God's Work in Kočevje

My heart is so full with the blessings of Christ, I can hardly explain.  So many things have happened since I was last able to write, I could write for hours! We were so busy with English camp and preparations for it, I hardly had time to even journal. Where do I even begin? I'll give you an overview and then a few highlights :)

The first week, we just taught adult camp at night (from about five to eight), which averaged about 26 people by the end. After eating breakfast at the dorm every morning, my team and I headed over to Toni and Mateja's home to plan with our partners for the evening and eat lunch (always fabulous!). The next week, we added kid's camp in the morning (from around ten to lunchtime, sometimes later), where we worked with a group of about 16 Slovenian kids, teaching them English. It was tough because we couldn't plan for that until after dinner, which was eaten around 9 30 each night after adult camp. God gave us strength and creativity, though, and it all worked out just fine. Toni also gave us a break the first weekend, taking us rafting, to the beach on the Croatian coast, and to Vintgar and Lake Bled. Lake Bled is one of the main tourist attractions in Slovenia and is absolutely beautiful. It is a town with a lake in the middle of it, and an island with a beautiful church on it. We toured the city, getting to see Vintgar (just outside the city, a gorgeous green gorge that was so extremely beautiful, full of rushing waterfalls and breathtaking plant life), ride a boat out to the church, and eating pizza at this awesome restaurant. During the week, we also were invited over to people's homes for lunch, all of them from our adult English camp. These people are so extremely generous, feeding us more food than we could hardly bare to eat, and all of them telling us we were welcome in their homes anytime. Everything we ate was more than delicious.

It was so wonderful to see God move. It is hard to express in words all that He did. In a nutshell, the city of Kocevje is a city full of people longing for love and truth. The adult camp was free for any who wanted to participate, and these people were extremely appreciative, giving back to us in any way they could. Whether it was by inviting us into their home, bringing us gifts (which happened quite often), or throwing us a party at the end, they let us know how grateful they were. We did not expect any of it at all. They showered us with blessings, revealing God's love to us even if they were completely unaware. The best part was that God touched every life involved, including us. He showed the people there His truth through daily Bible lessons and revealed His love through us, what a blessing. People came to learn English, kids and adults, and God taught them about Himself as well. The last night of both camps, there were many tears. Tears of joy for the opportunity to be a part of God's plan, and tears of sadness for parting ways of brothers and sisters, some who may not know Christ yet. But, through those tears, we know God was there. He will guide us all, whether our paths meet on earth again or not. Please join me in praying for the people of Kocevje of all ages, as some continue their walk with Christ while others struggle with the Spirit. Pray that the truth of Christ will fall on soft hearts through these people and be received by those that heard it. Pray for the church of Kocevje as they continue to do God's work everyday in this wonderful city. Pray for us as well that we will be able to stay in contact with these people, loving them as Christ does. Our trip is coming to an end, but it is so clear now God's purpose for us in Slovenia. He is so faithful and I praise Him for all He is and how He loves. God bless you all!