Zivijo!

So much stuff has been happening in these past few weeks, I will attempt to fill you guys in as much as I can!

A few weeks ago, I helped out with a program called Josiah Venture where about 20 students (American and Slovene) drove to Vienna, Austria and had an English camp for four days. It was such a laid back camp! We had to cut it short because of traveling time and other things, so it wasn't the typical camp the Josiah Venture usually hosts. In the morning, there was about an hour of games and activities to really bring out the aspects of English. Then we would head out to travel the city! We walked around Vienna with each group having instructions on places to go or things to do. Since it was English camp, we went to Starbucks, McDonald's (multiple times), and my favorite: TGI Fridays.

Overall, it was an amazing week, and I still see the students every once in a while here in Kranj. The students are so willing to sing about God and learn about Him even though they are not all willing to accept Him or believe in Him. Relationships are so important to them, and this is a great way to show how God loves them through how we interact with them and each other!

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This past week Todd, Sarah, and Lili Hunnicutt and I went on "holiday" as they say over here. Everyday was packed and over the week, we traveled in six different countries: Slovenia, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Germany and Liechtenstein. By far my favorite was Austria. We stayed in Innsbruck for two days and at the end of our trip, we spent a day in Salzburg. In the third picture, you can see me attempting to reenact the "Doe: A Deer" song. Todd gave me the fastest tour I've ever had, taking me to many places where "Sound of Music" was filmed. One day we went to Basel, Switzerland where Germany, France, and Switzerland all connect. What's interesting is that we stayed in a little town called Busingen, but even though we were in Switzerland, it's actually part of Germany.

It was so fun just to hang out with the Hunnicutts and just see the world! I will be home a week from today and am so excited to see all of you! I've had so much fun, but really do miss home as well. I will try to fit in another update before I come home!

Nasvidenje!

-Lyz

First of all, thank you so much for all the comments! I really appreciate them and I am praying for all of you, my friends back home!

We just finished our adult English classes, and the experience was amazing. In the last days of the course, the students began to communicate that they noticed a difference in the way we acted. One student asked, "Are all teachers in America so positive?" Many of them said that they attend church, but they have no connection with their church like the one they observed in our group. It was so awesome to see how God impacted their lives! There were tears and laughs on Friday night. Hopefully, our paths will cross again someday.

Yesterday we arrived in Kranj, which is in the northern part of Slovenia. Tomorrow morning we leave for Vienna where we will share life with 12 high school age Slovenian students. I will definitely share with you all what went down in Austria when I get back to Slovenia! Let me tell you, it's going to crazy times. So far, food-wise, I know that we are going to TGIFridays, Starbucks, a chinese restaurant.

Please pray for these 12 students. We will be closely connected with them for the next 5 days and will have a great potential to impact their lives as God does His thing. Pray for unity in the group and patience as we will probably come across times when we will want to smack each other. Maybe.

I can't wait to see you all again! And I posted a slideshow under this post so you can see my life in pictures.

-Lyz

A visual of my trip.

First impressions.

I'm so sorry that my blog hasn't been updated for a few days! I have been so extremely busy that I literally have not had time. We teach from 9am until 2pm and then from 5pm until about 9:15pm. So those few hours in between we are sleeping or preparing a lesson for the evening classes!

The students are so amazing, and they like how I try to speak Slovene! They laugh at me a lot actually. In the evening, I have an average of five adult students. They are so eager to learn, and they are even excited about the times that Tony, the local pastor, comes and shares from the Bible (even though most of them are not Christians).

I absolutely love the culture!! They feed us so much, it's amazing. So far I've had pasta, potatoes, the most pork I have ever eaten in my life. But I love it!


I also went to Italy at the beginning of my trip and took a tour on the grand canal. The weather was so beautiful! My friends, Paul and Jule, stayed with me in a little hotel right off the canal, in the center of Venice. I can't even believe how inexpensive glass is and how expensive ice cream is. Yes, we went to Saint Mark's Square and ate ice cream that was 15 euros (each).

I have really been enjoying the language differences as well. When I was in the Frankfurt airport, I asked a girl if there was a drinking fountain in the airport. She said, "No, but I'll give you a cup and you can get water from the toilet. It's clean." For all those "non-travelers"out there, that just means the bathroom. But it was hilarious.

I hope things are going well over there! Please pray for us as we interact with the Slovenes and form relationships with them! They are such a beautiful people, and God has already worked in so many lives over here.

I will put pictures up when I get another bit of free time!
-Lyz

Dark chocolate, procrastination, and dedication...

First, I'm craving dark chocolate.

Second, creating a blog the day before a big trip is commonly called procrastination.

Third, maintaining a blog takes something called dedication. If you're reading this blog, thank you! I will update it as much as I can, pictures and all.

• Tomorrow I leave to go to San Francisco for a night, and then fly to Venice on Friday. I'll spend most of my trip in Slovenia, which is part of the former Yugoslavia. It's far from 3rd world as many think and is as developed as the U.S.
• I'll be helping out Todd and Sarah Hunnicutt, a missionary couple from Big Valley Grace and First Baptist. I am extremely excited to have the opportunity help alongside them as they organize their annual English camp in Kranj! I will also be working with another program, teaching English to elementary kids. Seriously, going to be fun.
• And finally, I'll finish up the trip with a little traveling! Ooo, I can't wait to show you the pictures. But, I don't have them yet.

I can't wait to meet the people of Slovenia that I have been praying for! I know that they are an amazing people. I also know that it is a very dark country. In addition to friendships that long outlast my stay, I will offer them something that we all crave: hope. THEY HAVE THE CHURCH BUT NOT JESUS. Many of them will say they are Catholic, but they don't believe in God. I want to show them what they're missing! It's not about the rituals. We aren't there to just "lay out the gospel" (not a bad thing!), they need to see that we care because Jesus cares. I hope to show them that Jesus is not about rules, but about freedom!!

I'll try to make your blog-reading as fun as possible. I'm a VERY visual person, so I'll post as many pictures as I can! And I won't make them long and boring! I hope...