Sushi, Salsa, & Saints.

Last year St.Martin came on his horse right on time, which is a Slovak way of saying it snowed on November 11th. Why? Well, simply it just tends to be the day that we get our first bit of snow of the winter. An odd fact, but true. This year he was a bit late. Apparently, he took the scenic route. He must have hitched a ride with our friends, Frank & Suzie, who dropped in from Olztyn, Poland. It didn't drop powder until they got here on their journey down to Italy. So who is Martin, Frank, & Suzie....just hold onto your horses and you will find out.

Well, it turns out that St.Martin was a real person. He was a Roman solider turned Christian and was known for his kindness to children and the poor. One of the legends is that during a particularly harsh winter he cut his cloak in half and gave it to a beggar, which saved the man's life. He later reported having a dream where Jesus came to him wearing the half cloak. True? Myth? Legend? We will never know. But, either way it serves to illustrate the truth of Jesus' words - "Then the righteous will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungary and feed you or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stanger and invite you in? or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prision and go visit you?' The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the lest of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' " (Mt. 25:37-40)

We could use more St.Martin's in this world.

Another legend of St.Martin is that he once lost a donkey and so the children of the town searched the streets with candles and lamps looking for the lost beast. Apparently, the poor animal is still lost. This year the boys were invited to a St.Martin's parade which started on the castle hill here in Bratislava, making it way down to a local German school for traditional sweets & cakes. And ,yes, there was fire, a white stallion, and lots of sugar! To say the least they enjoyed themselves.

Well, this year Martin didn't come on time. But a few weeks later our friends Frank & Suzie brought the snow from Poland with them. F+S are Calvary Chapel missionaries serving in Poland, but now in route to Italy were they will be ministering in the CC Bible school there. Anyways, they spent some time with us two weeks ago over the weekend. It was a nice time of joking around, snowball fights, and hearing about what God is doing in their lives!Frank also taught on Psalms 20 for our Sunday service and did a great job. BTW - Franks' last name is Gonzalez... and yes, he is Mexican-American....so we had him teach us how to make a big Spanish dinner...it was Bueno! Plus, Kieko decided to bring some awesome sushi....strange mix with Mexican...but somehow it worked out and was great!