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!

December 26th - Slovenian Independence and Unity Day

I have always loved history, social studies, and the likes.  So, whenever we visit somewhere I like to know a little about the people and customs of that place.

Now imagine that same desire, but this time knowing that we are not only going for a visit, but rather to live indefinitely.

Google has met its match.

One of the interesting Slovenian national holidays we came across was December 26th.  No, it is not boxing day, nor is it the day the most things are returned to stores.  In Slovenia, it is called Independence and Unity Day, or as they say in Slovenian, "Dan samostojnosti in enotnosti".  We contacted a friend from college, who just so happens to be Slovenian, to gain better understanding of the significance of this holiday.

25 years ago Slovenia decided to go out of Yugoslavia 

On December 23rd of 1990, the Slovenian people voted in a plebiscite to become a separate state from Yugoslavia in a land-slide.  The results were announced on December 26th of that same year.  Many of you reading, may still remember Yugoslavia.  It was a socialist state, which consisted of people from many different ethnic groups - one of which was Slovenia.  

Slovenian Parliament declaring results of independence referendum on 26th December 1990.

The actual separation didn't happened until June 25th of the following year, however December 26th marks a monumental mile stone in the history of Slovenia.  Until 2005, it was only called "Independence Day".  The "Unity" part was added as a reminder that yes, they were becoming independent from Yugoslavia, but they as a people group were standing united.  The friend that we spoke to also stressed this point.

So, why are we giving you this brief history lesson?

Well, think about it.  Isn't that exactly what it is like, when we surrender our hearts to Christ?  We are claiming independence from the things that have held us back in the past - unforgiveness, hurt, sin, and addictions; and uniting ourselves to God, as well as the body of Christ.

This is our prayer for the people of Slovenia.  That through a personal relationship with Jesus, they would find the ability to shake free of their strongholds, and cleve to the one who gives hope and joy.  

So today, on December 26th, please stand in prayer for the Slovenian people with us.

Christmas In Slovenia

Vesel Božič!  Merry Christmas!

As we draw nearer to Christmas, the end of 2015, and the official beginning of our family becoming missionaries, I thought I would take a closer look at what Christmas looks like in the country we soon hope to call home - Slovenia.

Slovenia is traditionally Catholic, however 22.8% of the population claim no religious ties, and 10% claim to be atheists.  

And yet, according to all the articles I could find, Christmas is a time of "church, music and food".  Because Catholicism is such a part of the tradition that surrounds Christmas and this time of year, it is a perfect time to shine the light of Jesus Christ.  Like many countries in Eastern Europe, it is not Santa who brings children gifts on Christmas, but rather baby Jesus.  Families erect nativity scenes in the corner of the house.  Churches are lit.  Christmas markets have handmade goods to sell - many surrounding the birth of Christ.

According to one article I found, Slovenia is one of the last places you find, where the hustle and bustle often associated with the Western mentality of Christmas.  It seems that there is much more focused on family, and quiet contemplation.

The perfect setting for a message of hope and love.

Christ came to shine into the darkest places of our souls.  To bring a sense of hope, when there doesn't seem to be a future.  Joy, where all laughter seems to have been lost.

Pray with us, that this holiday season, while singing songs about a baby born in a manger, while gazing at a beautiful nativity, the heart of the people of Slovenia would be moved towards He who came to Earth as the lowliest, to save us from our lowest.

And so, vesel Božič from our family to yours!