Daily Devotion

Although we do not have a church to go to here I am becoming closer to God than I have been in some time. I pondered about this a lot yesterday. I think that for me church and "ministry" have been a crutch of sorts to me. I went to church listened to preaching and responded to the messages but something inside of me was slowly dying. It was my relationship with God. I know that you can not loose your salvation but you can have a bad relationship. Just like if my husband and I did not talk or relate to one another on a deep and intimate level. I needed to have a deep devotion to my Heavenly father. Well, being here and the fact that we do not have a church has made me search deeper for God in my daily life and activities. I am enjoying them so much and my spirit is awakening inside me. It is hard to admit that a missionaries wife, who has come to a foreign country to tell others about Christ has not felt the spirit moving in her for some time. Dont get me wrong I have always loved God and said my prayers and tried to read the Bible. I think that it is my motives behind it that is the difference. I am truly seeking God's presence. I need His presence. I can not get a false sense of security from fellowshipping after church with other believers. I have to rely on God to fill my cup spiritually. I am so grateful that God has brought me to this place to not only preach His Gospel but to renew our relationship.

Adjusting to life in Slovenia

Phew, I just got back from a hour walk. It was quiet long. We, meaning Jon and I and all of the kids, went on a hike to find the "lake". When we got there it was more like a big pond but it was worth the walk. It is in the upper 50's today and the birds are singing and there is a nice breeze outside. All the snow as melted and the buds on the trees are still budding and turning green now. The sweet smell of the flowers fill the air and the bees are happily buzzing all around. We always find neat things on our walks. Today we found a bone, it was big enough to be a deer bone or a big dog bone. The boys thought that was neat. Of course Hayden our resident whiner started complaining half way there. He skipped lunch so he was hungry. All they way back he whined but everyone else seemed to enjoy themselves. Our neighbor, Aljaz, who is 21 took us to the lake. We have developed a good relationship with him. We gave him a Bible and he is reading John. Jon also has presented the Gospel to him very plainly. Please pray for Aljaz.

We had the great privilege to be invited to eat a special Easter Lunch with the neighbors, our landlords, The Lesniks (pronounced Leshnick). There is a little squiggly thing above the s to make it the sh sound. Slovenes by nature are not very open but these people have invited us into their lives and treat us like family. My children call the mamma, Voka, Bobitsa (pronounced bobitza) which means Grandmother. She seems to really like having children around. She buys them candy and special treats. The Tuesday after Easter was Mother's Day here in Slovenia. Of course my family did not celebrate it but Aljaz brought me over a red Carnation. It was very sweet. This family though they do not know it are a confirmation to us that God has brought us to this area. They are being used to be a blessing to us and at the same time God is working on their hearts. Please continue to pray for us as we are these peoples Bible and pray for them that their hearts will be softened and open to hear the Gospel.

Homeschooling is going much better. Being world travelers we are now studying the globe and continents. This is interactive between me and them. Then they have a curriculum on the computer that is very good at making them think. I am also using their school work that they were in America, ACE. I use it for handwriting practice and reading. I have also started to read chapter books to them, thank you mom. She sent me some. We are reading The Lost Boys, Dark Wind Cave. They love it. They beg me to read more when I get done with a chapter. We have alot of discussions about nature on our hikes. All in all it is going great.

On Friday we have implemented family fun Friday night. I make pizza, when I say make I mean I make my own dough and sauce and bake it myself. It is really fun. We bake cookies and play games. Last night we played pass the pigs. The boys love it and Jordan kept trying to snatch the pigs! Then we all watch a movie together. I love this night. It is becoming very special. We also have started doing nightly devotions with the kids. We have been doing it for over a week now and it is going really good. We have established some really great routines over here. We have not been able to do that in so long because of traveling on deputation. So it feels really good.

The Euro is up!!!! Please keep that in prayer also. It makes things really tight. It is trading at 1.57 to 1 dollar for us right now. It has gone up .20 cents in the two months that we have been here. If everyone will lift up their voices to God I know that it will make a difference. Thank you all so much for being my support system. It is so nice to hear from you from time to time. I do not feel homesick all of the time but i do have those days.