Well here we are in (partially) sunny Slovenia! Yesterday was our day of travel and all went perfectly smoothly, thankfully, without delays or problems! (Apart of course from some slight turbulence and a thunder and lightning storm upon arrival - what they say about the Irish bringing the weather with them really must be true!)
The Forjans collected us at the airport and gave us a really warm and friendly welcome to their country. We travelled up through the Austrian mountains in minibus and crossed into Slovenia in roughly an hour. Sebastian and Glorija brought us to the flat and made us feel right at home, we had dinner and chatted together about how God is using them in Slovenia. After having our tummies filled, we left for our youth hostel with Sebastian. We got our rooms sorted, unpacked and went on the hunt for some water feeling a bit dehydrated after our day travelling. Before bedtime we all met up to discuss how we were feeling now we had arrived, discussed our fears and concerns and prayed we would be useful in our work. We felt it important to thank God for guiding us and watching over us in our travels.
DAY TWO-
After a good sleep we woke at around eight and went for breakfast together at around 8.45. We then had some free time to explore the area. We walked for around five minutes and there we were- right at Lake Bled. We were immediately amazed at just how beautiful and tranquil it was. At 11 we met the Forjans and went on an hour long walk in the beautiful sunshine around the lake. Their friends have little boats at the lake edge and were kind enough to take us across to the island in the middle, so we clambered onboard (some of us more gracefully than others!) and climbed the 99 steps to the top where there was a little church and beautiful views.
Once back from the island we all had lunch together and the boys went swimming or rather jumping into the lake whilst the girls went for coffee or sat by the waters edge. Having time to talk to Glorija about her life and work in this country was a really worthwhile experience and it was good to spend some time chatting and having fun together. It is amazing to hear about the struggles of many people in Slovenia who become Christians as many come from Catholic or aethiest families who see Christianity as something bad or evil.
We then packed up our things and headed back to the Forjans where we write this blog! We are having dinner soon and look forward to beginning our work with the children tomorrow.
We really appreciate your prayers both for us and the people of Slovenia.
God Bless,
Elise and Alice x
"I am the vine and you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit, apart from me you can do nothing." John 15 v 5
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1 comment:
I give thanks to our God for your safe arrival and for improvement of Steven's back.
It was good you had a chance to see around a bit and taste a little of the local culture before you get "to work" tomorrow.
call me an over protective Mum if you will but the first thing that came to mind when you said that you clambered into the boat was if you all had on life jackets.
Love and prayers to you all
Ethel Boyle x
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