Mission trip
Here is a brief recap of all the happening that went on while in Slovakia:
Day 1: Monday & Tuesday
We meet at the Church and loaded up, we were off by 1:00pm for our 5:00pm flight to Frankfurt, Germany. We arrived there at 7:50am Tuesday morning and waited till 12:45 for our connecting flight to Vienna. We arrived in Vienna at around 2:00pm. Pavle, a sight for our sore eyes was there to greet us with the greatest smile in the world. We then hopped on a bus and took the almost 2 hour drive to Nove Zamky, Slovakia, where we greeted by Jim and Brenda. Got our rooms in the hotel and sat down and eat our dinner which was ground pork battered and fried with a cold potato salad. Afterwards, Pavle took us into the city and we walked around and Pavle bought us ice cream, at what I think is the great ice cream place on earth.
Day 3: Wednesday
6:15 wake up to get ready for breakfast at 7. For breakfast we had pepperoni, ham and boiled eggs. The first half of our day is at the work site so after breakfast we walked over to the site to have devotion and get our assignments for the day. Some of us were on lawn care duty (me), while others mixed cement to lay down a floor or were on a destruction team to break down these 5ft. deep sandboxes made of concrete. At 10 Pavle’s wife came with snacks and refreshments. Then it was back to work. At 12:30 our day at the site was done. We headed back to the hotel for lunch, which was tomato soup with spaghetti noodles.
Afterwards we showered and got ready for our second half of the day. The retirement home was the first day. There we sang songs, and played bingo. There was another church group there from Pender UMC, Fairfax, so their pastor gave a short message on heaven. This was the hardest experience in a retirement home ever. Not being able to talk and communicate is hard. At 6 was dinner today we had soup it was really good. Afterwards we went to Pavle’s Church, being able to worship in two different languages was quite the experience. Ice cream again and then it was time for our devotion time. Merideth got herself locked in the bathroom that doesn’t lock for an hour and half, this was also quite the experience because we needed help and could not communicate what we needed.
Day 4: Thursday
Hot dogs and mustard was our breakfast today. Then we headed to the site. I mowed the lawn again today. Lunch was pretty good we had chicken noodle soup and pasta with pork tenderloin. Then we headed to the orphanage and did our program there. The children loved us so much that when it was time to leave, they all came out with us and asked us to sign their arms like movie stars, and in return they would sign ours. We went back to the hotel for dinner which was rice and chicken. Then a few of us went to an internet café we found and then it was time for what I think the most uncomfortable night, Street Evangelism. I was really nervous but Pavle help my group through that very well. It ended up being a great experience.
Day 5: Friday
Today for breakfast we had cheese danishes they were the greatest. At the site my group finished all the back yard. For lunch today we had potato soup and fish with potatoes. During lunch Pavle came to tell us that they were going to have a meeting on Saturday for the site to figure out what else they wanted us to do because we had finished everything they wanted us to do. Today we had lots of free time because we had a big America Night program in the evening. This went really well all the people who came were able to learn more about us, the church, and even products that were invented by America. During table talk time Casey and I met a man who loved hockey and learned most of his English by listening to American music, like Elvis, which was he biggest idol at the time. Thomas, one of the youth from Pavle’s Church, played a game with us after the program was over and we all got to know more about him.
Day 6: Saturday
Today we went to Budapest for the day. Along the way we made many stops. We stopped at a beautiful church in Estromgom (I think is how it is spelled). Then at a city called Sentendre (again not sure of the spelling), we were able to do all of our shopping. Then we headed to Budapest which is actually two small cities divided by the Danu River. We headed back to the hotel for dinner which was a pork stew.
Day 7: Sunday
Today was busy. In the morning we went to Pavle’s church and lead the service there. Then after that I went to the store and the internet café again. After lunch another group left to do some shopping, and so e-mailing, me and about 3 others stayed and the hotel and relaxed for a while. Then at night we headed to a church in Herbano to do a service there. Tonight’s dinner was the worse, we had some sort of spam salad, potato salad, ham and a slice of boiled egg. After dinner we all went to Pavle’s house were we learned about him and how he became involved with our church, sang songs in about 10 different languages, it was such a great night.
Day 8: Monday
For breakfast we had scrambled eggs that were not cooked all the way and very salty ham. Then we headed to the site where we got our new assignments, guess what I got?
Mowing the side and front of the building. Everyone else got the same projects they had just to do more of it. Today it was about 90 degrees outside and I was not feeling well all day. After lunch, which was soup and pork, veggies and rice, we went to an indoor pool for a few hours. I learned how to dive for the first time. Then we headed to the second hardest part of the week, the gypsy people. This was a real eye-opener, after leaving there we were told that sometimes they ask us to pray for them so that we are distracted for them to try and steal from us. This comment made me sad, angry and just dumb-founded. That experience truly opened my heart and my eyes to the world outside of my Stafford bubble. For dinner we had green bean soup and these hamburger things made with pork, then we headed to the sports center to play volleyball with those who showed up. After volleyball the boys got to go to someone’s house and eat wild boar with him while the girls and Thomas stayed and played Frisbee.
Day 9: Tuesday
It was a pretty lousy day, clouds in there air, occasional rain. I finished mowing the lawn before it had rained too much. For break we had languish (spelling again) which is a really good Macedonian type pizza thing. After break my lawn group started helping other groups finish their work since this was the last day at the site. Lunch was soup with pork and bread. Then I headed out with a small group to a store Pavle said I might be able to find a spoon for my mom, the internet café and the store. Then we went to the other Pavle’s apartment to meet his wife and family. After that we went to Pavle’s church for parting time, which gave us the chance to thank him and his church for being such wonderful people, and so say goodbye to all of them. We all went for ice cream one last time.
Day 10: Wednesday
For breakfast we had a fired egg and a slice of ham. Then we headed to the bus to load up our luggage and get ready for the drive back to Vienna. Thomas, Pavle and his son came along for the ride and to hang out one last time. We stopped in Bratislava, to done some final shopping. We got to the hotel in Vienna and checked in then the bus took us to the city of Vienna, where we had to say goodbye to Thomas, Pavle and Samuel. It was a sad moment I’m kind of glad it was rushed other wise it would have been much wore. All the girls cried at the site of Thomas and Samuel crying and waving goodbye till we were no longer in site. In Vienna we went to the King’s Castle and took a tour of it. Then we had to find out way back to the hotel, through the U-baun (Metro) and a bus. Then we ate dinner at the restaurant at the hotel, relaxed for our fight filled day.
Day 11: Thursday
We all woke up around 4 which is about 10pm Wed. here, to be ready and at the airport by 5 to check in. Our flight was at 7:20 and we landed in Frankfurt around 9. We could not go to our gate until 11 so we split up and walked around the airport, looking for last minute gifts, food, and whatever else we needed. Our flight there left at 12:25 after being patted down by security (this happened to everyone not just our group) we were able to board the plane. We arrived safely at Dulles at 2:40 a half hour ahead of time. We were greeted by Michelle’s dad and Katrina’s mom waiting to take us home. We got to the church around 5:45 and completed our journey.
Day 1: Monday & Tuesday
We meet at the Church and loaded up, we were off by 1:00pm for our 5:00pm flight to Frankfurt, Germany. We arrived there at 7:50am Tuesday morning and waited till 12:45 for our connecting flight to Vienna. We arrived in Vienna at around 2:00pm. Pavle, a sight for our sore eyes was there to greet us with the greatest smile in the world. We then hopped on a bus and took the almost 2 hour drive to Nove Zamky, Slovakia, where we greeted by Jim and Brenda. Got our rooms in the hotel and sat down and eat our dinner which was ground pork battered and fried with a cold potato salad. Afterwards, Pavle took us into the city and we walked around and Pavle bought us ice cream, at what I think is the great ice cream place on earth.
Day 3: Wednesday
6:15 wake up to get ready for breakfast at 7. For breakfast we had pepperoni, ham and boiled eggs. The first half of our day is at the work site so after breakfast we walked over to the site to have devotion and get our assignments for the day. Some of us were on lawn care duty (me), while others mixed cement to lay down a floor or were on a destruction team to break down these 5ft. deep sandboxes made of concrete. At 10 Pavle’s wife came with snacks and refreshments. Then it was back to work. At 12:30 our day at the site was done. We headed back to the hotel for lunch, which was tomato soup with spaghetti noodles.
Afterwards we showered and got ready for our second half of the day. The retirement home was the first day. There we sang songs, and played bingo. There was another church group there from Pender UMC, Fairfax, so their pastor gave a short message on heaven. This was the hardest experience in a retirement home ever. Not being able to talk and communicate is hard. At 6 was dinner today we had soup it was really good. Afterwards we went to Pavle’s Church, being able to worship in two different languages was quite the experience. Ice cream again and then it was time for our devotion time. Merideth got herself locked in the bathroom that doesn’t lock for an hour and half, this was also quite the experience because we needed help and could not communicate what we needed.
Day 4: Thursday
Hot dogs and mustard was our breakfast today. Then we headed to the site. I mowed the lawn again today. Lunch was pretty good we had chicken noodle soup and pasta with pork tenderloin. Then we headed to the orphanage and did our program there. The children loved us so much that when it was time to leave, they all came out with us and asked us to sign their arms like movie stars, and in return they would sign ours. We went back to the hotel for dinner which was rice and chicken. Then a few of us went to an internet café we found and then it was time for what I think the most uncomfortable night, Street Evangelism. I was really nervous but Pavle help my group through that very well. It ended up being a great experience.
Day 5: Friday
Today for breakfast we had cheese danishes they were the greatest. At the site my group finished all the back yard. For lunch today we had potato soup and fish with potatoes. During lunch Pavle came to tell us that they were going to have a meeting on Saturday for the site to figure out what else they wanted us to do because we had finished everything they wanted us to do. Today we had lots of free time because we had a big America Night program in the evening. This went really well all the people who came were able to learn more about us, the church, and even products that were invented by America. During table talk time Casey and I met a man who loved hockey and learned most of his English by listening to American music, like Elvis, which was he biggest idol at the time. Thomas, one of the youth from Pavle’s Church, played a game with us after the program was over and we all got to know more about him.
Day 6: Saturday
Today we went to Budapest for the day. Along the way we made many stops. We stopped at a beautiful church in Estromgom (I think is how it is spelled). Then at a city called Sentendre (again not sure of the spelling), we were able to do all of our shopping. Then we headed to Budapest which is actually two small cities divided by the Danu River. We headed back to the hotel for dinner which was a pork stew.
Day 7: Sunday
Today was busy. In the morning we went to Pavle’s church and lead the service there. Then after that I went to the store and the internet café again. After lunch another group left to do some shopping, and so e-mailing, me and about 3 others stayed and the hotel and relaxed for a while. Then at night we headed to a church in Herbano to do a service there. Tonight’s dinner was the worse, we had some sort of spam salad, potato salad, ham and a slice of boiled egg. After dinner we all went to Pavle’s house were we learned about him and how he became involved with our church, sang songs in about 10 different languages, it was such a great night.
Day 8: Monday
For breakfast we had scrambled eggs that were not cooked all the way and very salty ham. Then we headed to the site where we got our new assignments, guess what I got?
Mowing the side and front of the building. Everyone else got the same projects they had just to do more of it. Today it was about 90 degrees outside and I was not feeling well all day. After lunch, which was soup and pork, veggies and rice, we went to an indoor pool for a few hours. I learned how to dive for the first time. Then we headed to the second hardest part of the week, the gypsy people. This was a real eye-opener, after leaving there we were told that sometimes they ask us to pray for them so that we are distracted for them to try and steal from us. This comment made me sad, angry and just dumb-founded. That experience truly opened my heart and my eyes to the world outside of my Stafford bubble. For dinner we had green bean soup and these hamburger things made with pork, then we headed to the sports center to play volleyball with those who showed up. After volleyball the boys got to go to someone’s house and eat wild boar with him while the girls and Thomas stayed and played Frisbee.
Day 9: Tuesday
It was a pretty lousy day, clouds in there air, occasional rain. I finished mowing the lawn before it had rained too much. For break we had languish (spelling again) which is a really good Macedonian type pizza thing. After break my lawn group started helping other groups finish their work since this was the last day at the site. Lunch was soup with pork and bread. Then I headed out with a small group to a store Pavle said I might be able to find a spoon for my mom, the internet café and the store. Then we went to the other Pavle’s apartment to meet his wife and family. After that we went to Pavle’s church for parting time, which gave us the chance to thank him and his church for being such wonderful people, and so say goodbye to all of them. We all went for ice cream one last time.
Day 10: Wednesday
For breakfast we had a fired egg and a slice of ham. Then we headed to the bus to load up our luggage and get ready for the drive back to Vienna. Thomas, Pavle and his son came along for the ride and to hang out one last time. We stopped in Bratislava, to done some final shopping. We got to the hotel in Vienna and checked in then the bus took us to the city of Vienna, where we had to say goodbye to Thomas, Pavle and Samuel. It was a sad moment I’m kind of glad it was rushed other wise it would have been much wore. All the girls cried at the site of Thomas and Samuel crying and waving goodbye till we were no longer in site. In Vienna we went to the King’s Castle and took a tour of it. Then we had to find out way back to the hotel, through the U-baun (Metro) and a bus. Then we ate dinner at the restaurant at the hotel, relaxed for our fight filled day.
Day 11: Thursday
We all woke up around 4 which is about 10pm Wed. here, to be ready and at the airport by 5 to check in. Our flight was at 7:20 and we landed in Frankfurt around 9. We could not go to our gate until 11 so we split up and walked around the airport, looking for last minute gifts, food, and whatever else we needed. Our flight there left at 12:25 after being patted down by security (this happened to everyone not just our group) we were able to board the plane. We arrived safely at Dulles at 2:40 a half hour ahead of time. We were greeted by Michelle’s dad and Katrina’s mom waiting to take us home. We got to the church around 5:45 and completed our journey.