Rozhodnutie (yes, it's a Slovak word)

Decisions.

This is not going to be a ramble about how to make the big decisions in life.

Keep an ear open to God. Communicate honestly. Move away from thinking that His will is something He holds in a closed fist that you have to pry open. Keep listening. Read the Bible (we cheapen our intentions when we say we want to "hear from God" and then ignore what He's already said). Trust that you are never taken through a process to come out in a worse condition. Have confidence that when you put God first, everything else will be put into place.

Sooner, rather than later, we owe the Powers that Be an answer to the question, "what comes next?". For a while it felt like we were staring down the barrel of this loaded question, but we now have an extreme confidence that we will know what we need to, when we need to.

We are not afraid of missing the "will of God" (aka the plan that He knows is best for us), because we invest a lot of time and energy in pursuing it and He has a lot to say. Our focus is on living it with excellence.

Clocks are ticking. Fuzzy things appear in greater focus.

Pray with us.

Irish Food for Thought

In keeping with the video theme we seem to have going, here is Bono's speech that he gave to the NAACP.

It is food for thought.

NLI EuroSummit 2009

Last week we attended NLI's biannual EuroSummit Conference in Spain. The conference is designed to promote what NLI is doing throughout the 48 nations of Europe. We've linked two of their videos to this post which capture both the need and what NLI is doing in Europe (admittedly, they are commercial-esque).

There was work to be done as Amber serves as the European Conference Coordinator for EMERGE (women's development), but it was great for us to connect with people working across the continent. Though there were many North Americans and Australians, there were nationals from France, Bulgaria, Italy, Slovakia, Spain, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Poland and more. It was eye-opening to have such a comprehensive perspective on Europe.

It was a great reminder for us that mission originates with a spiritual need. Often, as Westerners, we associate mission with assisting the impoverished and disenfranchised; and though meeting physical needs is a divine imperative, our practical aid must come from a spiritual origin. There is a dangerous misconception surrounding Europe that it is not a valid place for mission - oh sure, maybe in the poorer Eastern countries, the formerly oppressed block, or in the Balkans, the birthplace of modern war, but not in the rest of Europe...they're too rich for mission.

The response to this mentality is simple - where there is a spiritual need there is a need for workers, spiritual investment and steps toward change. Europe, more than ever it seems, is at the frontline.

Mozaika - the Host with the Most!

The Apostolic (Pentecostal) Church of Slovakia [ACS - the acronym works for the Slovak and English translations] holds an annual conference for all of the ACS churches across the country. This year Mozaika was selected as the hosting church - a huge show of confidence in our growing church. With programs prepared, a hall rented, speakers from the Czech Republic and the UK, and a host of details attended to, Mozaika welcomed over 700 people to Nitra (more than we thought would come).

The afternoon session was broadcast live (an interesting logistical experience) on Slovak Televsion [STV]. It was amazing, powerful and simplistic, to hear people speak of how a meeting like this could have never taken place just 20 years ago. The church in Slovakia has grown from secret meetings and Bible smuggling to a nationally televised broadcast and a strong representation of local churches; but this conference was not focused on where we have come from, but where we must go.

This is Not One of Those Stories

We're not sure how much we have mentioned this, but for the last few months we have been babysitting a friends car as they are out of country. Like all babysitting gigs this has come with some sweet perks - like mobility, an easier time grocery shopping, the ability to help others be mobile and hauling a variety of things for Mozaika - and a few moments of stress.

This morning we took the car in for an oil change. To be completely transparent, neither of us knows that much about cars or feels super confident strolling into a garage and knowing what needs to be done...toss in a whole new set of Slovak vocabulary that we certainly do not use on a daily basis. With the aid of a cell phone, two friends and the internet, we now understand that our simple oil change has grown into a list of essential repairs.

This is not one of those miraculous stories from overseas workers where the skies open up and a new car (with Matthew sized leg room and excellent fuel mileage) falls from the heavens.

As we left the garage (over six-and-a-half hours ago), Matthew asked God to keep the price range around a specific number we knew we could handle. From our estimations we are currently over double that number. Here's the kicker - recently we were given some fun money from friends and family. We had squirreled it away and Matthew started to dream enjoyable, memory making methods to spend it; Amber however had tucked away a previous lesson learned (yes, Amber is often a step ahead). Past experience has taught us that when we get a little disposable income it usually means there is an unforeseen expense coming our way. Even with the use of our fun money, this repair bill will still end up being a "put on the credit card and pay off in installments" kind of scenario - but we are not broken.

We are learning that God does care about our dreams and the small perks that enrich life; but beyond what we want, He is taking care of what we need - even before we know we need it.

So, is this a miraculous story? Yes.

Will Hollywood make a movie of it? No.

Is it a foundational lesson in trust? You better believe it.

I Love my City Report - Klokočina Fair and Kids Programs

The Klokočinský jarmok (Klokočina Fair) is one of the 3 largest annual events in Nitra and it is estimated that 10,000 people attend each year. The I Love my City team went bright and early (like very early) on Saturday morning to clean the entire fair grounds of Friday's garbage. The organizers were shocked that we actually showed up to do this, despite our repeated promises to be there. With the grounds cleaned and skies beginning to shower, we set up our I Love my City booth - in prime territory right next to the main stage. We were ready to go with hundreds of hot dogs and drinks to give out for free (paid for by Convoy of Hope), free coffee donated by Nescafe and free food parcels for families in need (provided by Convoy of Hope). We also had face paint and balloon animals a plenty for the kids. ACET, an AIDS and drug awareness program, was also present and had a display at the booth. We were ready - and so was the rain. It poured for the first portion of the day, but the show must go on!

We had been given a 1 hour time slot on the main stage and so Mozaika put on a kids presentation that talked about Jesus as our friend. Later that day the skies cleared and the crowds came. The hot dogs, drinks, coffee and food parcels all made it to the masses. On Sunday we were given another performance time on the main stage and then rushed to the Main City Park where the performance took place again as part of the city's summer kids program. The weather was in our favour on Sunday and the time in the park was a highlight as it was not transient foot traffic, but people came specifically to see the show and stayed for the whole presentation. We are excited to see where these new connections take us.

I Love my City Report - Connecting Points

Making a visible impact on the city was a high priority but having points of connection was equally as important. We built in times where people from the teams and people from Mozaika could build relationships with people from the community. We ran ads in the local newspaper, put posters on doors, had posters placed on the city events boards, handed out flyers and had a press release for the radio advertising two big connecting points. One of the ways in which we connected was by hosting a Canada vs. Slovakia sports night. Slovakia emerged the victor by a single point in the soccer match (for which Matthew played for Team Slovakia...though with his lack of skill it might have been more helpful for Team Canada). We were not flooded with people, but there were new relationships made with the people that did come.

The other community connection point was a Picnic in the Park evening. We hosted this in the main city park near the stage (where later in the week we would put on a kids performance). Again we were not overwhelmed by people, but there were new connections made with those who did come and we are so thrilled by this - we do not base our success on numbers. Past experience has taught us not to underestimate these first steps.

Following our week of prayer we kicked-off the project with a night of praise and prayer. We had worship in both Slovak and English and there was such a sense of energy, excitement and fullness in the room. It was one of those moments where it was impossible to be still. On the Sundays Pastor Kim (from Liberty Pentecostal Church in Bowmanville ON) and Pastor Ryan (from Bethel Community Church in Edmonton AB) shared honest and encouraging thoughts with Mozaika. We appreciated what they had to say. The Alberta team was also able to plant a Maple tree in the main city park to honour their friend and youth leader, Mike Abma, who passed away shortly before the project. As they shared stories about Mike we felt like we were benefiting from his influence on the team.

Another large aim was to build Mozaika's connection with the City. Through our service at the Community Centre and our assistance at the Klokočina Fair we made quite a splash with city officials. The most notable was the Vice-Mayor of Nitra who surprised us all by attending Mozaika last Sunday. Considering we had trouble getting a meeting with City Hall last year, the growth in this relationship is amazing.