rigid and tense muscles. The sadness desperately trying to claw its way out from the depths of my inner most being (not that I actually know where that is or anything). And he just held me, letting me be emotionally unstable and sad without saying a harsh or judgmental word (gotta love gypsies, who feel everything right alongside you whether they're connected with the situation or not). Instead he listened and encouraged. And then tried to fix the problem... so like a guy, but greatly appreciated as it helped bring me back to reality and calm me down.

As I absorb this news and try to feel less numb, I know I don't want to talk about this yet. (Just talking to people in general is a struggle at the moment, I won't lie.) I do know that I ache. It's something I hate, yet it's the only thing I can do at the moment. I ache for sister one. Ache for brother-in-law. Ache for my Monkey Baby. Ache for her siblings. Ache for my family. I just plain ache. And unfortunately, there's no magic little pill I can pop for instantaneous relief with this kind of aching.

They Say It's My Birthday...

I got a surprise birthday party thrown for me today (even though I knew it was coming because I understood everyone when they'd talk about it in Slovak right in front of me) and it was a lot of fun. I feel so loved and cared for by everyone here. I am not sure I deserve a party; I feel like I need to be throwing parties for the people here, not the other way around. But regardless, here are some pictures.

Yes, I pretty much adore him!

My cake!

Nikola and Katie G.

Love "my" kiddos! 

Zuzka, Evka and Domino

Just chillaxin'...

Simona, Eva (the wonderful hostess), Zuzka, Mirko, myself and Anuska...

Dancing... and not sure to what we were reacting...

Group picture...

Uuuuhhh... pretty sure this one's self explanatory...

Love this picture of Martina, The Boys cousin...

Katie and myself...

Anuska, Dasi and Katie...

Klaudia (who I am seriously going to adopt she's so cute!), myself and Domino.

(For those of you on Facebook, I have more pictures posted there.)

Excited and Encouraged

Tonight I met with David, Nikola, Domino and Dasa. We were discussing the church here in Z and ways to help it grow and find ways for the members in the church to feel like more than just people who attend. I couldn't help but think of 1 Corinthians 12 as we talked. We spent two hours discussing and praying together. We've come up with some great ideas that we're going to start implementing this week. As the church is mostly comprised of children and teens, we are trying to find ways to cater to that demographic without losing the few adults we have. We've decided to rotate where each week one person (or two in my case as I'll need a translator) takes the little kids- ages 3 to 6 or so- and have children's church while the sermon is going on. We're going to start sharing worship leader responsibilities and bible study responsibilities so more than just one or two people can be involved. We've got some other ideas up our sleeves, too, about how to get the adults involved and leading. Ah! I'm so excited. And encouraged. It's amazing to see how God is working and moving in the lives of the people here and how He's bringing us together in a unified way. God is always good!

Cravings and Experimentation

Now that Die Off is well being over and I'm back to eating food (probably a little too gleefully, if I'm honest with myself) the cravings have all started in. Sugar? Doughy-yeasty goodness? Anything that's not a vegetable? Oh yes, PLEASE!

However, I've been good. I've avoided temptation. I've not dipped a spoon (or ten) into cookie dough or oatmeal bar batter when baking for kid's klub, bible study or meetings. I've declined food at social gatherings. I've even kept my hand from involuntarily reaching out and grabbing the gluten free bread at Tesco (which is corn flour and yeast based, both of which I am supposed to avoid). Is it hard? You have no idea! Well, maybe you do if you've ever had to give something up for, say, the rest of your life.

Anyway, I bring this is up is because today I had a craving for potato salad. I don't like potato salad in the states, but LOVE it in the Slovakia. There's nothing quite like a bowl of Slovak Zemiakovy Šalat. It's pure comfort food- much like pecan pie, macaroni & cheese or bbq can be for Southerners. The problem is, though, that potatoes, mayonnaise and pickles are all on the no-no list. So... what to do, what to do. Experiment!

I had a head of cauliflower that I need to do something with and figured, eh, why not? So I steamed it up until it was just slightly soft, and boiled a few eggs. I also boiled some lentils with green onions, garlic and a little curry powder until soft. Once slightly cooled, I pushed the cauliflower and peeled eggs through a special strainer (I have no idea what it's actually called, but it's a very important part of making SK potato salad!) into a bowl, added the lentils and all-natural plain yogurt and mixed it together. I added sea salt and some pepper to taste. Then I let if sit in the fridge to get cold (it's rather nasty warm, but that's probably just a given).

I have to admit, it didn't even come close to comparing to potato salad, but I was desperate and it did the trick. I would post a picture of it, but unfortunately I am not in possession of my camera as The Boy has it right now. But, should I get it back today I will try to remember to "capture" the final product.

Ho-Hum

It's been on of those days. The kind where the sugar craving has been severe, I nearly cut my finger off with a pair of scissors (scissors?), my stomach is angry and The Boy left for the weekend. In all honesty, I'm merely blogging to avoid the desire to go raid the cabinet where the chocolate I'm not supposed to be eating is being kept for future baking endeavors, not because I have anything worth while to say. Grrr... I really need to keep some sort of faux chocolate lying around (do they even have that in SK?), or I could just get over my sweet tooth altogether since I can't eat sugar anymore! (Although in my defense, I have been very good for nearly a month now and only cheated on Easter Monday because The Boy's momma invited me over for lunch and I couldn't refuse now that I'm dating her son; lunch was amazing, I might add. It took me nearly an hour to slowly eat the mound of food on my plate and I enjoyed every bite.)

Anyway. I received a very nice box this week from a friend back home. It was full of some of my clothes from home (woo hoo!) and assorted delectables of the ACD friendly variety. Thank you, Mrs. G!!!! I could be returning to Texas in as few as six weeks for my dad's upcoming nuptials. Hmmm... not sure how I'm going to afford the ticket, but my daddy is totally worth it.

I found out last night that one of my friends is engaged and wants me to be a bridesmaid! Why I'd love to, thanks! Now I just have to figure out how I'm going to afford a flight to the States in August. (I swear, if my brother emails me with some jolly good news about graduation in May I'm going to run around Z screaming "Money doesn't grow on trees!!!!!" at the top of my lungs! What would the locals think of me then...)

Okay, enough of my meanderings. Have a wonderful weekend.

Tradition

Today is Easter Monday. While this may or may not mean anything to you, in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, a tradition of spanking or whipping is carried out on this day. In the morning, men spank women with a special handmade whip and in eastern Moravia and Slovakia, they throw cold water on them. The spanking is not painful or intended to cause suffering. A legend says that women should be spanked in order to keep their health and beauty during whole next year. What I learned this morning as I finished up my run is that apparently in Z they use perfume that smells like an old lady. Even after a shower, I still smell like it and I barely had any dumped on my head! 

Speaking of running, I started again this past Saturday after a two or three month hiatus because of the pulled MCL. The ligament has seemed to have healed pretty well and I'm not experiencing any pain. Woo hoo! It feels so good to be moving again. As I huffed and puffed (needless to say, this much time off obviously doesn't do much for the lungs!) through the village and was nearing the end of my route some of the boys from Kid's Klub saw me and started running alongside me trying to talk to me (they wanted to dump water or perfume or whatever on my head) as I ran through Paseka (the area of apartments where most of the people I work with live). It was cute.