Hello from the Balkans team!
First off, I want to thank you for spending time in prayer over this trip. It has definitely been felt. Today was an incredible day full of growth and discomfort… in a good way! This morning, one of the team members gave us an introduction to the Slovenian language. It was a very good example of what our first language lesson might look like on the field. After this, she drove us to the local mall in Ptuj and gave us thirty minutes to explore it alone. We were asked to interact with the shop owners or customers and try and use the Slovenian we had learned. Wow, was this an incredible experience! It was very humbling to try and speak words that felt very unnatural on my tongue and that I did not feel confident speaking.
After this, we were taken to another team members home where we were told about our next cultural exercise. It was lunchtime at this point, and we were told that we were in charge of lunch. We had to go to the grocery store, with a budget, talk to the workers for help, find at least one ingredient we are unfamiliar with, get all unprepared foods, and cook. We had about two hours to complete this task. As a team, it brought out different things we each need to grow in, which is so good to be aware of! We got a real picture of what it is like to work with a team in a culture you are not familiar with. After eating our successfully hand-made lunch, we went to a youth group to play games, talk, and fellowship with local teenagers. Today has been full of blessings and fun activities that got us all out of our comfort zones. God is so good and so patient as we try to grow to be better reflections of Him!
Thank you all for your support so far during this adventure,
Bella, Kayla, Meagan, and Dan
First off, I want to thank you for spending time in prayer over this trip. It has definitely been felt. Today was an incredible day full of growth and discomfort… in a good way! This morning, one of the team members gave us an introduction to the Slovenian language. It was a very good example of what our first language lesson might look like on the field. After this, she drove us to the local mall in Ptuj and gave us thirty minutes to explore it alone. We were asked to interact with the shop owners or customers and try and use the Slovenian we had learned. Wow, was this an incredible experience! It was very humbling to try and speak words that felt very unnatural on my tongue and that I did not feel confident speaking.
After this, we were taken to another team members home where we were told about our next cultural exercise. It was lunchtime at this point, and we were told that we were in charge of lunch. We had to go to the grocery store, with a budget, talk to the workers for help, find at least one ingredient we are unfamiliar with, get all unprepared foods, and cook. We had about two hours to complete this task. As a team, it brought out different things we each need to grow in, which is so good to be aware of! We got a real picture of what it is like to work with a team in a culture you are not familiar with. After eating our successfully hand-made lunch, we went to a youth group to play games, talk, and fellowship with local teenagers. Today has been full of blessings and fun activities that got us all out of our comfort zones. God is so good and so patient as we try to grow to be better reflections of Him!
Thank you all for your support so far during this adventure,
Bella, Kayla, Meagan, and Dan
A week ago today I was right where you were today -- with the Slovenia team. I am delighted with their creativity in getting you INTO the world in which they live. This team is such a testimony of endurance to me -- Benders have been there 18 years and still do not see a whole lot of "fruit" but as we walked around Ptuj last week, they were greeted on every side by people in the community. We were also in that church in Croatia one week before you! Such fun to read your travels.