Beverly is sick. She was feeling a little weird yesterday morning but decided she was ok to go out with us into town. We played some tennis at 5 and after our match she sat down and held her head in her hands. Thinking it was just dehydration Sarah and Jovica's daughter went to get some water. Before they came back though Beverly decided she couldn't sit there anymore and needed to go to the hotel to lay down. She didn't go back out with us last night and is still feeling bad this morning so please pray for her, not just that she gets better, but that she wouldn't feel bad about not being with us and staying at the hotel while we're out and about.
Last night went well though. We met up with our friend from the first week and her boyfriend who also spoke English well. We talked with them for a good two hours and then they left us to meet some other friends of his but we were able to exchange names for Facebook and adder her this morning. She said they would love to meet us again at least once if we could before we left and we promised her that we would try. The boyfriend picked up our tab despite our insisting that we could cover them. Very nice. We finished the night by getting drinks at a cafe nearby and watching the opening ceremonies on a big screen. Pretty neat.
During the afternoon yesterday Jovica took us to the gypsy town to meet with some friends there but also just to make conversation with families and see if the kids wanted to play some marbles. He also brought a few boxes filled with toys and cooking salt to pass out to the families nearby. One family as we were walking invited us to come have drinks with them on their porch. They showed us pictures of their family, the kids showed us their puppies and they were super nice. We asked Jovica about them and he said he had never met them before. He asked them, "why are you being so hospitable to us? You don't know who we are." And the dad replied, "Why not? We could see that you were a good man and anyone who comes to us with a smile on their face is welcome here." (I'm paraphrasing Jovica's translation but that seemed to be the gist).
Several kids wanted to play marbles but none of them wanted to obey the rules so marbles turned into tree climbing while the girls showed Shelby, Sarah and Beverly the hill nearby. They ran up the hill, around the hill and down the hill cheering every time they reached a checkpoint. It was pretty hilarious. Jovica shared a bible story with all of the kids before we left. They gathered around him and listened as he talked about Jesus. It was really cool to see that.
Josh and I got a chance to climb the tree too. The kids loved that.
When we tried to leave, the kids swarmed the car. It was actually pretty terrifying. It reminded me of a zombie movie the way they jumped on top of the car, arms outstretched, yelling for us to get back out and play or for me to take their picture. Jovica kept yelling at them to get out of the way but they weren't moving and were on every side of his car. Finally Jovica started slowly moving the car forward to scare them into moving and after several horrifying fake attempts they made enough space for him to drive off. We are really looking forward to going back before the trip is over.
Today we're going to head into town for lunch, shop a little bit, try to touch base with the contacts we've made in some of the stores and then hit the tennis courts again before getting ready to meet one of the shop contacts and her sister for coffee. This is the girl that was following Shelby around in the China shop excitedly. Her sister supposedly speaks very good English and will be mostly likely doing all of the translating tonight. Should be a fun time. That's at 8:30 but it will most likely go for most of the night which is good because we really like this girl and she seems to really really like us too. Pray that we can connect with her and befriend her despite the slight language barrier.
Thank you for your prayers. They're always needed and always effective. We love you all and can't wait to see you :)
Ciao!
Last night went well though. We met up with our friend from the first week and her boyfriend who also spoke English well. We talked with them for a good two hours and then they left us to meet some other friends of his but we were able to exchange names for Facebook and adder her this morning. She said they would love to meet us again at least once if we could before we left and we promised her that we would try. The boyfriend picked up our tab despite our insisting that we could cover them. Very nice. We finished the night by getting drinks at a cafe nearby and watching the opening ceremonies on a big screen. Pretty neat.
During the afternoon yesterday Jovica took us to the gypsy town to meet with some friends there but also just to make conversation with families and see if the kids wanted to play some marbles. He also brought a few boxes filled with toys and cooking salt to pass out to the families nearby. One family as we were walking invited us to come have drinks with them on their porch. They showed us pictures of their family, the kids showed us their puppies and they were super nice. We asked Jovica about them and he said he had never met them before. He asked them, "why are you being so hospitable to us? You don't know who we are." And the dad replied, "Why not? We could see that you were a good man and anyone who comes to us with a smile on their face is welcome here." (I'm paraphrasing Jovica's translation but that seemed to be the gist).
Several kids wanted to play marbles but none of them wanted to obey the rules so marbles turned into tree climbing while the girls showed Shelby, Sarah and Beverly the hill nearby. They ran up the hill, around the hill and down the hill cheering every time they reached a checkpoint. It was pretty hilarious. Jovica shared a bible story with all of the kids before we left. They gathered around him and listened as he talked about Jesus. It was really cool to see that.
Josh and I got a chance to climb the tree too. The kids loved that.
When we tried to leave, the kids swarmed the car. It was actually pretty terrifying. It reminded me of a zombie movie the way they jumped on top of the car, arms outstretched, yelling for us to get back out and play or for me to take their picture. Jovica kept yelling at them to get out of the way but they weren't moving and were on every side of his car. Finally Jovica started slowly moving the car forward to scare them into moving and after several horrifying fake attempts they made enough space for him to drive off. We are really looking forward to going back before the trip is over.
Today we're going to head into town for lunch, shop a little bit, try to touch base with the contacts we've made in some of the stores and then hit the tennis courts again before getting ready to meet one of the shop contacts and her sister for coffee. This is the girl that was following Shelby around in the China shop excitedly. Her sister supposedly speaks very good English and will be mostly likely doing all of the translating tonight. Should be a fun time. That's at 8:30 but it will most likely go for most of the night which is good because we really like this girl and she seems to really really like us too. Pray that we can connect with her and befriend her despite the slight language barrier.
Thank you for your prayers. They're always needed and always effective. We love you all and can't wait to see you :)
Ciao!
Definitely praying for Beverly and a quick recovery. I'm reading through Psalms with Erin (& friends) and it's amazing how each day I come across a passage from my reading that seems relevant to something I'm praying about. A few min ago I came across this in Psalm 22 and I smile as I consider Beverly: vs 22-24 "I will declare your name to my brothers; in the congregation I will praise you. You who fear the LORD, praise him! All you descendants of Jacob, honor him! Revere him... for he has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help!" He is a cool God, there is no one like Him, and He is with you. Praying, too for a good evening with your new friends knowing the LORD has prepared in advance for the conversations you will have. I love you.
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