May the Lord Bless You and Keep You

Well friends, we're in May!  Here's a quick update on what we've been up to!

We have had the pleasure of visiting many churches in the past month!  For most of this itineration cycle, we have stayed in our home district, PenFlorida, but this past month we had the opportunity to attend churches in West Florida District, as well as Alabama District.  We were very encouraged by the congregations we visited, it so wonderful to see people on fire for missions!  There was one church in particular, whose missions goal is to partner with a missionary in every country of the world!  Because we are the only Assemblies of God missionaries to Slovenia, this was very exciting for us!

Dan has stayed very busy this month, going to Alabama and West Florida's District Councils.  District Council is a conference which the majority of the pastors from that district attend.  It is a great opportunity to connect, and hopefully book services, set up meetings, and gain support.  We will be going to our own PenFlorida District Council in two weeks, and we would appreciate your prayers during that time!

We just reached 75% of our monthly budget!  This is so exciting, and it is starting to really feel real!  We've started to pack some of our bins with things like winter clothes, and Christmas decorations.  We have received our first extension, and our superiors have given us until July 1st to be funded.  Please be agreeing with us in prayer, that we would be able to meet this deadline, and on our way to Slovenia!

We will be starting our visa applications soon, and the timing of it all is very important.  It's hard to know how long the process will take, and once we receive our visas, we have to be in the country within 1 month.  We would appreciate it if you would be praying for us, that the application and approval process would go off without a hitch, and that everything would happen in God's timing.

What we really want to say is best summarized in Numbers 6:24-26 "May the Lord bless you and keep you.  The Lord make His face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift his countenance upon you and give you peace." This is our prayer for all of you, our faithful supporters!  Thank you so much for all you do - your prayers, encouraging words, and financial support!

We're At 70%, And It Feels So Good!

We just hit another huge milestone!

We had a campaign to finish March at 70%, and today we met that goal!

Thank you so much to our friends and family, you joined us this past month, and with your support, we reached the next step!  We could not have done it without you, and we are more thankful for you than you know!

We are praying and hoping to leave for Slovenia in August, which gives us about 5 months to raise the last 30%.  We know that with God's grace, and your support, we will able to be on our way to Slovenia!

And that's not the only praise report we have!  Since our last blog post, we have also found out that PFYouth Speed the Light has raised the funds needed for our Speed the Light car!  For those of you who may not be familiar with Speed the Light, it is a ministry, where the youth of each district raises the money needed for missionaries' vehicles.  This is a HUGE help, because if we had to raise the extra funds, it would add months, maybe even years to our itineration cycle.  The fact that the funds are already available means that as soon as we land in Slovenia, we will have a reliable and safe mode of transportation.  We are so thankful to our District Youth Director Casey Casal, as well as all the teenagers who have given to Speed the Lights!

And that's still not all!  Wide Open, City Church's youth group in Sanford, FL has pledged to raise $5000, for our plane tickets to Slovenia!  That is amazing!  We get so excited to see young people on fire for missions!

We are so thankful for all the people who have come alongside us, who encourage us, love and support us!  Please continue to pray for us, for traveling mercies (our car just reached 100,000 miles!), favor with the pastors, and other people we meet, and to be able to leave for Slovenia as soon as possible!

Thank you!

Spring - a Time of Growth

We were recently reading through Ecclesiastes, and were reminded again, that there truly is a season for everything.

Spring is a time of growth, renewed strength and hope.  And we are feeling all those things in the last couple weeks.

We ended the year at 50%, and as of right now are already at 63%! That is incredible growth, and we are so thankful!  We are praying and believing to be fully funded by August 1st.

Some of you may be new to our blog, so we wanted to give a quick recap about what it is that we are doing.

We are newly appointed Assemblies of God missionaries to the country of Slovenia. Slovenia is a country in South East Europe, with a population of 2 million people, and approximately 1000 (0.5% of the population) Evangelical Christians.  There are currently no Assemblies of God missionaries to this country, and we are so honored and humbled to be answering God's call to Slovenia.

We are currently itinerating, which means we are visiting churches, and meeting with people to tell them about our heart for Slovenia, in the hope that they will partner with us in prayer, encouragement and financial support.  We will not be collecting a salary in Slovenia, rather we live off of the generosity of people who share our heart for Slovenia.  We have a monthly budget that we have to raise before we can get clearance to go.  Our first term in Slovenia will be for 3 years, during which we will be attending language school full-time, while partnering with the local Slovenian Pentecostal movement to help inspire church development and revitalization and trying to integrate into as much of the culture as we can.

After those three years, we will come back to the US, itinerate again, and then go back to Slovenia for 4 years.  We will continue this cycle until God tells us otherwise.  

So, when we say that we couldn't do any of this without you, it isn't false humility.  It truly is by the grace of people just like you that we are able to minister in Slovenia.  So, thank you, thank you, thank you!

Please keep our family in your prayers this month, as we all (especially Dan) will be doing lots of traveling.  With as much driving as we do, it is not uncommon to see accidents on the road.  We are often reminded that we need God's protection wherever we go!  Also, this past month Abigail's grandfather went to be with the Lord, and we all travelled to Springfield, Missouri to attend the funeral.  It was sad, but we know he is in a place where he is no longer in pain.  Please pray for comfort, as this is the fourth grandparent we've lost within the span of a year.

We appreciate all of you more than you know!  Thank you for coming on this journey with us!

sLOVEnia

We had something very exciting happen this past month, and couldn't wait to tell you about it!

We got an email from our area director to be on the lookout for a phone call from a pastor in Texas.  A couple of days later, we received a call.  As it turns out, pastor Raul Garza and his wife often travel to countries around the world, and connect with missionaries on the ground.  His wife felt prompted to do something for Slovenia a few years ago, so on one of their trips, they visited there.  They were surprised to find out that there were no Assemblies of God missionaries.  So years ago they started praying that someone would answer the call to Slovenia.

Fast forward, they wrote our area director, asking if there were any missionaries headed to Slovenia, and as a matter of fact... there are!

So he called us, and invited us to their church, and told us they were going to partner with us in monthly support!  We were so excited, and thankful for God's timing! It is so encouraging and at the same time humbling to know that we are part of God's plan.

To think that the creator of the whole universe has a specific plan, and that we have small part in it - it's almost too much to fathom!

And that brings us to the title of this post.  Slovenia is the only country in the world that has the world "love" in it.  And we love Slovenia!  God has given us a love for a country and people - and we are so anxious to get there!

So this Valentine's Day, love the people near you, but also love the people that God lays on your heart.  God uses each of us to pray for people all over the world.  Allow the Lord to soften your heart towards his people, and pray for them.

Happy Valentine's Day. And remember, "We love because he first loved us." 1 John 4:19

A Year To Review, A Year To Hope For

 As of January 1st, we have been itinerating for 1 year.  We've driven 34,441 miles, and visited 88 churches in 6 states.

We have raised 52% of our monthly budget.

All of these numbers are encouraging, but of course, we are longing to finally make Slovenia our home.  We are praying, hoping and planning on leaving for Slovenia by the end of June.

January is a month to look both forward and backward.  Backward, to remember all the blessings and special moments that happened, and forward with expectation.

So, we would like to share with you our top 3 itineration moments from 2016, and the top three that we are praying for, for 2017.

2016 Top 3

1. Candidate Missionary Commissioning Ceremony

In June of this year, we got to experience one of those once-in-a-lifetime moments.  We were commissioned as Assemblies of God World Missionaries.  All of our leadership was there and prayed over us.

Our Europe regional directors the Trementozzis, and our Central Europe area directors the Sabellas were there, as well as our district superintendent Terry Raburn, and district  missions director Tom Manning.  We received a Slovenian Bible, and the blessing of our leaders.  It was a moment we both have been looking forward to, for as long as we can remember.

2. Visiting the Slovenian Embassy in Washington D.C.

We were fortunate enough to be able to visit the Slovenian Embassy in Washington D.C. in November.  You may not know this, but the land an embassy sits on is considered that country's soil.  This means that technically, we actually visited Slovenia!

We spent time praying for Slovenia; their government, their people, the spiritual climate there, as well as our transition to moving there.  It was a very special time that stood out in our minds as an ordained moment.

3. Many, Many Itinerating Car Selfies

We have spent countless hours in the car together - it's a good thing we all like each other and shower regularly! Thankfully, Aidan is a terrific traveler; he LOVES hotels, snacks, sleeping in his own "big boy" bed, and watching Paw Patrol in the back seat.  We have great talks on the long drives, listen to music or even audio books.  We've been able to see some amazing and spectacular things along the way; Ocala National Forest, the Southernmost point of the US, a sunrise in Miami, orange groves and manatees at the Tampa zoo, to name a few.  We have met so many kind and generous people along the way.  Countless people have partnered with us on this itineration journey, and are making it possible for us to be moving forward towards moving to Slovenia. 

2017 Top Three

1. Getting the All Clear

We cannot wait to use these passports to board a big plane, with all our earthly possessions, and move to the country God has called us to!  We are ready to go!  The moment we hit that "magical" 100 mark, we will be on our way to the next adventure!

2. Meeting Our Slovenian Brothers and Sisters

We are so excited to meet our Slovenian brothers and sisters in Christ.  The Slovenian Pentecostal fellowship has invited us to come, and we cannot wait to be there, worshipping and working alongside them.  Please be praying for them with us!

3. Start Learning Slovene

 One of the questions we get asked most at churches is if we've started learning the language yet.  We would love to!  The challenge is that Slovene is not a widely spoken language, so there are only a couple options for taking classes here in the States, and none of them are near us.  So we will be spending the first year (at least) in full-time language school.  We are both very much looking forward to learning Slovene!

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.