Builders Group BLOG – May 2018

Formerly known as the ‘Lucky 13’, now known as the ‘Elite Eleven’.

There are three ‘rules’ on a mission trip: 1) Flexibility, 2) Flexibility, 3) Flexibility.  Earlier this week Dave & Vicky Lorenz had to cancel out of the mission trip. We are sad to not have them along to complete the ‘Lucky 13’ team.  With a bit of spontaneous imagination, Rich Wendland gave the team the new name of ‘Elite Eleven’. So now you’ll see the team named as the ‘Elite Eleven’ in future BLOG entries.  You might see ‘flat Dave & Vicky’ in a few pictures along with ‘Flat Bev’ in the coming days (our ‘virtual’ team mbrs).

Our 10pm departure from MSP helped us get a nap or two between movies or reading on our 8 hr flight to Amsterdam and on to Krakow.  In Krakow we easily met up with Erik & Jan who had toured Paris for a week prior to the mission trip, and also connected with Janka Mineková from the CCE Staff, and S’tano, our bus driver.   We gladly departed the Krakow area for Martin by 6:30pm. What a beautiful Spring green covers the countryside… and lots of highway construction in Poland. Erik was oooo’ing and aahhh’ing over the bridge work (he’s a retired highway engineer!).  After a delicious sack lunch on the bus, and a ‘zmrzlina’ (Ice Cream) break, we arrived in Martin by 9:30pm. Seeing the MartInn, our hotel for the next 11 nights, was a joy knowing sleep was just an hour or so away after some unpacking.

Tomorrow (Sunday) is a day to go to church and reconnect with Slovak friends and get our bearings for those who have been here before, and for the newbies to take in as much of Martin and the CCE as one’s tired brain can ingest.  We have a ‘Welcome Dinner’ on the Dormitory Patio tomorrow evening where we’ll reconnect with more of the CCE Staff and friends.

Dear God,

We are very thankful to you for keeping the Elite Eleven safe on the journey to Martin.  Now let us begin our work of spreading the GOOD NEWS of Jesus Christ, and to share God’s ENORMOUS LOVE with our Slovak brothers and sisters through our labor.