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Mission Slovakia 2008
Blog
Hello everyone,
We have arrived back in Fargo, and because of lack of computer
availability the last several days, we didn't send an update
as often as we had hoped.
We finished a wonderful week of Bible School on July 18th with
a program of celebration...songs, Bible verses, dances, and a
reinactment of the Noah story. At a picnic celebration the
last evening of Bible School, we enjoyed folk dancers and
singers from a nearby village, and sampled many great Slovak
dishes, of which we are becoming very fond. We were also
presented with a very special gift to bring to Bishop Bill
Rindy. We will be delivering the gift to him on Friday, August
1st. On the 19th most of our team took the trip to Auschwitz
and Kradow, Poland, and were very moved by the experience.
Some of us had been there before, and chose not to go again.
Our second week of English classes went very well. Out class
of 25 had been assessed early in the two weeks, and divided
into classes based on their level of English conversation and
vocabulary. We had the expertise of Barbara Lee Dogger, a
daughter of Peter and Audrey Lee, who traveled with our team
from Dallas TX, along with her sister, Chris, from First
Lutheran. Marianna Malm, who has taught English in Slovakia
for several years, assessed students as well, along with Wayne
Lucht. Each day of English we began with singing, everything
from Bible Songs to the Hokey Pokey and Head Shoulders Knees
and Toes on the day we had the body and health as a theme.
Students became proficient at the Alphabet Song, and a Soccer
Cheer, led by Ruth Hanson.
Each day, after 15 minutes of music, Barbara led an
introduction for the day, which included a grammar lesson.
Then we broke into small groups to continue the lessons. We
had themes for each day and used lots of supplemental material
from maps to restaurant menus and Hornbacher ads. We were
served a great lunch at noon, and then continued with two more
hours in the afternoon.
This year we were treated to several outings, some with groups
from other churches, and some with our group alone. We went to
a private home one of the evenings with about 40 people, and
enjoyed Goulash, cooked over an open fire, by a man whose
daughter and granddaughters were in our English classes. We
also visited the village of Kostany to meet and mayor in a
very lovely ceremony, as well as visit artisans in the
community...a woodcarver, and a decorator of gingerbread
cookies (a custom in the area.) And we took busses to Kremnica
to visit a 900 year old mint and climb 147 spiral steps to the
top of the church tower to enjoy view of the town and
surrounding landscape.
Following our second week of English as a Foreign Language,
the team traveled to Vienna and had two nights there to enjoy
eight out of ten of the sights "not to be missed" in Vienna.
Thank you for your great support in prayer and also with
financial gifts. We look forward to a gathering in September
when we will share pictures and stories about our trip.
MaryAnn Berg and the 2008 Slovakia Team (Chris Bachmeier,
Barbara Dogger, Ruth Hanson, Craig Johnson, Julie Johnson,
Wayne Lucht, Emily Malm, Marianna Malm, Connie Swanson, Larry
Swanson)
Good Morning First Lutheran.
It is Monday, July 21st, and we are beginning our second week
of teaching. Last week Vacation Bible School was terrific,
with about 130 children from 4 to 14 coming each day. Last
Friday we had the final program later in the afternoon and had
a great crowd of parents and grandparents there. Parents of
VBS kids lived through 40 years of communism and really lost
their faith in the process. The grandparents remember the days
of a strong church. The children in VBS are really
missionaries to their parents who see their excitement, hear
the songs and stories at home. In many cases the children ask
to say grace at meals because they say...Jesus would want us
to pray, and it is the right things to do.
We had a weekend filled with variety. Many we to Auschwitz and
Krakow in Poland, others up into the mountains to a village
and saw many very old churches. There will be another posting
this evening with more detail.
Today we begin our week of teaching English both morning and
afternoon. We have 24 students who were assessed as to their
level last Monday, and divided into groups, from very
beginning to quite advanced. We divided the weeks into topics
from health and the body, to maps, directions, shopping and
money, food, etc. The students are working very hard.
Thank you for the opportunity we have to travel here, share
the message of Gods love, and help our Slovak friends in their
desire to learn English. ......The Slovak keyboard has many
more options than ours, so I am having trouble finding the
apostrophe.....
In Gods Love from Martin Slovakia¨
MaryAnn Berg
and the entire team
Eleven "missionaries" arrived in Martin,
Slovakia on Saturday night, July 12. Five are veterans of
previous trips and six of us are quickly learning the ropes.
After a restful and inspiring Sunday spent at a Lutheran
church in Privobce as well as a meal with local families, we
began in earnest on Monday morning. We are teaching Vacation
Bible School, as well as English to teenagers and adults, in
the small village of Benice.
We are amazed at the spirit, friendliness and faith of these
wonderful people. A mere 15 years ago these people were under
Communist control. They have come so far in such a short time.
There are well over 100 children in Bible school and about 25
English students. We have been in contact with other mission
teams from California, Chicago, Colorado and Washington and
Oregon. We are so thankful for the support and prayers from
all of you at First Lutheran. We solicit your continued
prayers.
Julie and Craig Johnson
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