Starting Off 2019!

Hello, friends!

December and January were full of ministry opportunities, celebrations and festivities!  Here are some of the things we've been up to:

1. Church Christmas

Abigail was very excited to be a part of the Christmas program for our church! She sang in the choir, and led the kids' ministry bell choir, which debuted at our Christmas service. It was a huge success, and everyone loved seeing their children perform something new, so well!

2. Young Adult Ministries

Dan continues to be a part of the country's leadership team for the Young Adult Ministries. They are in the process of planning the Winter camp, and have had a number of worship nights. Dan has greatly enjoyed getting to know some of the pastors better - in fact, he and a pastor friend will be attending a symposium in Spain next month, hosted by the Assemblies of God, about reaching secular people. We are thrilled to be a part of the ministry towards the youth of Slovenia!

3. Bethany Global University Missions Trip

Our church in Ljubljana is a host site for Bethany Global University interns. We currently have 6 students taking part in the training. Our pastor asked us to help them find some areas of ministry. Abigail's mom, fellow missionary Jocelyn Gracza has taught English at one of the Hungarian high schools in Budapest (actually, the school where Abigail and her brothers attended), and was able to have the interns go and facilitate conversational English lessons. Dan even ended up substitute teaching for one of Abigail's former teachers! We were so glad to be able to strengthen the relationship with this high school, as well as help the Bethany students fulfill some of their academic requirements.

4. Friends and Neighbors


We have loved getting to know our friends from church, as well as from our son's school. God has blessed us with exceptional people, who we are blessed to live in fellowship with. We spent Thanksgiving with a family from church, have had cookie decorating parties, baby showers and play dates. At Christmas time, we once again baked cookies and delivered them to our neighbors. Through this we've gotten to know our one neighbor and her dog, another neighbor had cookies for us too, and we have a mommy-baby walk planned.

Najlepša hvala, thank you so much for your love and support! We couldn't do any of these things, if it weren't for your prayers, encouragement and partnership! As always, we appreciate you more than you know!

What's Up With The Blairs?

Hello, dear friends!

Well, another season has passed, and as we are on the cusp of Summer, which holds many exciting new ministry opportunities, we wanted to take the time to let you know what we've been up to lately! 

Language School



For the past 3 1/2 months we have been attending language school through the university. We have thoroughly enjoyed it, the teachers were excellent, we feel like we've gained a lot of knowledge, and we've enjoyed getting to know our classmates. Abigail has developed a real friendship with one of the ladies in the group (whose children actually go to the same preschool as Aidan).  It has been a great way to build relationships!




Church Life

We've become more and more involved in our local church here in Ljubljana. Dan has been a part of the men's group and has had the opportunity to help with many everyday things that go into running the church. He has recently been to an all-pastors' meeting, and has been invited to preach at the Slovenian superintendent's church in Ženavlje this Sunday. Abigail has been volunteering in the nursery, helping with kids' programs and has recently joined the worship team. 


Around Slovenia



We took a trip to one of the cities here in Slovenia, called Piran. It is on the coast, and one of its famous buildings is a church named after Saint George. As we were standing there taking in the beauty of the church, we noticed this sentence graffitied on the electrical box: "God is a joke". (Far right of the picture.) This image illustrates the general spiritual climate in Slovenia so well - churches are no longer places of worship, but rather tourist attractions, and most people feel that they have no need for God - that He is a joke.
The other picture was taken at the church in the main square of Ljubljana during a regular service. It was very sad to see so many empty pews in a building originally built for the worship of God.





Coming Up!



We have a very busy and fun-filled summer ahead!  This week we have a leadership conference that Dan is helping with, called Voditi z Namenom (Lead with Purpose). For most of July we will be helping with camp. Dan has been asked to be on the planning team for the young adults' camp, and we are hosting an "American Night", with games, American snacks and prizes. A special thanks to John and Temple Gracza for sending us party supplies, and to Paul and Lori Traver and Kaiserslautern Assembly of God for blessing us with the fun and yummy snacks! The local church we attend here has a book publishing company. They are in the process of translating a book called True Identity. Thanks to Light For The Lost, we have been able to preorder 200 of them to give to everyone attending youth and young adult camp! We have also been able to purchase 100 Action Bible New Testaments to give to every child attending kids' camp! Many of the children there will be from an unchurched background, and this will be their only access to the Gospel. We've also been asked to help with a camp specifically for Gypsy/Roma children, and will be able to give them Action Bible New Testaments too. We are so thankful for this opportunity to support both our local church, as well as the Pentecostal Movement.
We're also very excited, because "The Puzzle" (Sestavljanka in Slovene) has now been translated into Slovene! "The Puzzle" is a terrific children's outreach tool that we will be starting here in Slovenia soon - hopefully by the Fall. We are now in the process of finding voice actors, we've ordered the costumes, then after all that we'll be recording the performances, training the team and traveling to churches and schools all around Slovenia! Thank you, BGMC for making this dream a reality!




Prayer Requests



There are many of you who have reached out to us, asking what you can be praying for, and we'd like to share them with you:

- Summer Camps -  especially that the books and Bibles that we are able to provide will be a blessing! Pray that hearts and lives would be changed, and that the hope and love of Christ would be felt.

- "The Puzzle" project - We are very excited at the prospects of what we will be able to do with this ministry tool, and are praying for God's guidance each step of the way.

- Our Neighbors - as we've gotten to know more people in our neighborhood, the tug on our hearts for the Slovenian people has only grown stronger. Please pray that they would soon know the freedom we have in Jesus.

- The Churches - that we would be able to make connections in the other churches around the country, and would be a blessing to the Slovenian Pentecostal Movement.

- Our Pregnancy - so far, we've had a very healthy and normal pregnancy, and we ask that you continue to pray for health and safety for our little girl.



Thank you for your continued love, prayer and support. We are honored to have you as our ministry partners! We pray God's blessing over you!

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!

Winter Update From The Blairs

Greetings from Slovenia!

It's been a while since we've given you all an update, and to be quite honest, it's because of... life!

We are really settling into our new home, and getting used to our new normal.

We were delighted to get to spend our first holiday season in Slovenia, and our first "real" winter in a long time - this Florida-transplant family forgot about the cold!

So, we just wanted to give you all a short update on what we've been up to in the past couple months.  

Christmas

We were so excited and honored to be a part of the Christmas program at the local church we attend, here in Ljubljana!  Our big guy played the part of a wiseman, and was part of the children's choir!  It was extra special to hear him singing Christmas carols in Slovene!

On Christmas Day, we were so thankful to have Christmas dinner at the church with a few other families.  One of the families from the church hosts it every year, especially for those who don't have family nearby.  We loved getting to spend Christmas day with our new church family!

We also delivered cookies to our neighbors in our apartment building.  With the help our language teacher, we wrote each one of them a note, wishing them a very Merry Christmas, and a blessed New Year.  Then, we went to each door and introduced ourselves - in (broken) Slovene!  It can be difficult to get to know one's neighbors, especially in an apartment building, but we're hoping that through interactions such as these, we'll be able to build meaningful relationships with them!

Language Learning

This is definitely NOT the glamorous side of missions, but it is the foundation, the groundwork without which we won't be able to truly reach Slovenia.  So, we have been working hard at our Slovene language classes.  Here are some examples of how much we've learned in the past few months:

We've had language classes for about 3 1/2 months.  We have learned how to introduce ourselves, talk about the weather, give directions, talk about motion, conjugate verbs, express possession of nouns, describe our families, lots and lots of grammatical rules, and we just started learning the past and future tenses.

We could not be more pleased with our tutor - she is very knowledgeable (she teaches at the university), patient, she loves her language - which in return makes us love her language, and she has a wonderful way of tying in what we're learning about Slovene with the culture.

Our teacher is actually leaving for 3 months, for a job outside of the country.  Please join us in praying for her, that she would be able to adjust well to her new surroundings, she would enjoy her job posting, and would... come back!

In the meantime, we will be taking a course at the university for the 3 months that she is gone.  We took a placement test earlier this week, and classes start at the beginning of March.  Please be praying for us, that we would make new friends at our courses, that our Slovene knowledge would deepen, and we would have a good time doing it!

Ministry

We were so excited to visit one of the other churches in the Pentecostal movement, a church in Murska Sobota.  In the type of coincide that only God can bring together, the pastor of that church was actually a friend of ours from college, at Continental Theological Seminary in Belgium.  We had a wonderful time sharing with them!  We introduced ourselves in Slovene, as well as we could, and then Dan shared his testimony, and how the Lord orchestrated everything for us to be able to come here.  We look forward to being able to visit more of the churches in the future, and building relationships.

Speaking of relationships, we've been very excited to get to know some of the children and parents from our son's school!  In the afternoons, we all seem to pick up our kids at the same time, which has been a great way to meet.  These pictures were taken on a hill near buddy's school, where we got to have some fun.  In the next few months, we're hoping to meet some of the parents for coffee, or arrange play dates, so we would appreciate you praying for those relationships as well!

As always, we appreciate your prayers, your love, and your support!  Thank you for making it possible for us to minister in Slovenia, we couldn't be here without you!

Laying the Groundwork - Prayer Covering and Language School

Hello, friends!

Thank you for being on this journey with us!  We so appreciate your prayers, emails, comments, and any other way you may reach out.  It is encouraging to know that there are so many people lifting us up before God.  We also pray for you, that God would bless each and every one of you, that He would give you peace and that you would know His love in a tangible way.

We have had a whirlwind of a couple months, and wanted to give you all an update, as we have settled into our regular routine a little better.

Last week was Fall break here in Slovenia, which means that everyone leaves town, and most everything is closed.  We decided to take that opportunity, and we planned a couple-day prayer retreat for our family.  We know the power there is in being covered in prayer, and wanted that to be one of our first and main focuses.  We made an effort to "hit" some of the major Slovenian national symbols, as we prayed for our new home.

1. Mount Triglav

Triglav is THE national symbol.  It is featured in their national crest, numerous businesses are named after it, and it has been said that you are not a true Slovene if you haven't climbed it.  (Dan is working on that.)  We actually went up to Mount Vogel across the way to get a good view of it.  Here we prayed that in the same way that you have to look up to see the mountain, people would raise their eyes to the Lord, and be filled with wonder of Him.

2. Lake Bohinj

Lake Bohinj is the largest lake in Slovenia.  It was absolutely beautiful and tranquil.  Here, we prayed for the peace of the Lord to come into the lives of our new friends.  That whatever their worries are, that they would be able to cast them onto their Heavenly Father.

3. The Church of The Holy Spirit

This church was amazing.  It was built during the I World War by Austro-Hungarian soldiers, as an homage to their fallen brothers in arms.  They dedicated it to the Holy Spirit.  The only way to get to it, is via a 30-minute hike - wow, what an image!  While we were here, our son thanked Jesus for his new Slovenian friends, and we also prayed that the Holy Spirit would sweep into this nation, and that He wouldn't be hard to reach, out of the way, and a hassle to get to - rather that they would see Him as the Helper Jesus says He is.

4. The Soča River

 

The mesmerizing emerald blue-green of this river is indescribable.  It is another main national symbols - it's also on the national crest, as well as the subject of art, poems and songs.  We drove along this river, stopping occasionally to enjoy the beauty of it, and also to pray that the hope of Jesus would rush into this country, much in the same way as the Soča does.  What a powerful force water is - it cuts through rock, forms the land - and yet how much more powerful is hope in Jesus Christ!

We were so thankful to have some quiet, reflective and prayerful time together as a family before this busy season.

As important as prayer is, we also know we can do nothing to engage the people of Slovenia, unless we are able to reach them in their own language.  With that in mind, this week we ALL started school.

1. Language School

Dan and Abigail started language school this week.  We meet with our language tutor, Melita 3 times a week.  She is patient, very knowledgeable, and a great teacher.  We've already learned a lot!  One of our favorite phrases is "taco-taco", which means "so-so".  It's interesting being back to doing homework, and using parts of our brains we haven't used in a while, and we're really enjoying it!

 



2. Our Big Boy in Vrtec

Our son started at vrtec, the Slovenian equivalent of preschool, although they translate it to kindergarten here. Please keep him in your prayers - everything at school is in Slovene.  His teachers seem very nice and patient.  We know he will make great friends, and that the Lord is with him wherever he goes, but it is also a little scary to leave him in a situation where none of us are really quite sure what's going on, haha! 

As always, we are so thankful for you.  We love our new home, friends and neighbors.  Thank you for making it possible for us to reach them.  Please continue to pray for us, as we settle into our new normal.

Keeping Up With The Blairs

Where do we even begin!?  We hit the ground running this month, and are excited to share some of the highlights with you!

1. PenFlorida District Council

We are so thankful for our PenFlorida leadership!  Thank you to everyone involved in planning, logistics, set-up, tear-down, the speakers, PenFlorida Women's ministries for the luncheon, PenFlorida Missions Department for the moving and inspiring missions service and all the missionaries who encouraged one another.  It was truly a time of refreshing!  (Also, this is what missionary kid life looks like sometimes.)

We even found the Slovenian flag (which Aidan can recognize a mile away)!  It makes our hearts so happy to see little reminders of our future home!

2. Clearing Out Our Storage Unit

 When we moved in with our friend 2 years ago, in preparation for this adventure, we put many of our things in a storage unit.  This month, we went through it all, and sorted the "stuff" into four categories: take to Slovenia, keep in Florida for later (our next term in Slovenia, we will have funds to send a crate, this first time we're only taking suitcases), garage sale, and throw.  We managed to do it all in one day!  (Thank you Mellissa for watching Aidan that day!)

Thank you so much to Pastor Jeff Wade and his church, Ocala First Assembly, and Tim and Janet Sudreth, pastors of Suncoast Cathedral for helping us with the purchase of this trailer!  We downsized quite a bit, and were able to fit everything into it!  We are also very thankful to Dave Houck, pastor of Salt Life Church, for allowing us to park it on his camp grounds for the next 3 years!

4 hours, and lots of sweat later, that's what an empty storage unit looks like!!

3. Itineration Trip Up to Virginia

Much of Abigail's family is from the Virginia area, so we were very thankful to be able to book a few meetings and services up there!  On the way to the airport, we were so happy to get to have lunch with one of our former students, and monthly partners, Emma Dove!  We are so proud of you!  We love you!

 Our first day there, we had the unplanned and AWESOME surprise of seeing the Buckleys, missionaries to Hungary!  Abigail used to babysit their kids when they were little, and Dave and Karmi are her "missionary aunt and uncle".  They are just starting a summer of itinerating also, so please keep them in your prayers, too!  We are so thankful for their love and support!

We were very excited to connect with the Flores family!  Johnny and Robin graduated from the school where Abigail's grandmother taught, and went to her church.  They have three wonderful boys, so Aidan had a BLAST at their house!  They are also one of our monthly partners, and we are so thankful for them!

 These are Abigail's Aunt Temple, and Uncle John (Magic).  They have supported us since Day 1 (and not just on our missions journey).  We wouldn't have even been able to move to Florida without their help, which means none of this would've even happened!  Thank you so much for all you do for us!  We loved getting to spend time with you!

We were so excited to visit Faith Fellowship, where Pastor Don and his wife Kim have been faithful supporters of Abigail's parents for years.  Their youngest daughter, Jocelyn, is even named after Abigail's mother!

4. 80% Reached

This month, we reached 80% of our monthly budget!  We are so thankful, and anticipating wonderful things!  We are on target to be leaving towards the end of September, thank you for keeping us in your prayers!

We were also thrilled to connect with Tom and Lynda Kish, Dan's family friends from his home church in Ohio, who have partnered with us, and now live in Bonita Springs.  We had so much to talk about, as Tom is Hungarian, and Lynda grew up as a missionary kid!  We had a terrific time!

5. Slovenian Statehood Day

Slovenian Statehood Day is on June 25th.  It's the day that they announced their separation from Yugoslavia.  Please make a mental note to lift the people of Slovenia up in prayer that day!  We know that there is hope for Slovenia, and that Jesus is his name!

Thank you for your continued prayers for us!  We appreciate each and every one of you!

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