I am in Kosice!

Well, we have finally made it to Kosice, Slovakia...and I am sweating all the time. It is actually hot here during the summer, and no a/c in site. I kinda understand the situation b/c it is cold enough to not have one 11 months out of the year here. Now that I am done whining I will move on with what has been happening here in Kosice.

We left Sunday morning at 5am on a bus to the Denver airport. We arrived in Kosice the next day, Monday, at 2:30pm, with all bags intact. A pure miracle. Aaron and I made it to our apartment, which is a really sweet joint in the old town part of Kosice. We have bunk beds and I sleep on the bottom. We went out to eat the first night and I had Halusky, a traditional Slovak dish. It tastes almost like southern mac and cheese, but it is made of potatoes. So clutch. Then we had to say goodbye to Jeremy, who is returning to be long-term staff in Slovakia, but has to return to the States for more training.

The first morning we all crawled over to the girl's apartment for prayer. I really didn't want to force everyone to come, but I felt like it would really help the team in the long run, both spiritually and physically. It was a little dry, mostly b/c we were tired and we haven't gotten to know each other yet. But it was still good because God's Spirit was with us.

The past few days we have been doing logistical stuff, such as getting cell phones and bus passes. We are planning to travel to Bratislava, the capital, for briefing next week. Briefing doesn't really consist of much content, but we just want to get away for the "retreat" feel....and I wanna see the city. We also have to go get our fingeprints taken to make sure we are not criminals so the we can get student visas. Yeah, I know. Missionaries getting fingerprinted.

We are going to be official "students" though. We are taking six hours of langage a week, which should be good for the ministry in many ways. We really want to start to transition the ministry to be more Slovak-led. There are now three Slovak girls on full-time staff, and of course we just need more MEN to step up and pursue other men. Typical.

Things are still fun here. I am still in honeymoon phase, and still exploring and re-exploring things. Please pray for us as we have lots of bonding to do and lots of encouraging to do. We NEED unity among the team if we are going to get anything done. Also, pray for Aaron and I as I don't feel very connected to him right now. He is my only male felllowship this year, so it is critical that we spur each other on this year.

Thanks, everyone!
Chao.