Advent Sundays

On the second Sunday in Advent, the emphasis was the young people of the church. Two young women had requested that on this Sunday they be confirmed. The young people around the altar are the witnesses to this event. Later in the service these young adults sang some praise songs, which were appreciated by all in attendance.

Unfortunately, Gary was in the hospital, so he missed the young people Sunday. He also missed some beautiful snow. I took pictures for him to appreciate in his hospital room. (Laptop computers are a wonderful source to have.





Each Sunday the church is decorated a little more. The third Sunday in Advent was the day of the church’s choir’s Koncert. It began at 4:30 in the afternoon. The music was beautiful. Three of the five Americans at the Community for Christian Education (CCE) were in the choir. Jeannine came down with a very bad case of bronchitis and was in the audience with Gary.




The church’s youth choir sang with the adult choir for several songs.













By this time Gary is home from the hospital and is enjoying the sight of the snow in Žilina, where he teaches two classes of Conversational English.














The fourth Sunday in Advent is a very special celebration. The children come in with the Advent lanterns as they have each Advent Sunday. I noticed more “toddlers” with their mothers this time. The same young lady reads about this Advent Sunday as the candles are lit. The painting above the altar has been changed with a picture of the Baby Jesus in a manger.





All of the children go to the altar railing and are blessed by the pastor.
A young girl recites a poem. Then the CCE musical staff member,
Tomás, leads the young people in a couple of songs, complete with hand motions.




After the sermon, Eucharist was served to everyone in the church. This is mentioned because the Eucharist is not part of most services here. If one wants to share the Lord’s Supper, it is done after most people leave the church. Last Sunday, it had been announced that Eucharist would be part of this service.

Usually, the Eucharist is served at the altar railing. This Sunday, there were two stations on the steps below the altar railing. First, the pastor distributing the bread, puts a hand on the one being served the Eucharist and blesses that person with the assurance that their sins are forgiven in the name of Christ Jesus. The bread is served. Next the person moves to another ordained pastor who serves the wine.

The celebration of Advent was so joyous, now we anxiously wait the celebration of birth of Jesus.

Thanksgiving and Advent Beginning

Larry and Brenda invited everyone from our weekly Bible study group to a Thanksgiving dinner before we had our study. They were having two young women from the States, who were studying in Florence, Italy. They wanted to celebrate Thanksgiving so Larry and Brenda invited them to come to Martin for a Thanksgiving feast.

The Fasts had found a person that raises turkey snot far from Martin. The turkey they got was about 8 kilograms! There was only one oven in any of the buildings that could handle a bird of that size. So they cooked it in the oven downstairs in the kitchen in the Gymnasium. Brenda made two kinds of dressing, cornbread and a regular bread recipe. Jeannine and Gary fixed the sweet potatoes and Jeannine did the cinnamon and pocketbook rolls. People brought desserts, salad, green bean dish. We had no trouble feeding the twelve people there.



We had quite an international group. Four are Norwegian medical students, two Slovakians, a student of the Center for Christian Education (CCE) and a teacher at the Elementary School, and seven Americans. It was quite an experience for all non-Americans.

Then on Sunday, we had a wonderful first Sunday in Advent. The children (who usually attend church school at this time) came in the church. Two were carrying small lanterns.






The two children put the lanterns on the altar, and later the Pastor elevated them for all to see. A young girl began reading about the Advent Season. Unfortunately, our interpreter was not set up as she read, so we do not know exactly what she said. However, the rest of service (except part of the liturgy, which we have in the bulletin) and the hymns are now translated for us. This is something new for the people who stay one or more years.


After Church, we had our regular “after-church” coffee at one of two places that is open Sunday, on the Square. This week it was just the two American couples. As always, it is wonderful Fellowship.

After leaving the restaurant, Gary and Jeannine decided to walk to the Museum on Slovak Culture. The weather forecast includes snow for the rest of the week. We did not know if it would be open or not, and wanted to see the hours that the museum is opened.

It was opened, so we decided to go through it. As we are there, Jeannine’s ear picks up some Spanish being spoken. She strikes up a conversation and discovered that a Slovak, whose parents live in Martin, is telling his two friends (from Peru) about the exhibits. All three work in a Peruvian café in Bratislava. The Slovak has meet Emily and talked to her about her work as an English teacher here in Martin. He is planning to go to Venezuela in January 2011, to teach English there.



Jim and Paulo with Jeannine and Gary
Another example of how “small” this world is becoming.


That night it snowed. We woke up to 3 or 4 inches of snow on our windows and the ground.



Thanks to the Women’s Group at Saint John’s, we have some nice winter clothes to keep us warm. We thank you so much. Gary bought a coat with a warm hood, some wool socks and a scarf. Jeannine bought a coat that looks good with dresses, several scarves and some warm tights.



The children here are like other children, snow is fun:

There is so much to be thankful for!

A Different Lifestyle

A Different Life Style

Thanks to Pastor Randy’s suggestion I have read The Good and Beautiful God and I am in the middle of The Good and Beautiful Life. Both of these books are written by James Bryan Smith. The goal of the first book is to make known God as Jesus knew Him, so that we may fall in love with Him. The goal of the second book is putting on the character of Christ.

The part of the books that has affected me the most are the exercises of spiritual disciplines. I am amazed that I am reading them here in Slovakia where these exercises have fit in so well with the life style here.

One of the disciplines is that of “Silence and the Awareness of Creation”. Here where I do not know the language I do not have the radio or TV on, so when I am alone in the flat, I am able to experience silence. In this different climate I find myself paying more attention to God’s creation and enjoying it.




The autumn changes in the square.

Then there is the discipline of putting margins or times without commitment in one’s life to replace “hurry sickness.” This makes room to enjoy life and to communicate with God in the middle of life’s business. Although people here say they haven’t done something because they are too busy, I see them making time in their days to eat dinner with their families, listen to a friend who needs some support and play with their children. They are making margins in their lives.

In the chapter about anger, the author speaks of the causes of anger, such as unmet expectations, not having control, and fear. I know that I am NOT in control of all the events in my life. I am only in control of my reactions to these events. A case in point is the fact that I have not been given the necessary VISA. What will happen? I know that at this point, I have no control over my VISA. What is going to happen? I don’t know. But I do know who is in control. I believe this is a discipline for me to give God the problem and leave it in His hands. Even if I am sent away from this beautiful country, I thank God for the blessings we have had here so far.

The spiritual discipline to help with anger is “Keeping the Sabbath.” Keeping the Sabbath is to trust in God and letting go of control of this part of life. As I read the details, I think that this is a wonderful place to try this discipline. On Saturdays, between 11:00 AM and noon, the stores close for the weekend. I don’t mean that some of them, I mean ALL of the stores and shops on the square close. There are only two restaurants open and the grocery store at the end of the square stays open until 4 or 5 PM, but everything else is closed. Here, the weekends are for families. Sunday’s meal is definitely a family affair.



This is the Martin Square at noon on Sunday.

We thank you, Heavenly Father, for leading us to this beautiful country, full of these beautiful, gracious people. Help us to grow where you would have us grow.
Continue to help us enjoy this country and the experiences we have here.

Reformation Day and All Saints' Day

The last school day in October was on Thursday,
the 28th of October. One of the fourth grades
that I work with was finishing their plant
project. They grew grass from seeds.
They had kept certain conditions (such as
water or light) from their seeds and
recorded how their seeds grew.



The other fourth grade had a day off from the
English. Their teacher had divided the class into
groups. Each group was to make its own scarecrow.
I wish that I had room to show all of the scarecrows.
It was a great project for working together and being
original.



The last period of the day was spent in a special
church service for the students. The subject was
Reformation Day. A choir sang some songs, including
“Lord I Lift Your Name on High, complete with hand
motions. Then the children had a holiday
Friday, Monday and Tuesday for All Saints Day.



During the Sunday church service,
the seventh grade class had a great original
play about Martin Luther’s nailing the 95
thesis’s on the church door. I cannot think
of a better way to teach about the beginning
of the Reformation than having the students act it out.



And then there was All Saints’ Day,
Monday, 1st of November. This is a state holiday.
The whole weekend is a time for families
to gather at their grandparents or parents’ graves.
It is in some ways similar to the Day of the Dead.
For weeks, flowers and candles have been sold.





This is the day that families go to the cemeteries.
They weed and clean up around the grave of
their loved one(s). They take the old flowers,
arrangements and candles away. These are
replaced with new arrangements and candles are lit.





Practically every grave in the newer part of
the cemetery had flowers on it.
The flowers were as far as the eye could see.



After you take care of your family graves, they you go to the graves of persons special to you. This is the grave of Pastor Jan Bohdon Hrobon, the father of Pastor Jan Hrobon of the Evangelical Church in Martin, and Bohdon Hrobon, the founder of the Bible School.

Besides the candles on the graves, there were
a couple of locations in the cemetery that
more candles were lit. My guess is that these
are lit in memory of loved ones who are
buried elsewhere.

On the Second of November, Gary and I went to a small town of Ružomberok.
(That is another story.) On the way back, we passed by a couple of cemeteries.
It was after dark and the candles were still lit and they were spectacular.

An interesting side note for me is that this is a holiday that the Communist
Regime would allow. For some reason, they did not associate it with the
Church.

Reconnecting in Banska Bytrica

We were invited to spend the weekend in Banska Bystrica by one of Gary’s students, Zuzana, from 2004. We went Saturday morning because we did not want to miss The Truth Project that we were watching and discussing in our Friday night Bible Study.

The train ride was foggy at first, but when we reached the hills, it was sunny and the hills were full of fall colors. The train station had some beautiful stain glass windows, representing towns from the areas around Banska Bystrica.

Zuzana and her family live in a two story house that used to be in a village, but is now in Banska Bystrica. There is a creek running on the opposite side of the road from the house.

Zuzana’s mother had a wonderful dinner waiting for us when we got there. Her mother does not speak English, but she had worked several years in Italy. With her Italian and Jeannine’s Spanish, they were able to visit some.

When we got to the center of town, on Saturday afternoon, the town was closed, except for the churches (for weddings), restaurants and some museums. Unfortunately, the museum Zuzana wanted to show us was closed. So we walked through the square towards what used to be a castle. Now it is a restaurant. Then we passed two large Roman Catholic churches. One was for the Germans and the other was for the Slovaks. We passed a large tower, which used to be one of the watchtowers for the town. Around it was a cemetery.



From there, we went to an ice cream stand with the “best ice cream in Slovakia.” The stand was at the edge of a large city park, which was by the river. We could see the beautiful hills surrounding the town.

We wanted to visit the museum that looks like a Slovak hat cut n half. (Or a mushroom with its top sliced off.) I remember seeing the building in 2004, but I mainly remembered graffiti on its sides. It does not have graffiti now. It is in memoriam of the 1944 Slovak rebellion against the Germans. It was not successful, but is something Zuzana’s countrymen are proud of. I believe the museum also has exhibits of the Communist era. It was going to be closed in a half hour, so we saw the artillery and tanks that were used in WWII and the rebellion. They were outside in an open air museum.



We went to church with Zuzana, even though she would be teaching Sunday School and would not be there to interpret for us. That was fine with us, since we go to church on all Sundays without an interpreter in Martin. Before we went into the sanctuary, we met a woman who began speaking to us in English, when she found out we spoke English. When she had to stop to think of a word, she mentioned she had to think of it in Spanish, first, then English. She had spent three years in Peru, doing missionary work. So she and Jeannine spoke some more in Spanish.

The church service was similar to the ones here in Martin. But after the sermon, the prayers of the people and the blessings, the young people from Sunday School came in and sang to us. They did not just sing one song; they sang for about ten minutes. The joy of the Lord shown on their faces. When they finished, the praise-band stayed in front of the church. We were told that they sing for about an hour after the service. We do enjoy singing, so we stayed in the church. (The pastor came in when he had changed out of his official robes and really got into the praise singing, also. When Zuzana came, she wondered if we were wanted to leave. We answered that we wanted to do what she wanted to do. Well, maybe one song. We stayed for almost the whole second hour.


Zuzana tried to show us another museum, but it was closed for lunch. So we went home to another wonderful dinner with duck and cabbage and an apple cake. We did get to see the museum in the center of town; it had been closed on Saturday. Then we caught the train and were back in Martin in an hour.


Although we did not see many museums, we so enjoyed just visiting with Zuzana and her mother. We have invited Zuzana to Martin for a weekend of “English practice.”

Teaching at Evanjelicka Základna Skola

I teach English in lessons following the Content Language Integrated Lessons (CLIL) format. This is method that is used all over Europe where teaching a new language. In CLIL lessons the content is more important than the language taught. The content may be geography, math or science. It is to be “real subjects applicable to real life.”

The day begins at 7:40. There is sharing time, followed by prayer time. This prayer time is mainly the students praying, with a small addition to the prayers by the teacher. Then each class has 45 minute classes followed by 10 minute breaks. In the breaks, the students can eat, have a drink, play one in the classroom, read, use the WC (water closet). The students get loud and rowdy in some classes, but there seems to be enough of a break that the students keep their attention on the following slesson. There seems to be no outside recess in the mornings.

In the second grade, I have been teaching the names of different fruit and vegetables. I began o with real fruit and vegetables. I introduce pictures and then names to be paired with the “real” examples. Then they get to color their paper with examples. We make our own Bingo cards and
Play Bingo. I like to have the students draw the fruit so they can have practice saying the names.
Here is a picture of some of the second graders on their break.


In the third grade we have been working in math. Specifically, we have worked on odd and even numbers, greater than and less than, and rounding up and down. We have practiced ordering numbers, saying if their number is greater than or less than their neighbor’s number and deciding how we “round numbers.” An interesting game we have played is to have a number put on their backs and they have to ask questions (that can be answered with yes or no) to see if they can discover their number.
This is the inside of a third grade classroom.
I like the idea of having nets on the wall to display work or decorations in place of using bulletin boards.

In the fourth grade we have been working with compass directions and maps. The classroom teacher teaches the students about Slovak geography, using maps. I taught about geography in California. We read a map of part of California, finding cities by following instructions that include compass directions. We made a map of California, with mountains, lakes, rivers, bay, ocean and cities. Then the students played a similar game with California locations on their back and they ask yes and no questions. I like this game because it gets the students to use the language rather than just hear it. The final activity with maps was to have a student tell three items about a location in CA and the others try to guess that location.

Fourth graders playing the “Yes-No Game”



As always, when I’m in a class with the students, I feel at home.