A Week of Fliers and Tongues

Živijo Family and Friends!

All is well and a bit wet here in Slovenia. The weather has been a
little bit of everything (I seem to talk a lot about the weather, don't
I?) It started this week with the remnants of the snow, being really
cold, then we had one or two quite comfortable days, then back to
freezing, and now it's somewhere between comfortable and cold and
pouring rain. The snow is all gone (for now). It stayed on the ground
a bit longer in Kranj than it did in Ljubljana, a few days worth, but
then again Kranj is higher up. I guess we got maybe 3 inches here? One
of the people we've been wanting to go visit who lives up in the
mountains said they got a meter of snow though!

The last weekend, as expected, was slower because of the holiday. We
spent halloween and dan mrtve going around the bloks (basically small
highrise apartment buildings, they don't have apartments like in
America) placing fliers in mailboxes advertising the beginning of free
English class. It was a good use of time I think though. We didn't
disturb anyone on their holiday, and now we have the sign up day for
this Thursday! We'll see what happens.

We also have a new person we're meeting with up in Bled, which is the
big tourist place in Slovenia. I included a picture of the grad
(castle) and church on the cliff over lake Bled last week. We should
hopefully be going up there more often to meet with him, (like
tomorrow!)

So. The gift of tongues is real. Truth. How else could I have spurts
of near fluency in Slovene after only being here for a month? Also, I had
really cool experience this week. We meet with an older lady in
Kranj every week. The problem for me however, is that the older people
have a much thicker accent and are really hard to understand
typically. This can be a problem. That and this lady likes to talk, a
lot, a lot, and about random things (like mice infestations in
Slovenia, true story). This last week we met with her on Friday and
the discussion began as usual, understanding some, maybe 20%, and then
suddenly, something happened, it's hard to describe, like something
moved in my mind and a warm feeling and I could understand pretty much
everything she was saying. It stayed like that for the rest of the 45
or so minutes we continued to talk. Soon after it was over though, I
was back to where I had been before, asking people to repeat what they
said so I can understand them.

It truly is amazing reflecting how far I have come with the language.
One or two people have actually asked me where in Slovenia I'm from.
When I tell them I've only been here for a month they are amazed at
how well I can speak. Hard work is a part of it, yes. But with faith,
God provides the rest of what's needed. Our needs can be fulfilled,
despite how impossible they might seem, if we simply act in faith
believing it can be done. If you don't, it is near guaranteed that it
will not happen. Such is life, and even more so is missionary work.

Hope all is well at home and everyone had a great and safe halloween.

Much care,
-Starešina Benson