Hello All,

I can't believe 5 weeks have passed already! Quite a bit has happened in this past month and I am very excited to share it with you.   What I have learned:

1) Many people have asked if adjustment is/has been hard. There have been times when it’s been very difficult, but I feel God giving me strength every day. I am blessed with a wonderful team over here that is very supportive. We work, play and pray together. They have been a great source of encouragement. However, the fact remains that I am hundreds of miles away from every friend, family member and acquaintance. This has been the most difficult adjustment. But, because of these things, I have depended on God in ways that I never needed to before. He has truly become my rock. This was a lesson I thought I knew, but had never played out practically until now and I thank God for it.

2) There is more than one way to share the Gospel. This may seem like a "no brainer" to some of you, but it has become a revolutionary thought to me. The best thing that I continue to learn everyday is that ministry opportunities are around every corner. Suddenly, every-day things aren't so ordinary. Daniel Psaute, the missionary that leads our team, inspires us to be very intentional in our daily interactions with people. Something as simple as striking up a conversation with the person behind the counter in the bakery shop can be an opportunity to share the love of Christ. After my first couple weeks in Slovenia I was anxious about finding my "nitch". I expressed such thoughts to Daniel and he encouraged me to not over-look every day opportunities and to meet people where they live. Just after that conversation I was waiting at the bus stop when I noticed a particular young lady. She wore a bright red shirt, and hair to match. While I have seen very little smiles around here, her face looked particularly unhappy. She was smoking a cigarette and seemed as if she was generally discontent. As chance would have it, we ended up beside one another on the bus. After a few moments i felt the Lord asking me to speak to her. Then came the battle. I kept thinking about why i shouldn't talk to her: "What if she doesn't speak English?", "What if she is getting off at the next stop?", "How do I start the conversation?". Eventually I decided that it's better to be obedient and embarrassed, than disobedient. So, i asked God to give me something to talk to her about. At this point I was looking at the floor and that's when I noticed her very stylish shoes. I asked her if she spoke English. She indicated that she spoke a little, her sour _expression unchanging. Then I told her I really liked her shoes and I thought they were cute. At that moment her whole face brightened as a wide smile spread across it. You would have thought I had gotten her a pony for her birthday. We began to chat for the next few bus stops, and that smile never left her face. Actually, because of the talking, I ended up going three bus stops further than I originally planned! As she stepped off the bus she waved and said, "I hope we see each other again!" After the doors closed behind her I realized that we had not exchanged any contact information. However, she did tell me where she worked. It took me four times of going to that store to track her down, but I finally ran into her. Before I had time to suggest it, this young lady, Mateja, suggested we should exchange numbers!  

Now here is where you come in…  

Ways to pray for Slovenia and ways to pray for me: Please pray for the different relationships that I am developing with the folks over here like Mateja. I also ask that you would remember Laura. She is a young lady from my language class. Laura and her husband are unfortunately both part of Hare Krishna (form of Hinduism). I have developed a friendship with her and we continue to have some really good conversations. Please lift up Karmen as well. She is a wonderful beautician and was kind enough to cut my hair a couple weeks ago. She has cut the hair of some of the other girls on the team. While Karmen and I were talking she said, “I don’t know why, but it feels like I can talk to every girl from your group. It feels like we’ve known each other for a decade.” What a witness to the love of Christ! Pray that the Lord will continue to open up doors to develop relationships and share the Gospel. I am praying that God would give me boldness and that he would give me wisdom when I speak with these ladies. My last prayer request would be for the youth of Ljubljana. Breaking into the teen-scene around here has proved harder than I thought. There are three really neat teens in the church, however, their schedules are very, very packed and not all of them live right in the city making it difficult to go and see them. About the only time we have contact is on Sunday nights at church. Just pray that the Lord would help me be creative in knowing how to minister to these teens.  

I continue to praise God for your prayers and support. May the Lord bless you as you have been a blessing to me!

Brittany