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Showing posts from November, 2013

Croatia Fall Trip - Final Day

Wow what a whirlwind of a trip. It is hard to believe the trip has come and gone. Arrived on time last night at around 8 after a stop in Amsterdam and Detroit. I want to tell you all about our last full day in Croatia, but first I have to say that Ezekiel, Zack and Julia’s 2 and half year old, was a real trooper. Going on about 4 hours sleep over a 23 hour span, after being in a different time zone, he was amazing! He never once cried his eyes out or fussed to the point of interrupting anyone, both at the Janko’s or on any of the plane rides. We have all had those not so pleasant experiences when we are sitting near a crying baby or toddler and they never seem to stop and even seem to get louder when the parents attempt to quiet them. Not our little EZ! He was incredible and his wonderful personality touched many a heart there in Croatia. After dinner with Debbie last night I turned in around 10:30 and was wide awake at 4:30. Got up caught up on some emails, did some reading and then d

Fall Croatia Trip - November 6

I will apologize ahead of time; this is going to be a long one, but I pray you will have time to read it because of the many things that happened and the blessings God gave us through it all. Days tend to run into one another when you are on a mission trip and in a different time zone and not sure if your body should be in day or night. We have had a wonderful trip so far with some times to sit back and just spend with people and other times when it feels like we are going fast like the summer. The summer mission trips are so busy with different ministries and places to go share that you don’t have time to spend the one on one time relationship building and discipleship building like you have in the fall. Spending time to share with 1 or 3 people very seldom happens in the summer, which is why I like to have this time in the fall. With less programs and places to be, there is more time to spend with people and sharing your heart and love for Christ on a more intimate level. In the fut

Fall Croatia Trip - November 5

Hello Folks, Hope all is well with everyone back home in the USA. We are blessed to be here in Croatia to spread Christ’s love to those we have been in the presence of for the past four days. God’s plan is always better than ours and when we remain flexible to the changes He may create, we  are never disappointed in what happens. Well, those plans were altered again today. We had a rain that lasted the entire day and into the evening and the hockey camp had to be cancelled. Initially we were disappointed and felt at a loss, but then God created some other opportunities for us to spend with people we would have otherwise not have had the opportunity to do so. In the morning, Joe and I drove up to Zagreb to pick up Marino, a young man who I met two years ago at the football camp in Split. I had contacted him while I was back in Texas to see if he would be interested in coming to Sisak to spend some time with us. He took me up on my offer and took the 8 hour bus ride from Split to Za

Croatia Fall Trip - Monday November 4

Well the first real hiccup of the trip came today, but it really ended up being a blessing, as most hiccups are, as long as your perspective and how you look at it is not about self. We went to meet the hockey coach at his work in the morning, just so we could introduce ourselves before camp that night. To our surprise there was not going to be a camp that evening. They had to play a makeup game in Zagreb so they would be out of town so he asked if we could push the camp back a day. We assured him that it was no problem, even though we are disappointed. But actually after our initial disappointment, as we discussed on our car ride home we realized it was probably for the best. Moving the camp to Tuesday we would have more Storks to help with the camp and to interpret,  gave us a chance to check out the facility where we would have the camp, and gave Zack a better idea of the layout of the area so he could better plan the camp for the campers. We also found out that the coach would lik

Fall Croatia Trip - November 4

Short blog for this morning. I forgot to tell everyone what a wonderful wife I have and have been blessed with 23 years together in marriage yesterday, November 3!! Happy Anniversary to my beautiful wife. David

Fall Croatia Update - November 3

It was a  much better today after a great night sleep. I have to apologize to my wife who had to take my sloppy typing last night and make some sense out of it and change all the mis-spelled words from typing on a Croatian keyboard. I kept falling asleep while I was typing and finally had to quit before I typed something totally illegible. I must admit that doing a mission trip in the fall with very few people really is different. It makes you miss the activity in the house with a house full getting ready to eat, to get ready or to have devotions. I miss that noise and the voices coming from all corners of the house. Most of all I miss the camaraderie of a group of people gathered together with a common goal and dependence on one another to get it accomplished! Can’t wait for next summer and the hustle and bustle of the many moving parts we bring with us then, to go love people where they are and until they ask why! What a wonderful day we had today, Sunday, November 3, of worship

Fall Croatia Trip - November 2

Hello Everyone! Well, I got my computer all the way over here and it decided not to work or let me get on the internet. That means I am back using Janko's nice Croatian keyboard so I will send updates through my wife. Everyone made it safely to Croatia although it wasn't without its hassles and Joe Page did not get his luggage. We had a horrible time with Air France and flight over here had more turbulence than any other flight I have taken here for the past 8 and half years. We were picked up by several of the storks and they drove us to Jankos. I spent the afternoon going through our inventory in the garage. This evening the Storks came over and I ordered pizza and we had a great time. I am a walking zombie right now and can barely keep my eyes open. I am going to hit the hay and give you better details in the morning. Blessing and thanks so much for the prayers. Busy day tomorrow. David

Fall Croatia Trip - November 1

Well Folks, We are packed and ready to go to Croatia for our fall mission trip! We have football hip, knee, thigh and tail-bone pads stuffed in our luggage along with football shoes, baseball cleats and hockey skates! We will be in Sisak Croatia for a week do to several things and all for the glory of God! I am bringing a hockey player with me to conduct a 4 day hockey camp, which is a huge blessing from God to allow us to touch more hearts for Christ with a different set of young boys and families. It has been so exciting to see how God has continued to open doors of opportunities for us to share and go love people where they are and love them till they ask why! I will be busy meeting some city officials to arrange things for next years Texas Carnival in downtown Sisak in the Park along the River Kupa. We will also be doing some discipling sessions with some of the Storks as well as spending time sharing Jesus! I did find out that they have planned a chestnut roast on Sunda