Summer Has Come and Gone

It has been much too long since we've updated you all on our blog, and with summer activities wrapping up the world over, it felt like a good time to give you all a recap.

We do send out newsletters every quarter, so if you would like to stay updated on a regular basis, please shoot us an email, and we'd be happy to add you to our mailing list!

Here are some of the main projects we were able to be a part of the last few months:

English Camp Ptuj

Our friend who is the pastor in the city of Ptuj asked for Dan's help in leading an English camp out of his church. This camp was specifically designed as an English tutoring day camp for local kids and teens. Dan was asked to be in charge of some of the daily activities, which included geo caching, teaching first aid, basic flora and fauna knowledge, as well as the use of certain tools. After the camp finished, the families were invited to church with a meal afterwards. There were 3 families who came, Dan preached about the Prodigal Son and invited people to come home to the Father - and one family went forward to receive salvation! We visited the church again a month later, and the family is still attending - how exciting! Starting in September the church will host weekly "English Club" meetings to continue to foster the relationships started with these kids. Dan has been asked to help with the planning and leading of those as well. Please be praying for traveling mercies for Dan as he drives to Ptuj once a week (thanks, STL!), that God's truth to be evident to these students, that their hearts would be turned towards Christ, and that lives would be changed!

Young Adult Camp

Those of you who have been faithfully following us on social media know that Dan is on the national leadership team for the young adult/najmladi ministries. This summer Dan was asked to prepare the daily devotions for camp. He put together S.O.A.P. booklets for everyone, and led the devotions. This was  a completely new method for our Slovene friends, and they really loved it! Some of the students even emailed Dan to ask for more verses that they could dive into! 
Dan also helped with the cooking, led a KUBB (Scandinavian game) tournament, built a giant Jenga set, and led some one of the workshops. Any time spent with the najmladi crowd is time well spent! We are so thankful for how welcoming they've been to Dan specifically, and for the relationships being built.
We were able to host the camp debrief meeting in our home, which gave Abigail and the kids a chance to get to know the team members a little. They very thoughtfully gave us a gift, saying how much they appreciate us "sharing" Dan with them.

Royal Rangers Camp

Since Dan completed NTC training and became a Royal Ranger commander a few months ago, he was very excited to be a part of this year's Royal Ranger camp. He was asked to once again, lead the morning devotions, and was thrilled to be able to! Although it stormed one of the nights, he got stung by a wasp JUST as he was leaving, he had to use a port-o-potty, and use a garden hose for showers, he had a terrific time! The kids learned all kinds of great skills while learning about God and the wonderful world He made. They went on hikes, kayaking, the kids cooked all the meals, learned songs, chanted - and everyone stayed safe! (See photo at top of newsletter for group shot.) It was an exciting year to be a part of camp, as Slovenia celebrated 10 years of Royal Rangers! Thank you to everyone who was praying for him - and Abigail who had to do his laundry afterwards.

The Puzzle

One of the beauties about The Puzzle ministry is that it can be performed in so many languages! We were invited by missionary associate Kay Farmer who is the children's pastor at Riverside Church in Budapest, Hungary to come be a part of their back-to-school bash and do The Puzzle in English! Our team was happy to oblige, and we had a stupendous time!

Thank you, everyone who prays for us, checks in on us, encourages us and supports us. We are so blessed to have you on this journey with us. Thank you for continuing to pray for us as we leap into the fall season. We are praying blessings on you!

Saint Patrick - Beyond Shamrock Shakes, Corned Beef and Leprechauns

Saint Patrick's name is well-known throughout the western world, but his legacy is often overshadowed by the many traditions associated with the holiday bearing his name.

We as a family have Irish roots on both sides, so we have shamrock shakes, wear green and try to eat something "Irish" on March 17th of each year.

However, on closer inspection, there is much more to the man behind the "green".

Saint Patrick was born into a Christian family, however he was not a believer himself.  When he was 16 years old, he was kidnapped by Irish pirates, and taken to Ireland as a slave.  He worked as a shepherd for 6 years, during which time he prayed, and encountered God, eventually giving his life to Him.  As Saint Patrick recalls the story, in a vision God told him to escape, and that his ship was waiting for him.  He ran away, and managed to get to a dock, where he was granted voyage on a ship.  He made his way back home, where he began studies to be a priest.

He had a vision, which prompted him to return to Ireland - to the same people who had kidnapped him years ago - and share the Gospel of Christ with them.  And he obeyed.

And so, he became a missionary to the people who enslaved him.  He refused payments for baptisms.  He reached the wealthy as well as the poor.  He refused gifts from kings, so that he could not be persuaded by man.  He was beaten and put in chains for his beliefs. Legend has it, that he used a three-leafed clover to explain the Trinity to the Irish.  

What an amazing testimony of God's redemptive love!

So today, let us meditate on the words of the prayer attributed to Saint Patrick.  May Christ be seen in all that we do and say.  May Christ be seen in how we treat others.  There is no testimony in treating kind people kindly in return.  The real power is in reaching out in love to those who we don't understand, don't agree with, and those who even hurt us. Let us remember to ACTIVELY love those who hate us, or stand in stark contrast with us.  

The Prayer of Saint Patrick / The Morning Prayer

I arise today
Through the strength of heaven;
Light of the sun,
Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of the wind,
Depth of the sea,
Stability of the earth,
Firmness of the rock.

I arise today
Through God’s strength to pilot me;
God’s might to uphold me,
God’s wisdom to guide me,
God’s eye to look before me,
God’s ear to hear me,
God’s word to speak for me,
God’s hand to guard me,
God’s way to lie before me,
God’s shield to protect me,
God’s hosts to save me
Afar and anear,
Alone or in a multitude.

Christ shield me today
Against wounding
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in the eye that sees me,
Christ in the ear that hears me.

I arise today
Through the mighty strength
Of the Lord of creation.

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!

Closing Out 2018

Dear friends,

Thank you for being on this journey with us as we settle into our new normal.  It has been a little longer than usual since our last update, as we have had a little less sleep, a little fuller days, and a lot more love to go around.

1. Late Summer

Dan is on the leadership team for the Slovenian Young Adult Ministries.  As part of that responsibility, he helped plan and organize the Summer camp.  He and another Slovene pastor were asked to host an "American" themed night.  It was a great time of fellowship, fun, games and great food!  Thanks to Light For The Lost funds, we were able to give every student in attendance a copy of True Identity/Prava Identita, that had just recently been translated into Slovene.

He also helped a Slovene home missionary to the Roma communities with a week-long summer camp for children.  We were able to give every child there a Slovene Action Bible - a kids' Bible in their very own language!  For many of them, it is the only Bible the have access to.

2. A New Ministry Team Member

In September we welcomed the newest member of our team!  Abigail gave birth to our littles missionary here in Slovenia, in a city called Postojna.  The medical care was wonderful, and baby and mommy did great!  Big brother is completely smitten, as are we all!  Thank you to all of you who congratulated us, and sent notes of love and joy!

3. The Puzzle

Our "Puzzle" project is moving forward wonderfully!  Two weeks after the arrival of our Peanut, we spent two days recording the Slovene voices for the characters.  It went wonderfully! We've since received the finished copy, and it sounds great!

We also just received the costumes in the mail!  Once the new year starts, we're hoping to start putting together the actors and practices!  Thank you so much for praying with us about this exciting ministry opportunity!

4. Training and Missionary Fellowshipping

During our first term (3 years) as missionaries, every year we attend a "First Term" retreat.  It is a terrific time, full of friends (especially for the kiddos), being ministered to, learning new things and being spiritually fed.

After that, we went to our Southeast area conference.  It was on a Hungarian horse ranch, where we were encouraged to relax, fellowship and unwind.  It was great to see new friends, and make some new ones.  Our son especially enjoyed getting to ride a horse!  One really exciting fact - every single missionary in our area who was on the field was in attendance - around 80 of us!

5. Regional Director Visiting

We were honored to have our Europe Regional Director, Paul Trementozzi come and visit us at the end of November.  He came to speak at the Slovene pastors' meeting, and preach at two of the Slovene national churches.  He spoke on unity, cooperation, and the importance of personal Sabbath.  Thanks to our Speed the Light vehicle, Dan was able to drive Paul to all of the meetings throughout Slovenia.  We are so thankful for our safe and reliable transportation, thanks to our PenFlorida youth!

Thank you all so much for your continued prayers, love and support!  We hope you all have a blessed holiday season, and a very happy New Year!

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!