SUNDAY 27 May 2018      

BEAUTIFUL NEW DAY!

How does one describe the beauty of a Sunday morning in Martin…. With mountains covered with spring green trees, lush flowers of every color, fresh cool morning air, birds singing their joyful songs, the smell of a fresh rain shower from a day ago, and the fact that today is SUNDAY and we aren’t working on WINDOWS today!  After Sunday morning worship, we’ll have a light lunch and then head to Šutovo Falls for a hike to see a 125’ waterfall. The Froľová and Mineková families will join us on the hike today. These two families will be in Minnesota from mid July to the end of August. The Vision Slovakia Leadership team (RLC and St Andrew’s folks) is excited to reciprocate a bit of the hospitality that we Americans have had the pleasure to enjoy year after year as we have visited and worked in Martin for the past 20 years.  The two families are excited, and a bit nervous, to come to Minnesota for such a long visit. However, they are looking forward to the time away from the chaos of the CCE.

During the church service this morning, KJ gave her greeting to the Martin Congregation.  She managed a bit of it in Slovak, too! Here’s the English version:

Good day my brothers and sisters in Christ,

Psalm 118 we read this: “The stone which the builder's rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This is the Lord's doing, It is marvelous in our eyes. THIS IS THE DAY THAT THE LORD HAS MADE, LET US REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT.”

For us Christians, Slovaks and Americans alike, we can sometimes feel rejected and useless. But, God can do MARVELOUS things if we just LISTEN to God's still small voice that encourages us to take action in our homes, our neighborhoods, our communities, and the world.

The Minnesota Builders Group is just eleven faithful servants who have heard God's still small voice to be with you for a few days. But our 15 year partnership with you, our Slovak sisters and brothers, has taken the rejected stone, as in those rejected buildings, and with God's help and guidance, we have transformed them into a marvelous place where faith and love is not only taught, but lived out every day! The students of the CCE will become the cornerstones of future Slovak businesses and schools, taking with them the love of God that we Christians, Slovaks and Americans, so freely share.

After lunch we piled into the yellow van and 2 cars and headed to Šutovo Falls for a 3 hour hike to a beautiful waterfall.  The path was a bit rocky, but we managed to get everyone back to the school without any twisted ankles or knees. Katka & L’uboš baked us a ‘dried fruit cake’ for a treat at the end of the hike.  It was delicious!! We took a little detour home to see a quarry lake. This lake was a little larger than Como Lake in St Paul, and was that ‘blue green’ mineral water color. Froľová’s had been to the lake just yesterday, and went swimming.  There were a number of swimmers and sunbathers. Good to see the Slovaks have a good place to swim besides the AquaPark & SPA.

Our ‘goodbye dinner’ was held this evening instead of this Tuesday which is our last night in Martin.  The Gypsy Band came to play for about an hour, and Bohdan and Adrian joining them on several songs. What joy they have in their music.  Our time here in Martin is always so brief, and yet, so important to continue to motivate and encourage our Slovak brothers and sisters who live and work in the chaos of the CCE everyday.  

God of all creation…. Thank you for giving us the time and energy to walk in and through the beauty of Šutovo Falls.  Nature reminds us of your awesomeness with trees, flowers, rocks, flora and fauna. Every THING is a creation from you, oh, GOD, that you freely share with us, your children.