Fruits of the Garden

Gardening is yet another language I am learning. Though I have a lot to learn and much work to do still to make our garden, "garden savvy." We grew many things like cucumber, raspberries, zucchini, bell peppers, celery, lettuce, carrots, snap peas, spinach and lots of herbs. Our tummies were very happy. Sweet corn was our absolute favorite thanks to the seeds we imported from America.
I couldn't help to think of the curse of sin everyday I would visit the garden. There would be new pesky bugs and weeds each time. I honestly HATE weeds, and I honestly HATE my sin. So, as I spent time in the garden making it beautiful, I remembered how gracious God is to pluck my sin out and make me beautiful like Him.

3rd and 5th

Today was the start of Tahlia and Mikaela's third year of Slovene school. As pictured, Tahlia started 5th grade today and Mikaela 3rd. They were precious as they packed up their backpacks,  dressed in their "first day of school" attire and courageously walked into the school building. They were strong and courageous, an answer to our prayers.  I am so proud of how they contentedly face the daily challenges of being foreigners, of not fully understanding language, and often being "the one" who didn't bring the correct bag OR brought one and didn't need to. I CAN'T even imagine what it's like as a child to face these bumps. I am proud and blessed by their testimony because in unique ways they are learning with grace to be "that one." "That one" who will never quite fit into this culture.

I, as their mother, learned AGAIN a valuable lesson today. After much cultural, language, first day of school confusion and then wishing Mikaela and Tahlia a great first day of school, I walked through the hall listening to what sounded like 15 different languages when in actuality it was only one language that I just long to understand. Tears started welling up in my eyes, a lump was in my throat, and I felt like a small child who was lost. In the moment I prayed for the Lord to help me understand my heavy heart. You know what He revealed to me,... You are weak and that is ok, because I am strong. Trust me to care for your children, trust me to open your mind to language and loosen your tongue, trust me to empower you to declare the mysteries of me even in a foreign country, trust that I gave you the Spirit to lead you, and trust me to walk with you every step of the way.  Certainly I still long to know Slovene better, but it doesn't identify me.  My deeper desire is to be a vessel for Christ. A vessel that trusts God and proclaims that His power is made perfect in my weakness.

The Great Game of Golf

I love golf, I have loved the game since childhood. It is no secret I am a lover of most sport and player of many! But there is something about golf that is unique to me, there is a peacefulness, a tranquility within it. Other than fly fishing I know of no other sport in which I can play and find total relaxation while still competing.

I remember as a child getting a set of child clubs and practicing in our backyard. I even took hedge trimmers and meticulously created a putting green in our backyard. I still remember my first time out at an 18 hole course with my father and grandfather, it was at the base of Mt. Rainier in Enumclaw, Washington. It was the same course that I spent hours hunting in the forest for balls from errant shots. My grandfather and I collected hundreds of them.

I know most people find the game of golf boring, or if not boring then too expensive. I agree about the expense, but if it was cheaper I would have a borderline addiction :) However, I am grateful for any opportunity I can get to play.

There are very few courses in Slovenia and when we moved here I wasn't sure about the options of playing but amazingly (providentially?) we live 5 minutes from one of the best courses in the country and I have recently visited the practice center at the course. It was nice to hit some balls around and just enjoy the sunny day.

Just before we moved Karsten had a deep desire to hit balls around which I had no problem encouraging! This desire has continued and just last week I had the opportunity to take him to a course for the first time. Although we didn't play on the course we did enjoy the practice green. It was wonderful to watch him play a game I love with as much enthusiasm as I had at his age! Here are a few pics and a video from our time.

2 Flower Girls and 2 Ringbearers

Ajda and Gasper, dear slovene friends of ours, will be married on September 6th. When Ajda asked us if it is ok to invite our children to be in their wedding we almost laughed, "of course they can be in your wedding. It would be an honor." These two people love the Lord with all their heart and they are making Him known by loving and working with the special needs community in Slovenia. We are ecstatic about their marriage, and blessed that they would desire our kids to be part of their wedding ceremony. 

The girls putting together a puzzle revealing Ajda and Gasper's request for them to be flower girls in their wedding.

The boys putting their puzzle together which bears the question: "will you be ring bearers in our wedding?"

The boys answered "yes", giggling with joy.

The girls were beyond honored and happily agreed to be flower girls in their wedding.

The completed puzzles

The heart of a TCK (Third Culture Kid)

We are thrilled to share with you what our girls had an opportunity to participate in this past spring.

A book called "I am Third" that was written by Josiah Venture third culture kids was recently released. This book is a compilation of their stories, written in their own words. If you desire, you can preview a chapter and buy the book here:

http://www.josiahventure.com/blog/i-am-third-book-release

Through English Camps, Jesus Changes Lives

God is faithful! Let us praise Him together for the mighty works He has done! 

http://vimeo.com/100403653

http://www.josiahventure.com/blog/a-historic-day/

No Longer a Dream

God has granted Mikaela the desire of her heart!! Psalm 37:4. She was accepted into the Glasbena Sola (music school) of Radovljica.  We are so thrilled for her and we're praying that she will have many opportunities to serve the Lord with her giftedness.

A 5 Year Dream

Mikaela has desired to play the guitar since she was 3 years old. We were advised to wait until her hands grew a bit bigger before we entertained the thought of guitar lessons. Well the time came and went when we believed she was ready but at that point we couldn't find a guitar teacher affordable or at all. Mikaela is now 8 years old and is awaiting a reply from the Glasbena Šola (music school in Radovljica) of whether or not she has been accepted into their school.  We are hopeful, but not guaranteed, for the opportunity to learn guitar at this school. 

We were so proud of her confidence in auditioning at all, let alone in her second language Slovene.

 "Mama, I am fine either way. If I get in - I get in, if I don't - I don't." I am thankful for how she displayed the characteristic of contentedness on this occasion and I pray she will blossom even more in contentedness as she faces joys and disappointments in her life.

To be continued . . . when we get the results.

Four Pieces of Candy

These four pieces of candy represent a lot to me. How you ask? Thanks for asking. These four pieces of candy remind me firstly of the sweet (no pun intended) older clerk at Lidl, our local grocer. She hands me the exact amount of candy for my kids each Monday morning when I shop there, whether my kids are with me or not. I purpose to get in her line, not so I can get the candy (though my kids would like that) but because ever since I shocked her by asking, "Kako ste pa vi danes?" (how are you today?) she has not been the robotic-like employee that I once saw in her. It is a joy and my hope to bless her each time with the love of Christ.

Secondly, because of the minimal conversation I can have with this sweet clerk at Lidl,  these four pieces of candy also represent the Slovene language. They serve as a reminder of my desperate need and deep desire to be more fluent in my understanding and speaking of this complex language.

And of course lastly, these four pieces of candy represent the four precious children that gladly receive them AND whom bring so much joy (sweetness :~) to my life.

All Creatures Great and Small

A day off of school for us meant a day at the Ljubljana Zoo. After trying to coordinate with a Slovene family to join us, it worked out that we enjoyed the zoo alone, BUT wow did we ever enjoy it! The animals were in very close range, and surprisingly, they were all very lively. 

 I was so thankful for this special outing to connect as a family.

"All things bright and beautiful,

All creatures great and small,

All things wise and wonderful,

The Lord God made them all."

20 years for Josiah Venture

We are blessed to serve along side of amazing people spread out across 12 different Central and Eastern European countries. We gathered as a JV family in the spring to learn from God's Word, enjoy fellowship, celebrate Josiah Venture's 20th anniversary and then we departed with great encouragement to press on in God's work of making disciples who make disciples.

This group pictured below of the 2nd and 3rd culture JV members (mostly Americans) is quite a bit smaller than the entire JV family, as the 1st culture group adds over 100 more members.

The third culture kids are pictured here....over 90 of them. This is a very unique and special week for the JV Kids. They relate to these kids unlike any other.

We celebrated the 20th anniversary with an amazing firework display which Noah Ellenwood captured so well in this photo.

Toilet Papered in Slovenia

YES! We got TP'd in Slovenia. It was the first time our kids had seen a prank of this kind and the guilty party were SLOVENES. Ok, yes they were influenced to commit such an act by Americans when they were in America last summer BUT, they better watch their backs:)

Dinosaur Feet

One of the favorite activities at our house when the girls' friends come for a visit is baking.  The boys witnessed this and wondered if they can bake with their friend Martin on his next visit. I love that they enjoy baking and cooking with me and it brings a lot of joy to watch them put on the different hats of chef, sous chef or pastry chef.

Every task we set out to do is always more challenging, humbling, yet still fun when we stumble through doing it in Slovene. And OH, don't forget we are also learning to use the metric system....eek!

What can expect with three cute boys and three play dinosaurs? ALOT of R-O-A-Ring!!!

Martin proving to be quite the baker. His mom has taught him well:)

Next step....stamping

The dinosaur have been here!

Our Garden in Progress

We are amateur gardeners at best, but we are attempting to have a better growing garden this year than last. We are surrounded by amazing gardens, due to the Slovenes favorite past time. If we allowed our competitive nature to show up in our garden pursuits we would face only defeat. Thankfully we are enjoying the learning curve and hopefully in due time we will reap the blessings of a bountiful harvest.  Stay tuned for the "AFTER" pictures in July/August.

BEFORE

THEN, came a trip up the hill 4x to get horse manure to turn into our hard soil from our horse ranch friend, Darinka.

THEN, a lot of work with my cute helpers

THEN, Mikaela's garden is birthed

AND, Tahlia's soil is ready for her garden

And then..... you will have to wait and see just like us. Stay tuned for the pictures that show the fruits from our labor.

Bible Study and Pizza

Every other Tuesday we have a youth Bible study in our home and there is on average 3 young boys that attend. Chris has been teaching through the 7 Signs in John and these boys are engaged and asking questions. Well this last Tuesday we invited them over to make homemade pizzas, which Rok (pictured) has never done. We made some "scrumpty" personal size pizzas with the "works" and then showed the video "Purpose" which I linked HERE . Chris had great follow up conversations and we are praying for seeds to take root in these young boys' lives.

A Sense of Accomplishment

My girls were commenting the other day about their desire to someday ride their bikes to school. We live 4.8 km which isn't so far but the challenge is that 1.5 km of the path is uphill. So later that day the girls and I went on a bike ride around our house as we often do, but this time I challenged them to prove to themselves that they could conquer this bike ride to school. So we set off towards their school, Tahlia on her 8 speed bike that she hadn't yet learned how to use and Mikaela on her "cruiser" without gears. My girls "ROCK". They both made it up the hill without stopping and continued to the school and then back up our own neighbor hill to our house like champs. Upon our return they both knew proper hand signals for turning, Tahlia was better equipped in using her gears, Mikaela's legs were stronger than all of ours put together, and they both were beaming with joy from their success. By Slovenian standards they won't be allowed to go alone on the city streets until they pass a bike riding test in 5th grade to get their license. However, I see a few earlier rises in the near future, for the three of us girls to ride to school together.

I couldn't help but reminisce of the days when I was Tahlia's age and my mom would bike with my brother and myself six miles across town to school. Unfortunately for my girls, they don't get to stop at their best friends house on the way home to jump in their pool to cool off like we did.

10 years ago

I was paying bills this morning on my computer when I finally noticed the date April 4th. Now for most this isn't a momentous date, but for me I will always think back to the craziness that was LAPD police academy. I have always been one to love a challenge and ten years ago this was the challenge I was preparing for. I was to wake up at 2:30 am on April 5th, drive an hour away and stand in the dark for an hour waiting for my instructors to come and size me up with a bunch of yelling. This was to last for the next 7 months. My recruit class was 4-04 and this was an experience that would shape me in ways unexpected. As I reflect from Slovenia I am amazed at how God used policing to grow me in unique ways, but I am also amazed at how far away I now am from policing. God's leading is crazy to me, but I am thankful for His perfect plan. April 4th, 2004 was the day I shaved my head for academy and 10 years later it looks almost the same, maybe 2mm higher :) Lastly, as I reflect I pray for the police officers who protect and serve. I realize it is a job that is thankless and in many areas of the world the professionals are despised. However, they see things unimaginable to most and work hard at restraining evil in communities. Most officers are fine individuals and most can't make sense of the sin they encounter daily. Join me in praying for salvation to come to all the men and women in blue - for in salvation alone will they understand the reason for the things they see and give the only true hope that can bring healing to individuals and communities.

Here are a few old photos from graduation just to prove I made it :)

JV Women's Conference

Myself and 16 other women from Slovenia, including a few nationals, traveled to Slovakia to join all North American Josiah Venture missionaries with the purpose of refreshment, fellowship, and encouragement from God’s Word. We heard testimonies of ladies that have been serving abroad from 4 years to 12 years that are all on the path of “choosing joy” and “keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith”, (Romans 12:2) and “forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth unto those things which are before.”(Phil. 3:13) Amy Carmichael said it well to us too from her book “Thou Givest....They Gather.” She said,  “May God give us the heart that is fixed, and keep us with our eyes on the track, not looking to the right or the left or backward, but plowing a straight furrow.” I am thankful for what God did in my heart those days to humble me, teach me again that “apart from Him I can do nothing”, and to refine friendships that are dear to me.

ABC’s and 123’s

The Lord has given me the opportunity to “teach" each of my four children at home at least until the age of 6. But it has come as an unexpected blessing to have this opportunity with Braden and Karsten in Slovenia. Culture and language acquisition are high priorities to us as we seek to guide our children through life here and we thought those needs would be met for the boys in a school environment at this point.  However, circumstances have kept Braden and Karsten home for another year and I am THRILLED. I am so thankful to be able to teach them to read, finger paint, play math busters, build towers, go on hikes, discover creepy crawlies, put on our chef aprons and cook together, watch their friendship flourish and also have Slovene friends over to play for one more year. 

We are making memories, having fun, and learning a lot!!!

"Swish"

Praise God for opportunities, via front yard basketball games, to develop a relationship with the neighbor kids. They are eager to play with our kids and particularly with Chris. Just recently we were ALL out there “hoopin’ it up” and what a fun time we had with 11 year old Kris, 4 year old Žiga, and  6 year old Rok. How cool would it be if in sharing our lives with them they would recognize the hope, joy and peace they can have in Christ. Our prayer is that these friendships would grow, trust would increase, and that doors would be open to share the gospel. 

Running

This year I (Chris) realized that although I look fit on the outside, my insides were terribly out of shape. I have actually known this for many years and ironically my most out-of-shape years were as a police officer! Anyhow, this was the year I decided to start running. I actually have never enjoyed running just to run. I prefer running with a ball or chasing someone, but those things are less frequent now. Therefore, I figure I need to learn to like running. One thing that definitely helps is when I am distracted from the lung burn by the beauty around me! See the images below :)