Just Another Week in Serbia

Well friends, I've been sitting here for almost half an hour trying to think up something wonderful and interesting to post for the world to see.
I've come up with a list of ideas for the future:
In two weeks you'll be able to read about Connor's birthday, in 6 weeks it'll be about Thanksgiving...etc.etc.

But today...Today as our friend Graham Hagood would say, "I've got a big bag of nothin'"
Last week was a really good week for us, but there was nothing really exciting.  Just life; our life.

So, I decided to just let you all know what a regular week looks like here in our new home:


Monday
    All the kids leave for school about 7:35.  Trey and I have some time in the word and look at the week.  We get out the schedule and the to do list and map it all out.  We studied Serbian in a quiet house for two hours and then headed out to walk B and K home from school.  We grabbed some quick lunch and left the kids at home as we headed to class for a couple of hours.   Then it was soccer practice for the boys, homework for the kids, dinner, and we watched the lastest episode of the Amazing Race before bedtime.

This is Brooke in her classroom as everyone is getting ready to start the day.

Tuesday
     Merkator Day...We drove the kids to school today on our way to do some weekly grocery shopping.  I can get 10% off my groceries on Tuesdays.  We were there when they opened at 8, got everything on the list, brought it home, put it away, and still had time to study for two hours before we had to pick everyone up.  Kyle was done at 11:40 and Brooke was done at 12:30.  Trey got the kids while I made cookies and then we packed up a picnic for some family time at the park.  We try to do something special together on the Wednesdays when the kids have morning school, but the weather looked bad for Wednesday, so we decided to head to the park across the river today instead.   When Connor got home a little before two we loaded up and headed out.  We hiked around, ate, played football, volleyball, and soccer, ate some more, and lost Kyle's jacket.  We then headed to Kirk and Amy's to share some cookies and kiss on their new baby.  After that we went to see our landlords, talk some (a little English, a little Serbian), drink some coffee, eat some cookies, and drop off their mail.  She really liked the Snickerdoodles and asked for the recipe.  She said she wanted me to type it up for her...in Serbian.  She said that way if they didn't turn out well she could blame it on my Serbian and not her cooking.  Then Trey took B to volleyball practice...which doesn't even start until 8 pm!

This is us sharing a  giant Snickerdoodle cookie at the picnic on Tuesday afternoon.

I love baby feet!

Wednesday

     This was basically a replay of Monday.   Except that Trey was able to enjoy some coach talk as he shared coffee with the boys soccer coach.

Homework Time

Thursday
     Kids had school as usual and we had morning class.  After lunch we headed to the pijaca for produce for the week.  Trey ran a bunch of errands (paying bills, etc.) while I cleaned the house.  Then he and Brooke whipped up some homemade salsa and I made a chocolate cake in preparation for our dinner guest.  One of the single young men from church came over for dinner.  We introduced him to enchiladas, and really enjoyed talking and praying together.  I took B to volleyball and got to see her practicing and meet her new friend from the team.


Friday
     Brooke got out of school early today and so I picked her up at 10:40, Trey got K at 11:40.  We ate some lunch and Trey took the car in to get snow tires put on it.   Kyle's new friend Boris came over and if you follow me on fb you got to hear a little about our conversations.  Boris is a very funny kid.  His mom came over and we visited for quite a while.  It was really great.  She speaks great English, but was also great at having Serbian conversations with me.   Trey and Brooke headed out to vb practice and the boys and I headed for bed.


Saturday
     A wonderfully lazy day!  The boys had early soccer and then we just laid around all morning.  Brooke made chocolate muffins.  Completely independently and from scratch.  They were yummy.  We then straightened up and had my Seriban angel, Lidija, over for coffee.  Dinner was yummy chicken and rice soup...great dinner on a cold and rainy lazy Saturday.

Kyle at practice.

Sunday
     Church.  I was so excited that I felt like I really worshipped in Serbian for the first time.  There was a song that I completely understood the words to and was able to sing with my heart and my mind...not just my mouth like I too often do.  On the way home I was telling the fam how excited I was about that and Connor (who I might add will be 13 very soon...as you will be able to tell by the next comment), asked me, "Was it the hallelujah song?"...He's such a little toot, and was too far away for me to smack him. ; )
We shared lunch with good friends and wrapped up the day with family worship and prayer time and some skype calls.

Well, there it is...our week in review.

Nothing too exciting, but that is life...usually just the same old same old thing.

We're learning to abide in the regular weeks.

The pastor in church on Sunday talked about how sometimes it's easier to die for Christ than it is to live for Him.  It's in the living that we learn to die to self.  We want to hear that still small voice.  We hope you've heard His voice.  Listen, He knows you and He loves you and He wants you to know Him too.

Solo Trip to Belgrade

Okay, this picture really has nothing to do with the post.  I just love it.  I guess if I think about it this sweet little one is like the sister Brooke never got and this post is about sisterhood...so...there ya go.
I took a couple of pictures on my phone, but after some terribly unfortunate happenings we are unable to upload them to the computer.



Well, I am proud to report that I've returned from my first successful solo out of town trip.  I went to Belgrade to enjoy a meeting of Sisters from around the country.  We had almost 400 ladies from over forty different cities gathered together.  It was a joy to  share in worship, teaching and fellowship.  

I left here with directions to my friend's flat, correct change for the toll booth and fog...lots of fog.
I'll be honest...I prayed a lot on the way...between the stress of driving with SERIOUS fog...like I've never driven through before, and the fear that one of the bridges might be closed rendering my meticulous directions useless I was doing some praying.  Thankfully, I got behind an 18-wheeler going a good speed and just stayed right there behind him until the fog began to lift.  The bridge was open and I made it to my friend's place without any problems.  God is good.  

The conference was a blessing.  One of the speakers was talking about ways that women can show love to each other...some of them are universal and some are not.  She suggested things like:
    *ironing a friend's laundry for her
    *sending a note of encouragement
    *giving a hug
    *spend a whole day in prayer for her
    *giving her some chocolate...a personal favorite
    *helping her with her pickling
These are just a few of the things she talked about.  I love the last one...it gave me that "Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore" kind of feel.  It also reminded me of my friend Kristin, who when she found out we were moving here, offered to help me learn how to can.  Kristin is just one of those "let me help you do your pickling" kind of friends.

As I drove back I was praying for a friend who has some medical concerns and was thinking how great it is to have sisters.  Sisters all over the world.  What a blessing it is to get a great word of encouragement, or to know someone has been praying for you that day, to get  a note in the mail, or care package with real salsa in it...sometimes it is a hug, or other times a really great laugh...sometimes it is a friend who will parallel park your car for you in downtown Belgrade.  I love the way that we can show love to each other and am grateful to my Father for blessing me with so many who love me.  With all of my issues and condissues...I have sister/friends who still love on me.  I was humbled and thankful.  I am richly blessed and am asking the Lord to help me bless others abundantly.

Okay, I can't close this post without including a funny little side story...I have two American friends who where there today, both of whom speak much better Serbian than I do, neither of whom seemed to be in sight when I was drowning in language.
Well, we got to stand up to let everyone know what city we were from as they announced the places from all over Serbia that were represented.  A sweet lady behind me was thrilled to see I was from Novi Sad.  She began to talk to me right as both of my friends left...we were leaving to move the cars because we'd used up our 180 minutes of parking...I was trying to leave too and was trying my best to say this to the nice lady.  I was trying to tell her I had to move my car and that I would love to talk to her as soon as I got back, but I couldn't think of the word for "to move".  I asked her if she understood and she said, "Yes, you live in Novi Sad and you have a car."...Well, not exactly...I'm now starting to worry that they might send "the spider" (they don't mess around with wimpy things like tow trucks in these parts...no, they use these crane like things that are called spiders to pick your car up) to take my car away.  Worrying about one thing while trying to speak in my new language about another thing doesn't work...
So, I finally just walked away, hoping she didn't think I was the rudest kind of friend who wouldn't help you pickle your fall harvest.   As soon as we returned she found me again...thankfully, she was not deterred by my earlier mid-conversation departure.  She continued to tell me that her son lived in Novi Sad and something about a church near one of the pijacas (a farmer's market type place), and needing an address, and could I help her and a phone number and a text message...it was all quite confusing...again...a sea of women and none of my English/Serbian speaking friends are in sight.
Finally, we had to skip out a little early and she stopped me on the way out to write down her phone number (or maybe it is her son's phone number...I really don't know) and she wrote down something about texting her.  I smiled and told her I would be happy to...(happy to what I really don't know...there's no telling what I've gotten myself into).  So, now my mission is to find a way to show this lady some sisterly love.  I wish she's just asked me to help her can some beets or something easy like that.

Fun with Family

We had the joy of having KK and Pop Pop here with us for the last two weeks.  Here are a few of the highlights of our time together.

Here the kids are with KK and Pop Pop outside a great Hungarian restaurant that they treated us
to while we were in Budapest.  The food was amazing!

Connor got to meet them in Rome for a couple of days to explore before they all came back here on the 19th.

Connor at the Trevi Fountain in Rome

Unfortunately, life must go on and so we had to work around the CRAZY class schedules that the five of us have, but we were able to:

Play ball at the park,

Enjoy ice cream in the town center,

Explore a beautiful historic small town near Novi Sad,

We saw this little lady driving her "cart" down the road in Šremski Karlovci the day we were there visiting.  I really didn't even notice her...I've kind of gotten used to this sort of sight; luckily KK got a photo for the rest of you to see.

Play lots of games...Kyle tends to win most of them,

Visit the bread festival here in Novi Sad,

Eat lots of good food,

Escape for a weekend in Budapest,
An AMAZING city...I'll devote a whole blog to our trip there next.

Have dinner at the Fortress here in Novi Sad watching the sunset over the Danube,

Play more games,

Read some great books together,


Eat some more,

and make a super quick trip to the fortress in Belgrade.

We loved having them here to share our lives, to see where we eat and shop and sleep and learn and play.  We can't wait to share our city and our new friends with the rest of you, so give us a call and book a flight and come on over.

254 days in a shoe

254 days in a shoe, in a shoe, in a plastic bin, in a box, in a crate, on a boat, in the middle of the sea...The story of one sock's journey to serbia

This is my story. I am a sock...one of the roughly 542 socks purchased by the Israel family to prepare for their journey to their new home.
I was packed on New Year's Eve, 2009. I was put in a shoe that was (quite ingeniously) placed inside another shoe and packed tightly into a plastic storage box that was put into a cardboard box along with some of the following things...700 packets of taco seasoning mix, 2000 zip-lock bags, a crock pot, an electric keyboard, some light sabers, some photographs, a few holiday decorations, some knives, some games, some books and too many clothes. (plus some)

Trey and Randi packed me away on December 31, 2009.

I was picked up by a storage company in Carrollton on January 20th.

Trey, Randi, and a very nice man from Equatorial Guinea packed me along with all these other things into a 5'x 5'x 4' crate in Irving, Texas, where I waited for a very, very, very long time.

Finally, on June 1st I was released for shipment across the Atlantic.

I spent a little time in Houston and then boarded a boat bound for the Balkans.

Sometime in late July I ended up on dry land again in Slovenia. This is an interesting fact because...Slovenia only has 25 total miles of coastline; so who would have thought that would be my point of entry?

My owners were contacted and asked to pay for my continued transport. Trey went to four banks and the post office. He finally got some help from some wonderful people in London who helped get it all paid for.

I then very slowly traveled from the port city of Koper to Belgrade, Serbia, where I arrived some time in the middle of August.

The Israels had their hopes up...thinking that they would see me very soon now that we were finally in the same country.

But alas, it took another three and a half weeks, 242 phone calls (most of these phone calls were in broken half Serbian and half English), and more money than Randi cares to talk about before...

Trey and his friend packed me and all the other junk into the van and brought us home on September 11th.

I am now happily here on Randi's foot, enjoying my new life.

I hope you enjoy the video.

Why...

This morning that is the question on my mind.  
Why?  
Why do I fail at so many things?


I'm drawn to Paul's letter to the church in Rome.  In chapter 7 he says, 
"¹⁵I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. ¹⁶And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. ¹⁷As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. ¹⁸I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.^[c] For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. ¹⁹For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. ²⁰Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
 ²¹So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. ²²For in my inner being I delight in God's law; ²³but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. ²⁴What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? ²⁵Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! "


I was writing in my journal this morning about all the things that I wish I was doing a better job at...treasuring my husband and kids, learning a new language, managing the things of our household, passionately loving my Lord, memorizing scripture, sharing with those around me, touching lives, hearing His voice and obeying.  


I then read Galatians 3 and was convicted by verse 3:  "Are you so foolish?  After beginning with the spirit are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?"


Ummm....yes, I think we've found the problem friends.  I am so foolish.  I am trying to attain my goal by human effort.  No wonder I'm not measuring up to what I want to be...I'm trying to do it in Randi's strength and Randi's wisdom...neither of which are as great as I often allow myself to believe they are.  


There is encouragement though...I didn't stop reading at the end of chapter 7 of Romans...I kept on reading into chapter 8.


If you too struggle with what I'm describing here you should take the time to read all of Romans 8.  It is so rich:  "there is therefore no condemnation", "the spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you", "we share in his sufferings in order to also share in his glory", "the spirit helps us in our weakness"...


Paul concludes the passage with these words, "in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,^[m]neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."


Did you hear that...NOTHING can separate us from the love of God!  Not our own failures, not actions of those around us...NOTHING!


I wish I had the secret to always walking in the spirit...to everyday allowing Him to do the work as I simply believe like Abraham did...to feeling the love that He has promised we will never be separated from, but I do not...there is no secret formula...that is the struggle.


Pray for me as I learn to walk in the spirit and allow me to pray for you too as you learn to walk "as more than a conqueror".  Do you struggle with this too?  How are you learning to remain in the spirit?

Први дан школе...First Day of School

September 1, 2010


Not only is it my dad's birthday...it is also the first day of school in Serbia.
Here are a few photos and some quick reactions to the day...

We are ready to head out the door.  Kyle is thrilled to pose (as always).
Connor 7th grade, Brooke 3rd grade and Kyle 1st grade

Here are Trey, Kyle and Brooke posing outside the front door to the school.  Connor will pose inside our home, but is clearly too cool to take the photo-op in front of all his friends.  By the way, the cool must be working for him.  He was elected class president today.  We were wondering if this is a good thing, or some cruel joke.  As we were discussing what it could mean Trey shared his fear that the class president's parents might be financially responsible for all class parties.  We'll see.  He said a very smart and responsible girl was elected vice president.  She speaks great English and will let him know all he needs to do to fulfill his duties as president.  

Here is Kyle with his new teacher.  She seems very nice.  She speaks English and is clearly a great artist.  (Notice the chalkboard drawing in the background.)  Kyle said he sits by a boy names Boris who also speaks some English.  When I told him about some the messages I'd received about people praying for him on his first day he said, "Well, you should tell them is sort of worked.  It wasn't too bad."  Which, if you know my son very well, is a glowing report. 

Brooke and her teacher are posing outside her classroom.  Her teacher is wonderful.  She is so kind and a good educator.  She does not speak much English, which is really a blessing.  Brooke will be forced to communicate in her new language more and more.  Brooke said it was a good day.  She got to sit by a nice quiet friend, and already has a play date planned for tomorrow after school.  

A new friend from the school helped me fill out the papers for Kyle to be registered and then Trey and I headed off to our own school.  It may not be the first day, but we felt compelled to post some pictures with our teacher.  Trey is clearly the star student, standing there proudly, like a super-hero; while I am the trouble maker.  This is what happens when I use the wrong case.  Keep Praying!!!

Meet the Teacher...Serbian Style

August 31st, 2010

First Grade Meet the Teacher...

Sadly, I do not have photos from this overwhelming event.  Someday I will learn to always have the camera with me.  

I thought Kyle and I would run to the school, we'd see his name on a list, run by his classroom and say hello and that would be that...oh, how I was wrong.  Thinking I knew what to expect...clearly, my first mistake...I should know better by now.

Kyle and I ran in the door right at 10:00...the time I'd been told the event was starting.  

Let me just say I'm pretty sure that everyone in Novi Sad minus Trey, Brooke, Connor, a couple of bus drivers and an e.r. doctor were all there.  

It was 60 degrees outside and 125 degrees inside!  

Kyle's teacher from last year saw us and took him to sit with his class.  

I was then told, "Сви родитељи морају да иду негде другде. Не можете да стојим."

If you're thinking, "Huh, what is she saying?" Then you know just how I felt right then.  I politely told these smiling yet very firm people that I was learning Serbian and had no idea what they were saying to me.  They then nicely told me to go somplace else...parent's can't stand here.  

So, I obediently moved on...where I was going I had no idea.

I found a small spot by the railing and watched as the program began.

Here is a brief synopsis...

Two kids about Connor's age, both on roller blades, skated onto the stage.  I'm pretty sure they were the DJ's for the event.  They skated on and off the stage making comments between each "act".

Act I...little girls with pink suits and green shirts lip-syncing some song I did not understand.

Act II...four big kids doing some sort of workout...no music, no explanation...just silently doing calisthenics

Act III...20 or so little girls singing a song that had been choreographed with umbrellas...This had kind of a half-time drill team routine feel to it.

Act IV...10-12 little boys dressed as pirates passing the microphone down the row and each saying something that was very muffled.  I don't think even their parents knew what they were saying.

Act V...All the entering second graders sang the Serbian version of "If You're Happy and You Know It."  This is the only part that Kyle and I both completely followed.  It was like a breath of fresh air.

Act VI...One more song...honestly, I can't even remember anything about it...I still hadn't seen Kyle since his teacher swept him up as we walked in the door and was a little concerned about the fact that eventually this thing would end and I would have to find him again.

Now, the school director speaks for a few minutes.  I said politely in Serbian to the people next to me, "I'm sorry, I'm learning Serbian and I didn't understand all of what he just said.  Do you speak English?"  To which they replied "Yes, of course we speak a little English." and then proceded to explain everything to me in Serbian.  Very helpful, thank you.

At this point I decide to try and place myself in closer proximity to where I think Kyle may be.  As I'm trying to navigate through the throngs of people...many generations have come to witness the proceedings...there is a woman on the stage reading lists of names and the kids are going up on the stage for a class photo.  

I get to the kids about the time Kyle's class is called and we make eye contact for just a second...It was comforting to both of us.  

After all five classes have been called, they crowd them all (I'm not exaggerating when I say it was at least 125 kids) onto the stage and then someone says something else to the parents and the kids are paraded away.  No adults move.  Everyone just stands there as they take our children away .  

I almost forgot...about this time is when we hear the gunshots!!!  Okay, there weren't really gunshots, but I wasn't sure for a couple of seconds...then I saw the confetti flying everywhere and knew...no school celebration would be complete without either smoke bombs or confetti.  

At this point I ask another woman to please explain to me where my child has gone and how I can reclaim him.  She was very kind, found her husband and together, half in English and half in Serbian they explained to me that the children would be in their classrooms with their teachers for a while and we were to wait outside in the school yard.  

They did not, however,  know where that was.  I was thrilled to be able to show them the way...it was the first time in over an hour that I had a clue about anything.

A few minutes later Trey arrives from language school and we wait for the children to re-appear.  They eventually do.  Each one is carrying a bag of supplies, an apple, a hat and a balloon.  

Kyle seems happy and we all head home...just a day in the life.