Here is the longer extended version of my trip for those of you with long attention spans!!
7/27 Just arrived in Europe. Had a great trip. In line checking in I met a lady who is a Bosnian living in the US. Amazingly, we were sitting next to each other on the flight! I knew that was a God ordained "coincidence"! We talked non-stop for most of the flight. I had a chance to share a bit with her about my faith and she about her Muslim roots. We exchanged phone numbers and will connect sometime in CO. SO, I didn't get any sleep! I did sleep for just an hour on the flight from Munich to Vienna. So, by the time I go to bed I will be on about 40 hours of awake time. Karalee and I will go tonight to a discipleship group with my friend Mirjam and other gals. Some I know and have worked with for years, some will be new friends. It will be fun to start giving away the myriad of gifts I brought. Praying that I will not fall asleep during prayer or study!

7/28 Great time at the discipleship group last night. It is so awesome to see young people who just a few weeks, months or years ago were hopeless who now have hope in Christ. Their gratitude to God for all He has done for them is inspiring. Their faith is truly the focus of their life and they are dedicated to sharing this faith with others in any way they can. We have been blessed over the years to have a small part in this ministry as we have served in Slovenia.

Today Karalee and I traveled to Croatia to visit Gene and Judy, Greater Europe Mission missionaries. Gene teaches at the Bible school in Croatia. As we entered the city we saw a beautiful large building with a cross on it. When I asked Judy about it she shook her head. It was built with funds from North America a few years ago. It was originally designated to be a place for Christians to hold services, classes and meetings. Unfortunately, a small church in an outlying village somehow wrested control of this building and now it is only used for occasional services led by this church. What a shame!! It was a reminder of how fragmented the small Christian communities are in Eastern Europe. Come to think of it, I guess we have that problem in the US also! I am always saying that if churches would just "play nicely together" that we could accomplish so much more. I guess it is more obvious in Croatia and other countries where there are perhaps just a few hundred evangelical Christians in the entire country. Judy showed us around town and took us to a festival in the city center. She showed us a flyer that said that for all who attended this festival their venial sins would be forgiven. There is a huge mix of tradition and truth in the Croatian culture. It often makes it hard to share the solid truth of the gospel. On our way back to Slovenia we stopped at the village of Beltinci. There is a gypsy family that lives here that goes to the church in Murska Sobota - the town in which we have lived and worked. Slovenia, like most of eastern Europe, discriminates against the gypsies. They live in their own communities, each being governed by a "king." The church in Murska Sobota has been doing outreach with the gypsies. It is truly a way to show the love of Jesus to a forgotten people. We have been part of some of these outreaches over the years. Several families now serve Christ and are active in the church. In fact, one of the young men attends the Bible college in Croatia. It is exciting to see the gospel being introduced to this "culture within a culture". And speaking of culture, we attended the International Folklore Festival in this village. What fun!!! I ate (yes, I really did) a fish for dinner that still had his tail and eyes attached. There were booths all around that were selling local delicacies. I must admit I enjoyed my dessert a little more - kind of like a cream cheese pizza - yum!!! Groups had come from Poland, Croatia, Czech and other countries to sing and play their traditional music. I wish I could capture the crowds, the fun and the atmosphere in my writing. Words seem so inadequate to describe all I took in.

7/29 Today is Sunday, and it was a great day in church. Alen, a former drug addict who we have worked with over the years delivered the sermon, as the pastor is out of town. He did a great job (as translated to me by my friend) and is certainly becoming a capable leader. After that it was coffee at the Hotel Diana with a few ladies from the church, including one lady who is a paraplegic who just had attended church for the first time! She is eager to embrace her new life in Christ. This church is serious about sharing the gospel with ALL they meet! Anita was led to the Lord by some ladies from the church just a few days before. Then it was on to ice cream with some friends - and all this before lunch at a vineyard with Mirjam and Arpi. I relished calamari with lots of garlic sauce, and of course the french fries that come with every meal. I mostly loved having conversations about what God is doing in the church here and in the lives of those we know and love. As if we hadn't eaten enough, it was back home to Karalee's to make enchiladas for Alen and Lila for dinner! Please pray for this couple and their children. Alen is in Bible school in Ireland. It is a huge financial stretch for them - really a journey of faith alone! Yet they know this is what God has called them to do. I am again reminded of the different economic views in countries where poverty is a way of life. The unemployment rate in Slovenia is huge. Very few of our national friends have regular income. Yet they are quick to invite friends over for a meal or coffee, and somehow they get by.

7/30 I am eating my way through Slovenia! We visited one of Karalee's neighbors and enjoyed palachinkas (eastern European pancakes), then it was on to coffee with a lady from the church, more coffee with another friend, followed by lunch with an old friend who works with Child Evangelism Fellowship. When I first met her she was a waitress at the local hotel. In faith she quit her job and now works full time sharing the gospel with children in the area. Two hours later we were eating dinner with Mate and Sabina, a young couple we have known for years. AARG!! I will look like a stuffed pig when I teach at conference. Oh well, all in the name of connecting with people!! I have distributed almost all the gifts I brought - with a few more to deliver tomorrow. Most of all it has been amazing to remember how God is working around the world! We are ALL blessed to be part of what He is doing - in the US and Europe.

7/31 With tears and sadness I said goodbye to my friends in Murska Sobota and boarded a train for Sopron Hungary. As always, I prayed for alertness so I wouldn't miss the stops and transfers I needed. I always envision myself ending up far from where I wanted to be! Fortunately, I didn't take any detours this time! As we sped (hmm, Hungarian trains really don't speed, so maybe I should say lumbered) through the countryside I recalled so many trips over the years with similar scenery - tumble down houses with thatched roofs, half finished houses - habitable, waiting interminably for the owner to scrape together a few more forint (the monetary form in Hungary) to continue construction. Gardens that provide their owners with food, old women working away in those gardens - pausing to look up with a toothless smile as the train passes. Beautiful lush forests that break up the monotony of the small villages. Oh the stories that these villagers could tell! In the train there is a lively discussion going on between people sitting on all sides of me! Wish I could understand and chime in, but I stayed glued to my book with my ears open to the sounds, trying to guess the direction of their conversation. Before long the bustling city of Sopron came into view. Here there is a modern train station - at least by Eastern European standards. There is actually a building instead of just a bench! The conductor noticed my bewildered look and directed me to the walkway. Down 2 flights of stairs carrying my suitcase and then back up again! This is why we travel light!! I found the ATM, got some forint, secured a taxi and was off to the hotel where the Greater Europe Mission conference was being held.

8/1 Tonight the leadership conference will begin. Here I am feeling very inadequate for this big responsibility. How do I get myself into these things - or really I should say how does God get me into these things! Yet again I will trust Him - 2 Corinthians 3:5 - not that we are adequate . . . but our adequacy is from God. I've done my part by preparing, studying and planning. I believe that He will do His part by giving me wisdom, discernment and the ability to keep my wits about me in the presence of all these capable mission leaders whom I respect as I lead these sessions.

8/4 Whew! The hard part is over. The conference went well and I DO give God the glory! I love the exchange of ideas that flows in great discussions, and we had plenty of those!! Now for the fun part for me - connecting with women who need a little encouragement, a shoulder to cry on or a listening ear. That is how I will spend the next few days - keeping my heart open to the opportunities God brings my way.

8/7 Back home!! I always have such mixed feelings. I am happy to see my family, although Joel has left for college while I was gone. I still feel such a tug for ministry in Europe. I feel blessed to have had 2 precious weeks there and to have invested myself as God led. But I wonder if this is the right place for us? Will there ever be a time when God releases us to live in Europe full time?? I know we are in the right place for now, even though my heart is in Europe. As my body fights jet lag my soul readjusts to life in the US. As I flew over the alps this morning I was reminded of God's greatness. These mountains are absolutely spectacular - especially from the air. I have to believe that the God who formed these mountains is also at work in every detail of my life. And I am thankful to serve Him - on whatever continent it may be.