The Bordners

Back in the States

2011-12-21T00:25:00.004+01:00

We have now been back in the states for a few days. It has been a foggy last few days. Jet lag is difficult enough, but it is made significantly more interesting with a one year old. We have already been able to connect with lots of people which has been great. Here are a few pictures below of our time in Slovenia celebrating Liam's birthday with Katka's family. We gave him a kit-kat candy bar for the first time, and you will notice that it is in almost every picture.

The other pictures are from our time in Boise visiting my brother and his family. We were just there for a night, but it was a great chance to see them and for them to meet Liam. It was really short, but so thankful that we had that time.

Back to blogging

2011-11-29T15:36:00.003+01:00

Not sure if anyone out there still checks our blog, but I am going to try and get back to semi-regularly updating this thing. So, I am not going to post pictures of the last few months, but just start from today and move forward.

Today I heard Liam say his first word outside of the usual grunts. He says mama sometimes, but I am pretty sure that he uses it when he wants something, not necessarily to say he wants her. I have been working on Dada, but unfortunately it means grandma here in Slovene, so I will need to work on him saying Dad or Daddy. Right now I am happy with hi.

Some recent Liam pictures

2011-07-31T14:48:00.001+01:00

We have been really busy these last few weeks with camps, follow up events, and preparing for other camps. I will post some pictures of our road trip to Nice, France when we get some pictures from other people. Mean while, here are 5 pics of Liam.

Breaking the Law

2011-07-15T11:20:00.000+01:00

Yesterday we had two unexpected visitors. They were from one of the main cell phone companies here in Slovenia (Mobitel) and were loaded up with some crazy handheld antena's. They told us that something has been scrambling their cell phone signals in the area, and that they had tracked it to something coming from our house.

Apparently our baby monitors that we brought from the states use a frequency that messes up the cell towers here in Europe. If we didn't live up on a hill they said it wouldn't be a problem, but as it is the signal travels a long ways. They asked us nicely not to use the monitors any more since they are (apparently) illegal here. Then they said that if we continue to use them they said they will send someone who for force us to stop using them.

Smurfs

2011-07-13T10:40:00.002+01:00

Remember the smurfs cartoon? Apparently there is a smurf movie coming out this month. Here is Slovenia they will release the same movie but with Slovene voices instead of the English. Today Katka got to go and record as one the main characters in the movie.

Looking forward to the movie premier and some free movie tickets.

Catching UP

2011-06-17T12:16:00.005+01:00

It has been about a month since I last updated the blog. Things have been crazy around here. Rather than explaining everything that we have done I just put together a little slideshow of some pictures.

Czech Conference

2011-05-20T13:56:00.003+01:00

Last week we had our annual conference in the Czech Republic. We had great time with friends and teammates, heard some great messages, and came back refreshed. It was definitely a different conference for Katka and I having a kid.

We got to introduce Liam to the whole group which was really fun. He thought that it would be fun to scream almost the entire time we were up front.

There were 12 new babies introduced which was really fun.

Katka also received an award for her impact through music.

Liam enjoying a bath

First Hair Cut

2011-05-09T19:55:00.002+01:00

Katka and I were packing for a conference today and we came across one of my wigs. We thought Liam might like to give it a try....and it turns out it fits him great. I can already tell he has a great future of costumes ahead of him.

Day in the Mountains

2011-05-03T14:23:00.008+01:00

Last week a group of us left Ljubljana with some food and canoes and headed up to Lake Bohinj. We rented bikes and headed up into the mountains, with a goal of reaching a waterfall. With the exception of being completely out of shape the trip was a blast.
I know it is weird to say, but bike crashes are always so fun to watch. We had a couple of pretty nice crashes on the way down. After making sure everyone was (mostly) ok, we had some great laughs.

After getting back from the ride we inflated our rafts and headed out onto the lake. The wind had picked up, which made rowing an inflatable raft really exciting. All in all it was a great day.

Mandatory Liam pictures-

A very special day

2011-04-19T09:28:00.004+01:00

Today is David's Birthday...therefore a very special day!
A thing I always say to him when he wakes up on his birthday is... "Happy Birthday David! Look how great you are doing - you are not living with your mom anymore." :) If you are from around here you know that many men around here are very much mama boys and are still living at home at David's age.

I usually do not blog but today is special. I just feel like I want to tell you all what a great man David is. I feel like my respect for him grew in new ways. These are some fresh ones:
- I respect David for how well he leads our family and home. He provides security, leads us to rest and deals with daily challenges so calmly and wise. There have been many in the past year and we are doing great because of how David led.

- He is a wonderful dad. Very present, very engaged, very helpful! He loves Liam so well. It is beautiful to watch. Also, Liam has this special look on this face when David talks with him...I know this little life already knows that his daddy is the best in the world! And so funny!

- He is a great speaker! This is something I feel like he grew in a ton! His sermons have really touched me and many in our church and in our youth group. As much as he does not like the preparation process and needs to stay persistent through the process, he does out-standing job at the end! God honors him as he is a persistent man!

- The way he stays faithful in loving the boys, the youth, of Slovenia. Sometimes I ask him: Do you want to go home and leave this hard work that seams to bear no fruit?" And he always says: "Oh, but I love the youth so much. Above all, I want to stay in the center of God's mysterious work. Not time to leave yet!"

- David will share our best (USA) goodies...I am not always so unselfish!

Happy Birthday David. I enjoy you today more than ever and love you so much!

Swimming and Relaxing

2011-04-12T19:12:00.002+01:00

Yesterday we spent the day at a indoor swim park. It was a great day, and was really restful which is exactly what we needed. Liam had his first day of swimming, and he loved being in the water. Here are a few pics of our day.

Concert Updates

2011-04-07T11:01:00.005+01:00

The shows have been going amazing. There has been an amazing turnout to see Nick, with his first 2 shows bringing in over 4,600 people. The volunteer staff to pull of these events has equally impressive. Katka has been doing amazing leading the choir, singing her solo, and feeding Liam whenever there is a free second. She is juggling a lot of balls right now and is doing great.

Nick Vujicic is in town

2011-04-04T16:07:00.002+01:00

Today Katka and I had the privilege to meet Nick Vujicic. There was a press conference for him with all the major news outlets, just to talk about who he is and why he is here. He is here for a 5 day speaking tour, talking about how God has changed his life without limbs to a life without limits. Katka was at the press conference because she is directing the 150 person choir that will perform before each show.

We had a few minutes to talk with him and he really is an amazing man. If you don't know anything about his story, watch the video below.

Or a longer video about his life

Sweden Team

2011-04-02T13:02:00.002+01:00

These last 2 weeks have been really fun and really full. We had a great team come from the Torchbearers Bible college in Sweden. We passed out tons of flyers for the Nick Vujacic event coming up this week, taught tons of english in 3 different high schools, led an English camp, and build some great relationships.

Here are a few pictures from our English camp.

Teaching English

2011-03-24T16:57:00.003+01:00

This week has been really busy. We have a team here and we are teaching English everyday and promoting the upcoming Nick Vujicic events that are coming in a few weeks. To add a little excitement to an already busy schedule, I got a fun case of the throwups on Wednesday. I had an awkward vomit sessions by a tree next to some students. Oh well.

Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of our time. So, I will just add some pictures of Liam.

Our first man to man talk about girls-

Poland

2011-03-17T17:35:00.005+01:00

Katka is in Poland right now at a womens conference. I am at home missing them like crazy this week...and sleeping really well during the night. :)

Tonight Jesse and Krista Ashmen (Multnomah friends) fly into town with a team to help with outreach for the next two weeks. I am working my tail off to get ready for them!

Here are a few pics from the last few weeks (all of Liam of course)

Christmas in March

2011-03-12T15:44:00.002+01:00

This week Burger opened their first restaurant in Slovenia. It is only about 10 minutes from us in a mall, so we decided to check it out on opening day. I had to wait about 20 minutes to order because it was so busy...but my double whopper with cheese was well worth it.

Catching Up

2011-03-05T18:16:00.006+01:00

I have been slacking on updating the blog. I thought that by having a kid I would have more things to blog about..which is technically true. What I didn't take into account is that I would have less time to update the blog. So, here are a few pictures from the last few weeks...and of course a Liam video.

Katka recording a part in the new 'Rango' movie

Skiing with some guys...it was a grey day with only 5 minutes of blue sky

Street performing in Vienna

It was really really cold in Vienna...so we stopped for some starbucks to warm up

Another day of skiing..and getting to ride a chair with 7 guys!

Does anyone know why people talk to babies in such a high pitched voice? I don't know why, but I am definitely guilty. It's like I think if I talk in a baby voice he will somehow understand me and respond.

Anyway, here is another video of Liam...with my high pitched voice giving commentary. We made it for my parents, but it is still worth passing on.

Some More Pictures

2011-02-16T15:07:00.006+01:00

Last week at our youth choir practice I challenged Liam to a contest. I told him to give me his best Albert Einstein face, and then to see how long he could hold it without moving or blinking. Sadly, he only could do about 25 seconds. We will keep working on it.

Parents Visit

2011-02-01T19:16:00.011+01:00

My parents arrived here in Slovenia about 10 days ago. My dad actually headed back to the states on Friday, but my mom is staying around for an extra week to help out. It has been perfect.

Here is a video of my parents getting to meet Liam for the first time in the airport.

We got free tickets to the premiere of Disney's 'Tangled' (or Zlatolaska in Slovene) because Katka did the singing for the main character. It was my parents first Slovene movie (they had seen it in English which helped) and a really fun experience. It was also in 3D which was also fun. After the movie they brought the voices of the main characters up front for interviews (Katka and Liam are second from the right)

We took my parents and Katka's parents to a new bridge in Ljubljana. There is a new tradition of putting a lock on the bridge as a commitment to another person. We surprised them with locks and a pen for each couple to write a message.

We took a little day trip to Graz, Austria. We ate authentic Austrian food (Subway) and then wandered the streets to a fun little coffee shop.

Some More Pictures

2011-01-24T18:13:00.010+01:00

Some More Pictures

2011-01-04T19:57:00.005+01:00

It has been quite an adventure these last few days at the Bordner home. We are loving being parents! Katka has been doing an AMAZING job with Liam, and I am loving parenting with her.

Two days ago Katka took Liam in to change his diaper. While laying on the changing table, Liam spit up out of his mouth, and then coughed sending chunks all over Katka's face. She wiped it off, and continued changing him. Before she could get a new diaper on him, he started peeing everywhere (including his face). While she was cleaning that up (and before there was a diaper on him), he had a big poop explosion. Eventually she got him cleaned up and a new diaper on him! I am just proud that my son can get stuff to come out of 3 different holes in the same minute!

I am sure that there will be more stories to come, but that one was definitely worth passing on.

Liam smiling on mom's shoulder

Glorija and her son Samuel, Dubravka with Patrik, and Katka with Liam

Sleeping

Sleeping...

Skype baby shower with family friends in the states, you can see Katka, Liam and I in the lower corner

Sleeping...

Liam doing mathematics in his head while laying on the couch

Katka's family getting to meet Liam for the first time

This is a video that we made for my parents, but we wanted to post it because it is the most awake Liam has been in our few days at home. Enjoy

Liam Peter Bordner

2010-12-29T19:43:00.002+01:00

We were spending Christmas with Katka's family up in Radovljica this year. We had a very pleasant morning, sleeping in and then the enjoying the Christmas presents. We then headed out to Lake Bled and enjoyed a lovely walk along the lake. We stopped for coffee and to warm up a little bit.

Then we headed back to Katka's sisters house for some lunch and cards. At around 2 we noticed something very strange....Katka didn't want to play rook (its a card game) against her parents. She laid on the couch and her discomfort continued to grow. She wasn't having strong contractions, but her stomach was just really tight and her back was hurting pretty bad.

We finally decided to go check it out. After a few tests in the hospital, they quickly realized that the little man was coming. The doctor came to inform me of the plan, and I couldn't believe he was going to be born 2 weeks early. They finally sat Katka down in the delivery room at about 7, and at 9:30 we had a son.

He was born healthy, weighing 7.2 pounds (3.3 kilos) and was 20 inches long (50 cm). It was such an amazing experience being there for his birth.

Katka has been in the hospital for the last 4 days (that is normal here in Slovenia) and will be heading home tomorrow. Here are a few pictures from his birth and the last few days in the hospital.

Here is a quick little video that we took the other day when he had the hiccups. It was so cute. Enjoy.

Christmas Concerts

2010-12-18T22:09:00.004+01:00

Yesterday we had the first round of shows. We had the privilege of performing in a home for youth with special needs. It was a blast. They greeted us at the door, gave us tours of where they life, and were a great audience. All the parents and staff came to the show as well, I think there was around 250 of us packed into this room.

I was the sound guy (sitting under a speaker playing the songs off an ipod) so I couldn't get a good angle for a picture. Here is Katka talking with the group, and one of a few girls singing a solo.

On Sunday morning we will be performing in Kočuvje and then at night in our church at 6. Also, Monday night we will be performing at Skofijska Gimnazija at 7.

Downtown

2010-12-14T12:45:00.002+01:00

Katka and I have been talking for weeks about getting downtown to see all the lights and little shops. Yesterday we finally made it happen! Even though it was freezing (I am pretty sure that my right foot was totally numb by the time we got back to the car) we had a really fun time. We saw all the shops and little ornaments that were for sale, enjoyed kuhano vino, and listened to some live bands while enjoying the lights.

With all the walking we both got hungry. I treated myself to a great pleskavica, while Katka claimed that the baby really wanted some palačinka (crapes) instead of a normal dinner.

Making Space

2010-12-09T15:35:00.002+01:00

Katka and I finally made some progress on our little guys room. We have had baby stuff piling up for several months now, and we decided that it is about time to change the room. The babies room will be where our old office was, and so mostly it was removing books, bookshelves, and other random things.

Miha came to help and we spent about 4 hours moving dressers around the house. It was a really productive time, and I think we are finally ready for this little guy to arrive. Not that he will really need a room, but it is just nice having all his clothes organized and things in their place. Katka also packed the hospital bag, incase he makes a surprise arrival ahead of schedule.

My New Favorite Hobby

2010-12-04T13:39:00.003+01:00

It has snowed almost everyday for the last 2 weeks. Every time it snows our street, car, and driveway gets buried in snow. At first my strategy was to just let it sit there and never shovel it. That plan works when you live in Seattle, when the temperature warms back up and melts the snow. Here in Slovenia, it will stay cold sometimes for a month (or longer) without really warming up. Last year when I didn't clean the driveway, the snow compacted down and turned into an ice skating ring that lasted a month.

I told Katka today as I was heading out the door, "I love shoveling the driveway every single day. When I go to bed it is clean, and then when I wake up it is back the way it was yesterday." She gave me a weird look and said, "you really like that?" I answered, "nope".

This is what I went out to this morning. You can see the piles of snow on the left of the picture and in front of the car. Can you see my neighbors driveway in the background? All nice and clean.

PALA Youth

2010-11-24T21:41:00.002+01:00

That is the name of the youth choir that Katka is leading this year. Pala means wonderful in Hebrew. This weekend we had a retreat to prepare for the upcoming Christmas show. Our desire was that we would get a lot done during the weekend and also allow the group to continue to gel together. Even though we were missing a few people, it was a great time.

Here are a few pictures. We were at the castle in Austria, and here is most of the group on our morning walk.

We played some really fun drama games to loosen up before rehearsals.

We played some really fun drama games to loosen up before the rehearsals

New Family Member

2010-11-18T15:50:00.003+01:00

Welcome to Slovenia baby Samuel! Last week Katka's sister Glorija gave birth to their second son. While she and Seba were in the hospital giving birth we got to baby sit little Patrik which was a blast. Then on Sunday we were able to go and visit them in the hospital. Both baby and mom are doing great. I love being an uncle!

To see more pictures of baby Samuel, you can click on Glorija and Sebastian's link down on the right side of our blog.

Baby Shower

2010-11-13T16:58:00.004+01:00

Last weekend Katka had her baby shower. It was a really great time (so I hear) for Katka to be surrounded by so many of her close friends and family. Baby showers were never done here in Slovenia until a few years ago. Now, they are a huge hit among the pregnant women (I am even thinking of having a baby just so that I can have one). There was some amazing food, hilarious games, fun competitions, great decorations, and lots of love for Katka. She felt so honored and loved from the shower. Thanks to everyone who made it possible.

Here are a few pictures of the time together-

Hillsong

2010-11-05T23:47:00.004+01:00

Yesterday 17 of us drove to Zagreb, Croatia for a Hillsong (London version) for a concert. I am not exactly sure why, but Christian concerts are usually a little weird for me. Maybe it is the fact that I am paying money to see someone, hoping for a 'good show', and then also trying to worship God. Those 3 don't always seem to fit together for me. Maybe I just have issues.

It was in Croatia, so there were some rivaling country moments (nothing violent, just some standard jokes)...and I was so glad to be with the Slovenes. It was one of those moments when I realized how much Slovene culture is inside of me. And I loved it.

Regardless, I actually had a really great time. I had low expectations going into the show, and left really wishing the we could have taken a bigger group. I came back encouraged, excited about what God has called me to do, and passionate about these next months of ministry.

Next Time...

2010-11-02T14:30:00.004+01:00

Here is Slovenia you need to pay for your grocery bags that you take from the store. Katka and I already have so many bags at home, and we always seem to forget to take them when we go to the store (when I say 'we' I really mean 'me').

A few days ago Katka asked me to zip down to the store from some breakfast things. She even reminded me to grab money and bags before I left. I remembered only the money (which is a miracle considering I hadn't been awake more than 15 minutes). When I got to the store I realized my mistake, but was determined not to pay for another bag. I didn't take a cart because it requires a coin (get it back when you return the cart) and they didn't have any of the little baskets. So I wandered through the store grabbing the necessary things and building a monster pile in my arms. My years of Tetris really paid off here.

After making it successfully through the store with no problems, I paid, recreated my Tetris masterpiece and headed for the car. Two steps out of the store one of my containers of milk ejected out of my arms and exploded like a volcano upon hitting the ground. It was hard enough carrying all my groceries in my arms, but now I had to bend down and pick up this half full carton of milk and get it to the car without spilling on myself. It was clearly entertaining to those entering the store. I eventually made it to the car and managed to unlock the door without anymore spills.

I started my car and was feeling so good about only dropping one thing when someone knocked on my car window. It was an old man holding my cheese that I had dropped at some point between the volcano and the car.

All of this to save myself a 10 cent bag. Next time I am buying a bag.

Baby Update

2010-10-26T16:47:00.003+01:00

Well I haven't done the best job at keeping this blog up to date with baby info, so here is a quick update on things. Our baby boy is healthy and doing great. I bought him a soccer ball the other day at IKEA because it is already clear that he can kick. Mom is doing great. Feeling pretty tired most days, but still cute as ever. We are now 10 weeks away from the due date, and have started working hard at getting his room in order. I will post some pictures when we get closer to finishing.

Some Rest

2010-10-20T19:23:00.003+01:00

After my quick trip to the states, I met Katka in London for a conference. Crossroads Bible Church in Bellevue is one of our supporting churches, and they put on a conference for all of their missionaries. It was a great chance to hear some good teaching, connect with other missionaries, and most importantly, to relax. Here are a few pictures.

Katka and I on a walk into town during one of the afternoons

Meal time at the conference...the food was GREAT.
On a day trip to Bath, England. We visited a museum with some ancient Roman baths build on some hot springs. The earliest remains date back to 70 A.D.
On the day trip we also got to see the Jane Austen Centre. We didn't actually pay to go into the center, but we went into the lobby. We also saw the house she grew up in down the street.

Wheres Waldo?

A Great Visit

2010-10-16T17:46:00.005+01:00

This last weekend I had the chance to go home for my grandpa's memorial service. He was a great man, who loved God and his family very much. It was a great time of grieving his death and celebrating his life.

It was a quick trip of 3 days, but it was still a great time to be with my family. The first night that I got back to Seattle, it worked out that it was just our immediate family without any of the spouses. We figured it was the first time that it had just been the 6 of us in about 10 years.

Here is a picture of the 6 of us, plus Payton and Ryder.

Boys Time

2010-10-07T20:29:00.002+01:00

Yesterday we had our monthly staff meeting, and we did something a little different. We decided to split the boys and girls up, so that we could get some relational time and talk about the issues facing us specifically.

Before we got into the business stuff, we decided that we needed some man time. At the mall there is an indoor go-carting center. The carts are electric, fast, and weight about 200 kilograms (440 pounds) each. A personal highlight for me was watching Hondo and Matt getting yelled at by the employee for smashing each other with their carts. Those white things on our heads are an attempt at being more sanitary with the helmets...and we wore them with pride.

Me, Terry, Brad, Sebastian, Andrej, Hondo, Josh, Matt, and Johnny

Happy Anniversary to Us

2010-10-01T13:59:00.003+01:00

Yesterday marked the 4 year mark of our marriage. It is crazy how fast time flies! We spent some time reflecting on how much we have changed during these last years, how much we are enjoying our marriage, and how this will be our last anniversary alone for 25 years or so. It was a great day, but we are looking forward to Saturday night when we are going to try and get away for a night.

Trgatev

2010-09-29T18:57:00.003+01:00

On Sunday of last week our team (without Glorija and Seba) went up to Maribor for some grape picking. Andrej and Nina are in charge of clearing the grapes on her families vineyard this year, and so we all went up to help and get some quality time together. Clearing the grapes is called Trgatev, and it was my first time joining in the festivities.

There are 3 major lessons that I learned from my first time picking grapes.

-It is a stinkin pain to get all the grapes. It took 10 of us working hard for 4 hours to clear a small patch of vineyard.

-Time flies by when you are with friends.

-Time flies by even faster when your friends are falling down the muddy wet grass trying to pick grapes.

I will post pictures if I can get my hands on some.

New Team Members

2010-09-19T23:17:00.003+01:00

As a team we have named this year as the year of babies. These last 2 weeks have officially kicked off the birthing party. So, I wanted to officially introduce everyone to our newest team members here in Slovenia. If you want to see more pictures, find their blogs on the right and take a look.

Tomorrow we are leaving for our fall conference in the Czech Republic. I will post some pictures when we get back.

This is Jackson Luke Jenkins with his older brother Landon.This is Maia Joi Mormance (pronounced Maja Joy)

Cats

2010-09-16T08:23:00.002+01:00

Our neighbor is an older lady, and I am pretty sure that she lives for 3 things: the latest gossip, her garden, and feeding cats. I am not sure how many cats she has, but I am guessing it is around 10. At any given time I can spot 3 cats around/on our property. It wouldn't be a huge deal if we had a fence and a normal driveway, but at this point it is just a big gravel pit. In case you aren't familiar with cats, our gravel driveway= one giant litter box= poop everywhere.

Yesterday I parked my car and then walked around the car to take out a bag. As I started walking up the stairs to our house, I realized that something wasn't quite right. I set down my bag, looked at the bottom of both my feet, and realized that each of my shoes had received a big present from a cat.

Milkshakes

2010-09-12T14:37:00.002+01:00

Every year at English camp we are spoiled with an amazing facility in Austria. It is a castle, on a lake, with an amazing view. In spite of all those incredible features, the cafe's milkshakes are often what gets the most praise.

This last Friday we kicked off the school year with a trip back up to the castle for milkshakes. The staff opened up the cafe just for us which was great. We spent about as much time driving up there as we had at the castle, but those trip was a blast. I couldn't track down any pictures, but I will try to post some when I get my hands on them.

Delivering Mana

2010-09-03T11:38:00.002+01:00

Yesterday we got to drive with Mana to her new school. We made the 4 hour drive to Hungary where she will be attending Bible school for the new few months. We had a great trip, and it was so great to see the beautiful campus where she will be living.

We stopped at a HUGE lake on the way there for lunch. I took my swimsuit, but was shivering in my jeans and sweatshirt and decided not to take a swim.
After getting her into her room we headed up to the coffee shop for something to drink. It was really hard to say goodbye, but we are so excited about this next chapter of her life. We miss her already!

Done

2010-08-27T11:00:00.003+01:00

We are now finished with our last camp of the summer! Music camp finished and was incredible, Katka did an amazing job leading and preparing the group for the show. I will try to get some pictures or video from the show on the blog soon.

Last night we had about 25 of them over again to watch the show together on the projector. It was really fun to be together, and for all of them to see the show from the audiences point of view.

Katka made an amazing breakfast for us a few days ago with eggs, bacon, sausage, and starbucks coffee. It was one of those really warm mornings, and we had a great time talking and reflecting on camp.

Some Pictures

2010-08-13T20:03:00.005+01:00

Last week Katka's family headed down to Croatia for a family wedding. Katka and Glorija sang at the wedding and did an amazing job (like always). It was a great time to celebrate her cousins wedding, and then also to get some time with her family.

Croatian weddings are always fun because I get to give everyone 3 kisses on the cheek when I meet them and then again when I say goodbye...meaning I drop about 120 kisses in one night. Good times...

Katka and Glorija showing off their babies

We had the joy of spending the day with the Carlson family. They also work with Josiah Venture in Poland, and stopped by on their way down to Croatia for vacation. We had a blast with them.

We got to spend a few days with the Stevens down for a vacation of our own. We had amazing weather for the time that we were down in Bol, Croatia (google it...it is beautiful) and it was exactly what we needed. We slept, swam, ate, played cards (lost to them!), and loved getting time with Kinsley.

Still Alive

2010-08-10T16:12:00.002+01:00

We are now back from helping out at our 2 week theology school. Things were amazing and it was a privilege to be apart of the camp. We are now preparing for the performing arts camp which starts on Saturday.

I will try to post some pictures from the last few weeks in the next day or two. I needed to post something since it had been a few weeks.

Welcome To Slovenia

2010-07-26T11:10:00.003+01:00

We are so thrilled to have our newest team members with us in Slovenia. Matt and Sharon Mormance arrived a few days ago, but we still haven't been able to see them because of our schedule. If you want to read a bit more about them, check out their blog at http://mormance.blogspot.com/

We are now 3 days into our second camp. We will be spending the next week (10 days total) up in the mountains studying theology with 12 Slovenes. We are going through the book of John and Ephesians right now, and so far it has been really great.

We will add more pictures when we have time.

Greece

2010-07-16T16:51:00.003+01:00

After English camp had finished, we had a few chances to hang out with students back in Ljubljana. While we were together, a few of us boys started talked about our next adventure. One thing led to another, and two days later 5 of us were on a boat headed for Greece. We found a really cheap ferry (that was 27 hours long!) to get us there and a camp ground where we could sleep. We were gone for 5 days, and had an AMAZING time together.

We spent our time on the island of Corfu with some of the most beautiful beaches that I have ever seen. We enjoyed camping, being boys, watching the world cup finals, eating lots of gyros, getting sunburned, cliff jumping, and lots of swimming.

Back From Camp

2010-07-06T20:23:00.005+01:00

We had an amazing time at camp this last week! The 45 students who came to camp were awesome and the team that helped from the states did a really great job. We talked about the theme of Redemption that runs throughout the Bible and our lives, and had some great conversations during the week.

I am leaving tomorrow for a little adventure with some guys from camp. When I get back I will post some more pictures from camp and the boys trip. Here are a few pictures of our week at the castle.

Off to Camp

2010-06-24T09:43:00.002+01:00

Camps are officially underway. The first team arrives today, with camp starting on Sunday. Here is a picture of our staff meeting last week with our team (without the Forjans) and interns.

It's going to be a great summer!

Happy Fathers Day to ME!!!!!

2010-06-22T16:47:00.003+01:00

Since everyone else gets to blog and show pictures about their kids...I thought now we be an appropriate time for Katka and I to start. On monday we went in for our first ultra sound! It was pretty crazy to see this little baby swimming around and dancing, knowing that was all taking place inside Katka's stomach. Katka is now 11 weeks pregnant, and she is due on the 10th of January. I told Katka to try and wait an extra day, that way our kid will have the birthday 1.11.2011 (or for Slovenes 11.1.2011).

Pigeoned

2010-06-19T10:00:00.002+01:00

This last week was spent teaching a lot of English and doing a lot of promotion for our upcoming English camps. It was great having all the interns helping out in each of the classes, building relationships and leading small groups. In one of our last classes we had a surprise visitor. While teaching on the 4th floor, a pigeon decided to fly into an open window. I am not sure who was more surprised and scared, the class or the pigeon.

This is a picture of our intern Nathan trying to get the bird back out the window. It isn't the best picture, but it is enough to appreciate the situation.

World Cup

2010-06-14T20:55:00.008+01:00

The World Cup is now officially in full swing. Yesterday Slovenia beat Algeria for their first ever World Cup victory. It is pretty crazy to me that a country like Slovenia with only 2 million people has a soccer team that not only qualified for the tournament, but won their first game.

Today I was teaching English and advertising for our upcoming camps, and everyone kept asking me one question. When Slovenia plays USA on Friday, who will you be cheering for? Its a tough question...and I don't really know the answer.

After 3 games, the top 2 teams will advance to the next round. After one game, things are looking pretty good for Slovenia and USA at the top of the group.

Back in SLO

2010-06-10T16:40:00.007+01:00

Well, we are finally back in Slovenia. I didn't do a very good job blogging while we were back...I guess we were just having too much fun. Here is a little slideshow of our time. Most of the pictures are from 3 events, our time in Lake Chelan, Peters rehearsal dinner and his wedding. Even though we don't have any pictures from the rest of our time with friends and family, it really was a special time with everyone.

Hanging with family

2010-05-29T01:58:00.002+01:00

We are doing great...busy but good. This is a picture of Katka reading with our niece Payton. We are going to Lake Chelan for the weekend, so I will post more when we get back.

Boys

2010-05-25T19:28:00.004+01:00

This last weekend the Bordner boys all got together for a day on the water. It was my grandpa, all the uncles on my dads side, and then about a third of my cousins. The main reason for all getting together was to get some focused time with my grandpa. We cruised around the lake, ate a great lunch, and then sat for a few hours asking him questions about his life. I think we all came away with some pearls of wisdom.

We have been really busy connecting with friends and supporters. On Sunday Katka got to sing at church (I forgot to take a picture) and then we got to meet the team that is coming to Slovenia this summer. THEY ARE AWESOME!!!!

Here is a picture of us on my uncles boat.

Back in the USA

2010-05-18T20:02:00.003+01:00

These last weeks have been a zoo. We had an amazing time at the conference in Czech. I included a picture below to document my first time singing in front of people with a microphone (singing the Djibouti national anthem...slightly modified of course). After my performance I really believe that Katka isn't going to be the only one that will be getting phone calls for singing gigs.

We were back in Slo for a few days, and I think we just ran around in meetings for camp the whole time. On Saturday we boarded a plane for America. We arrived in Seattle at 11:30 at night, talked with my parents until 2, and then went to bed. We got up early the next morning because I was giving a presentation at my church.

After church we got to meet up with my brother Peter, his fiance Kaitlyn, and Terry Jackson for lunch. Terry even brought a surprise friend to lunch...Christina Stanton! It was a great time.

Off To Conference

2010-05-04T15:38:00.003+01:00

We are leaving tomorrow for our yearly spring conference in the Czech Republic. There will 175 of us, mostly Americans, who serve with JV in 11 different countries in Eastern Europe. We will gather together for some much needed teaching, worship, and fellowship. We will start the 8 hour drive tomorrow morning, and hopefully get a little Burger King on the way up. This is last years group shot.

Something I Can't Do

2010-04-28T12:30:00.002+01:00

This week we experienced something so cool. Meta has wrote numerous songs and has read them out loud in church to encourage us with her words. However, this week was different. This week she sang it.

Meta had wrote the song and David put music to it, which allowed the band to join in. It was so fun to sit and listen to a song that was created from people within our church. It was a great song and a huge blessing to me and the rest of the church.

Thanks Meta and David, and I can't wait for some more songs!

Got Milk?

2010-04-22T18:23:00.005+01:00

Today during lunch I was enjoying a nice cold glass of milk. As I was finishing I started craving some frozen m&m's, and those are only good with cold milk. By the end of my meal I had drank a whole liter of milk (1/4 gallon). On my last sip, when there wasn't any food in my mouth, something really didn't taste right. I looked on the outside of the container and realized that the milk was past the expiration date. Yummy.

Catching Up

2010-04-20T15:36:00.008+01:00

As our schedule gets crazier, the harder it is to make time to blog. While there has been lots going on, most of the things we do don't make for a great blog entry (emails, meetings, coffee with students). Here are 3 events that I thought were worth passing on.

Brad has been playing American football out here with the Ljubljana team. This weekend they had a game, and a bunch of us decided to check it out. It was a great game and Brad's team won 48-0. I wish I could say that the game was closer than the score shows, but it wasn't. There were other pictures, but they are difficult to see what is going on, so I chose these 2.

I think this is one when Brad got a grass stain and wanted it cleaned off before he went back into the game.

Here are the girls cheering on the team. Trisha takes her cheering very seriously.

On Monday we had a triple Birthday party. It could be the first time in the history of birthdays it has ever been done. We celebrated Kristi's, Trisha's and my birthday all at once. There was no shortage of great people and great food.

Baby Kinsley enjoying Katka's mom

Last week Tomy and I got to go see Slovenia against Croatia in hockey. It was a good game for about 1 minute...then Slovenia scored. The score was 5-0 in the first 10 minutes of the game. The game was a blast and the final score was 10-1.

A Real Slovene

2010-04-10T17:04:00.003+01:00

Last night Katka entered a new world. A few weeks ago she was asked to sing with a group for a polka competition here in Ljubljana. It was quite a shift from the usual singing that she does, but she had a blast none the less. At youth group we were able to watch the performance live which was really fun. It definitely felt a little out of place seeing her dressed in the traditional slovene outfit, and to be singing with trumpets and accordians playing around her.

I recorded the performance for her and I have already watched it 3 times. Here is a picture I took from my phone of her on TV.

Welcome to Our World

2010-04-01T13:41:00.002+01:00

Kinsley Jane Stevens entered our world last week. Johnny and Brooke are teammates and dear friends of ours. We were with them last Monday enjoying a relaxing night together with this little girl still enjoying the warmth and comfort of Brooke. Tuesday we got the message that she had decided that she was ready to enter our world. We had the joy of skyping with them the next day from the hospital room. Everything went really smoothly, and both mother and daughter are doing well.

Yesterday we had a staff meeting and got to meet this little beauty in person. She was so laid back and relaxed. It was difficult to understand how much life is contained in this little body. We are so excited to be around to watch this little girl grow...

Back From Crikvenica

2010-03-30T09:49:00.002+01:00

This last weekend was amazing. Around 100 of us went down in Crikvenica, Croatia for our yearly church conference. It was so great to be down there with our church, to enjoy the great weather and the great relationships. Of all the times Katka and I have gone down there for this conference, this was one of our favorite times. On Sunday (always one of the highlights of my year) we got to celebrate as 7 people were baptized in the cold cold water. This is a picture of Zvonko talking with the group before the baptisms.

Happy Birthday

2010-03-24T18:30:00.002+01:00

This weekend we got to celebrate Patriks first birthday. It was a blast. There were about 20 or so of us there and Patrik even had 3 young friends to celebrate with. We had a great time together laughing, taking pictures, opening presents, playing with toys, smelling dirty diapers, and the list goes on.

Random

2010-03-20T12:14:00.003+01:00

If you didn't go to Multnomah Bible College this blog post will mean nothing to you.

There is a man named Harry who is in town visiting our teammates Andrej and Nina in Maribor. I knew that he had previously supported Christina Stanton, but that was about as much as I knew about him.

As I was talking with him I mentioned that I graduated from Multnomah. He said, "my son went to Multnomah about that same time". "Who is your son?," I asked. "Michael Pain."

It's a small world

Birthday Boy

2010-03-18T10:39:00.002+01:00

This week we celebrated Brads birthday in style. Laurel made cheeseburgers, some great salad and a great dessert cake. I ate so much I thought I was going to explode. It was a great night of hanging out, eating, and playing games (sorry Brad that my wife beat you on your birthday).

Tanja stopped by unexpected with an amazing birthday cake. It was in the shape of an American football and tasted great.

6 Years

2010-03-16T09:14:00.003+01:00

This month marks my 6th year living in Slovenia. It is incredible how fast time flies, it seems like just yesterday that I moved out here with Matt and Johnny. I am so thankful that God brought me to Slovenia and I am loving life and ministry out here more than ever. Here is a picture with Joel Woodard that was taken 6 years ago at Lake Bohinj.

Breakfast With An Old Friend

2010-03-12T11:55:00.002+01:00

It had been years since I had eaten breakfast with my old friend Mrs. Butter-worth. Thankfully today Katka reminded me that she had been waiting patiently in a box with our other imported foods. There is something so great about warm pancakes, melted butter, and some good maple syrup.

Lots of Men

2010-03-09T19:55:00.002+01:00

Last week we had an amazing conference in the Czech Republic. About 120 men from all over Eastern Europe gathered to about the church and creating movements. Alan Hirsch has written a great book called 'The Forgotten Ways" and he joined us as the conference speaker. I found it really thought provoking and I am excited to continue to think and chew on some of these different paradigms.

Forgot to Blog

2010-02-27T00:17:00.002+01:00

I just realized tonight that it has been over a week since our last blog, and it will most likely be another week before the next one. We have had tons going on, but unfortunately blogging wasn't one of them.

Tonight was the last 'Joseph' concert and both shows went great. I just got home from tearing down the set (12:15) and then will be leaving at 6 in the morning for Kriz (theology school). It will be a great weekend with John MacMurray in town to do the teaching. On Sunday I leave straight from there to the Czech Republic for another conference.

#103

2010-02-17T21:14:00.003+01:00

This last weekend Katka and I flew back to the states for my grandpa's memorial service. My grandpa lived an amazing life, and died a few weeks ago just after his 103 birthday. He was a man who loved God, loved his family, and loved life. His memorial service was a great celebration of his life and it is was really special to be there with my family.

We tried to fly in the day before the service, but weather and delays kept us in Frankfurt for a night. We were able to get the last 2 seats on a flight from Amsterdam which landed 35 minutes before the service started. We ran, waited in a short line, ran some more, jumped in a taxi, sat in some traffic...and showed up only 25 minutes late.

We sat down in the seats with my family and switched gears to the service. Katka had about 10 minutes and then she went up on stage to sing her two songs. She did amazing (not considering she had been traveling 14 straight hours and had to work on the song in the taxi) and we were so thankful to have made it home. Here is a picture of us with my grandpa 3 years ago on his boat.

Here is a picture of my family over the weekend-

Bagging Groceries

2010-02-11T20:39:00.002+01:00

Today I did something that I have never done. Our youth group has been working hard to get out into the city to help in a variety of different ways. We celebrated Christmas for a family that needed some cheer, we packed Christmas presents for kids whose families didn't have money, and today we helped out at the local grocery store.

Our plan was to be able help bag the groceries and be a blessing any way that we could. We weren't sure what kind of response we would get from people when we would offer to touch their groceries, but we decided to go for it anyway. Tanja, Meagan, and Miha were in charge or picking when are where we were going, and they did a great job setting things up. We were welcomed in by a manager, given a fancy Mercator shirt (also doubles as a 'Where's Waldo' shirt), and off we went.

I was personally really surprised at how thankful people were for the help and for how much time you have to talk with someone while you are packing up their groceries. It was a great experience and I am looking forward to our next adventure.

Catching Up

2010-02-10T20:48:00.004+01:00

This last week has been a busy week and a sick week. I think this is the first time in our marriage when we have both been fairly sick. We have had a few coughing parties late a night which has been fun.

This last weekend I helped lead a 3 day English camp. Twice a year, one of the schools here in Ljubljana invites us to come and lead a short camp to help their students practice their English. Since it is a Catholic school they have asked me to make it as spiritual as possible. So...I gave 3 talks and walked them through the gospel. It was a great weekend (even though I was sick and away from Katka) and we got a great response from the teachers and the students.

While I was at the English camp Katka was at another performance of the musical Joseph. The concert was in the eastern part of Slovenia, and so the visited some other churches in the area. Katka was so sick during the performances that she totally lost her voice from all her caughing. The shows went great, and from what I heard, everyone came home encouraged and tired. Here are some pictures from one of the shows.

A Little Surprise

2010-02-03T19:40:00.005+01:00

A couple times a year I teach English in the Catholic school here in Ljubljana. Last week when I was teaching one of the English teachers told me that she has read Rick Warren's 'The Purpose Driven Life" and really enjoyed it. She said that it is sold out here in Slovenia, and because of a dispute with the publishers they aren't printing more. I told her that I would love to get her a copy, as long as she didn't mind reading it in English.

A few days ago the package arrived, but I was a little surprised by what I found. Apparently I ordered the miniature edition without knowing it. The website failed to mention that it is the smallest book that has ever been made. It makes reading the words and turning the pages quite difficult...which is a problem when you are talking about a book. I think I will keep the mini version for myself and reorder the normal size for the teacher.

Marriage Conference

2010-01-29T14:56:00.003+01:00

Last night we returned home from our marriage conference. For 4 days this week we met with most of the couples in the JV family from around Eastern Europe for a great conference. There was some great teaching from Dave Patty and some much needed time to process the content with Katka. We had some really significant conversations and are coming back to ministry as a different couple. We are so thankful that we had some needed time to focus on each other.

The conference was in the beautiful city of Krakow, Poland. It was our first time to the city and we really enjoyed it despite some really cold temperatures (-20 c or -4 f). Here is a picture of a sunrise from our hotel window.

Skiing

2010-01-21T21:05:00.005+01:00

With all the snow we have had around here lately, it is hard to believe it was my first time up to the mountain this year. While it was grey and cloudy here in Ljubljana, we had beautiful sunshine up on the mountain. It was a great break from a busy month and a great time to be with friends. Here are a few pictures.

Johnny and Brad both had to rent snow boarding boots, and the only place to rent them was at the top of the mountain. After we were done for the day and Johnny and Brad had returned their rental boots, they decided to ride their boards down the mountain rather than taking the chair down.

What started out being a fun little ride quickly turned into the funniest thing I have seen in a long long time. They had a long way to travel down the mountain, and I included 3 video clips so that you can see how their courage and speed increase the further down the mountain they go. I could barely ski straight because of how hard I was laughing. Enjoy...

A Late Christmas

2010-01-19T18:29:00.003+01:00

Today Katka and I got to open our last Christmas presents. We knew that my parents had mailed it the first week of December, but we were beginning to wonder if someone in-between Seattle and Ljubljana was enjoying our Christmas presents instead of us.

Katka could barely wait to open the presents, but managed to wait for me to get home. We had a blast opening up the gifts, and it was a great way to celebrate January 19.

And for those of you wondering if I got any socks this year (see old blog entry), both my mother and wife came through big time. I got a pair of smartwool socks, some very comfy ones and even some dress socks.

My Princess

2010-01-17T22:55:00.002+01:00

Katka has been singing for synchronized cartoon movies here in Slovenia for a few years now, but this last movie was a little different. Normally Katka has a smaller role where she is singing in a choir or for a character that has only a few lines of singing.

This year she was given the main role in the new Disney movie, 'The Frog and the Princess." Another girl was given all the talking parts for the main character, and Katka was given all the singing parts. Today was the movie premiere, and we were given free tickets to the show.

It was so great to sit in a huge movie theater with 300 other people, watching a Disney movie and hearing my wife's voice. I loved hearing Katka, but I wasn't a huge fan of the movie. After the movie they called the people forward who were the voices in the film to receive some gifts.

Snow Snow Snow

2010-01-14T22:52:00.011+01:00

It seems like it has been snowing for the whole month of January. Our neighbor measured the snow at our house and we had almost 2 feet (50 cm)! The last few days have been the first break from the snow so far this month. While the snow has created a few headaches, it has mostly been really fun.

At youth group, Miha and I were talking about how much snow we have and we quickly decided that we should take advantage of this great opportunity. We put on some warm clothes, grabbed some bikes, and tried to go for a little ride. For those who don't know, we live on a huge hill which made our bike ride even more fun. I don't know if you have ever tried to ride a bike down a hill in deep powder snow, but it was a lot more difficult (and fun) than I was expecting.

Miha and I had different strategies for getting down the hill. Miha tried the slow and steady approach, and I tried the fast and out of control. Not only did I loose the race, but I made it to the bottom with a face full of snow and a sore shoulder. Here is a picture and a short video of our adventure. The video is pretty bad quality, but it is enough to be able to see my face plant in the snow.

Youth Group Adoption

2010-01-06T10:01:00.005+01:00

Our youth group has recently adopted a family here in Ljubljana. The family is made up of a mother and daughter, and we choose them because the mother (in red) has some specific disabilities that makes raising her daughter extra challenging.

For Christmas we brought a group of people over to their place for a little celebration. We brought a little Christmas tree to decorate, some presents for them, some food to eat, and some games to play. Meagan and Tanja did an amazing job setting it up and leading the evening. We had a great time together with them and we are looking forward to the next time we get to spend time with them. Here are a few pictures of our time together.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-25T14:10:00.002+01:00

We just want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas.

Freezing

2009-12-21T20:13:00.003+01:00

Today in Ljubljana was the 10th in a row where the temperatures have stayed under 32 degrees. While we have enjoyed all the snow and beautiful views out our window, there have been some less enjoyable parts to this cold weather.

The heating in our car has recently decided to stop working. Last night when I was driving with Sabi we couldn't see out the front window so we stopped to scrape off the ice. When the scrapping wasn't helping we realized that the ice was one the inside of the car. It was actually nice because we could sit down in the car while we were scraping the ice off the window.

Today I was driving to teach English as one of the high schools in Ljubljana, shivering the whole way with no heat. I was totally caught off guard when the temperature light in the car came on telling me that the car was over heating.

Always something exciting. I wonder what tomorrow will bring...

Christmas Party

2009-12-19T23:53:00.003+01:00

Last night the youth group was at our place for our Christmas party. We decorated the tree, had a competition to see which group could make the best nativity scene out of play-doh (my group did not win), heard the Christmas story, did a white elephant gift exchange, and then ate lots of great food. Here are a few pics-

One Of Those Realizations

2009-12-16T13:50:00.003+01:00

As much as I would like to deny it...I am becoming just like my dad. My dad is a great man, but its' just that growing up I was so determined to do certain things differently than he did. It wasn't big things, but just these little weird things that he would always do that bothered me. Usually about once or twice a year something will happen forcing me to stop and admit, "that is exactly what my dad would have said."

Yesterday was another one of those realizations. Katka was asking me what I wanted for Christmas and there was only thing that I could really think of....socks. Ugh. As soon as it came out of my mouth I realized what had just happened. Every year my dad would ask for new socks for Christmas since his were always filled with holes, and then he would get so excited Christmas morning when he would open up his new socks. So weird.

We will see what happens Christmas morning, but I am guessing I will open my new socks with tons of enthusiasm, and then be forced to stop and admit "that is exactly what my dad would have done.

Choir Concert

2009-12-12T13:35:00.004+01:00

Its that time of year again for Christmas concerts. Katka is directing the choir again, and this year they are doing a musical instead of just the normal singing concert. I have been hearing the songs for months in our house and have been at a few of the practices, and it is great to finally see how the show has come together. Thursday's concert was in Kočevje, last night was in Maribor, tonight will be in Koper, and Sunday will be at 2 different churches in Ljubljana. Here are a few pictures from the concert last night. After the concert we were treated to pizza at a local restaurant. The staff of the pizzeria heard us singing throughout the meal, and asked if we would sing one of the songs from the concert. I captured a little on our camera and wanted to share it with you all.

Import Day

2009-12-08T11:08:00.003+01:00

A few days ago I decided to spoil myself a little bit. I don't usually miss American goodies very much, but it was one of those rainy days and I decided to treat myself. I had Starbucks coffee in the morning, then for lunch I had Mac & Cheese and some Doritos chips, and then snacked on some beef jerky to finish it off. That combination didn't sit the best in my stomach, but my heart was sure happy.

I Love Backpacks

2009-12-05T16:38:00.004+01:00

This last week 11 of us from our youth group went and did something I have wanted to do for a long time. We went had prepared presents for families in Ljubljana who don't have money to pay for presents. We stuffed over 470 backpacks with different snacks and games. We had tons of fun being together, but more important, we got to help make Christmas a little more special for families in Ljubljana.

Thanksgiving Pictures

2009-12-01T19:59:00.003+01:00

So, we had an amazing Thanksgiving this year. Our team (I think there was around 30 of us including kids) met up near lake Bled for a food and fun filled holiday. Here are a few pictures of our time together.

The Turkey...
The table...
The dessert table...this is where I hung out most of the day
The evening game hosted by Johnny and Brooke. It was a game of different popular games for the teams to compete in. It was a blast for everyone there, and the games did a great job bringing out the different talents in the group. The kids also did a talent show and did amazing!
This was during the 'project runway' game when you had to model some of Johnny's clothes.
The next morning we took a boat out to the island (thanks Sreco). It was cold and foggy, so most of the wives stayed behind for coffee. Since we were the only ones on the whole island we played the tradition game of sardines.
Caleb smiling for a picture on the way to the island
I dared Johnny to do the rope swing over the water. He succeeded.

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-25T22:46:00.003+01:00

I don't know who this lady is, but I would love to be eating thanksgiving dinner at her house. We are planning on celebrating tomorrow with some great food, watching some football, and enjoying being with people we love. Happy Thanksgiving!

Miso's Married!

2009-11-24T17:13:00.003+01:00

I know many of you thought the idea of Miso ever getting married was impossible, but it turns out there actually was a girl that liked him enough to marry him. :)

This last weekend we had the privilege of attending Miso and Vesna's wedding. It was a beautiful and simple wedding and it was clear during the service just how much they both love each other. It was a little wild for me seeing Miso up there getting married and realizing just how much he has grown up since I first met him 5 years ago. Congratulations again Miso and Vesna!

Miso and Vesna after the wedding

The service
Tim King was visiting from Seattle and joined us at the wedding

Choir Retreat

2009-11-18T20:09:00.003+01:00

Normally the drive down to Crikvenica is 2 hours, and I was in the car for 7. It is a long story, but lets just say there was a problem with a passport, one closed freeway, one major miscommunication, 3 border crossings (normally only 1), a great conversation with a really drunk guy, a free dinner, one passed breathalyzer test with the Croatian police, and tons of great memories with Kaja and Sara.

It was pretty much non-stop from the moment we arrived to when we left. I sat in on a couple of the practices and was really impressed with the progress and quality of the program. I loved the last 2 hours of the retreat when they ran through the whole program, and it got me really excited about the 6 concerts that are coming up next month. Katka did an amazing job leading and I don't know how she didn't loose her voice after 3 full days of leading the choir. I got to lead a few devotionals for the group during the weekend. Since it is a complete mix of people, it was a great chance to talk about the real reason for Christmas and the point of the songs that we are singing.

It was fun to be at the coast, but it wasn't the Croatian coast like we get during the summer. It was windy and cold the whole weekend.

Off To Crikvenica

2009-11-13T11:53:00.002+01:00

This weekend we are heading down to croatia for a choir practice weekend. After having so much success with the outreach music camp this year, Katka decided to do a musical for the Christmas concert and combine the existing choir with the youth choir. This weekend is where the 2 worlds meet. The purpose is two fold, to have a intense weekend of learning the songs for the musical and for the two groups to to know each other.

Don't worry, I am not going to be singing. I am going to support my wife, build relationships with the high schoolers, leading some team building events, and leading the devotions each morning. I will post some pictures when we get back.

Busy, Busy, Busy

2009-11-07T18:54:00.004+01:00

It has been over 2 weeks since the last blog entry, and I wish that had a better excuse other than being busy. So, like I did a few weeks ago, I am just going to post a bunch of pictures from the last few weeks or so, since I am so far behind. Enjoy...

Youth group a few weeks ago was a blast. We had a harvest party and had a great time celebrating. We had some hilarious games, pumpkin carving, and some delicious snacks including orange cider. We had a discussion about the similarities between humans and pumpkins (messy on the inside and need someone to clean them out and put their light inside of them). This is some of the group playing mafia towards the end of the night.

I had the chance to speak at church last week and I spoke about inviting Jesus into our messing lives and not trying to hide the mess. We had talked about having everyone over to our place after church, and as it turned out, it was a very symbolic decision. I talked about inviting Jesus into our mess and then right after church we invited everyone to our mess. Our place was really dirty and filled with boxes, but you can't see the mess because of all the people.

Our piano has needed tuning for several years, and recently we heard there was a guy in town who could do it cheap. He was in town from Serbia and had some time to come by our place to tune the piano. We left him alone to do his tuning, but eventually started talking with him as he was heading for the door. Katka was talking with him about what she does with music, concerts we have, and the different things we do. Katka mentioned that she had recorded a CD in Serbia with a friend of hers from a long time ago. As they kept talking they discovered that he also knew the same lady, and that actually he had played piano on the same CD that Katka sang on. Since they had recorded their parts at different times they had never been in the same room. It's a small world!

First snow! Terry and I were driving up to Maribor last week for a meeting, and we were surprised as the surroundings started getting whiter and whiter the further we drove. The snow didn't last, but it was great to see the hills covered.

We have had people working on the outside of our house for the last few weeks. While we are thankful for the work they are doing, it is a little weird when they are working outside our windows. There have been numerous times where Katka and I are sitting on the couch, or eating lunch, and we look up and make eye contact with a guy outside. It has given us plenty of laughs, and so I thought it would be good to show a picture so you can enjoy the awkwardness with us.

A Few Pictures

2009-10-25T16:26:00.004+01:00

Last week when we were at Katka's parents house, we decided to try something fun. We ate like Americans. I can only compare what is normal for me and what is normal to Katka's family, so if this is different than you don't get upset. :)

We had cereal for breakfast (instead of the usual bread, meats and cheese), ate a smaller lunch at around 12:30 (instead of a big lunch at 2), and then Katka made us steaks, mashed potatoes, and a great salad for dinner (instead of a smaller snack for dinner). We had lots of laughs throughout the day, and when all was said and done, we agreed that the steak dinner made the day worth it.

Mateja had her birthday on Friday. We had a worship night at youth group, and then celebrated with a delicious cake from Tanja. I think we ended up singing happy birthday 3 different times throughout the night.

Yesterday was the 10 year anniversary of Katka's parents working with Child Evangelism Fellowship. They had a big celebration yesterday highlighting the things that God has done in the past and what they are dreaming about in the years ahead. It was really encouraging to hear all the stories of all the lives changed. Another great cake from Tanja.

Johnny and Sarah ran the Ljubljana half-marathon today. I got there just in time to see them finish and it was a blast to see them in action. They both had smiles on their faces at the end of the race which is always a good sign. I couldn't believe how many people were out cheering and running in the race. It got me excited about possibly running next year...

Today we had a great family lunch. We went out to eat which isn't normal for Sunday lunch, but as usual, it was a blast to be together. Patrik is still the center of attention, and he spent the first part of the meal crawling on the table and chewing on different menus.

The Joys of Used Cars

2009-10-21T10:21:00.003+01:00

This hasn't been the best week with our car. I guess it actually started this summer when we lost one set of car keys when we were on vacation. Last week our only remaining car key broke in half, making it almost impossible to unlock the car or to start it. I started carrying a pair of pliers around to help turn the key.

So we finally took it into the service shop to buy a replacement key. We ordered 2 keys (just the key, no fancy remotes or anything) and the bill came to 142 euros ($206). Ouch.

To make things worse the guy behind the counter asked us how many kilometers our car had. We answered around 145,000 km (90,000 miles). He said that was impossible. He said that according the serial number of the car, he had it at the service place 5 years earlier, and at that point it already had 206,000 km (128,000 miles) on it. Translation in case you aren't familiar with used cars in Europe: even though the odometer on our car says 145,000 km, we actually have around 300,000 km. Ouch again.

Missing Family

2009-10-16T22:30:00.006+01:00

We got this picture from my brother a few days ago and just had to post it. For those who don't know, this is my nephew Ryder and niece Payton. It is incredible how fast they grow and when you are away from them at big chunks of time like Katka and I are, we love getting lots of pictures. We know you won't love the picture as much we do, but we hope you enjoy it anyway.

Working On My English

2009-10-13T11:05:00.002+01:00

This last weekend had a mini English camp. A Catholic high school here in Ljubljana have asked us to lead 3 day English camps that are 'very religious' 2 times a year. Since we are good at English and love talking about Jesus, we thought it was a good fit.

There was around 35 of us total at the camp and we had a really great time. We had an all-star staff which made the weekend really fun and made my job a lot easier. Here are a few pictures:

Number 3

2009-10-08T10:49:00.006+01:00

Katka and I just celebrated our 3rd anniversary. I can't believe how fast things have gone. My parents treated us to a night away, a great dinner, and a much needed break. We used the time to reflect and talk about the last year, with all the goods and bads that came with it. It was a great connection time for us and it came at a perfect time.

Another part of our anniversary celebration was a private salsa lesson with my friend Jure. I knew going into the lesson that I was seriously lacking many of the necessary skills needed to dance. However, the other person in our marriage does not lack rhythm and coordination like I do and I knew she would love salsa dancing. It took about 2 minutes for my rhythm concerns to be validated, and it took the same amount of time for Katka to master the 5 basic salsa steps. If we measure the success of the night on my knowledge of the basic salsa steps, my hip movements and hand placement, then I think it was a failure. If it is measured on seeing my wife shine and enjoying doing something new and fun with me, then it was a complete success.

Church

2009-10-04T21:49:00.002+01:00

Today Katka and I had the chance to go and visit one of the church plants that we partner with here in Slovenia. The church is in Kočevje, and it was actually our first time visiting the church since it began several years ago. I got to give the sermon and Katka led worship. We came home, ate a great lunch, and then headed back to our church for the evening service. Here is the only picture I could take during the service, not the best, but it works.

A Few Pictures

2009-09-30T08:45:00.003+01:00

It has been a little while since we have updated the blog, mostly because we have been really busy around here with meetings and getting the year started. While most of the things in our week don't make for great blog updates, there were a few things over the last 10 days that were fun.
After church about 25 or 30 of us went back to the Jacksons to celebrate Brandon's birthday. Tanja, nice job on the cake!

Katka's parents invited Brandon over to eat lunch. I believe it was a 5 course meal...and it was really really good.

Landon Jenkins had his birthday party also. It was a blast to have the youngsters together to party.