December 6th: Saint Nicholas / Miklavž

It's the most wonderful time of the year!  In our family we really love Christmas!  We love putting up our Nativity, the stockings, decorating the tree, watching Christmas movies, reading Christmas books... it really is all magical!  With Abigail having grown up in Hungary, and both of us living in Europe, we love incorporating European traditions as well.

One tradition that Abigail grew up on, is Saint Nicholas Day.  While learning about Slovenian culture, we were thrilled to find out that Slovenia celebrates the same holiday, albeit in their own way.

In case you're not familiar, Saint Nicholas was a bishop in modern-day turkey in the 4th century.  There are many stories about him, one of the most famous is about a poor man who had 3 daughters. He didn't have enough money to give them a dowry.  At that time in history, there were no respectable ways for a young lady to earn a living.  So, to help them out, but also to not embarrass them with charity, he brought them bags of gold, and placed them in their window during the night.  (My mom found this great article that goes even deeper, if you're curious about finding out more about Saint Nick.)

From this story, the European tradition is, that children clean, and put their shoes out, awaiting for what Saint Nicholas will bring them.  Usually, children get a gold switch, to remind them to stay out of trouble, and then goodies to reward them for their good behavior.  This is also where we get our tradition of hanging stockings for Santa Claus to fill.

One of the reasons we love this holiday, is because it sufficiently separates "Santa" from the birth of Jesus.  It allows us to do the Santa Claus thing, without feeling bad about it.

So, in our family, we love to celebrate Saint Nicholas Day, or in Slovenian, Miklavž.

We "shined" our shoes, placed them in front of the Christmas tree, and waited for Miklavž.

Then, Miklavž stopped by our house, and filled out shoes with chocolate and "Rocky" (which Aidan had asked Santa for when we saw him).

In the morning, we had a very happy little boy!

 

And, that's how we celebrated this European, and specifically Slovenian holiday!

Thank you for joining us in prayer and partnership this holiday season!  We appreciate you!

Please feel free to comment your own family, or country's holiday traditions, we would love to hear about them!

A Thankful Heart

Honestly, this is our favorite time of the year.  We both LOVE Thanksgiving, and try to make sure Christmas doesn't infringe on November.  Perhaps it's because Thanksgiving isn't over-commercialized.  Maybe it's because Thanksgiving is a "pure" holiday, without presents and things.  Or, it might be because Fall colors are the prettiest.  Who knows.

No matter the reason, I think we can all agree, that having an attitude, and a heart of thanksgiving is the best.  There are numerous verses in the Bible on thanksgiving, most notably in the Psalms.  

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; His love endures forever.

Psalm 118:1

I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart. 

Psalm 111:1

I will praise the name of God with song; I will magnify Him with thanksgiving.

Psalm 69:30

I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.

Psalm 9:1

So, in the spirit of that last verse, we would like to share with you all what we are thankful for.

1. A Home

This past year, we have been living with a friend.  This has helped us keep our costs down while raising support, have someone to "come home" to, as well as someone to be there with Abigail while Dan travels alone.  We are thankful for our home.

2. Safety

As we have been traveling so much this year, we have unfortunately seen many accidents on the road.  We are so blessed and thankful that God has kept us, and our car safe as we itinerate.  We are thankful for traveling mercies.

3. Health

We have been blessed this year.  None of us have been majorly sick, we have not been in the hospital, or had any major injuries (toddler bumps and bruises aside).  We are thankful for good health.

4. Family

Although we have had losses this year, on both sides of our family, we have been able to spend more time with family, than originally expected, and we have been thankful for every moment of it.  We are thankful for quality family time.

5. Partners

We have been overwhelmed by people's generosity this year!  Thank you to all of our ministry partners, both churches and individuals.  Thank you to those who pray for us on a daily basis.  The earlier mentioned things would not be possible without the power of prayer.  We are thankful for our supporters.

6. Hope

We are thankful for the hope that we have in Christ; that we know our Father in heaven loves us, cares for us and supports us.  It is his same hope that we are so longing to share with the people of Slovenia.

Thank you, to everyone who reads our blogs, posts, likes our pictures, etc.  You help us stay excited and keep our spirits up!

We appreciate all of you.  Thank you.  Thank you for lifting us up in prayer, writing us and loving on us.  Thank you.

Trusting God Through The Storm

This week, we have all been consumed with tracking Hurricane Matthew.  Initially, our city, Jacksonville was supposed to get hit severely, and evacuation orders were given for much of the city.  By God's provision, we had a service that Sunday (we had a rescheduling, they had a cancellation), in Tampa.  So on Thursday, the day before the the hurricane was to hit, we left.

We were blessed beyond measure, we were safe, we had water, food, and the means and ability to leave town.  It is with humility that we acknowledge, that not all were so fortunate.  We are very grieved by the lives that were lost, especially in Haiti.

Through all of this though, God has been reminding us to trust him in the storm.  We read over the story about how Jesus calms the storm, in Matthew 8.

23 Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. 24 Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. 25 The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”

26 He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.

27 The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”

There are physical storms, like the one that swept through the east coast.  But there are also spiritual and emotional ones.

It can be a financial struggle, a health scare, an uncomfortable or new phase in life, or a loss.  Storms come in all shapes and sizes.

In our lives, we are told that we WILL have storms, not that we MAY have storms.  But we are also promised that the Lord will not forsake us.  

Personally this year, we have had some personal losses, there has been a lot of new, and a lot of change.  But through it all, we have been encouraged to put our faith and trust in the Lord.

So, today we would just like to encourage you, if you are in the middle of a storm, don't be discouraged.  Take heart in the Lord.


Now, for a quick update:
  We are all doing well, and on the itineration trail.  Last month we were mostly in the Ocala area, and this month we are in and around Orlando.  We are currently at 44% of our budget, and would like to be at 50% by the end of the month.
We have had such a pleasure sharing in churches this month!

At one of the churches we visited, we had the honor of sharing in their children's church.  After we spoke, a little girl we're going to call Miss M came up to us, and told us that she feels like God wants her to come to Slovenia and help us, when she grows up!  That was such a moving and exciting moment!  If you can, take a moment to pray for her, that if that is God's will, that He would guide her steps.  Oh, to have the faith of a child!

Finally, to wrap up, here are a couple sweet moments, brought to you by Aidan.:

1. As soon as we get out of the car at churches, Aidan gets busy trying to find the nursery.  He will pull on my arm, and tell everyone he meets in the halls that he wants to play, until we finally make it to the nursery.  Where he ALWAYS has a blast!

2. Aidan has named the three mountain peaks on our logo: the tall one is daddy, the one on the left is mommy, and the one on the right is Aidan.  Whenever he sees the logo, he says, "Slovenia!  Daddy, mommy, Aidan, Slovenia!"

3. We took Aidan to eat at IKEA for the first time.  It's a Swedish store, that also has a restaurant.  When we lived in Belgium for college, it was a treat to eat there.  So, we were very excited to introduce him to it.  Well, we are very proud to announce, that there is now a new Swedish meatball aficionado in our house!

As always, thank you for staying in touch with us!  It means so much to us that you have partnered with us, whether it is through prayer or giving.  Without you, none of what we do would be possible!

On The Road...

This has been a very busy time of year for us, and we couldn't be more thankful!  Busy means we are able to share the message of hope for Slovenia with more churches and people.

We have already been blessed to travel towards the southern part of the state in July, and the Gulf side in August.

We have visited many churches, and met so many gracious and kind people.  We have even been able to be a part of a beautiful missions banquet!

We also just got our very own #hope4slovenia mugs!  We have already seen a great response towards it!  If you would like to purchase one, you can pick one up when we visit your church, or at the upcoming Experience conference.  OR you can make a donation online, and we'll be happy to send it to you!  Feel free to write us on our Facebook page to set that up!

It has been a great few months!  Thank you to those who have contributed towards it!

Being on the road also means that we have to keep our "little person" happy and busy.

For the most part he is a wonderful traveller, and goes with the flow.  He likes to talk about what he sees out the window, or what we are doing next.  Of course, he also likes to watch Paw Patrol, so if you think of us, pray for our sanity. :)

Now, before we sign off, here's today's dose of Aidan cuteness:

1. Whenever we pull into a new place, Aidan asks us, "Where are we, dudes?"  It cracks us up every time, which of course encourages it!

2. Aidan has mastered introducing himself to new people.  He now walks up to someone new and says, "Hi, I'm Aidan Blair.  I'm two."  Sometimes he even says, "I'm going to Slovenia!"

3. Aidan loves making new friends in the nursery wherever we visit! 

As always, thank you for staying in touch!  We also want to thank you for your continued love, prayer and support!

The Olympics, As Seen Through The Eyes Of A Missionary Kid

I love the Olympics, I always have.  My mom used to not let us watch anything else when it was on, as she would say "you get to watch history happen"!

The Olympics, however were also a time I like to call "cultural identity crisis week". (I know it lasts 2 weeks, but it sounds better this way.)  It's hard as a missionary kid (MK) to know who to root for - your country of origin, or your host country?  What if they happen to have a game/match against each other?  Oh, the emotional toil!

Well, it has been no different this time around.  Only this time, there is a third country in the mix - Slovenia!

Between the USA, Hungary and Slovenia, our hearts are full of pride!  The opening ceremonies were all kinds of amazing!

"We" becomes a fluid term.  "We" (Slovenia) won gold in women's 63 kg judo!  "We" (Hungary) won gold medals in women's swimming!  "We" (USA) won gold in women's gymnastics! (By the way, girl power all the way!)

Tina Trstenjak, Slovenian gold medalist

Who we cheer for though, at the end of the day, doesn't matter.

 Rooting for countries we love unites us, whether we were born in them, live(d) in them, or are called to them.  What a privilege to have so many nations to feel proud of!  Also, what a tremendous opportunity to pray for the nations!  

So, feel the pride, get excited, revel in the stories of perseverance  and pray for the people and missionaries in the countries represented!

Itineration Is In Full Swing

Happy Wednesday, Friends!

We have officially been missionaries since January, however I was still working full-time as a teacher until June 10th.

On weekends we would travel together, as a family, but during the week, Dan would travel alone, even doing 5-week stretch in Ohio, while we were back in Florida.

On June 11th Aidan and I flew to Missouri to join Dan, and begin our (roughly) month-long missionary training.  It was a time of learning, stretching, abiding and prayer.  It was truly enriching, and we felt empowered to continue on this adventure called "itineration".

For those of you who may not know, itineration is the process of missionaries meeting with churches or individuals, and sharing their heart for the country and people they feel called to.  This can be over coffee, or in a service.  

The hope is that people would be moved, and partner with the missionary in prayer and/or financial support.  Both of those are a vital need for the missionaries! I know people who have prayed for me or my family every day since they met me!  I have had ladies show me our family's prayer card in their Bible, where they have kept it, and faithfully prayed, for over 20 years.  It is very humbling and encouraging at the same time.

So, I thought you might enjoy if I shared a few light-hearted moments.  And since we have a rambunctious 2-year-old, whose vocabulary is rapidly growing, most of them revolve around him:

1. When we ask Aidan "Where are we going?", we usually get an adorable "Slovenia!"  But, on occasion, we will get a resounding "TARGET!!"  That one has gotten a little more dangerous these days, haha!

2. We have mints sitting out on our display table.  For obvious reasons, we don't let Aidan have them.  So, sometimes when people come over, take a prayer card, and try to take a mint, Aidan scrunches up his face, and shouts, "No touch the candy, put it back!"  We usually make a light-hearted joke about how they have to promise to pray for us, and then they can have the mint, but... yeah. 

3. Aidan thinks all churches have donuts.

4. During our commissioning service, we were holding Aidan, and I saw my grandparents.  I pointed them out, and said, "Look, it's great-grandma and great-grandpa!"  Just then, the people who were to pray with the new missionaries were called up, many of whom had white hair.  Every one that walked by, Aidan sweetly said, "Hi great-grandpa!  Hi great-grandma!"  One of those people was our district superintendent, who was coming to pray with US.  He is a very sweet and understanding man, but I was about ready to die of embarrassment.

5.  One day, Aidan took a little bag, flung it over his shoulder, grabbed a pack of prayer cards, and said, "I got my prayer cards, I'm going on a mission!"  My sweet boy.

So, these are just a few of the funny moments we've had, and I know there will be many more to come!  Thank you for coming along with us on this adventure!

Celebrating Statehood Day - June 25th

Hello sweet friends!

Our family is Springfield for Missionary Training, and as we spend our days learning about how to better understand and reach the people of Slovenia, we wanted to tell you all a little about an important day in Slovenian culture.

You may remember, that Slovenians celebrate Independence Day on December 26th.  On June 25th however, they celebrate Statehood Day!  In Slovene, it is called dan državnosti, which literally translates to day of statehood.

Historically Slovenia was under the rule of the many different countries and empires.  It became a part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, until 1991 when it gained independence.

The disintegration of Yugoslavia occurred due to the weakening of communism and its ideological dominance during the end of the Cold War.

The call for a separate nation spread through Yugoslavia. This was keenly observed in Serbia, Croatia, and Bosnia Herzegovina, but to a lesser extent in Slovenia. These republics wanted greater autonomy in the Federation. In January 1990, the League of Communists broke up in to small republics.

On January 20, 1990, during the fourteenth meeting of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia, the republics were not able to agree on the main governance issues prompting the Croatian and the Slovenian delegates to leave the congress. This was the beginning of the disintegration of Yugoslavia.

The first free elections were held. On December 23, 1990, 88 percent voted for an independent nation, and on June 25, 1991, the Republic of Slovenia proclaimed its independence. The next day, Slovenia and Croatia recognized each other as independent states. A war for ten days, which they ultimately won, followed when the Slovenians rejected Yugoslavian military interference.

From everything we've learned and read about Slovenia, national pride, and the ability to self-govern is very important to who they are.  This is very exciting news!  This means that, as a country they are still defining who they are.  There is a strong sense of community, and what better community is there, than the body of Christ?  We already love the country of Slovenia, its people and their customs.  We celebrate their independence with them, and are overjoyed that the chains of communism have been broken.

Now, we pray that God would prepare and soften the hearts of the people He will place in our path, that they might be willing to hear of the freedom from spiritual bondage in Christ!

We ask that you stand with us in prayer, as we continue to prepare to convey a message of hope for the people of Slovenia!

Happy Easter from the Blairs!

Happy Easter! Vesele velikonočne praznike!

In Slovenian, Easter is "Velika noč", which means "Great night".  The significance behind that is truly inspiring.

It WAS a great night, when against all odds, Jesus, who was dead and buried, with a humongous stone in front of the tomb, and guards posted before it, broke the powers of death, and defied all the things people assumed about him that WAS a great night!

As we were doing some research on Slovenian holidays, Easter specifically, we found that a tradition that has remained in practice over the years, is changing your old wardrobe for the new on Easter Monday.

Now, you may be wondering why that sparked our attention.  Sure, this is a great practice, put away your winter clothes, take out your spring clothes, donate some stuff... but it's more than that.

If we move it to the spiritual realm, it's a time to take a serious look at our relationship with Christ, and make some tough decisions.  

I don't know about you, but when I go through my closet, I find very surprising things - pants that don't fit, things I just cannot pull off at my age, shirts with holes, or sweaters I never wear... Now, how about when we do a "Spring cleaning" in our lives?  How about practices that do not fit the character of Christ (hello gossiping), things we should have grown out of (I'm looking at you self-pity and pouting), things that should have been thrown away a long time ago (goodbye bad attitude) or things that waste space (like checking Facebook 12 times an hour)?  This time of new life - Spring- is the perfect time to take a step back , and be honest about what is going on in our hearts and lives.

So then, what sorts of things should stay, or go into our fresh, clean closet.  How about love for others, a desire to be in God's will, following the guidance of the Holy Spirit, diligently reading God's word?

As Philippians 4:8 says: "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things."

So, be encouraged to allow God to move in your life, let him transform you day after day into His image, and please keep us in prayer, as we take steps forward to bringing hope to Slovenia.

*During this month, Dan is itinerating in Ohio, and Abigail and Aidan are in Florida, as Abigail is still teaching full-time.  Please be praying for safety and a blessed time in churches.

We pray you have a happy and blessed Easter!