A Day at the Beach

    This is one of our favorite summer outings here in our new home.  On the banks of the Danube River is a small stretch of beach that we refer to, here in Novi Sad, as the Штранд (Shtrand).  For only 50 dinar (currently $0.58) we have access to the beach and all it has to offer.  There are several places to eat...both sit down and to-go type places, several playgrounds, lots of nice grass with benches and tables, showers, pretty decent public restrooms, lots of old men in speedos...I'll stop there.
     We live in the center of Нови Сад (Novi Sad) on this side of the river.  You can see one of our bridges in the background that leads to Фрушка Гора (Frushka Gora) the small range of mountains on the other side of the river.  (A storm was brewing, blocking the view of the mountains.)  
     This is the bridge we crossed on March 26th...three months ago as we entered our new home for the first time.  God is teaching us so much.  Probably the biggest thing we've learned is how little we know.  I was reading in I Corinthians one morning when we first arrived and ran across this verse, "We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up."   I began laughing to myself as I realized this must be my great "deflating".  
     As time has passed we've come a long way in knowledge of our new land, but we have sooooooo much more to learn.  Our prayer is that we will not be puffed up with our own knowledge, but that we will allow Him to build us up with His love.
    Here is some of the knowledge we've gained during our time at the beach...
*bathing suits are optional until about the age of 6 or 7
*bathing suits are small and tight until about the age of 106 or 107
*you can choose your topping on the pastry they sell at one of the stands...pizza ketchup or chocolate sauce.
*sometimes old men sprint down the beach (as a form of exercise as best as we could tell) in their speedos...not pretty
*big screen tv's come out of nowhere when the world cup is on
*families rent little garage type storage places to keep all their things in so they can just enjoy hanging out on the river with their peeps...Serbs have huge love for community
*we live in a beautiful city where we still have much to learn