“So after school today, I need to run a few errands. And then we need to go to the car wash, because this car is disgusting.”
Usually once a week I help my friend Zuzka teach English classes in the neighboring village, Liptovsky Hradok. She is an amazing teacher, and tackling around 25 English classes a week, for the Electronic Engineering School (550 boys and 30 girls). Her English is amazing, she’s so sharp, and she is the perfect person to teach in an almost all boy high school. She has a great sense of humor, is patient, and isn’t afraid to sass them and whip them into shape (not to mention whack them in the back of the head when they joke around too much. Love it! And the boys do too).
Anyways, one Friday after classes we went into town and ran some errands, stopped at the ATM, went to the Christian bookstore, went to the grocery shop. Our last stop was the gas station out by the school, so we could go through the car wash.
“Ok, I’ll be back. I’m going to go pay for this, and hopefully he’ll give me directions on what to do.” And then she made the “yikes” face (the one we make together, you know Mom what I’m talking about…). I then realized that she’d never done this before, and was a bit uneasy about the whole process. (She later told me that car washes were a pretty new thing in Slovakia, and that they’d only been around for 5 or 6 years.) I was a bit surprised it was her first time, because of the casualness in her voice before, “Oh yeah, we’re just going to run through the car wash, ok?”
She came back out, looking a bit nervous. We crept up to the big door and it opened its white SLOVNAFT door slowly.
“Ok. Ok. Do you think I can go??”
“Yeah I think so. The door’s all the way open. Go ahead.” Plus, the clerk guy was standing there, staring at us blankly.
We parked in the middle and the door growled loudly behind us as it sealed against the concrete. Silence.
“Ok, what now?”
I just chuckled a bit. And then suddenly we were in business! The wash started to go, rinsing us off first. And then….THEN…the giant blue sweeper brushes swallowed our car. And everything went dark. And Zuzka freaked out.
“AAH!!!” She let out a shriek and grabbed my arm. She continued to shriek/laugh for almost a minute after that. I couldn’t stop laughing. It was so fun and childlike, and it made my day. I’m pretty glad I able to be there with her to share her first car wash experience. Thinking about it now still makes me smile. Again, it's all about the small things.
“Do you think your boys would like this?” I asked. Her two sons, Marek and Radko, are 7 and 4.
Her eyes got popped open at the thought, and she started to giggle mischievously.
So, will I get to be there for Marek and Radko’s first car wash experiences? I hope so! :-) Stay tuned.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Death to the "TO DO" Lists
I recently finished reading “A Simple Path” by Mother Teresa, and found these quotes that I’d like to share with you.
“In the West we have a tendency to be profit-oriented, where everything is measured according to the results and we get caught up in being more and more active to generate results.”
“There is value to it. Being with someone, listening without a clock and without anticipation of results, teaches us about love.”
“The more we can remove this priority for results the more we can learn about the contemplative element of love. “
-The following are words from Brother Geoff, General Servant of the Missionaries of Charity Brothers
This section definitely jumped out at me as I read through it. So true, I kept thinking to myself. I have been struggling with this quite a bit during my time in Slovakia. This all goes back to the basic idea of mission work that we focused on in orientation: accompaniment. My time here has been all about accompaniment, experiencing a different lifestyle WITH others, being in the church community, being part of a family here in Hybe. Just being. Jumping from my college life to this experience has been challenging in quite a few ways, one being this transition from constantly producing “results” to just being.
My time in Hybe has been quite busy, and exceptionally busier than my time in Koseca, as far as being involved with different aspects of the community. But still, I feel this restlessness. I miss college, and I’m having a difficult time adjusting. And I can’t help it. Besides the obvious aspects (like being around people that speak and understand the same language as I do), I miss having deadlines. I miss being REQUIRED to finish papers and exams. I miss the feeling I had after finishing a new piece of writing for one of my writing workshops, and getting responses for them. And grades. And professor critiques. I miss it all. And I wish it were easier for me to simply be satisfied with just “being,” but the truth is that it’s not. It’s hard, but I’m trying every day. It’s so difficult, because I tried for four years to get my act together, to use my time efficiently, to make money for tuition, to PRODUCE results in almost every aspect of my life. And in the midst of amazing experiences here in Slovakia, amongst fantastic people, at times I still feel very unproductive. It’s not that I don’t see the value in the time spent just “being,” I absolutely do. But I still have this discontentment sometimes. This is pretty frustrating. Admittedly, this unproductive feeling that eats at me sometimes is one of the driving forces behind my blog writing. (Although definitely not the ONLY reason. I thank God for the ambition/ability to write.)
At many different points during my time in Hybe, I admit I’ve made “To Do” lists (yes, I’m one of those people…yet I don’t always accomplish the things on the list. It just feels good to make them). These lists contain things that are usually completely pointless, in comparison to the importance of just spending time with my host family, sitting in a church service with the youth group, etc. I’ve found myself writing small tasks on the list, just for the purpose of being able to cross something off my list, because MAN, does it feel good to cross things off the list sometimes. My need to cross things off the list is currently very frustrating. I don’t know if I’m really a person that NEEDS to produce “results” (I hope to not be like this), or if it’s just part of my transition from college to reality.
I guess my purpose for writing this blog entry (besides my need to communicate this to all of you, and to get my feelings out on “paper”) is to ask a prayer request of you. I ask that you please pray for my patience and contentment with just “being,” so that I can get rid of the “To Do” lists, because I’m driving myself a bit crazy with them.
Thank you, as always, for your support!!! For reading my thoughts, for your prayers, for everything. I am incredibly grateful. Words can’t express.
Until next time…
“In the West we have a tendency to be profit-oriented, where everything is measured according to the results and we get caught up in being more and more active to generate results.”
“There is value to it. Being with someone, listening without a clock and without anticipation of results, teaches us about love.”
“The more we can remove this priority for results the more we can learn about the contemplative element of love. “
-The following are words from Brother Geoff, General Servant of the Missionaries of Charity Brothers
This section definitely jumped out at me as I read through it. So true, I kept thinking to myself. I have been struggling with this quite a bit during my time in Slovakia. This all goes back to the basic idea of mission work that we focused on in orientation: accompaniment. My time here has been all about accompaniment, experiencing a different lifestyle WITH others, being in the church community, being part of a family here in Hybe. Just being. Jumping from my college life to this experience has been challenging in quite a few ways, one being this transition from constantly producing “results” to just being.
My time in Hybe has been quite busy, and exceptionally busier than my time in Koseca, as far as being involved with different aspects of the community. But still, I feel this restlessness. I miss college, and I’m having a difficult time adjusting. And I can’t help it. Besides the obvious aspects (like being around people that speak and understand the same language as I do), I miss having deadlines. I miss being REQUIRED to finish papers and exams. I miss the feeling I had after finishing a new piece of writing for one of my writing workshops, and getting responses for them. And grades. And professor critiques. I miss it all. And I wish it were easier for me to simply be satisfied with just “being,” but the truth is that it’s not. It’s hard, but I’m trying every day. It’s so difficult, because I tried for four years to get my act together, to use my time efficiently, to make money for tuition, to PRODUCE results in almost every aspect of my life. And in the midst of amazing experiences here in Slovakia, amongst fantastic people, at times I still feel very unproductive. It’s not that I don’t see the value in the time spent just “being,” I absolutely do. But I still have this discontentment sometimes. This is pretty frustrating. Admittedly, this unproductive feeling that eats at me sometimes is one of the driving forces behind my blog writing. (Although definitely not the ONLY reason. I thank God for the ambition/ability to write.)
At many different points during my time in Hybe, I admit I’ve made “To Do” lists (yes, I’m one of those people…yet I don’t always accomplish the things on the list. It just feels good to make them). These lists contain things that are usually completely pointless, in comparison to the importance of just spending time with my host family, sitting in a church service with the youth group, etc. I’ve found myself writing small tasks on the list, just for the purpose of being able to cross something off my list, because MAN, does it feel good to cross things off the list sometimes. My need to cross things off the list is currently very frustrating. I don’t know if I’m really a person that NEEDS to produce “results” (I hope to not be like this), or if it’s just part of my transition from college to reality.
I guess my purpose for writing this blog entry (besides my need to communicate this to all of you, and to get my feelings out on “paper”) is to ask a prayer request of you. I ask that you please pray for my patience and contentment with just “being,” so that I can get rid of the “To Do” lists, because I’m driving myself a bit crazy with them.
Thank you, as always, for your support!!! For reading my thoughts, for your prayers, for everything. I am incredibly grateful. Words can’t express.
Until next time…
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Slimacik Babetko
As I mentioned in a previous newsletter, my host sister Katka loves fish and had 9 of them in a tank in the kitchen. She added four new fish to the tank during my first week here and was so proud of them! She also had a snail, which she so graciously let me name. Within another week, she got another snail to add to the tank, and let me name that as well! SO, I chose to name them Fred (formally Fred Flinstone, but was soon after changed to Fred Murtz) and Lucy Ball (both after the tv show I Love Lucy). So we had this big happy fish tank family! But then....
One of them died. And then another one died. And another. And another. (I felt pretty bad for Katka, she was quite sad. And they had to die ONE at time so she was sad about it for like 6 different days within 2 weeks or so). So, the four new fish and the five old fish that she'd had for months before, everyone dead. EXCEPT the snails! Of course, the small little lumps of brown that don't do anything are left to man the entire tank by themselves. So I guess they were feeling lonely and wanted some company to fill the void that "Rachel, Jacob and crew" left. So one day I came back home from the shop and Katka and Janka both were like, "Look! Come look!"
They brought me into the kitchen.
"See all those black spots?"
"Yes." (I assumed the tank was just dirty, they hadn't cleaned it out in awhile.)
"Those are snail babies!" (slimacik babetko)
Eww. Fred and Lucy had babies!! LOTS of babies! After we laughed and discussed it for awhile, I learned that snails are hermaphrodites. I didn't know this before (maybe I didn't pay attention in science classes, maybe I knew and then forgot, maybe I just never really gave the reproductive habits of snails much thought...) So not only did Lucy have snail babies, but Fred did too. Quite funny, everyone laughed a lot. But I was a bit grossed out. And even further disgusted that they just left the tank as is, (and that was almost about three weeks ago) and the snails are probably still reproducing as we speak. Gross.
Anyways, on a much less disgusting note.....
HAPPY EASTER!!!!!!!!! :)
I hope you all have a blessed Easter!! May it be filled with peace and love! And hopefully less snail reproduction than mine :) Hehe. I'll post again soon about my Slovak Easter celebration!
Peace,
Ashley
One of them died. And then another one died. And another. And another. (I felt pretty bad for Katka, she was quite sad. And they had to die ONE at time so she was sad about it for like 6 different days within 2 weeks or so). So, the four new fish and the five old fish that she'd had for months before, everyone dead. EXCEPT the snails! Of course, the small little lumps of brown that don't do anything are left to man the entire tank by themselves. So I guess they were feeling lonely and wanted some company to fill the void that "Rachel, Jacob and crew" left. So one day I came back home from the shop and Katka and Janka both were like, "Look! Come look!"
They brought me into the kitchen.
"See all those black spots?"
"Yes." (I assumed the tank was just dirty, they hadn't cleaned it out in awhile.)
"Those are snail babies!" (slimacik babetko)
Eww. Fred and Lucy had babies!! LOTS of babies! After we laughed and discussed it for awhile, I learned that snails are hermaphrodites. I didn't know this before (maybe I didn't pay attention in science classes, maybe I knew and then forgot, maybe I just never really gave the reproductive habits of snails much thought...) So not only did Lucy have snail babies, but Fred did too. Quite funny, everyone laughed a lot. But I was a bit grossed out. And even further disgusted that they just left the tank as is, (and that was almost about three weeks ago) and the snails are probably still reproducing as we speak. Gross.
Anyways, on a much less disgusting note.....
HAPPY EASTER!!!!!!!!! :)
I hope you all have a blessed Easter!! May it be filled with peace and love! And hopefully less snail reproduction than mine :) Hehe. I'll post again soon about my Slovak Easter celebration!
Peace,
Ashley
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Sara
So there’s this little girl in my life named Sara. She is wonderful. I don’t even know if there are words to express how much I enjoy her, how much she brightens my days.
I think she is my angel. Whenever I’m mixed in a crazy church activity with teenagers who are worried about chemistry tests, or with adults who are too nervous to try to talk to me because they can’t speak English, or with parents who are chasing their toddlers around, she swoops in. There have been many difficult times where I’ve felt so overwhelmed by the language barrier or a situation, and I’ve just quietly pulled myself out of the situation. And she notices, when everybody else is wrapped up in the craziness of the situation. She sees me, and comes to me and smiles. I feel such a special connection to her. God reaches out to me through this amazing 4 year old. And she’s so smart! She’ll just start rambling in Slovak, and sometimes I understand, but more often I don’t. As soon as she sees “the look” of confusion on my face, she stops and says, “you don’t understand?” And I just shake my head no and smile. She smiles back with a “nevermind” and we move on. She understands that I’m a foreigner and that I speak a different language, yet it doesn’t discourage her at all from wanting to communicate with me.
I’ve met people of all kinds and ages since I came to Slovakia, but the easiest to connect to have been kids. They are usually so happy and bright, fresh and curious. They accept me without question. They aren’t held back because of nervousness with the language barrier, and they have no preconceived notions of what a foreigner is or how they should react to someone different from them. They simply like me just because I like them. Just a little smile builds a bond so quickly. They constantly remind me to keep things simple and to keep up a Godly attitude of acceptance. SO refreshing. I am so grateful for them, and thank them. And especially Sara, because she makes me smile so much every time I see her.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
February Newsletter
Hello everybody! Wow, the month of February was a busy one, it flew by really quickly!! It was another month of adjustments for me, almost like another September, getting familiar with all of the new wonderful people in my life at my new placement. I’ve been really blessed here in Hybe, and am thankful for everyone and for all of the new adventures I’ve had this month.
To kick off the month, I was formally invited to “Ples rodicov a priatelov Zakladnej skoly v Hybiach”, also known to everyone in the community as simply “Ples.” This is the formal dinner and dance party held every year for friends and family members of the Hybe School. My first few weeks helping with English at the school went well, and the teachers warmed up to me quite quickly! They invited me to Ples during my second week of teaching, and I accepted (not really knowing what it was). When I told me host family later that evening, they shrieked in excitement and my sister Katka ran to get her ball gown. I didn’t realize the event was formal (dress/suit and tie formal). When the night of the ball came, my host mom and sisters were CRAZY excited to dress me up. I was their Barbie doll for the evening. They ran around the house, yelling “SHE NEEDS A PURSE! SHE NEEDS EARRINGS! WHERE IS THE GOOD PERFUME?!?” My host sister did my hair and put me in her formal graduation party dress and pointy white dress shoes (both of which I would never wear at home). It was the first time in my life I’ve carried a glittery purse, worn a shiny pink shawl, and worn so much make-up that I could’ve scraped it off in layers, but it was a really fun bonding experience for me with my host mom and sisters. The ball was a really fun time! It was fun to see everyone all dressed up. The oldest students from the Hybe School wore matching dresses and suit/tie combos, and performed a few dance numbers to open the ball. After that, the dancing and celebrating began! At midnight they served cabbage soup, as they traditionally do every year. Enjoyable night for all!
Another highlight for the month was the youth group’s trip to Orava (a little city in the mountains, about 70 kilometers from Hybe). We (myself and 11 others) went up to stay in Adrianka’s (pastor’s wife) brother’s cabin in the woods. The scenery there was beautiful, and the cabin was secluded and quiet. It was a bit insane at times, spending four days in a little cabin with 11 teenagers who don’t speak a lot of English, but it was a great experience all in all. I ended up connecting with some of the kids more, so I’m thankful for that time. Some of the things we did: Had worship, played guitar and sang, cooked soup, made snowmen, read and relaxed, played games, had theme discussions on youth in pubs/disco clubs, homosexuality, love and relationships, and the Holocaust (they were roughly translated for me later, so I got something out of them), and watched movies. We watched some movies in the Czech language (because Slovak subtitles on films are rarely available, and the Czech language is so similar to Slovak that all of the Slovak people can understand Czech). We even watched a movie in English, and I tried to translate for them! Ha! That wasn’t a booming success, but I did get a few things across and it was pretty exciting when they understood.
In the middle of the month, the other volunteers and I decided that we wanted to plan a weekend to get together and visit each other’s placements (since I am not terribly far away from two of the other volunteers). We met together on a Friday in Velky Slavkov (a small village about 30 kilometers from Hybe, where we had our language training classes back in September) to visit Kristen and Jessica at their placement. They work at a center for gypsy boys (around the ages of 18-24) planning activities, helping in the center’s kitchen, teaching English and swimming, running Bible studies, and more. We even got to get in on an English lesson on Friday evening when we were there and hang out with some of the boys a bit. I’m really enjoying seeing the other volunteers’ placements and getting to experience them a bit first-hand. I’m glad we all think it’s important to visit each other during the year and get a feel for what each other’s lives are like. On Saturday I took the volunteers back here to Hybe to have dinner and sleep over at my host family’s house. My host family was REALLY excited to have 5 Americans visiting, and they learned the name and location of each volunteer's home state. They also came with me to church the next morning. We went up in front during the service and introduced ourselves, and where we were staying for the year! The pastor was excited that everyone was in Hybe together and requested that we sing a song during church, so we sang, “Open the Eyes of My Heart.” I thought it would be a good choice because the youth group in Hybe also sings the song (in Slovak and English), so they knew it and could follow along with it. It was a really great weekend, and as always, I enjoyed spending time with my fellow YAGM’s.
While the month was full of great events, it was a challenging month for me as well. After becoming familiar and independent after four months in my old placement, it was difficult to go back to square one, new cities and villages, new bus and train routes and schedules, new methods of doing things, new lifestyles, and more. The transition, from living practically alone to living with a host family, has been intense at times because I’m confronted with the language barrier all day and every day. Also, this is the halfway point for my year and the realities of life after my year of service have started to hit me. What will I do next year? Where will I find a job? How will I deal with readjustment back in the U.S.? How will I process this year of volunteer experience after it’s finished? God only knows. For now I’m just trying to live life day-by-day here (which has proved to be challenging at times), trying to stay in the moment. Dealing with these challenges has helped me to become a more patient and tolerant person, and for that I am grateful.
So the question to address for this month’s newsletter was a bit overwhelming, so I thought I would choose small pieces of the questions to reflect on a bit.
“Theologian Kathryn Tanner argues that Christians form a ‘separate’ group within the wider culture by virtue of how we see ourselves in an intimate relationship with God. But, God’s grace finds us as no more deserving than others outside the Christian community, she says. While Christian identity can lead to lives of peace and love; and we believe that the power of the grace of Christ transforms human lives; can we really congratulate ourselves on the possession of some unique perfection?”
I think this is a really good point, and was glad to see such an important reflection question pop up in my newsletter email. I think the answer to the question is no, that we can’t congratulate ourselves on some unique perfection, because we are in no way perfect. We are all human, and we are sinful. Some of the best friends I’ve had in my life have been Christian. And some of the best friends in my life have not been Christian. I don’t feel that I am any more deserving, or any better than them. I think we all struggle in life, and everyone is at different stages in their faith walks (or not on faith walks at all), and it is reality. I think that people understand things differently. They understand the idea of a family differently. They understand other parts of the world differently. They understand societal duties differently. They understand God differently. God made us all to be different. Christians come in all shapes and sizes, different bodies, minds, gifts and abilities. I believe that my job as a Christian is to love and accept all of them to the best of my ability, regardless of their ideas or beliefs.
This leads into another question asked, “Is there or should there be a distinct Christian ‘culture’ vis-à-vis the world around us?” I believe the answer is no. If God made us all to be different, and put us in different parts of the world with different beliefs and/or ideas, I don’t see how it’s possible for one distinct Christian ‘culture’ to exist. I say accept differences, and embrace them, because differences are what make God’s world and people interesting. What should be the basic common thread amongst Christians? LOVE God. LOVE each other.
And another question, “Where do we as a church stand in our societies?” I believe that the purpose of the church, of God’s house, is not to seclude ourselves into a ‘separate’ group, but to create a foundation. This foundation is solidity and comfort fellow Christians seek, in order to meet fellow Christians and find more inspiration needed to go out and live their lives in the way God intended, and to shine as His examples. The purpose of the church is to invite and to welcome, not to seclude.
These questions are important, and a lot to think about! Hopefully you followed my thoughts alright, they were a bit difficult to organize with all of the questions to ponder. Ok, thank you VERY much for reading, for checking out my blog, for all of your support!! I appreciate it more than I can express!
Until next time,
Ashley
To kick off the month, I was formally invited to “Ples rodicov a priatelov Zakladnej skoly v Hybiach”, also known to everyone in the community as simply “Ples.” This is the formal dinner and dance party held every year for friends and family members of the Hybe School. My first few weeks helping with English at the school went well, and the teachers warmed up to me quite quickly! They invited me to Ples during my second week of teaching, and I accepted (not really knowing what it was). When I told me host family later that evening, they shrieked in excitement and my sister Katka ran to get her ball gown. I didn’t realize the event was formal (dress/suit and tie formal). When the night of the ball came, my host mom and sisters were CRAZY excited to dress me up. I was their Barbie doll for the evening. They ran around the house, yelling “SHE NEEDS A PURSE! SHE NEEDS EARRINGS! WHERE IS THE GOOD PERFUME?!?” My host sister did my hair and put me in her formal graduation party dress and pointy white dress shoes (both of which I would never wear at home). It was the first time in my life I’ve carried a glittery purse, worn a shiny pink shawl, and worn so much make-up that I could’ve scraped it off in layers, but it was a really fun bonding experience for me with my host mom and sisters. The ball was a really fun time! It was fun to see everyone all dressed up. The oldest students from the Hybe School wore matching dresses and suit/tie combos, and performed a few dance numbers to open the ball. After that, the dancing and celebrating began! At midnight they served cabbage soup, as they traditionally do every year. Enjoyable night for all!
Another highlight for the month was the youth group’s trip to Orava (a little city in the mountains, about 70 kilometers from Hybe). We (myself and 11 others) went up to stay in Adrianka’s (pastor’s wife) brother’s cabin in the woods. The scenery there was beautiful, and the cabin was secluded and quiet. It was a bit insane at times, spending four days in a little cabin with 11 teenagers who don’t speak a lot of English, but it was a great experience all in all. I ended up connecting with some of the kids more, so I’m thankful for that time. Some of the things we did: Had worship, played guitar and sang, cooked soup, made snowmen, read and relaxed, played games, had theme discussions on youth in pubs/disco clubs, homosexuality, love and relationships, and the Holocaust (they were roughly translated for me later, so I got something out of them), and watched movies. We watched some movies in the Czech language (because Slovak subtitles on films are rarely available, and the Czech language is so similar to Slovak that all of the Slovak people can understand Czech). We even watched a movie in English, and I tried to translate for them! Ha! That wasn’t a booming success, but I did get a few things across and it was pretty exciting when they understood.
In the middle of the month, the other volunteers and I decided that we wanted to plan a weekend to get together and visit each other’s placements (since I am not terribly far away from two of the other volunteers). We met together on a Friday in Velky Slavkov (a small village about 30 kilometers from Hybe, where we had our language training classes back in September) to visit Kristen and Jessica at their placement. They work at a center for gypsy boys (around the ages of 18-24) planning activities, helping in the center’s kitchen, teaching English and swimming, running Bible studies, and more. We even got to get in on an English lesson on Friday evening when we were there and hang out with some of the boys a bit. I’m really enjoying seeing the other volunteers’ placements and getting to experience them a bit first-hand. I’m glad we all think it’s important to visit each other during the year and get a feel for what each other’s lives are like. On Saturday I took the volunteers back here to Hybe to have dinner and sleep over at my host family’s house. My host family was REALLY excited to have 5 Americans visiting, and they learned the name and location of each volunteer's home state. They also came with me to church the next morning. We went up in front during the service and introduced ourselves, and where we were staying for the year! The pastor was excited that everyone was in Hybe together and requested that we sing a song during church, so we sang, “Open the Eyes of My Heart.” I thought it would be a good choice because the youth group in Hybe also sings the song (in Slovak and English), so they knew it and could follow along with it. It was a really great weekend, and as always, I enjoyed spending time with my fellow YAGM’s.
While the month was full of great events, it was a challenging month for me as well. After becoming familiar and independent after four months in my old placement, it was difficult to go back to square one, new cities and villages, new bus and train routes and schedules, new methods of doing things, new lifestyles, and more. The transition, from living practically alone to living with a host family, has been intense at times because I’m confronted with the language barrier all day and every day. Also, this is the halfway point for my year and the realities of life after my year of service have started to hit me. What will I do next year? Where will I find a job? How will I deal with readjustment back in the U.S.? How will I process this year of volunteer experience after it’s finished? God only knows. For now I’m just trying to live life day-by-day here (which has proved to be challenging at times), trying to stay in the moment. Dealing with these challenges has helped me to become a more patient and tolerant person, and for that I am grateful.
So the question to address for this month’s newsletter was a bit overwhelming, so I thought I would choose small pieces of the questions to reflect on a bit.
“Theologian Kathryn Tanner argues that Christians form a ‘separate’ group within the wider culture by virtue of how we see ourselves in an intimate relationship with God. But, God’s grace finds us as no more deserving than others outside the Christian community, she says. While Christian identity can lead to lives of peace and love; and we believe that the power of the grace of Christ transforms human lives; can we really congratulate ourselves on the possession of some unique perfection?”
I think this is a really good point, and was glad to see such an important reflection question pop up in my newsletter email. I think the answer to the question is no, that we can’t congratulate ourselves on some unique perfection, because we are in no way perfect. We are all human, and we are sinful. Some of the best friends I’ve had in my life have been Christian. And some of the best friends in my life have not been Christian. I don’t feel that I am any more deserving, or any better than them. I think we all struggle in life, and everyone is at different stages in their faith walks (or not on faith walks at all), and it is reality. I think that people understand things differently. They understand the idea of a family differently. They understand other parts of the world differently. They understand societal duties differently. They understand God differently. God made us all to be different. Christians come in all shapes and sizes, different bodies, minds, gifts and abilities. I believe that my job as a Christian is to love and accept all of them to the best of my ability, regardless of their ideas or beliefs.
This leads into another question asked, “Is there or should there be a distinct Christian ‘culture’ vis-à-vis the world around us?” I believe the answer is no. If God made us all to be different, and put us in different parts of the world with different beliefs and/or ideas, I don’t see how it’s possible for one distinct Christian ‘culture’ to exist. I say accept differences, and embrace them, because differences are what make God’s world and people interesting. What should be the basic common thread amongst Christians? LOVE God. LOVE each other.
And another question, “Where do we as a church stand in our societies?” I believe that the purpose of the church, of God’s house, is not to seclude ourselves into a ‘separate’ group, but to create a foundation. This foundation is solidity and comfort fellow Christians seek, in order to meet fellow Christians and find more inspiration needed to go out and live their lives in the way God intended, and to shine as His examples. The purpose of the church is to invite and to welcome, not to seclude.
These questions are important, and a lot to think about! Hopefully you followed my thoughts alright, they were a bit difficult to organize with all of the questions to ponder. Ok, thank you VERY much for reading, for checking out my blog, for all of your support!! I appreciate it more than I can express!
Until next time,
Ashley
My Online Interview
*Here is a copy of the interview I did with my main contact person from the church (Zuzka), for the church's website! They have the interview posted on the website in both Slovak and English, and I would just paste the link here to bring you directly there. HOWEVER, they put a heinously unattractive picture of me on top of the interview that I would not appreciate everyone seeing. Ok, here it is. :-)
Q: Please introduce yourself and tell us exactly where you come from.
A: Hello, my name is Ashley Severson and I come from the U.S.A., from the state of Minnesota. The town in Minnesota I’m from is Westbrook, and I’m a member of Trinity Lutheran Church in Westbrook, Minnesota.
Q: So how did you come to Slovakia? How did you get the opportunity to come here?
A: I decided that I wanted to spend a year through the volunteer program Young Adults in Global Mission, which is a missionary program through the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church of America). The program sends volunteers to countries all over the world, but I wanted to come to Europe and was most interested in Slovakia. I could’ve been sent to England, Scotland, Ireland, or Germany, but I wanted to come to Slovakia because it is a smaller country that I didn’t know anything about. I wanted to learn more about Slovakia’s culture, and I was interested in trying to learn a new language.
Q: Ok, and how is your Slovak then?
A: When I first came to Slovakia in August, I took a two week course in the Slovak language and it was very difficult. I think Slovak’s grammar is more complicated than English’s grammar. I have a difficult time with pronounciation also, sounds like ť, ľ, ch and others. But my Slovak is getting better as I spend more time here. I can understand more than I can actually speak.
Q: When did you first arrive in Slovakia? Where was your first place of stay, and how did you end up in Hybe?
A: I came to Slovakia at the end of last August. I came with my four fellow American volunteers, and we spent three weeks in language classes and getting adjusted to the culture before going to our separate placements. My first placement was in Košeca, working at a Diakonia, center for elderly people, as well as teaching english at Obchodna Akademia school in Ilava. I was there until mid-January, and then my volunteer program decided to relocate me. I had many great experiences in Košeca, but communication was very difficult because the elderly people didn’t speak any English, and my Slovak wasn’t very good. I was also anxious to work with younger people, and to have more experiences within a village community, so I was sent to Hybe.
Q: What is your program here in Hybe? Are you enjoying your time here so far?
A: I am helping to teach at the primary school in Hybe two days a week, and once a week in the engineering school in Liptovský Hrádok. I also participate in activites in the Lutheran Evangelical church, such as children’s choir, community Bible study, youth group activities, and hanging out at Quo Vadis with kids from the community. Some plans I have for the future are: teaching the children short meal prayers, English songs, having simple conversations about religion with the youth, and teaching English conversation to people in the community at Quo Vadis. I am definitely enjoying my time here in Hybe! The people in the community have been very friendly and welcoming, and I am enjoying getting to know everyone.
Q: And where are you living in Hybe?
A: I am living with the Turčanová family: Jan, Jana, Katka, Janka and Starka Milka. I have my own room there that’s very nice. It’s very nice to have two host sisters about my age. It’s easier to communicate with them and they are very helpful. The whole family is very kind and I am thankful to be staying with them.
Q: How long will be staying Hybe?
A: I will be here until sometime in August, so I will stay here through most of the summer. I am enjoying the winter scenary, but really looking forward to warmer days here too! There is a very far distance between Slovakia and my home country, but we are all united in God. I’m very happy to be here, and to connect with God’s children on the other side of the world.
Q: Please introduce yourself and tell us exactly where you come from.
A: Hello, my name is Ashley Severson and I come from the U.S.A., from the state of Minnesota. The town in Minnesota I’m from is Westbrook, and I’m a member of Trinity Lutheran Church in Westbrook, Minnesota.
Q: So how did you come to Slovakia? How did you get the opportunity to come here?
A: I decided that I wanted to spend a year through the volunteer program Young Adults in Global Mission, which is a missionary program through the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church of America). The program sends volunteers to countries all over the world, but I wanted to come to Europe and was most interested in Slovakia. I could’ve been sent to England, Scotland, Ireland, or Germany, but I wanted to come to Slovakia because it is a smaller country that I didn’t know anything about. I wanted to learn more about Slovakia’s culture, and I was interested in trying to learn a new language.
Q: Ok, and how is your Slovak then?
A: When I first came to Slovakia in August, I took a two week course in the Slovak language and it was very difficult. I think Slovak’s grammar is more complicated than English’s grammar. I have a difficult time with pronounciation also, sounds like ť, ľ, ch and others. But my Slovak is getting better as I spend more time here. I can understand more than I can actually speak.
Q: When did you first arrive in Slovakia? Where was your first place of stay, and how did you end up in Hybe?
A: I came to Slovakia at the end of last August. I came with my four fellow American volunteers, and we spent three weeks in language classes and getting adjusted to the culture before going to our separate placements. My first placement was in Košeca, working at a Diakonia, center for elderly people, as well as teaching english at Obchodna Akademia school in Ilava. I was there until mid-January, and then my volunteer program decided to relocate me. I had many great experiences in Košeca, but communication was very difficult because the elderly people didn’t speak any English, and my Slovak wasn’t very good. I was also anxious to work with younger people, and to have more experiences within a village community, so I was sent to Hybe.
Q: What is your program here in Hybe? Are you enjoying your time here so far?
A: I am helping to teach at the primary school in Hybe two days a week, and once a week in the engineering school in Liptovský Hrádok. I also participate in activites in the Lutheran Evangelical church, such as children’s choir, community Bible study, youth group activities, and hanging out at Quo Vadis with kids from the community. Some plans I have for the future are: teaching the children short meal prayers, English songs, having simple conversations about religion with the youth, and teaching English conversation to people in the community at Quo Vadis. I am definitely enjoying my time here in Hybe! The people in the community have been very friendly and welcoming, and I am enjoying getting to know everyone.
Q: And where are you living in Hybe?
A: I am living with the Turčanová family: Jan, Jana, Katka, Janka and Starka Milka. I have my own room there that’s very nice. It’s very nice to have two host sisters about my age. It’s easier to communicate with them and they are very helpful. The whole family is very kind and I am thankful to be staying with them.
Q: How long will be staying Hybe?
A: I will be here until sometime in August, so I will stay here through most of the summer. I am enjoying the winter scenary, but really looking forward to warmer days here too! There is a very far distance between Slovakia and my home country, but we are all united in God. I’m very happy to be here, and to connect with God’s children on the other side of the world.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
the Slovak Language
I just thought this was interesting...
Here is the Wikipedia link for the page about the Slovak language. You can check this out if you're interested, and get a little taste of what I've been trying to learn and understand for the past seven months. Pretty crazy!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slovak_language
The page goes into great detail, and is a bit complicated and drawn out at parts. So, here are some of the basic highlights:
*The Slovak alphabet has all of the letters in the English alphabet, plus many additional dipthongs (two letters together that count as one letter) and other consonants with different types of accent marks.
*Adjectives, nouns, pronouns, and verbs change gender. Yikes!
*Slovak is very closely related to the Czech language, and is somewhat similar (and has been influenced by) the languages Czech, Hungarian, German, and Polish.
*Slovak is broken into four different dialects (the language is spoken differently, depending on which part of the country you live in). I've noticed a decent amount of differences from my first placement to my second placement. The people at my first placement spoke the Western Slovak dialect, and at my second placement the Central Slovak dialect.
Here is the Wikipedia link for the page about the Slovak language. You can check this out if you're interested, and get a little taste of what I've been trying to learn and understand for the past seven months. Pretty crazy!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slovak_language
The page goes into great detail, and is a bit complicated and drawn out at parts. So, here are some of the basic highlights:
*The Slovak alphabet has all of the letters in the English alphabet, plus many additional dipthongs (two letters together that count as one letter) and other consonants with different types of accent marks.
*Adjectives, nouns, pronouns, and verbs change gender. Yikes!
*Slovak is very closely related to the Czech language, and is somewhat similar (and has been influenced by) the languages Czech, Hungarian, German, and Polish.
*Slovak is broken into four different dialects (the language is spoken differently, depending on which part of the country you live in). I've noticed a decent amount of differences from my first placement to my second placement. The people at my first placement spoke the Western Slovak dialect, and at my second placement the Central Slovak dialect.
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