Serbian Birthday Party

This week Kyleigh got invited to her first birthday party.  I got to take her and decided this might make a good blog.  I was reluctant to go - 2 hours of Serbian were not in my plans Saturday.  It turned out to be pretty interesting.  There are a lot of similarities to American birthday's but they are also very different.  People do not have parties in their homes - they go to party places.  Most of these are just little corner shops - maybe 600 square feet.  They are divided into two rooms, one for the kids, one for the parents.  While the kids party so do the parents.  The kids mostly play games - things we play in America - limbo etc.  The parents listen to music and drink, beer, wine schnapps, Luckily there was coffee and coke available.  Kids do not open their presents at the party.  Both K and Mac find this very strange.  They play games for 90 minutes then eat cake, then everyone goes home.  The cake is very different - its more like a tiaramusu - Miki does not like it but Kyleigh liked it - and of course I like all cake.  The crowning moment - the cake candles - they call them torches - see picture.  All in all it was fun.  Kyleigh had a great time and I did make some connections. On the way home Kyleigh asked if she could have torches on her cake - about 3 minutes later she asked if we had a fire extinguisher.

Wild Weekend

This weekend was CRAZY - the craziest since we got here.  Read the earlier post about the snow and Miki's birthday.  Other then her birthday there was plenty going on.  First on Friday we had guests coming.  Our friends the B's were coming to stay the night and for the B-day party, on Saturday they were leaving to be replaced by the Hepner Army who were going to stay Saturday night.  We were so excited about the B's coming in.  We had not seen them since FPO and wanted to fellowship and catchup.  These old folks stayed up until 2:00 AM on Friday - way to late for us!!! (but it was worth it).  The overnight foot+ of snow changed our plans.  The B's were snowed in with us but the ever daring Hepner Army put the snow chains on and traveled 5 hours to be with us.  It was awesome:).  In our little flat we had 10 kids and 6 adults.  Remember our crate has not arrived so as housing basics go we have very few things (4 towels, 6 bowls, 6 plates, 10 glasses, two twin beds, 1 futon, 1 queen bed, 1 10 gallon hot water heater).  Needless to say we were going to have some experiences.  The kids (all of them) had a blast.  They played and ran all over the flat.  Toys were everywhere!  I kept my OCD under control (most of my time was spent washing dishes so everyone had a clean plate).  Jen made Chili - a nice taste of home.  However crazy and chaotic it was it was great having people here and Fellowshipping.  The B's arrived the same time we did so it was great to compare experinces and talk about language.  The Hepners have been here over a year so they had great advice and wisdom to dispense.  We got the kids to bed earlier (our girls in one twin bed, B's kids in the other, Hepners in the floor of our closet) so we only stayed up till midnight visiting.  It was energizing to have our frinds here.  Sunday started with pasteries from the Pekara (thanks Josh and Kirk) followed by a time of worship and Bible reading.  Kirk brought a great word from Pslam 103.  It was such an encouragement for Jen and I.  After everyone left we got in some sledding (see videos in earlier post) and I had to get to the Grocery store (Monday was a holiday and we did not know what would be open) and Jen cleaned up.  Sunday night was a family Valentines dinner at Mcdonalds.  The walk home took longer then usual because the girls had to stop every five feet to make a snow ball to throw at Jen and I.  We were really glad the holiday was Monday and we all slept in.  After getting up we headed to the pet store and bought Gerbils (Sonja and Vonja).  Good times for those two are a coming!  The rest of Monday was spent resting and relaxing.  Back to the Grind Tuesday:(

Serbian Birthday Extravaganza

Miki's 4th birthday was this past week and on Saturday we hosted her party here at our house.  I have to be honest this had weighted heavily on my mind.  We have not been here long, I was not sure she had made many friends and then would they want to come to her party - she had only been in school 2 weeks.  But if you know Miki - she's great at making friends so we had a full house.  We woke to quite a surprise Saturday morning - over a foot of snow: That happened in about 6 hours.  Usually the snow does not slow people down here, but it was so much so fast we were very concerned no one would come to Miki's party.  We were wrong!  We had about 18 kids at the party - Thank God for Sasko and Ira - our believer friends for translating all the game instructions.  We played musical chairs (to Strawberry Shortcake of course).  Most of the kids liked it except one girl who was devestated she got knocked out.  After that we played squash the strawberry - we tied balloons to the kids ankles and the tried to stomp them - great fun for our neighbors downstairs!

The grand finale was the pinata  - handmade by Jen - big hit for the kids.  Quite a novelty in Serbia.  We finished with presents and Strawberry Cake (homemade by Jen of course).  It was a great day we met a lot of parents and look forward to growing those relationships. 

Getting Back In Touch

One of the big temptations here is to just live.  Life is fairly comfortable, it would be very easy to live a "Christian" life without ever witnessing, or being intentional about the Gospel.  On Thursday my quiet time was from Galatians 5 - what a chapter, what a lesson from Paul, in simplest terms LOVE.  First Paul tells us the Law is not going to justify, so quit trying to justify your self by the law.  This brought me to the Serbs - they are about the Law and tradition.  Then in verse 6 Paul brought it home - the Law has no value, only Faith expressing itself in Love has value.  Wow!! I knew that but it was a stark reminder.  That's why I'm here, to Love.  But not just to Love, live a lifestyle of Love, but show Christ's love and lead others to Faith through that Love.  This brought me to Friday - another day of frustrating language but today I had Paul's reminder, it is much easier to do the hard thing when you do it out of Love.  I also was really focused on verse 13 - serve one another in Love.  Jen and I want to be servents to the Serbian people - right now learning to communicate with them is an act of service.
I got up with a much better attitude Friday.  I put great worship music on the Ipod and headed out to Prayer ride my city.  That hour was great - it recharged me.  Reminders of Why I am here, Who has called me here and What I am doing here.  Praise God for His Word and its action in our hearts every day.  Pray for us that we will not "just live" - be Christian in Europe - but we will live as Christ, sacrificing, serving and leading others to salvation.

Snow and Sledding Fun

On Friday we went to bed with a light snow falling.  We woke up Saturday to over a foot and by Saturday afternoon it was 13 or 14 inches.  The kids have been dying to sled - so today we did
hope you like it

Movies in Serbia

Tuesday for Mac's Birthday we decided to try a movie.  Last week I stopped in the theater and checked on ticket prices.  I was shocked that prices were so good.  about $3 for kids and $4 for adults.  So on Tuesday it was cheaper because it was a weekday - We saw a movie - all for of us for $11.  Pretty amazing.  Tack on the drinks and huge popcorn for less then $10 and our Serbian Movie experience was off to great start.  While buying the tickets the clerk asked me where i wanted to sit - they give you assigned seats here.  When you buy the tickets they show you a little schematic with all the available seats then your ticket is marked like you were at a concert or something.  I though that was pretty cool.  The theater was big and very modern - Just like an American theater.  One big difference was when the previews started they did not dim the lights they just turn them off - so for like 10 seconds its pitch black.  Since it was Mac's Birthday we saw the Princess and the Frog.  It was really good - We could have done without the voodoo and black magic stuff but the theme was great.  There was a lot of physical comedy and Mac loves that so she laughed pretty hard.  For those of you wondering the movie was in English with Cyrillic Serbian Subtitles (the kids here learn the Cyrillic first so kids movies have them and older movies have the Latin).  Over all it was a great experience.  Not overly expensive for our income so we will be able to enjoy a movie every now and then.  Here's Pic's of the theater and Mac's birthday desert.

Cultural Museum

Today Kyleigh had her first field trip with her school.  It was a little different from a field trip in an American School.  The trip was on a Sunday morning, and there were no buses.  We met at the school and parents drove the kid.  We don't have a car so we split up.  Kyleigh and I rode with her friend Nada and her dad.  Jen and Miki rode with Jelena and Petar.  We all made it to the museum, which is in the old part of Belgrade near the fortress.  Kyleigh's class was the only one there and had a personal tour guide.  Of course she only spoke Serbian but Kyleigh's teacher's daughter, Nina, stayed with Kyleigh and translated.  Jen, Miki, and I did our own thing (all the signs were in Serbian and English thank goodness).
We started on the third floor which showed how serbs lived in the 18th, 19th, and turn of the century.  They had miniatures of villages and then different rooms that were set up in the style of the time.  they also had farming, fishing, and other things used in daily life.  The rest of the Museum was dedicated to national costumes.  These were really interesting.  Depending on where in Serbia the clothing was very different.  Closer to Western Europe was more European and closer to the East was more Turkish/Oriental.  The girls liked the clothes (of course) and all the different wedding outfits. 
It was a ton of fun and we were glad to go.  Jen and I got to visit with some of the parents and one of the ladies invited Jen for Coffee - she did find it wierd that all we drink is coffee or water - No beer or wine?

Serbian Famiy (plus miki and k)

This is a picture of our Landlord's the Labalo's.  They were the First Serb family we met and they were truly a gift from God.  We prayed for person's of peace (and continue to do so) and they fit the bill.  They helped us get seteled, showed us where to shop, registered us with the police, helped get our girls in school, and have become friends.  The second day we were here they invited us tho their home for a big party.  It was an honor to be in someones home so quick and we had a great time.  Milan, the father, is an Electrical Engineer and works for the Gvt.  Gorica is a mechanical engineer and works for Cummings diesel here in Belgrade.  They are very educated and run in high circles.  Their son, Luka, is 8 and their daughter Sara is 10.  Sara has been very sweet to Kyliegh, even inviting her to play.  When they came to our flat, Sara was very interested in all things American and Kyleigh's, previous life.  Please continue to lift them to the Father and that we can be a bold witness.

A day at Stevenski Grad

Now that we have been here and sort of have a routine - I thought I would try to capture a typical day for you in our lives.  Now remember every week K's school schedule changes and we have to grocery shop about every other day, but hopefully this will give you a glance.
6:00 - Jen get's up to shower - I follow shortly there after
           for those of you that feel sorry for her getting up first she is guaranteed hot water :)
6:30 - Kids get up and dressed - most morning's are cereal but sometimes Jen cooks eggs and toast.
7:30 - out the door and walk K and Miki to School.  Its about a 1/4 mile to each school
           If K is on afternoon shift she comes to Language School with us and hangs out in the "Klub"
           at the school.  It's not tough they have T.V and she does a little homework.
8:00 - Catch Bus - this is tricky.  The buses are packed sometimes we walk another 1/4 mile where we
           more choices.  Once on the bus we cross the river and Walk down 91 steps.
8:30 - Hopefully we have caught the Tram now and did not wait to long in the cold
8:45 - Arrive at Language school after another 1/4 mile plus walk up a huge hill
9:00 - Language class - three days a week Professor Ranko speaks no English and two days a week
           Professor Tonja speaks a little
10:30 - Down the hill catch the tram, ride, walk up the 91 steps, catch the bus cross the River
11:30 - Back at stop close to home - If K's in morning shift we go pick her up and come home
12:00 - Lunch, usually leftovers or Toasters - a speacilty here that we love (its ham and cheese)
1:00 - We are either, practicing language, having quiet time, or Grocery Shopping
2:00 - Pick up Miki and Drop off K if she is in afternoon shift, continue above activities
3:00 - Go out of we are all here, play, quiet time - the best part of our day
6:00 - Dinner - witch Jen usually starts working on around 4:30 because it's all from scratch
           after dinner is beds and Bath for the girls.  We pray for our M friends and have Family worship.            The kids love this- I read a bible story then they reenact it. 
8:00 Bed for the kids and Jen and I become Vegetables, thinking about the next day
As you can tell its fairly busy around here - the part that makes it busy is all the walking/waiting/riding.  I do prefer the public transport though because it's hard to get lost on a bus.  If you do just catch the next one and go back the way you came.  This is just typical it varies quite a bit and we have ton's of adventures.  I love the Urban living but can't wait for the cold to go away.