Tuesday, September 23, 2008

A Work in Progress

Though the VBC said they would get back to us last Tuesday with an answer....they haven't. Miro, our church planter, called them once and they affirmed that they would call us, and not the other way around.

So we wait and we pray and we trust.

This past Sunday we returned to the family home in Ivanka pri Nitre. The church family here is fasting and praying. We know that many are supporting us in prayer. We ask that you keep praying.

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Church a la Village

It's Sunday afternoon and I am happy to say that we did not have to have church in some back alley this morning (which is good seeing as the temperature has dropped over 20 degrees in less than a week - but that's a whole other story).

The searching this past week did not offer up many possibilities for today. So a family in our church opened up their home. They have a huge house in the nearby village of Ivanka pri Nitre. Though different from our usual Sunday times together, it was absolutely great! The home setting really seemed to draw people together. There was talking, laughing and singing. It had the genuine sense of family about it - complete with the sounds of kids running around in other parts of the house!

Mozaika started as a home group and then grew into a church from that core family. This has been the first crisis that the new, larger family has faced. In group settings, challenges have a way of either scattering or gathering people. Today felt like we bonded more as a community.

Miro, the church planter, has made a good contact in a local office facility called "VBC". They have a meeting hall and are open to ongoing renters. It would see Mozaika move closer to the town centre and also comes with the possibility of office space. Monday is a national holiday so we will not have a decision from VBC until Tuesday. We ask that you pray for favour for Mozaika.

Friday, September 12, 2008

See You Later

Last night we got a phone call letting us know that Amber's grandfather, Herman, had passed away. Grandpa Herman had been ill for some time now and it was his desire to be making eye contact with Jesus, rather than nurses. It is almost one year to the day since Amber's Nana passed away.

We have missed many weddings since moving to Slovakia (much love to our very understanding friends), but this will be the first funeral that we cannot be a part of - all part of the adjustment process to living away from family.

Born on German soil to Polish parents who were fleeing the advancing Russian army, Herman was a strong man, a source of support, and encouraged us whenever he could. Though we did not get to say goodbye in person, we were able to have a letter read to him on our behalf. After hearing it he said that though he may not see us again on earth, he'll see us in heaven.

Until then...

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

No Room in the...Dorm?

Life sometimes offers up moments that take you entirely by surprise and give you little, if any, chance to process before forcing you to move on.

Yesterday was one such moment.

Mozaika, the church-plant here in Nitra, meets in a student hotel (like a dorm) for our Sunday program. The managers of the facility have never been fans of the troop of children that arrive with great zeal every Sunday. In the absence of fondness for little people, we were never able to secure a contract gauranteeing our time there. They reprimanded us for being too loud or too messy - so we tidied and hushed as best we could.

This past Sunday was Mozaika's official launch service to kick-off the new school year. We have a new operating model, a new family-friendly service time, new multimedia and a shiny new ad in the paper. The sky was blue and the room was bustling with people....apparently to our detriment.

Monday afternoon, still rosy in Sunday's afterglow, brought a sharp change in pace for us. The student hotel called to inform us that we had left their facility a "huge mess" for the last time. Effective immediately we have nowhere to meet.

So today there were flowers given to those building managers to show how much we appreciated our time with them, and then there was searching. Evangelical churches are viewed as cult-esque and so renting a facility is just flat out difficult. It took over 20 applications last time to find this place.

As a team we feel we can either laugh or cry - we had a good laugh about it this afternoon.

Pray that we find a place and that the laughter continues.