16 May 2012, Wednesday
It was an early morning awakening with a 6am breakfast and bus boarding at 6:30am. Megan G needed to get to the Budapest Airport by 11am as she was heading back to St. Louis today. The rest of us were headed to downtown Budapest for a couple of days of R&R. Our Slovak busdriver got us within a couple of blocks of the hotel, as the hotel is on a pedestrian only street. He parked the bus, opened the luggage doors and motioned for us to get off the bus. We found out later there is a ‘back entrance’ he should have used. We can laugh about it now. With the afternoon free, folks wandered or napped. We are weary wanderers, but with a good night’s rest we’ll be ready for our city tour in the morning. Budapest is a GORGEOUS city with LOTS of shopping, restaurants and…. incredible architecture from many centuries.

The pictures that are attached to this BLOG entry are of the “7 Days of Creation” murals that we all had a hand in painting in the glass walkway between the 1st classroom building and the Dining Hall. We hope you will enjoy them as much as the kids do.  Recognition and Thanks goes to Pastor Connie McCallister for bringing the idea to light and reality for the murals.

It is good to have our mission work behind us. As we wind down our time in eastern Europe we are thankful to God for His guiding hand to keep us safe. We praise God for calling us to come together for this mission and are thankful for hearing that call. We SING A NEW SONG to Him each new day for the LIFE and LOVE that He has granted us.

15 May 2012 Tuesday,
It is with GREAT JOY that we come to this final day in Martin. We had one last project to complete… the glass hallway/walkway painting. But wait… there is a a ‘special featue’ on the seven ‘solid panels’ of the glass walkway! With in inspiration… Pastor Connie says that those seven panels could have ‘murals’ on them of the seven days of creation!!! AWESOME idea… so with a few primary colors, and Connie’s artistic eye and talent, we began (yesterday) to paint the seven days of creation… in just a little over one day!! By 3pm today, the murals were ‘done enough’. The kids and many teachers really enjoy them and said ‘thank you’ many times today. And the multi-color posts and rails really ‘pop’. There is one section left… so the Naperville Builders Group has something to start on in July.

The ‘goodbye party’ was very good this evening, as usual!! Tomáš and Slákva hosted us on the dormitory patio with barbequed bacon and pork loin. mmm mmmm Good!! It was so good to see everyone enjoying each other’s company after a working together for the past 10 days.

We head to Budapest tomorrow morning to drop off Megan at the airport as she heads back for her Med School graduation later in the week. The rest of us will stay in Budapest for a couple more days before heading back to the US.

It is with grateful hearts that we come to this time of this mission trip. We have had quite an ‘adventure’. Busting down walls, priming walls (twice!), digging trenches, emptying a 22′x24′ sandbox, sanding/scraping & painting the sprial staircase, removing SEVERAL drapery cornices, patching & plastering walls, priming/painting the glass hallway/walkway, stump removal, and finally painting the 7 days of creation… mural style. May this together motivate and inspire EACH of us to ‘tell the story of the CCE to others of how sharing in God’s LOVE can make one feel so ALIVE. To GOD be the GLORY!!

15 May 2012, Monday
It was a brisk morning, overcast and breezy today, but that didn’t detour us from our projects. Yet another trench was dug by Bill, Jim and Bob for another lightening rod on the Bible School. The upstairs painting crew of John, Connie, & Beth finished their work! GREAT JOB!! The rest of us descended on the ‘glass hallway’ and ‘covered walkway’ that connects the 3 buildings. Scrapping, puttying, priming and painting were the tasks at hand. The phrase ‘many hands make light work’ came to mind often. Megan painted the teeter totter with ‘fun colors’ and these ‘fun colors’ were then used on the hallway/walkway pillars/rails. The inside of the windows also got some new putty!! It looks VERY FUN and full of ‘energy’. Tomorrow there will be more info on a ‘special feature’ of the hallway/walkway…. just know that it seems to have been ‘God inspired’.

We finished up our workday around 3:30, just in time to cleanup and board the bus for an hour ride to Bojnice Castle. On the way we stopped at a natural mineral water spring for a taste of ‘real’ mineral water. Once you get past the smell of sulfar (rotten eggs) it tastes like ‘mineral water’! (DUH!). The Bojnice Castle is VERY impressive, both inside and out. Having a night tour was particularly special…. with ghosts!

Tomorrow is our last workday, and our last full day here in Martin. We are optimistic that the walkway/hallway will get a 2nd coat of paint. We are weary, but satisfied with the amount of work that we have gotten done in just a few days. For every hour we work it is the same effort as one person working 20 hours! Cumulatively we have contributed over 850 person hours! But it’s not only about the project work effort… it’s about creating spaces that will be used to change the lives of the kids. PRAISE BE TO GOD!

Acts 10:44-48

While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles, for they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God.  Then Peter said, ‘Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?’ So he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they invited him to stay for several days.      

 John 15:9-17

As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.  ‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.

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• May, 13, 2012 traditional
• May, 13 2012 contemporary
• May 13, 2012 Matins

13 May 2012, Sunday
And on the seventh day God rested…. and so did the Builders Group. Gosh, has it been over a week since we arrived? It was Confirmation Day at the Martin Church… and it was packed! Good to see so many people there to support the confirmands. We then spent the afternoon at the Martin Fire Brigade celebration with food, live music (including Tomáš Gulán and his band), and just hanging out together. Eva Janotová (RLC Youth Intern from 2009) spend the day with us before heading home to Krupina. We ended the afternoon with a few of us going to Luboš and Katka’s new apartment on the hill for dessert and coffee/tea. Tereska and Tomáš are adorable.

Tomorrow we go back to our projects… as we look towards finishing up our work here on Tuesday. Are bodies are a bit weary, but as Bill said..we got 2 more days in us!!

12 May 2012
We are a week into this trip… and have done a TON of work in just a little more than 5 work days. Several of us needed a change in our work duties so it was decided to switch it up a bit today. This morning’s primary task was ‘SHOPPING’! Yes, we needed to stimulate the local economy a bit. As we darted from store to store we would run into each other and ask ‘what did you buy?’. It was a welcome relief from the digging, sanding, plastering, demo’ing, or painting we had been doing. The Slovaks came to volunteer today as well, washing window, sweeping the courtyard, trimming trees, and even plastering. Having lunch together with our Slovaks brothers and sisters is a joyous occasion, even if we don’t speak the same language.

Today we finished the lightening rod trench and got it backfilled, finished cleaning the parking lot, worked more on the glass hallway scrapping and puttying, painted a few pieces of the playground tables, installed new teeter totter boards and dug in old tires for ‘ground bumpers’. A few of us helped Michal and Katka pack and move a few things to their new home in Zaborie. Beds were of first priority as they wanted to sleep there tonight. So by 3:30pm… they had beds!

The weather turned cold and rainy about 4pm…. just in time for our tour of the Old Village Museum. But the time in the pub there was delightful. Tomorrow is Confirmation Sunday at the Martin Church, so that will be interesting to see.

We have only two work days left. We have a couple of projects we’d like to finish, so we are hopeful the weather will cooperate and allow us the pleasure of ‘non-rainy days’ to complete them.

11 May 2012 Friday
Well… when you awaken to a beautiful sunrise, birds singing, and fresh mountain air… what more does one need? So… How about finishing a couple of key projects!! Renee S, Joan Z, and Larry T FINSHED painting the spiral staircase!!! Joan Z and Renee S had remnants of ‘Slovak Blue’ even after cleaning up for supper. But take a look at the picture… we all were amazed that the staircase could be ‘transformed’ in just 3 days! Another key project completed was the removial of 26 cubic yards (more than a cement truck full) of dirty sand from the pre-school sandbox…with shovels and wheelbarrows. Thank goodness the sand didn’t have to go very far (to the fence) for fill. MANY HANDS MAKE LIGHT WORK was the phrase of the morning for that project.

The ‘ditchdiggers’ aka John McC and Rich W were asked to dig out another 3 inches of the lightening rod trench. Another project checked off the list (other than backfilling).

Bob B, KJ, and Tim S dug out a tree stump from the middle of the ‘courtyard’ between the 1st classroom building and the Dining Hall. Bible School custodians Janko and Jaro were HAPPY to see that stump GONE so they no longer have to mow around it.

The Pre-school painting crew of Connie McC, Beth B, Skip B and Susan B continue to work through the various rooms of what will be the Pre-School. They have been working tirelessly on this project ALL WEEK!

Scrapping and puttying the ‘glass hallway’ between the buildings continued today… and will continue for another day or two.

Our bodies are getting tired and our stomachs are in a constant state of being full. It has been UNDESCRIBABLE the amount of food that had been available to us every couple of hours! This evening we were delighted with homemade Slovak sweets and sandwiches from the wormen of a ‘daugther church’ to Martin in Družvoce where Gina and Karol Figurova now live in their newly built home. The hospitality of the Slovak people is overwhelming.

Ron L and Jim Z volunteered for a ‘special project’ in the parsonage to paint doors and door frames.  Slovak volunteers will be working tomorrow to help finish that project.  It will be an interesting day to work along side our Slovak friends for the day.

Please continue to pray for us… and our Slovak hosts/hostesses as we head into our final days here in Martin and head to Budapest. Keep us SAFE… in all that we do… AND EAT! To GOD be the GLORY.

10 May 2012, Thursday
We again awoke to another glorious morning of fresh mountain air and a little on the cool side, but by the time we were on the work site, it was very pleasant. Today’s highlights are:
1) Plaster Team switched out a new team member… Megan G ‘got plastered’ today… well, not exactly. Instead she learned plastering from Ron L today. She was excited to learn a new building skill for her next adventure in life… her medical internship. Not quite sure yet how plastering in Slovakia will help her with doctoring in Missouri. The team finished yet another room.
2) The PrimeTime Painters of the Pre-school got unfortunate news that the walls that were primed yesterday needed to re-primed today. Not a happy crew in that room today.
3) Ditchdiggers John and Rich finished with their project only to find one unmarked gas line, and one metal plate too big to dig below. Ditch is ready for inspectors before laying the lightening protection wire and backfilling.
4) Glass hall scraping/cleaning crew of KJ and Joanne O got a good start on this project… but lots of work left for tomorrow!
5) Pre-school sandbox sand removal…. got a good start today with Julie, Mary and Kathleen following by John and Jim. More work tomorrow to be done.
6) Spiral staircase team of Renee, Joan, Bob, and Larry really takes the prize for today on getting the staircase primed!! AND the paint is already available for tomorrow’s top coat!!

We continue to be fed VERY WELL…. and are eating in the remodeled Dining Hall/Cafeteria that Janka’s Kitchen Special Appeal helped fund. Just one year ago this coming weekend KJ announced that the goal of $45,000 had not only been met, but it had been exceeded! See the fruits of YOUR contributions was an overwhelming experience that first day. Thanks be to GOD!

JOBS WELL DONE BY ALL today…. But the best part of the day was going to the SPA in Turčianske Teplice with their hot spring water pools of various warm to hot temperatures along with a couple of waterslides. It was a welcome relief for some weary workers. If you are ever in Martin, be sure to take a couple of hours for the SPA. It’s well worth it!!

Gracious and loving God… You first loved us so that now we can pass along that same love others… wherever they may be in your world. Our work in Martin is not only to renovate rooms, but renovate lives, and with your help and guidance we will be successful. Amen

Wednesday May 9, 2012
According to the schedule for today we are knocking off early to take the train to Žilina for a bit of shopping, strolling, and relaxing. Met Eva Janotová there (she interned at RLC Summer 2009). Was good to see her again. As for our work efforts today, it was back to plastering walls, finishing sanding the spiral fire escape, finishing cleaning the parking lot of weeds and yardwaste, and started priming the walls of the Pre-school. Also a few of us went to the Great Hall in the Bible School in the late morning to hear from a Somalian and thanking the Lutheran Elementary School students on fundraising efforts for the Somoli refugees in Slovakia.

We continue to be injury-free….. Praise God!!!

Tuesday 8 May, 2012
We hit the ground running this morning… at least for 3 of us who started out our day with a jog around Martin. KJ, John McC and Megan G had the energy and the motivation to work on their cardio exercise before starting their work day. The MartInn is doing a fine job at providing us a healthy and harder breakfast. before we are have devotions each morning at the Bible School with the CCE staff and with Tomáš leading us in song. It’s a great way to start our day. We were back at most of the same jobs as yesterday this morning, with the exception of a small team needed to cleanup the church parking lot of leaves and yardwaste. Rich & Julie W, Kathleen D and Susan B gathered up SEVERAL leaf bags of yard waste. What a difference it made to see the pavement again. The ‘scraping crew’ continued to scrap the walls in the nursery school area. Bob B, KJ, Megan G, Larry T, John McC all worked at removing the wall debris after Janko had demolished the bathroom wall. And…. there was yet another ditch to dig, which Jim Z volunteered for. Joan Z, KJ, Bob B, Larry T. finished up the day with sanding parts of the spiral fire escape, in hopes of painting it yet this week. The plastering crew with Ron L, Bill B, Tim S and Joan Z continued their work by filling in the wiring and plumbing channels in the block walls as well as plastering walls. They are almost working faster than the supplies can keep up with them.

We then went to Bohdan and Bibi Hrobanová’s new home for supper with a cross-country stroll to the next village’s pub. What a beautiful scene of 20 twenty people walking across the fields simply enjoying each other and all of God’s creation.

Oh Glorious God, we give you many thanks for this day of hard work, good team work, safety in our work, and beautiful friends. To GOD be the Glory.