Dobrý deň! Greetings from Vranov nad Topľou, Slovakia! We are excited to share the team arrived safely to our lodgings Friday afternoon. We thank God for protecting us all as we made our journeys from throughout North America to Europe. This year, our team comes from California, Colorado, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, West Virginia, Ukraine, and Alberta, Canada!

We rallied in the Kosice airport and travelled by bus to our lodgings (and camp site) for the week. We are staying in a cheery boarding school just a few steps away from the Lutheran church. After unpacking, we enjoyed a hearty meal and fellowship with fellow team members. After months of preparation over Zoom, it was nice to be able to finally chat face-to-face.

After supper, we heard a powerful testimony from Lydia, our translator for the week. She graciously shared her story of becoming an active Christian after growing up during communism, as well as her current work with the Slovak Evangelistic Center (EVS.) For nearly 20 years, EVS has partnered with Spiritual Orphans Network to make these English Bible Camps possible. Additionally, EVS strives to share the Gospel in Slovakia through conferences, blogs, church partnerships, Christian book translation, prison ministry, and more.

In an effort to readjust to local time, the team took a short walk down to our favorite ice cream shop. Enjoying new flavors, practicing our first Slovak “thank-you” (ďakujem!), and learning more about our fellow teammates was a perfect way to begin the process of acclimating to this beautiful country.

We are all so excited to meet the children who will attend the camp in a few days. We ask you to join us in praying for God’s perfect peace as we prepare to share the Gospel, health and rejuvenation as we recover from any jet-lag, and for open hearts to eagerly receive the love of Jesus.