Sunday in Croatia

We worshipped with our Croatian family today. In addition to our group of 10, there were 3 families from Midland, TX and Jack Reese from ACU visiting today. There were almost as many Americans as Croatians! Worship was great. We did experience that horrible syndrome called "Lyric lapse". That's where they are singing a song you've sung your whole life but, for the life of you, you can't remember the words in English while they are singing it in another language. I ended up trying to sing their words, Patrick just hummed along. Todd Brown from Midland preached and Mladen translated.

The church is in a 4 story building that would normally be a home for a very wealthy family. It is beautiful, quaint, and very Mediterannean in style. After worship, the church treated us to lunch on their terrace. What a spread. These people can cook!!! We recognized almost everything and loved the chocolate-filled crepes.

After a nice nap to fight the jet lag, we headed back to the main city square to join the crowd watching the Croatia/ Austria soccer match on the giant screen. Here's a photo of some of our group in their "fan" clothes:

We found a great place to eat Croatian food again and had a great dinner. When we got back to the square, the game was over, Croatia had won and the crowd was crazy! There was a concert going on and it must have been some of their famous singers.

Tomorrow morning we meet with Mislav, the associate minister at the church, about strategies to find readers. I think we may be going into some of the schools to recruit. We are praying that God will let our work begin soon and are trusting Him with our time here.

By the way, one of the girls on our trip has a recent belly-button piercing that her parents didn't know about. Any guesses?

Arrival

Hello reader (s)! Not sure if anyone but my little sister will ever look at this! We arrived in Zagreb at 8:35 local time this morning, only 5 minutes behind schedule. Pretty amazing considering how far it is and how many airplanes we were in. We are running on about 5 hours of sleep over the last 2 nights. The night before we left, the tornado sirens went off after midnight and about 10 minutes after we laid down for the night. Since we had to get up at 2:30, we just had time for a quick nap. The next night was spent on our international flight. Also not a lot of sleeping going on but some really good movies.

About half of our luggage did not make it to Zagreb with our plane. Our plane from Munich was a small prop and there was not room for all of it so it was diverted to other locations in Germany. Now my suitcase has seen more than I have on this trip! Our missing bags were supposed to land on a flight at 5 pm and be delivered to our hostel this evening. Hope so. My pillow and Elvis pillowcase are in that bag!!!

We met up with our host in the Zagreb airport and spent the early afternoon becoming familiar with our neighborhood. Our hostel is convenient to many things. We had a rest this afternoon because we were no longer capable of coherent thought. I know, like that's any different for me.

We are on our own this evening and are going to walk the mile or so to the main city square to find dinner and see the sights. Hopefully by the time we return, my pillow and pajamas will be here waiting for me. I would hate to have to go to worship in the morning in the condition I am in right now!

Sounds like we may have some free time tomorrow afternoon. I'll tell you all about our evening and meeting the church.

Here we go again......

Hello readers! It has been a year since I last took you along on an international trip. Are you ready to head out again? Bags packed, helmet on??? Where would you like to go? How about.......

CROATIA!

Yes, we are off again on a whole new adventure. This time, instead of alone or with just one daughter, our whole family is traveling. We have a team of 10 with our family of 4, 3 recently graduated seniors from our youth group, and 3 other adult chaperones. We are doing Let's Start Talking again, helping people practice their English while discussing the book of Luke. We will be working with a local youth group in Zagreb to reach out to their friends.

I am very excited about this trip because:
1) I'm leaving no family behind except the dog.
2) love, love, love the teens we are taking.
3) new place, new people, new food.
4) Croatia is such a cool place.

So, come along for the ride again. We are glad to have you!!!

Goodbye, Hello

Wish I could create like this!

Let me tell you what it is like to wrap up an LST project. Few things in life create such a mix of emotions. It is very easy to get attached to "my" readers, "my" work, "my" progress with each reader. Thank God that He is faithful to His promises and that He loves them better than we can. We know without a doubt that His Word will not return to Him empty but will accomplish its purpose (Is. 55:10), that our readers will be able to say, "We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world" (John 4:42), and that our readers are in His hands and that He will do with them whatever He thinks is good and right (Jer. 26:14). We had one reader at worship Sunday morning~ Josue'! After worship, the church called us to the front where they prayed over us and our readers, took pictures, gave us gifts (selected by preacher Raul based on his careful observation of our shopping interests on the weekends), and surprised us with one of their beautiful cakes. Many members stood and shared personal statements and Scripture. Lucyana church praying over the team. We spent the afternoon organizing, packing, running to the internet, etc. We needed naps for our trip home but excitement was way too high for that to happen! About 7 pm, readers started showing up at the house to spend some last moments with us. We talked, laughed, and enjoyed each other. At 8, the hired bus arrived and we loaded up our luggage, the team, and 12 readers and church members for our 40 minute trip to the airport. Our escorts waited over an hour outside in the cold watching us through the windows as we navigated the check-in line for our flight. When we went through the next barricade, they were waiting for us with huge smiles, hugs, and saying "Welcome to Peru!" -they cracked themselves up. They went upstairs towards the gate with us, took dozens of photos, and clung to us every step till the very last second. So precious. After paying our airport tax (what a sham), going through immigration and customs, we met up with 2 other LST teams at the gate. Our flight was delayed but finally left at 1:30 am. Our airport kissing committee.

After an all-night flight with one hour sleep ( I wasn't bored since Mark from the LCU team insisted on sitting with me) and immigration and customs in Atlanta, we arrived in Dallas early afternoon on Monday. We were met with smiles and hugs from LST staff and shuttled to the hotel. It is heaven to get a hit the pool and catch a few rays after six weeks of winter! It is even better to get a real shower with water pressure and hot water, eat a recognizable meal, and sleep in a comfortable bed! Yummy!

Dinner Monday night with two Erins and Mark Woodward, Director of Let's Start Talking. Italian food!

Tuesday morning we met with about 80 other people, all members of returning teams from all over the world. This is always one of my favorite moments of a project, depite the extra day being away from my family. You can't imagine the excitement, joy, and worship that fills your heart as you listen to reports about God's work in Peru, Brazil, China, Germany, Switzerland, Kenya, Ethiopia, Singapore, Philipines, Russia, Ukraine, Paraguay, Tanzania, Croatia..... His Word is not chained! (2 Tim. 2:9)

We were delayed out of Dallas due to storms but arrived in Tulsa about 8 pm. No way to describe the feeling of walking up that hallway and seeing the faces of so many loved ones, signs and arms waving, hearing the welcoming voices after so many weeks away. Thank you to all of you who were able to meet us, those that had to leave because of the flight delay, and those who were there in spirit. We can't express enough appreciation to you who prayed even one time for our comfort, safety, and effectiveness. Please know that you were with us every moment. We are SO glad to be back with you and for the opportunity to answer His calling for this work in Lima. Can't wait to hear where He wants us next and which of you will be traveling next time as well. Remember that Let's Start Talking can use you for as little as 2 weeks, almost anywhere in the world. Where would YOU like to go????

Toilet Water

I meant to do this weeks ago! About halfway through our trip Erin and I thought to check the direction of the swirling water when you flush a toilet in South America. Clockwise. I wanted to ask you all to check your toilets and tell us the direction from the US. Erin remembered to check when we got home and sure enough, it goes the other direction here! Amazing.

Don't give up on the blog quite yet. I will write at least one more time with some great pictures and stories of our departure and arrival. I am enjoying my first day back at work and forgot to bring the photo card so I'll try to get to it tomorrow. See you then!

Saying Goodbye

This is our last party. We traveled to a local municipal park, complete with a zoo and plenty of soccer room. We had 13 readers, some of whom brought parents and friends to meet us. There were also several church members there and they did a good job of connecting with the readers, the only reason we have LST parties. We had a blast with all of them! Laughed and played all afternoon. I was forced to play soccer because as my reader Patti says ¨when gringos play, everyone wants to play because it is so funny¨. Glad I could provide entertainment, Patti.

We spent the evening downtown. It is so beautiful there when the palace square is lit up at night! We had a nice meal and finished some shopping. Erin and I bought our last Arroz con leche from a street vendor. I am SO learning to make this when I get home! Our readers are joining us for worship tomorrow morning, then the church is having a ¨special surprise¨meeting. We pack in the afternoon then head for the airport about 8 pm. We have to go early due to the increased security from the terrorist activity in Great Britain. Please pray for travel mercies for us and favorable treatment along our way.

You won´t hear from me again till I´m stateside. So let me take this opportunity to say thanks for travelling with us and we hope you´ll choose LST travel next time you fly! Can´t wait to see you!

Random Thoughts

No theme really tonight, just some things I would bore you with if we were together right now:

I haven´t worn lipstick in nearly 6 weeks. I looked around during our first few days and noticed I was the only woman in this country that owned some and that I probably looked like a prostitute. So I have been using my OSU mentholated lip balm that was a gift from Fran. Sorry, no picture. I promise to return to my regular personal hygiene methods when I return home so that you don´t have to see the ¨fresh from the coffin¨look that I am sporting here.

Speaking of looks, I have decided that international travel is the way to go if you need an ego boost about your appearance. People in other cultures have a really hard time guessing our ages (and we can´t guess theirs either) and when I travel to another country, nearly 100% of the time, people think I am 10-15 years younger than I am. Really throws them off when I introduce my daughter! In the US, I am on the verge of ¨old and fat¨ but here, all they want to talk to Erin and I about are our ¨beautiful eyes¨. They never even look down at the hip size! This is the first time I have traveled to a place where I look so different than the locals. We stand out very clearly and get regular comments and noises from bus and taxi drivers. We´ve learned to ignore pretty well and if Raul (age 38, short, round, very funny) is with us when it happens, he always yells ¨Gracias!¨ like they were talking to him. Hilarious every time.

I am completely sick to death of the clothes I brought with me. We wear the same 3-4 things over and over and over and over and over......... I am leaving some things here with Marcela because I now hate them so much I will never wear them again and others I am thinking about burning when I get home, unless any of you would like them. Bright pink polo shirt, anyone?????

We have been having a blast with our friends here the last few days. Our readers all want a piece of us since we are leaving so soon. We went to dinner at a reader´s house last night (I barely escaped having to learn to salsa-would NOT have been pretty!) and then 6 readers and some church members went with us to join the other team and their readers for some outdoor games at 11 pm then a bonfire. It was a blast and we didn´t get home till 2 am! On the ride home, there were 11 people in our taxi plus the driver. At least we were warm for a few minutes! Today, one of our readers joined us at the mall food court and came home with us. He walked us to a nearby business owned by his 3 sisters. We´ve been there, just didn´t know they were his family. They serve desserts that are wonderful! We sat outside in the mucho frio weather and ate pinapple cake and drank hot tea. Laughed our heads off.

Tomorrow morning, we meet at the church at 10 am with our readers, guests, and church members. We will catch a bus to a nearby city park to have a picnic as our last party. We are expecting a lot of people to join us to play ¨Duck, Duck, Goose¨, ¨Red Rover¨, and ¨Toilet Tag¨. Should be fun. Erin and I then hope to find a nearby place to get a pedicure before we head home to sandal weather. My right heel could cut iron about now, a little rough around the edges.

Our time is really winding down. I need to get home (it´s 9 pm) to make a brownie mix and a sugar cookie mix for tomorrow´s picnic. We have the party tomorrow, then Sunday is our last day here. We have worship in the morning, pack in the afternoon, back at church at 7pm for a ¨surprise¨from the church members (remind me to take kleenex), church at 8, then head to the airport. Our flight leaves at 12:30 am Monday morning, arriving in Atlanta at 7:15 your time. We land in Dallas at 12:30 pm Monday afternoon and have some free time. Tuesday morning, we have an endmeeting banquet with about 15 other teams that are arriving from all over the world, always one of the most exciting parts of the trip! We land in Tulsa at 6:15 Tues evening and can´t wait to see the faces of our loved ones.

Please pray for us to end things well here, for the safety of our trip, the arrival of our luggage at each destination, and our transition back into American society (it´s harder than it sounds after 6 weeks!). Love you all!