on the tree

Slay the Dragon

Remember our Beowulf entry? Well, finally my students finished their dramatic adaptation. It was hilarious... these kids are so silly! Enjoy...

Little Indians

Venite adoremus Dominum

Living in an old town you start to rub shoulders with a lot of old things. But at the same time life is busy here, so sometimes these old things simply get pushed out of your consciousness. Yet, one thing I almost always notice is a stone carving of an angle above the church on SNP square. For some reason it always catches my attention. Inscribed beneath the heavenly gaze is inscribed - “Venite adoremus Dominum “ What this meant is Greek to me...well actually it’s Latin... but whatever. It’s a mystery, but one worth figuring out.

Google is my number one tool for solving the deep mysteries of the universe... well, some of them... Anyways, “Venite adoremus Dominum” is a Latin phrase meaning, "come, let us adore the Lord". I like that. What a perfect motto to have for the gathering of those who love Jesus - “let us adore.” It’s not “let us have fun” or be “entertained” or “self-fulfilled” or another of a dozen unspoken mottos in many of the modern churches. Simply said, the majority of the hip & relevant aims of the church today are simply ones that revolve around one of the most personal & dangerous words in the world - “me”. And for some reason I have the funny feeling that this is simply not the way of Jesus. Yes, we do benefit from being part of the Body, the Bride, the Church....but the direction of our attention and gaze is to be on Jesus.

One surprising occurrence of “Venite adoremus Dominum” was right under my nose all the time...at least one month out of the year. V.A.D. is another title for a song we all know well - “Joy to the World.” Although this song is traditionally a Christmas song (and its hard for me to get beyond that...), I believe it could/should be sung more often. Take a second and hum it in your head. What is it about? A Savior coming and all of Creation breaking out in joyous adoration of Jesus! Isn’t that Good News?! What an anthem to shout out!

Another common use of “Venite adoremus Dominum” is in the English “Book of Common Prayers“. Essentially it is a prayer adapted from Psalms 95...which by the way is all about the theme - “let us adore.” Here is part of a modern translation. You might take a moment and meditate on it. Let it guide you into adoring Him (ps. if you feel funny using a written prayer, simply open your Bible and do it that way):

“Come, let us sing to the Lord;
And shout with joy to the Rock who saves us.
Let us approach Him with praise and thanksgiving
And sing joyful songs to the Lord.

The Lord is God, the mighty God,
the great King above all the Gods.
He holds in His hand, the depths of the Earth,
the highest mountains as well.
He made the sea, it belongs to Him,
the dry land too, for it was formed by His hands.

Come then, let us bow down and worship,
Bending the knee before the Lord; our maker.
For He is our God, and we are His people,
The flock He shepherds.”

May “Venite adoremus Dominum” be carved into our hearts and hang above the doorway of our life.

Patrick+Ivetka November 08’ Update

“Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together... but let us encourage one another.” Hebrews 10:24-25a

Ahojte! It's been quite a long time since our last ministry/family/life update - so we figured it's high time to send this out. What can we say other then God alone is good, His timing is perfect, and His provision is amazing. So, let's start to bring you up to speed:

Last time we wrote we were living in Nitra, attending Mozaika church, serving in Potichu Nahlas & Skupinka, and doing a lot of commuting to Bratislava for work. All I can say is that our time in Nitra was a mixed bag of blessing, hardship, transition, healing, learning, and stretching. Our years of living, loving, and serving in Nitra have been life changing (and hopefully not just for us!). What can we say other than we love Nitra, the church there and friends of course!

Finally we have moved back to Bratislava. We thought it would happen about a year ago, but God's timing is perfect! It has been so amazing to see how God has opened the doors and provided for us in ways we can not imagine. Our two months here in Bratislava have been simply one prayer after another unfolding and revealing a new & beautiful work of the Spirit. Life here is nothing other than fast. We hit the ground running. But it's running after God- trying to keep up with what He is doing. The first weekend we got to Bratislava we began to host a Bible study in our home and it's been very interesting to see who the Spirit has been bringing to our home - old / new friends, students, co-workers, and seekers. We are confident that God has brought each one of them to us at the right time in their lives (and ours) for a specific reason. We have now hit the 2 month mark of the Sunday evening fellowship here in Bratislava. What can I say other then it’s a blessing to be a part of it and see God move in His way & His time.

Please keep us in your prayers - that the Holy Spirit would work among us, that the presence of Jesus would be felt, and that the Father would be glorified. If these things are happening then for sure the Lord will add daily those who are to be saved. Also, pray for us as a family - growth in our marriage, wisdom in our parenting, God's hand to be upon our children as they bloom.

Also, we will be back home in California over the Christmas break (Dec 12-Jan 8) to meet with family, friends, and supporters. If you are in the area we would love to meet with you. Contact us via email: ccnitra@yahoo.com or at my parents' home (951.845.3286).

Thank you all for your continued support, prayers, and encouragement. May God bless you as you walk deeper and deeper into the good things He has prepared for you.

In Jesus,

Patrick, Ivetka, Gabriel, & David


Online Donations: Account # 1175 > http://go.ccnorco.org/donate.htm

Our Sending Agencies:
Shepherd's Staff: http://www.shepsstaff.org/
Go! Ministries: http://go.ccnorco.org/

Nitra

Just a quick update on Nitra for all you Nitra-lovers.

Well there has been a bit of a population explosion in Drazovce. And no, I’m not talking about the Sony plant expansion. Last month (15.10) Silvia and Rado (and of course Hanka too!) celebrated the birth of their new twins - Andre & Margarita! In classic Radovanka style they announced the “break-through” in verse -

“expectations truly long alive came,
thundering in our being's been made.
Andrej with Margareta, jewelry fragiles,
blooming thankfully into our smiles “

We were able to visit them about two weeks ago - good healthy looking kids... and surprisingly parents as well. I know God gives us only what we can bear...hence why He didn’t send twins to us...obviously Rado & Silvia are better cut out for this whole parenting thing then us. Anyways, two regular peas in a pod.

Additionally, there are some other babies on the way - Rado & Vierka are expecting a little girl in a matter of weeks. Please keep them in prayer for good health for Vierka & baby.

As many of you know we were attending a new church plant, Mozaika, in Nitra. What can I say other than it’s a great church and God’s hand is for sure upon Pastor Miro and his wife Marta, and the team. It was so good to be apart of that fellowship for us personally. And I’m so glad to see God using Mozaika to bring to fulfillment many of the visions and desires that He put on our heart. In the beginning of September Mozaika had it’s first official Sunday morning service (usually it was on Sunday evenings). The next week they were kicked out of the facility they were renting - a classic church planting tale in Nitra. Yet, God is winning, the church is growing, and I believe many in Nitra will come to know Jesus through this ministry. Please keep Mozaika church, Pastor Miro, Marta and the ministry team in your prayers as they lovingly and with power further the Good News in Nitra.

Lastly, Potichu Nahlas has started up again this academic year. For those of you who don’t remember - PN is a student outreach ministry that was established last year. We were asked to help out with it this year again, but turned down the offer. It was clear to me that our time of leading ministry in Nitra had come to an end (at least for now...who knows what God will do?!) Actually, the team doesn’t need us and that has been proven by the fruit of the last few meetings. Actually, this years PN is way better then last years from what I hear. Please keep Betka, Christina, Matt, Amber and the rest of the PN team in your prayers as they seek to impact the student community for Christ in Nitra.

Ok.... sighing out with love for Nitra!

free to come

"...there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" Rom 8:1

Do I really believe this?
Do I live a confident life?
or is it condemned?
.... and if it is by whom?

It seems like this theme comes up over and over in Scripture. It's probably because we think that this whole Jesus thing has to be more complicated then it looks. There must be a trick, a gimmick, some fine print. But there isn't.

There is no Divine finger pointing at you. Jesus didn't come to throw stones, but to save, redeem, restore (JN 3:18). To mend and straighten us who are bent and broken on this thing called life.

In fact, we are told to come confidently to Jesus. When St. John, one of Jesus' best friends, spoke of this he used the Greek word for confidence that meant - "free, fearless, & cheerful courage." What a way to approach God!

So, ask yourself - are you running away from God or to Him? Run and run confidently in the greek-est way you can!

FellowshipSlavia

“Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together... but let us encourage one another.” Hebrews 10:24-25a

We have now hit the 2 month mark of the Sunday evening fellowship here in Bratislava. What can I say other then it’s a blessing to be a part of it and see God move in His way & His time. The foundation of the group has been prayer. Our two months here in Bratislava have been simply one prayer after another unfolding and revealing a new & beautiful work of the Spirit. The little group that meets in our home is great and we know that God has brought each one of them to us at the right time for a specific reason. And although it might be great to grow, I’m glad we are small enough to really know one another, serve one another and push each other further into Christ.

The motto of the group has been Acts 2:42 -”They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” It’s a simple model, but a blessed one. Very balanced. It’s so freeing to remove all the fluff from Christianity and simply meet Jesus and walk in His ways. And you know, He really does honor it. It’s a joy to be apart of His work, done His way. We have been going through the little letter of 1 John...it’s like dynamite - packed full of explosive truths on the way of Jesus! Then you add a time of simply adoring Jesus, serving each other in prayer, and taking the bread + the wine...it’s perfect. Just to top things off we share a meal together afterwards and keep the house open for as long as people want to stay. It’s a sweet time of fellowship and living out our faith in the community of believers (and sometimes even seekers). If you are in Bratislava come join us - every Sunday at 3pm.
Please keep us in your prayers - that the Holy Spirit would work among us, that the presence of Jesus would be felt, and that the Father would be glorified. If these things are happening then for sure the Lord will add daily those who are to be saved.

Bang!

It's amazing the innate magnetism boys have towards instruments of war. Every stick, toilet paper roll, pencil, clothes hanger, paperclip, toy car -you name it- can be magically transformed into a weapon of nuclear proportions. Pick up any item and just add boyish imagination and BANG.... bring it on brother! So, when they see the "real thing" there is no stopping them. We were recently in Nitra visiting a friend Martin. Martin is just a oversized boy. He has his toys..but they are real. So, the boys jumped on it - a rifle with a sniper sight! As cool as it looks, it's still just a muzzle loader. Laws are very strict here in Slovakia concerning bearing arms. But, one shot rifles like Martians are considered simply for sport. Either way, the guys didn't care. Just add a bit of imagination and sound effects and you have got yourself a machine gun...or a bazooka!

Spooks

Wow... time is flying by. Halloween, All Saints, Reformation Day, and Veterans Day have already ended and Thanksgiving is on the horizon.... too many holidays, too many events, too much food! I’m behind on blogging the business of BA life. Here are some shots from the boys Halloween party at school. It’s was more or less just a crazy costume party. As Halloween is an “imported American” holiday, it looses something in translation. Which is good. Basically, it’s more like Carnival with a slightly spooky twist... you dress up funny and eat cookies that look like spiders. It’s missing much of the ghoulish, ugly, dark side of the celebration - which is great! We don’t need to import/export garbage!
Anyways, Gabie & David were sporting their Indian costumes. They were very much “in character”. Enjoy!



The guys preparing to carve the pumpkin







Wanna piece of me?!



Gabie's class



The tribe


Hard to get





Lost Boy & Tinkerbell

headaches

These guys (my older students) cause me so many headaches...but still somehow I kind of like them.....

Birdz-i

Last Friday I took my older students at FOREL on a field trip to downtown Bratislava. Our main goal was to visit the Slovak National Bank (NBS) With the world-wide economic crisis and Slovakia's conversion to the Euro in January it seemed like a pretty relevant time to make a visit. The problem with education sometimes it that it can just fill your head with info. And although modern pedagogical methodologies are great, they simply can't replace 100% our natural, firmly established paths of learning - primarily experience. Take language for example. When we learned English (or Slovak...) as a child our parents didn't had us a text book and expect us to be fluent in a few months. No, we had repeated experiences which made sounds and gestures meaningful to us. I believe that other areas of study can follow suit. Basically, get the info, then experience it in real life so that it has impacting meaning. Hence, we visit the NBS. Economy in the round.

The NBS was pretty cool. A public relations officer gave a good and highly informative presentation of the upcoming Euro conversion. Then the students were able to explore a few interactive exhibits on the Euro, the development of currencies, and the history of currencies in Slovakia.

Fortunately, I have a friend at the NBS. Sometimes Slovakia works on the very practical principle - "It's not what you know, but who you know." So, we got the VIP tour to the top of the NBS tower, which is the highest building in Slovakia. Although the weather was very foggy and cold, the view was still great. Here are some birds eye photos.

Beowulf

He could not enter
for the dragon's flame.
Beowulf was angry,
the lord of the Geats,
he who stormed in battle.
He yelled into the cave.

Well... my time as a high school English teacher has been interesting thus far. I have survived almost 2 months now... even with Jr. High! Actually, the school is great - good kids, good staff, and lots of creative energy. For one of my younger groups we have been working through a section of Beowulf (modern translation of course!). Basically they have to learn how to read poetry out loud. But these kids are Jr.Highers... so they don’t have the slightest interest in poetry. But they do like bloody battles with fire breathing dragons... who doesn’t? So we worked off that angle. To get them to be motivated we made a movie of them acting out the poem. Here is a shot from our filming. Lesi the Dragon and Katka (a.k.a - Beowulf). These kids are crazy funny.



Please keep me in prayer as I work at the school and also in my other business lessons as well (Ivetka too). The down side of being a tent-making missionary is that I don’t always have time to do what I would normally see as “ministry.” However, the flip side is that we work intensively with a wide range of people... most of who do not know Jesus. Pray for us as we seek to use our secular jobs as not just a way to pay the bills, but to be a way into the lives of our students, coworkers, and clients. Pray that they would see Jesus in us and be hungry to hear more about the life He offers.

Green

Isn’t God good? Doesn’t he know what we need more then we do? One of the big concerns we had with moving back to Bratislava is where exactly we would be living. Prices are so high and something good is really hard to find. Plus living in a flat in a big city is not the ideal for kids (although many, many families live this way). Yet, that’s where we live. Yet, God is good. He prepared for us exactly the place we needed -right by a park. And not just any park, but the Presidents Park! So we don’t have a yard...or even a balcony... but in a matter of minutes we can be in a green paradise in the middle of a concrete jungle. Kind of like Central Park in NY... but way smaller. It’s actually one of my favorite places in downtown Bratislava. Isn’t God good?!

Burritos

SNAP! Finally it’s November again! SNAP!! SNAP!!! once again Bratislava is hosting it’s annual Month of Photography. SNAP!! It’s a superb project with galleries, cultural institutes, cafes, and other eclectic venues highlighting some of the best the photo world has to offer.

We can across our fist viewing on accident. On our way home we cut through Hivesdoslavovo square and ran into a herd of donkeys wandering between Novy Most and the U.S. Embassy! Actually, they were about 30 larger then life double sided photos of Donkeys invading the town square. What the conceptual idea behind this was I’m not entirely sure...but it’s impressive no the less. The guys liked it and were choosing their own burros.

Off Moment

I caught David in an off moment...

Does it stick?

What do you do with two impatient, over-energized boys waiting at the bus stop and the bus is nowhere in sight. A photo shoot of course. It keeps them busy at least and no running out into the road. Luckily my Nokia is outfitted with a decent camera...at least enough to have fun with. I think of it as more a sketch as opposed to a final product. Anyways... the guys only wanted to do silly shots. Do you remember the last time you made these faces? Well... you should try it. It’s still fun. And it doesn’t stick. So enjoy!