Spring Has Sprung!

Vesele velikonočne praznike!  Happy Easter!

The weeks leading up to Easter were very busy for us, full of ministry and friends!  Here are some of the highlights:

Ministry

In March, Dan had the great pleasure of attending/helping at the Pentecostal Movement's Winter youth conference, and then the next weekend the young adult conference.

Students from all over the country were there, worshipping Jesus!

There were over 80 high schoolers, and over 60 college-aged students there!  

During the youth conference, Dan was able to help with the recording of a video for the leadership that they could use, among other things.  He was also happy to help out in the kitchen, and grill breakfast sausages!

At this same time, Abigail was attending, and helping with the Europe's Children Energia Conference, held in Budapest, Hungary.  This conference was for anyone working in children's ministry in Europe.  There were people there from far and wide, learning new ways to reach the children in their churches and Bible classes.  Because Abigail grew up in Hungary, she was able to help with translation, registration, and did a TED Talk on ways to use Pinterest in ministry.

During our time here in Slovenia, we have befriended a lady from Russia.  She and her family lived at the refugee center here in Ljubljana for their first year.  She has a heart for the families who are living at the refugee center now, and asked us to help her with blessing them this Easter - and of course we were thrilled to do so!

Thanks to our Speed the Light vehicle - which we filled with groceries twice - were were able to buy groceries for 15 families.

The next day, we went to the refugee center with the groceries as well as Bibles in their heart languages.

There were families there from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Somalia, Russia, and a few other places.  We were able to tell them that Jesus loves them, and that they are special to us.  

We are hoping to be able to do this on a more regular basis.  Please be praying for our new friends, that God would open their hearts to His love, that we would be able to reach meet their physical needs, as well as spiritual ones.  We are so thankful for this opportunity to share God's love!

Abigail has started volunteering in the church's nursery, which she enjoys - especially because the kids speak about the same amount of Slovene as she does!  We have a few other projects in the works, which we are excited to share with you in the next few months!

Language Learning

We've been taking language classes through the university for about a month now.  We are in separate classes, which has been fun for us!  We've been getting to know our new classmates - many of the exercises have involved introducing ourselves, or describing why we are in Slovenia - which always leads to questions during the coffee break.

We are enjoying understanding more and more of the language, being able to read signs, order off menus and read the notes on the bulletin board at our son's school!

Speaking of his school, he is coming home speaking more Slovene words every day!  He loves school (and sometimes cries when we pick him up, because he doesn't want to leave), his new friends and teachers.  We are so proud of his bravery and sweet spirit!  We've been being more and more "Slovene", with our big guy riding his bike to school when weather permits.

Family News

We recently found out that we are expecting a sweet baby girl, due to arrive in September!  We are so excited and thankful for this newest addition to our family!  Please be praying for us, that we would have a smooth pregnancy and delivery!

We had a wonderful Easter holiday, making new traditions, and getting a bird's-eye view of our beautiful new home!  We pray that you all also enjoyed a blessed and peaceful Easter celebrating Jesus' love!

As always, we are so thankful for your continued prayers and support!  It is so encouraging to know that there are people lifting us up on a daily basis!  We could not be here without you!