The Mormance Mix

They copy everything!

2011-12-07T00:15:00.000+02:00

Earlier today . . .

Matt had just returned from language class.

Eliana was sitting at the table drinking milk. . .

. . . when all of a sudden she spat milk all across the table!

Matt: Eliana?! You just made a huge mess! Why did you do that??

Eliana: I throwed up. I wanted to be like Mama.

Sigh. Hmm. Yeah the morning sickness hasn't eased up a whole lot.

And I have a little girl who watches everything!

All Tied Up

2011-11-24T02:05:00.001+02:00

Last Sunday we told all the students that we would be doing something fun for college group - something they wouldn't want to miss. Hehe. (Gotta love hype!)

So once they were all seated for dinner (something we do together each week), we told them that this meal would be different - because they were going to have to eat their meal with their hands tied to the person sitting next to them!

Here is a glimpse of the group in action.

After dinner (and after they cleaned up the table while still having their hands tied), we all talked tother about what we had observed and learned - about each other and ourselves, and how this all relates to functioning together as the Body of Christ.

I think this might be one of my favorite meals with the college group!

Birthday girl

2011-11-24T02:04:00.001+02:00

Some pics from Maia's first birthday.

Eliana LOVED helping Maia open her presents.

We just had to keep reminding her that these things were for MAIA.

Maia was still not too sure about having so many people over.

And by this time it was near her bedtime.

But after she tried her cupcake she was quite content and happy!

Maia Joi

"A Delight to the Heart of God"

She brings us endless delight with every passing day.

We love you sweet girl!

A trip to the beach

2011-11-24T02:02:00.001+02:00

Ok. . . so in my last post I wrote about how I was sad to be leaving the "baby" stage with Maia. There are so many things that I LOVE about the baby stage. I did a good job at processing the "loss" and embracing the new stages awaiting. I was truly content and thankful for where things were at.

. . . and then . . .

I got sick . . . and it lasted a long time. And I was so very tired. And I thought we just needed to take a vacation so that I could get back to feeling like myself again. We were able to squeeze in a day at the water park with the girls - but I still felt so very tired.

Our friends the Jacksons graciously took our kids for a day so that Matt and I could take a day trip to the beach. It was a beautiful day! Matt had me pose for all kids of fun photos.

The promenade had all these little staircases that went straight down to the water.

Doesn't that water look glorious? Oh why didn't we bring our swimsuits???

We even looked into renting a scooter for an hour.

But they rent them by the day and that was way out of our price range.

Just wish Matt was in this photo with me.

As we were walking back to our car Matt spotted this restaurant sign.

He insisted that I pose by it "just in case" we were ever to get pregnant again.

I just wanted to get back to the car.

It was hot. My feet were tired from all our walking.

And we already had two miracle babies! There's no way we could have a third!!

Two weeks and three pregnancy tests later we learned why I'd been feeling so very tired for so long.

Baby #3 arrives at the end of next May.

A Post About "She's-Still-My-Baby" Maia

2011-09-13T00:03:00.002+03:00

Just looked back at a few our last posts . . . and saw all the photos of Eliana.

I'm thinking that Maia needs a "brag time" too. So, here are some of my recent favorite photos:

She is almost walking.

That sunk in earlier this week as I realized, my baby is almost a toddler!

But every time I start feeling sad about "losing" my baby,

I think about how her little personality unfolds with every passing week.

I fall a little more in love with this spunky (almost) toddler every. single. day.

Just look at that face.

Who could resist?!

That's My Girl - Part II

2011-09-12T23:36:00.000+03:00

(This one is for all my Aussie family.)

You remember this post? It's all about Maia's love for Vegemite.

This post is a continuation . . .

Oh yeah!

That's. My. Girl.

Parenting Books

2011-09-12T23:27:00.000+03:00

Wow! I got quite a few responses to our last update about teaching Eliana to pray for Matt. (I had asked for tips or suggestions that people have found to be helpful in teaching spiritual truths to their children.) Several readers recommended resources that they have found to be helpful in their parenting and I wanted to pass these recommendations on to you:

* Gospel-powered Parenting, by Bill Farley
* Don't Make Me Count to Three, by Ginger Plowman

Disclaimer: I haven't read either of these books yet, but I'm looking forward to checking them out.

The two books that I have read and would highly recommend are:

* Parenting With Love and Logic, by Cline & Fay
* Grace-based Parenting, by Tim Kimmel

longboard camp

2011-08-31T01:49:00.000+03:00

Camp was amazing! It was good to go and hangout with a bunch of great guys and girl (Nadija). Not only were the people cool but the track was gnarrrly. I had the opportunity to go 4 days ealry and help set up camp and the track and then stay for a day to clean up. I had a lot of opportunities to get to know some new people and to go deeper with the ones I already knew.

Here are some videos
We made the local news

and here is a video taken buy some slovene guys I rode with. I'm the guy in back. And remember this is the intermediate track (where I hung out) not the expert track. We got up to around 40 mph / 63 kph it was really fun.

more to come.

Teaching Kids to Pray

2011-08-18T23:52:00.002+03:00

I just wrote this for our latest email update

. . . and then realized that some of our blog readers might not get our monthly updates.

So, I'm reposting here.

One of the things on my list-of-things-to-do-while-Matt-is-gone-list is "Prayer project with Eliana." I wanted to invite her to pray with me for Matt during his longboard camp. But, I was struggling with how to invite this two year old to spontaneously pray for her dad while he is gone. I mean really - she is only two.

And then a thought struck me - she hears all the random noises that we adults usually tune out. (She is constantly asking me, "Mama, what was dat noises?") She hears every siren, dog barking, airplane, kid crying . . . everything!

So, a couple days ago I tried something new.

"Eliana, let's pray for Daddy and the longboarders every time we hear an airplane, ok?"

But then I worried that we might not hear many airplanes, so I changed it to hearing a dog barking. I did it with her a few times and then my adult ears went back to tuning out a lot of background noise.

Not long after that she came racing into the living room, barely making it around the corner, so intent was she on delivering her important message, "Mama! A dog barking! Pray for the longboarders!"

I love it! She is actually the one who is keeping ME on track with remembering to pray for Matt. . . whenever a dog barks OR an airplane flies overhead.

(PS I am always on the hunt for trying to find creative ways to teach spiritual truths to children. I struggle with feeling like I'm winging it and would LOVE to hear any ideas or suggestions you have heard about or tried.)

Cookin' with Mama

2011-08-18T23:33:00.000+03:00

Keeping Eliana busy in the kitchen while Matt is away.

A Trip to the ER

2011-08-18T23:30:00.000+03:00

Matt called a couple hours ago - from the Emergency Room in Ljubljana.

Yeah, I kinda froze when I heard him say that too.

But he is just helping by driving guys who get hurt in to the hospital (a two hour drive each way). Apparently the clinic near the village where the camp is being held can't do much - at all. And the ambulance crew who is on standby is only available for BIG emergencies . . . Hmmm. . .

Matt woke up this morning and was asking the Lord for more opportunities to help Mihael, the guy putting on the camp. An opportunity came up a few hours later - not quite what Matt had in mind, but it is a huge help to Mihael. A guy broke his arm and another broke some ribs. Mihael was going to make the drive to Ljubljana to take them to the hospital but Matt volunteered so that Mihael could stay at camp. (Mihael already made an ER run to Ljubljana a few days ago - he didn't get back to camp until 5am the next morning.)

So, right now Matt is hanging out with a dude from Germany, a 19 year-old guy from Slovakia (and his 17 year old girlfriend). They don't speak much English, but it sounds like Matt is keeping them entertained in the ER. (They have been there for HOURS already!)

9 years!!

2011-08-09T13:56:00.000+03:00

Today we celebrate 9 years of God working in and through our marriage. And I celebrate 9 years of being married to the best girl in the world!! I am a lucky man, husband, dad, and friend.

Overheard

2011-08-05T15:30:00.000+03:00

This morning at breakfast . . . (I was dressed for the day but hadn't done my hair or makeup.)

Eliana: You do your face Mama?

Me: What do you mean? Do I need to do my face?

Eliana: Yeah. . . you face crazy.

Me: What?! My face is crazy?

Eliana: Yeah. You hair crazy. You face crazy.

Me: Hmmm. . . (here's where I give the short talk about how make up is something I do just for fun but ladies don't have to wear make up if they don't want to, beauty comes from the inside . . . etc. etc. . . and how she can wear make up when she is a grown up if she wants to.)

Eliana: I wear make up when I grown up? I be married?

Me: Oh you want to be married?

Eliana: Yeah. I be married and look at the man.

Me: Um. . . what?

Eliana: I be married and I look at the daddy-man.

Me: Well, I hope you get married one day, but you have to look for a man as nice as Daddy, who loves Jesus more than anything, k?

Eliana: Ok mama.

That's my girl!

2011-07-31T23:22:00.002+03:00

Maia was done with her meal . . . but still seemed hungry.

So I gave her some of my toast.

Toast with Vegemite that is.

And. She. Loved. It!

She licked off every last bit of Vegemite before gumming the rest to a soggy mess.

Yeah . . . that's my girl!

Doll House

2011-07-16T13:10:00.001+03:00

Last week our neighbors got new doors and windows installed in their house.

This was the view from our girls' bedroom window.

It looks like one giant doll house!

Keeping the kids busy

2011-07-16T13:03:00.001+03:00

During summer team training I had some time when I needed to keep the kids busy.

(That's me with my back to the camera, right before the kids started getting restless.)

So, I took them to a back corner and had some fun with the camera.
Oh how I love these little faces!

Hehe

2011-07-16T12:21:00.001+03:00

I came out to the living room and found her "reading" this book.

Check out the title.

Happy Father's Day!

2011-06-19T17:10:00.001+03:00

He's always been an amazing guy.

hardworking . . . lighthearted . . . daring . . . thoughtful . . . insightful . . .deep

When these two bundles of joy came into our lives,

I saw Matt's qualities deepen, becoming even more rich and profound.

He He. . .the next two pictures still make me laugh.

Matt, you are a wonderful dad.

I love seeing the delight in your eyes when you play with the girls.

And I love watching them light up when they see you walk into a room.

Happy Father's Day from your three biggest fans!

Airports

2011-06-18T17:07:00.000+03:00

I have kind of a love/hate relationship with airports. For every "hello" there is a "goodbye."

The following is something our friend wrote when she was waiting with us in the airport before we went through security at PDX:

Some coming...
Some going...
All feeling...

TSA provides the pat downs
But cannot touch
That part of you...

That piece where you separate
The body, the actions
From the emotions

A life divided
Between what is ahead
And what you leave behind

How do you carry both?

This is the real baggage carried
In an airport terminal...

But it is forever worth the weight.

Pretty deep huh?
I love it!

Overheard

2011-06-12T09:41:00.001+03:00

This morning at breakfast . . .

Me: Wow - look at Maia. She is so close to learning how to crawl. She sure is getting bigger.

Eliana: She get-tin bigger!

Me: Yup

Eliana: Mama get-tin bigger

Me: (pause) Um . . . I hope not

Eliana: Daddy get-tin bigger

Matt (chuckling from the back rom): Yup

Providence?

2011-06-12T00:44:00.001+03:00

There are six interns joining the JV Slovenia team for the summer.

(This is more interns that usual.)

They spent last week in Czech training with all the other JV interns.

This week they begin working in villages all over Slovenia.

Tuesday they joined us for our monthly staff meeting.

Hmmm . . . how did we end up with so many interns?

Not sure.

But I do know that we have six interns . . .

and six babies on our team.

Hehe

New Tricks

2011-06-12T00:32:00.004+03:00

Last week Terry and I had the opportunity to go around our wonderful city and take some photos for a scavenger hunt(ish) game that will be used at an upcoming training time for the summer teams that come to help with camps. Before I met up with him at one of the squares I texted him and asked if he wanted me to bring an extra longboard. He said sure. I gotta give it to him - he did a great job learning to board as we rolled around the city - and some of that was on cobblestone!!

Terry, I am glad you ain't an old dog.

Date Night

2011-06-12T00:29:00.000+03:00

Aahh. . .
   . . . I remember the days . . .
   . . . the days when "date night" meant getting dressed up
   . . . and going out for dinner at a nice restaurant.

These days it usually means trying out a fun new recipe at home - like homemade pizza (my new fave).

But you know what?

The fact that these two smiling faces

are sitting at our dining room table

makes my heart feel very full and happy.

I know the day will come

when I will miss having a pink Bumbo and sippy cups at our table.

So for now, I treasure date nights like this.

Copy Cat

2011-06-12T00:09:00.000+03:00

I think these photos speak for themselves.

(And yes, that is the little pink potty in the background. I'm happy to report that potty training has been going very well.)

Practice Week 2

2011-06-01T13:00:00.000+03:00

I got to go to longboard practice last Wednesday. It was good, we worked on our slides for 4 hours and just hung out. BUT I crashed a lot and have been so sore this week. No pain, no... sorry my finger just cramped up. Anyway, it is a great group of people and they are super welcoming too.

I hope to go to their camping trip they have set up for August. Basically they close down a mountain road near the Croatian border and downhill for a week. Can't wait. Hopefully I'll still be alive in August.

Feeling Distracted

2011-05-20T14:16:00.001+03:00

I'm trying to get caught up on paperwork right now. (Sharon)

This is the view from my desk.

Can you see why I'm feeling a little distracted?

Čudovit

2011-05-19T12:59:00.001+03:00

Which means wonderful... and yesterday was just that.

It all started as I had run some errands and then was sitting in the city square praying for people who walked by, for the city, and studying the language.
Then some people in peculiar red shirts, that would drive a bull crazy, started trickling into the square. They set up camp and started singing and dancing!?! I could see there T-shirts said "God is love" in Slovene and English so I figured I should introduce myself and see what they are about.

Turns out they are part of an international group of Catholics who study theology in Rome and then go do evangelism projects around Europe. I told them who I am and what I am about and they asked me to join them. So I teamed up with Natalia from Columbia and we started talking to people in the square about God's love and the hope we have in Jesus. One would talk and ask questions and the other would pray. Though no one was really responsive and often humored us, it was good.

I left from there to meet some young guys I met longboarding a few days ago. They were meeting for "practice" and invited me to come. On my way, I was avoiding a bicyclist and got caught on a tiny 2" curb. I recovered and then tripped and laid it out into full superman on the pavement in the middle of the bustling city. I scraped myself up and sprung a few leaks (as grandpa used to say) on my hand and elbow. Pride had left the building at that point as I got up and dusted myself off. I laughed at myself, and bandaged my ego, and continued on.

We met at a bus stop where we met a few guys in their upper teens and low twenties and one ten (ish) year old girl showed up. We caught a bus and rode to the edge of the city where some other people were waiting. A group of us practiced our slides and turns. Mihajel was our teacher and according to those there, one of the best longboarders in the country! He was cool as he instructed this wide range of ages and abilities. Luckily I fashioned some homemade slide gloves the night before so I could learn how to toe and heel side slide yesterday. It was so much fun and cool to start some new relationships and be included into a subculture just by having a longboard. I think we are going to go ride today to.
Here are some guys practicing.

Yesterday was amazing! I went to bed tired and with a smile on my face thanking God.

Feeling settled

2011-05-18T22:11:00.000+03:00

This sweet girl has done soooo much traveling over the past four months! And I have to say that she has done really well - all things considered. This shot was taken Sunday during our eight hour drive back from our Spring Conference.

Yesterday (Monday) was the first time that I've felt settled in one place long enough to begin

. . . drum roll please . . .

potty training! Yesterday morning I took Eliana to the store to pick out some special snacks (salty snacks) and some fun juice. So much of yesterday and today she spent her time like this:

You can't see it but she is sitting on her little pink potty. Here's to hoping that this whole process goes quickly!

And finally, here is a photo of our little Maia Joi - such a ray of sunshine!!

Reunited and it feels so good

2011-04-28T22:18:00.000+03:00

I (matt) got my visa on Friday in Washington DC, then flew back to Portland on Friday night. We finished packing and left for Europe on Saturday then...

We arrived on Easter Sunday here in Slovenia!!!

We landed in Vienna, Austria and then made the 4 hour drive to Ljubljana. Terry Jackson was gracious enough to pick us up on such an important holiday. (thanks chief). We pulled in front of our apartment and waited for the students who were staying in our place while we were gone to bring our keys. Mateja and Naja came running the 3 blocks from church and we heard screaming as they rounded the corner to our street. Sharon and I were greeted with excitement and hugs. (thanks ladies, you made our day). We started hauling the luggage to the 3rd floor and when Eliana saw our apartment again, she mustered up any energy that was left in her after 20 hours of travel and ran around her home giggling and playing as she was reacquainted with old toys and familiar surroundings. Sharon and I walked around and found all the little notes and treats that students and our landlady had left for us.

One note in particular was hard to miss.

The Eagle has landed! I repeat the Eagle has landed!

2011-04-22T21:34:00.000+03:00

I got word yesterday that my visa had arrived in Washington DC. I got on the phone to a dear friend who had offered to use some air miles to get my tickets found a flight. It left in just over 2 hours though!! So I packed quickly and headed off. I arrived in DC just after midnight and got a little sleep before going to the Slovenian Embassy this morning.

My heart stopped as they kind woman who was helping me said, "You know you need two free pages in your passport, right?"

"Uh... nope, just thought I needed one."

But she made a call and they bent the rules and granted me a visa. Thank God, literally.

I fly back to Portland tonight and then we all fly to Europe tomorrow and arrive in Slovenia late on Sunday. A little Easter in the air. We'll praise the Father, through the Spirit, for Jesus' life and death on our behalf! And we'll be closer to heaven at 30,000 feet so He'll hear our prayers a little clearer. :)

The girls visas are still in process. So pray they'll come quicky and we can pick them up in Italy.

Bach-in it

2011-03-15T19:25:00.007+02:00

Sharon has been looking forward to the Josiah Venture women's retreat for many months and yesterday she finally left. Since we were not in Europe we didn't think she would have a chance to go. But a couple weeks ago we were praying about it again and about an hour later our supervisor called and told us to buy some tickets. Our friends and colleagues in Slovenia were putting some money together to help pay for the cost of getting my wife to the conference. What an astounding answer to prayer it was.

Then we had a wind storm on Sunday night and lost power from around 3pm until 7:20am. I was impressed as Sharon packed in the dark and didn't get a shower the day she would be traveling a long way. But Eliana and I dropped her and Maia off at the airport yesterday morning and off they went.

Eliana and I are having fun but she keeps reminding me that, "mommy will be back" in her emphatic 2 year old way (see below). We were out and about yesterday and I realized why Sharon always has a change of clothes for the wee ones (pun intended). Now Wikileaks has made a lot of news lately but this one was more of the Diaper kind than the infamous Wiki sort.

Today has been great as I have been able to multitask seamlessly both working on emails and playing Barbies at the same time. But I am guessing Eliana won't look near as put together and cute this week with dad dressing her. Her hygiene won't be at the same level she is used to and world just won't be as structured as other weeks.

Man I got a lot of respect for my wife and all you moms out there.

in process

2011-03-15T18:45:00.000+02:00

We found out that the Slovenian visa office would not accept Sharon, Eliana, and Maia's visa applications in Slovenia. Instead they wanted us to submit them through the Slovenian Embassy in Washington D.C. So Terry shipped the girls paperwork and important documents to me and I then after getting one more certified copy of our marriage license (they expire after 3 months in the eyes of the SLO govt.) I sent them off to the D.C. Embassy. They arrived yesterday and all of our visa applications are now IN PROCESS!!

Pray that the paperwork moves quickly and that we are granted temporary residence visa's soon. Though a bit of an emotional roller coaster at times, we are content with where we are at knowing that God is in charge. But we are still hoping to return to Slovenia soon. We are so excited to get back.

Here is a totally unrelated shot of Eliana and I catching snow flakes on our tongue from a couple weeks ago.

I didn't get the memo... again.

2011-02-28T20:36:00.000+02:00

I (Matt) saw this reader board the other day and thought to myself... I didn't even know Jesus was in town recently. My next thought was how come He didn't tell me, I would have loved to be there and worshiped Him with Him.

Later on in the day Sharon and I were going out for a date night and I told her about the reader board. We laughed and then I told her its probably a good thing a punk like me is not in charge of a reader board, to which she laughed and whole heartedly agreed.

change

2011-02-17T02:08:00.000+02:00

Some of you may know our visa was denied and so we are in the northwest right now visiting family and friends. We are reapplying for a visa and praying the process will go quickly so we can be back in Slovenia as soon as possible.

People want to know what happened and why we were denied. Well the short answer is... Timing.
Their are many official time sensitive documents that are needed and once they are all in and accepted then your application is processed and a decision is made by the Slovenian government. In our case we turned in everything that was needed over a year ago except for one piece of paper we needed from a church in Slovenia. As we were waiting for that last piece, our FBI criminal background check expired. So we applied for another one, but they take 3-4 months to get back. After 3 months I, Matt, received mine but they said Sharon's fingerprints were illegible. So we resubmitted hers which took another 3 months. Once we had everything we needed, the Slovene government wouldn't accept the documents. Shortly after that we got word that our case was being closed due to inactivity. UGH..
So we had to come back home to shut down our old case so that we can reapply.

Getting a temporary residency visa isn't the easiest process in the world and it seems that it has been extra difficult for us.
Though its great introducing Maia to family and friends, please pray that we can get back to Slovenia very soon.

My girls did great flying the 11+ hours.

A glimpse into our lives

2011-01-13T16:39:00.001+02:00

Our church here in Ljubljana is having a special focus on prayer this week. Tonight Matt is leading the prayer time and has been asked to teach on forgiveness - a very tough topic here in Slovenia.

Normally on days of key ministry opportunities life can often be . . . more difficult. After seeing this pattern over years of being in ministry we are no longer surprised by it and try to remember that the battle is not against flesh and blood.

So, with all that being said, here is a glimpse into our last hour.

Matt (coming out from the office where he had been studying): "Man, I'm surprised at how well today is going."

Sharon: "Yeah. Me too."

. . . 15 minutes later . . .

Um . . .yeah. Our kitchen sink broke . . .

Matt will be teaching at 6pm tonight which is 9am PST. So, whenever you go to your kitchen sink today would you send up a quick prayer asking that the Lord would really speak to the hearts of all coming to the prayer meeting tonight and that they would have ears to hear?

Thanks!

Pig Tails

2011-01-13T16:05:00.000+02:00

Gotta love 'em!

Visa, it's everywhere you want to be.

2011-01-10T17:32:00.000+02:00

I'll tell where I want it to be... in my pocket.

You have to understand that I am not talking about a credit card and that its been a really long process trying to obtain a temporary residence visa for Slovenia. We started the paperwork about a year and a half ago and are still trying to get all the documents we need. One of the biggest problems was that were told in February of 2010 that everything was good. But 2 weeks before we left to Slovenia in July we were informed that we needed to resubmit our FBI background checks since they had expired. No big deal we had already done it twice before, but it takes 3 months for the FBI to read prints and send the results back. But then Sharon's prints weren't readable the first time so it took another 3 months. Ugh.

Today was another step in the seemingly never ending saga of acquiring a piece of paper that says Sharon, the kids, and I can live in Slovenia. Josh and I went to the office where people turn in paperwork for residency stuff and this time it was mildly successful, which by the way is very exciting to me.

Afterwards we went to the car, which was in a tight yet typical European parking space to begin with, it had been boxed in fairly tightly by another car. We laughed and I tried climbing into the drivers door, which I wasn't even close to fitting in (and I didn't gain that much at Christmas). So I gave the back seat a try hoping I wouldn't have to go through the hatchback. Luckily I squeezed in and climbed to the drivers seat. the funny thing is that the clearance on the passengers side was worse.

Decorating the tree

2010-12-23T23:01:00.000+02:00

We got our tree a few weeks ago but waited to decorate it. Sharon's sister Lynn arrived on Monday and we finally un-nudified our bare tree. Eliana had a great time putting up ornaments.

OOOhhh, Pretty Ornaments

Daddy is letting me touch them too.

Rationing out the goods.

Reach for the stars kid

pretties

Most important thing to know about decorating is Location... Location... Location

Admiring her work

It just wouldn't be a good night with out a good cry when you don't get to do everything you want to do.

one hot girl on a cold day

2010-11-26T23:09:00.001+02:00

This has been a trying week. Sharon felt horrible on Monday and had a little bit of a fever. She recovered quickly though and felt pretty good by Tuesday. But it was then that Eliana started getting sick and running a fever. She seemed to be doing better on Wednesday so we figured it was kind of a 24 hour thing like Sharon's bought. Until Wednesday evening when her fever ramped up and she started shaking and moaning incestantly. We took her temperature and she was reading 104.5 so we called the Jacksons to figure out where the emergency room is and what to expect. We arrived at the hospital around 8 pm. Once there the doctor examined her and called for some tests. They drew some blood and started an i.v. to get her hydrated. After 4+ hours we were released and told to come back the next day (Thanksgiving). They were concerned but not enough to admit her.

So we went back to the ER yesterday and they ran some more tests and found that she was doing a bit better. The doctor ruled out pneumonia and said its just a viral thing that needs to run its course. So we are watching her and giving her ibuprofen every 6 hours to keep the fever down. Thank God that we just got some kids medicines in a package from the States recently (thanks!!).
Last night Eliana spiked a fever of 104.5 again but it didn't last too long. She also hit the 105.1 mark this morning but after the medicine kicked in it dropped down close to normal. She is feeling alright for the most part and is playing and mostly happy when the meds are keeping her fever low.

Also, it snowed today here in Ljubljana! It started dusting around 9-10am and hasn't really quit. I think we have around 6 inches. Eliana hasn't seen much snow so today was a special treat for her. I also taught her the ancient art of snow eating and how to choose the right stuff to consume.

It's always tough when a kid gets sick but the timing of this illness was also difficult since we were supposed to be at a Thanksgiving retreat for the JV missionaries of the southern countries. It's brutal to spend Thanksgiving away from family and friends.

Rolam Y'all

2010-11-23T21:07:00.003+02:00

Rolam: Slovene for "I skate"

While in Lithuania I never found a good hobby that gets me out and encourages exercise too. So before we came to SLO I wanted to get a long board so could get around town, burn some calories, and not get cabin fever (which I am fairly prone to contracting).

Weather permitting I skate thorough the center of town each weekday on my way to my Slovene classes. Its always fun for me dodging people, cars, and sometimes buses as I bob and weave through the city. It gives me time to pray so I thank God frequently that Ljubljana has bike paths around much of the city.

Since longboards aren't common I often get funny glares from the old ladies and envious glances from the 8 year old boys. Today however, was a good day for boarding. Now you need to know that I have had some wonderfully humiliating times riding around town. I have had some good crashes, some sweet spills, and one wicked slide that put me face down spread out in the middle of a crosswalk in one of the busiest intersections in the country; right in front of a bus of spectators. Ugh. There have been some highlights too. Like hanging on to the back of a moped as some dude pulled me through some crazy city streets doing 25mph, even across cobblestone. It got the adrenaline pumpin. Another time Gašper and I grabbed onto the back of a big utility truck and got towed around Old Town. But today, was the first time to be hit by a car! I knew this day would come and luckily it was very minor. I and my board rolled away unscathed with only minor pride damages. I was shooting a crosswalk when a lady in a Yugo came cruising and was only looking at traffic to her left and NOT me to her right. She saw me at the last second and slammed on the breaks. I barely rolled up on her hood. Close is for horseshoes and hand grenades right?

Then later today I was pushin across town and on my way back went into our neighborhood market. There I was stoked to meet another longboarder in the check out line. Mind you this is the 3rd other longboard I've seen in SLO and he lives 1 block from me. We started chattin and exchanged numbers so we can go ride sometime. I've been praying for someone outside the church to build a friendship with and practice Slovene. We'll see what God's up to.

A good day for boarding indeed!

I realized I don't have any photos of me on my board so here is something even better. It is a clip of Barbara and Maja on my boards thrashin around Lake Bled.

College Group

2010-11-22T23:31:00.000+02:00

Right now our group of university students that we meet with gets together the first and third Sunday evenings of each month.
Currently, we are going through the "One Anothers" of the New Testament. Each meeting we discuss a passage that contains this phrase and then try to put wheels on it. (Note, I am trying to work on diminishing the amount of idioms I use since they don't usually translate well.) We want to be people who are consistent with what we believe and live out our faith in very practical ways. So often the church is known for its hypocrisy and the bad taste that leaves in peoples mouths. (Note, still working on it.) So last night we discussed putting others honor and interests above our own, Romans 12:10 and Philippians 2:3.
It was humbling to take an honest look at how much we love ourselves and how hard it is to put others interests above ours since we think no one will look out for us. We then did some praying and thought about practical measurable ways to make these verses a reality the next 2 weeks until we meet again.

Feel free to pray for us. That God would make a community of people who truly love Jesus here in Slovenia and who love those around them well as they give their lives away like Jesus did.

Horse Play

2010-11-18T00:04:00.006+02:00

A couple days ago I met up with Miha, a dude from church, and we went out cruising on my longboards. It was his first time and he did amazingly well. We kicked around the center and then out to the HOT HORSE stand near Tivoli Park. We grabbed some finger lickin chow and chatted for a while about life in Slovenia. It was a fun afternoon.

For those of you who don't know, Hot Horse is a fast food chain here in SLO. They specialize in Horse Burgers with all kinds of fun topings. I had one with nacho cheese, onions, and tobasco. And let me tell you even though that old mare had given her life to nourish mine, she still packs quite a kick. (For all you horse lovers out there - please don't hate me.)

One of the cool things about Ljubljana is that it is fairly small for a capitol city. There are around 280,000 people and its amazing how small it feels. I don't know that many people yet and I see some of the few people I know kinda often. In fact I saw 3 different people as Miha and I were out and about the other day.
Quaint is a good word for our beautiful city.

A First

2010-11-17T01:59:00.007+02:00

Today was a special day for me.

Eliana was sitting next to me on the couch as we read through some books together.

Right before she got off the couch to go to her next project she wrapped her arms around me and said something like, "ahhlblbloh."

And I realized it was my first unsolicited, unprompted, totally spontaneous

hug and "I Love You" from my daughter.

Today was a very good day!

(Despite my cheesy grin, this is one my current favorite photos of me with Eliana.)

Learning to smile for the camera

2010-11-16T18:48:00.004+02:00

It's a new concept - learning to smile for the camera.

We're still working on it.

Field Trip!!

2010-10-30T14:28:00.007+03:00

Part of my Slovene language course consists of a Friday field trip every other week. Recently we had the chance to get out of the classroom and on to the streets... of a little town called Ribnica. Which by the way is known for its wood peddlers. It is the region of Slovenia where there are some people who make wooden ware such as buckets and spoons.

So we headed off to Ribnica where we got to walk around this cute little town and then to a guys house where we watched him put the finishing touches on a bucket.

Though exciting in its own way the best part of the day was that Sharon, Eliana, and Maia joined me out this outing. It was so fun for my class to meet my girls. One of the funny comments came from my teacher who was surprised that a guy who longboards to class everyday had a family, and such a cute one at that. Another girl in my class thought I was too young to have 2 kids. Lets just say she ain't gonna make a career out of being one of those people who guesses your age at the county fair.

We had fun and it was great for Sharon and the girls to get out and explore.

Here are a few shots of Eliana as she played around the old castle ruins of this quaint town.

new name

2010-10-30T14:06:00.004+03:00

As you may recall, Maia's birth certificate said her middle name is TOI instead of JOI. We got a kick out of it and more than a few jokes, but when we submitted all Maia's paperwork to the US Embassy the joke was much less funny. In order to get Maia's US birth certificate, passport, and social security number we had to get the correct name on her Slovene birth certificate.

It took 3 weeks to get her original certificate so I figured it would take at least a few more weeks. Sharon tried calling the Upravna Enota (administrative management of SLO) office and as soon as the operator heard her speaking in English they transferred her to someone else, who then transferred her to someone else, and so on, and so on until she reached the office of tourism where the lady who answered the phone spoke great english but had no idea how we could get a corrected birth certificate. So I decided to just go to the office and try to figure it out. When I stopped by the people were amazing and everyone was very helpful. The ladies working the department I needed were glad to help. When I stopped by the next day to pick it up they had a corrected version waiting for me.

We had our appointment at the US Embassy on Tuesday and after some paperwork, signatures, and a couple hundred or so dollars Maia is on her way to becoming a US citizen with a somewhat normal middle name.

One Day at a Time

2010-10-15T13:34:00.003+03:00

Maia was born 5 1/2 weeks ago . . . I can't believe it's been that long already.

I'm finally starting to feel "normal" again. And by "normal," I mean I'm not hobbling around the house waiting for the abdominal pain to ease up and I'm starting to get into a little bit of a rhythm for each day. (Though that will have to change again once I start language lessons.)

I love being a mama to Eliana and Maia, though I find that I have very high expectations of myself (I "should" be able to do more than just get them fed, clothed, bathed, get the laundry and dishes done each day.) I'm learning to give myself grace in this whole process of being a mama to two. It will all come in time I know and I just need to enjoy each day with them. Sigh. . .easier said than done. So, for now, I'm taking it one day at a time.

date night to remember

2010-10-13T21:25:00.005+03:00

Last Friday Sharon and I got to go for a simple date night. We packed up the kiddos and made the 10 minute walk to old town Ljubljana.

We had a great time just strolling through beautiful old town for hours. We stopped to get some chest nuts, which by the way were roasting on and open fire. They smelled amazing. I thought they tasted alright, Sharon wasn't a huge fan, but Eliana loved them.

I showed Sharon some of the sights that I learned about on the tour of town that I took with my Slovene language class earlier that day. We ended up at the open market and decided to use the MlekoMat machine for the first time. For those of you not up on the trends here in SLO, there is a tendency towards natural methods and wholesome foods. SO this machine dispenses raw milk. You can even buy a bottle if you forgot yours at home, like we did. So we got a liter of raw milk for a euro and threw back a cold one there in the square. White mustaches and all.

I'm sure some would think this post to be utterly disgusting but I am gonna milk it for all its worth.

oops

2010-10-13T21:24:00.002+03:00

We got Maia's birth certificate from Slovenia 2 days ago. We were excited to get it so that we can start working on her american citizenship, social security, and passport.

When we opened it up I noticed that instead of saying Maia Joi Mormance, it read Maia Toi.

Ha.

I laughed, Sharon didn't think it was near as funny as I did since she made Maia's middle name very clear to the nurse in the hospital.

Oh and speaking of her name. Maja (j is a y here) is a common Slovene name. We chose a more international spelling for our girl. But her middle name isn't slovene at all. The nurse who came to check up on Maia tried to pronounce her middle name and said "oh, Maia (Yo-wee)" as she tried to say Joi (joy).

So we already have a few nicknames rollin around for our little girl.

my girls are home

2010-09-22T12:22:00.004+03:00

Yesterday around 2 or so we got to bring Sharon and Maia home.

My girls

Eliana was a little jealous and still wanted to be the baby

Sharon cam home and wanted to bake... so I ran to the store so she could make tasty treats.

A bucket half full kinda guy

2010-09-21T11:39:00.003+03:00

My wife has told me many times that I am the optimist and she is the realist. Though I don't always agree that realist is the counterpoint to an optimist and I have at times loving mentioned that she might be a word that rhymes with bessimist. I do however fully concede that I tend towards a glass half full perspective on life.

Well it was an interesting weekend here in Slovenia. It started raining on Friday morning when we went to the hospital and didn't quit until Sunday morning. Now I used to live in Oregon and let me tell you, I know rain. But this wasn't that drizzle that lasts for months, this was a downpour, a deluge if you will.

So Saturday morning I woke up to a very steady drip coming out of the light fixture and surrounding sheet rock in our living room. It had made quite a puddle in our living on the not so hardwood floors. Luckily the new rug we bought was soaking some of it up though. So I got buckets to catch the effects of the new shower in our house. Then the wheels started turning. I was annoyed by the incessant dripping and splashing, so I created a miniature slip-n-slide to help the water reach its home. I cut a 1.5 liter bottle in half to create a funnel and then draped a strip of plastic and clothes pins to make a cascading water feature for our viewing enjoyment. The only issue now was to keep our 1 1/2 year old from enjoying it too much.

Now a lot of people here in Ljubljana were not too happy about the many inches of rainfall we had, especially those whose houses were affected by the flooding. I for one was thrilled about it. This storm allowed me to see the places were our roof leaks.

you gotta have patients

2010-09-20T22:40:00.006+03:00

Sharon has done really well and for the most part enjoyed her time in the hospital here in Ljubljana.

It has been a very different experience than when we had Eliana a year and a half ago in the states.
Probably the biggest difference is the amount of time Sharon has had by herself and time with just her new baby. We had Maia Friday morning and then Sharon only got to see her about four hours that day. On Saturday she got to spend around 6-7 hours with Maia. On Sunday she got a little more time and today she spent most of the day with our new daughter. Hopefully they'll get released tomorrow. So she has had more and more time to be with Maia as they bond.

As far as visitors, when we had Eliana we had people stopping by all the time to visit and meet our baby. Not only were family and friends around a lot, I was there all the time. Heck I slept there at the hospital for 5 days. This time, visiting hours are from 3-6pm everyday. So the only visitor she gets this time is me (and Eliana came on Saturday). And only for 3 hours a day. I should add that we have been able to skype with our parents too. It was fun for them to see Maia the day after she was born even though they are around 5,590 miles away. God bless technology!

Lastly, all the new moms get issued a seafoam bathrobe to wear while they are checked in to the birthing center. Thats what they walk around in and lounge in too. Sharon wanted to walk around so today we went down to the cafe at the hospital to have a cup of joe in comfort and style.

I think its been kind of refreshing in some ways. She has been able to get some much needed rest after the c-section and some great time with her new little girl.

A Matter of Life and Death

2010-09-17T21:35:00.008+03:00

Today is a day we'll never forget.

We woke up early to get ready and head to the hospital here in Ljubljana to have our second daughter. We left the house and dropped off Eliana at the Jacksons where Terry and the girls took good care of her. Sharon and I then drove to the hospital and prepared ourselves for the c-section. We got there at 7am and waited around for awhile but then got inserted into the system along with the other ladies waiting to have their kids today.
After prep we headed to the OR where I got to stand in an adjacent room and watch them operate on my wife.
At 10:02 GMT+1 we had a little girl.
Her name is Maia Joi Mormance and she is 6 pounds 12 ounces and 19 3/4 inches long. She is healthy and beautiful, and so is her mama. Her name means close to God and is pronounced (MY-ah).

But about three hours and twenty minutes after she was born and half way around the world back in Gresham, OR. my grandpa passed away. Larry Mormance was a good man and a wonderful husband, father, grandpa, and great grandpa. He was 95 and still living by himself. He was tough as nails and yet so gentle and loving with his great grandkids. He was a bit stubborn and sometimes kinda ornery yet so witty and one who loved life and those around him. I can't help but cry as I sit here and think of my grandpa. He was a good man, one that I hope to be like one day.

It was a really tough day to not be around family and friends. We miss you all and love you. We wish you could be here to celebrate with us and we wish we could be there to mourn with you.

Fingerprinting party

2010-09-16T19:00:00.003+03:00

Yesterday we had a good old fashion fingerprinting party!!

Now Sharon's side of the family is used to this kind of party (australian side that is), but this was my first.

Josh and Kristi Patty came over with some ink pads from the police station, it was BYOIP, we're cheap (thats my side of the family).

Sharon, Josh, and I got to lay down some prints on card stock and send them off to the Oregon State Police. We found out on Tuesday that Slovenia just changed the rules and not only do we need and FBI background check but we also need a state criminal records check. Sweet! We are gonna be so checked out... uh sorry I got nothin.

Here is my beautiful bride getting booked.

Here are Eliana's Mug Shots.

Look at that face and wild hair, already a hardened criminal

Oh and...

WE ARE HAVING A BABY TOMORROW MORNING!!!!!!

we're in and we're back

2010-09-10T14:56:00.007+03:00

Well we moved into our new place 2 and a half weeks ago and it is amazing.
Our apartment is truly a huge gift from God.
I know many of you know just how important the home is to us and finding a place that is peaceful and recharges Sharon is super important. It helps our family to function smoothly and makes ministry that much more dynamic.

So we moved in on the 25th and on the 26th had an Ikea party. We invited some of the students we'll be working with to come over and help assemble hundreds and hundreds of parts, pieces, and particle board. which in the end create some cool stuff. The only prerequisite is following the wordless instructions (not always easy for me). Oh and the other rule was - You Build It, You Get To Sign It.

We had a great time building furniture.

Thanks SO MUCH to those who helped get done in one day what would taken me a week by myself, ya'll are awesome.

We also got internet yesterday! It took a few weeks but we are out of the stone age and back online.

Here are some action packed shots of the assembly line in our sweat shop.

(no, really it was super humid that day)

Handy Man Tilen workin the Omara (woredrobe)

Gašper killin it on the girls room

Master Carpenters Barbara and Polona who showed all us guys up with the skill and speed, and yet tender care with which they constructed.

Team work was key. Here is the A team in action.
(the guy on the far end is kinda like Mr. T)

It was amazing how easy the girls made it look compared to us stinky sweaty dudes. Laurel was a shining example, just look at her.

Here are the two foremen who ran the whole show... serious task masters.

Then after it was all said and done we had a sweet heaping plate of BBQ'd čevap. And if you don't know what that is then you gotta come visit and experience this tasty meat morsel for yourselves.

makin a run for the borders

2010-08-21T14:54:00.004+03:00

This last week I got to drive all over Slovenia.

On Monday I drove Josh and Blake Patty and some friends from church down south to the Slovenia Croatian border for a "man trip" where they canoed and camped on the river that divides the two countries. Its only a hour and forty five minutes drive from where live. Tuesday evening I went back and picked them and their gear up.

Here are some shots of the river they floated.

Then on Wednesday Sharon and I headed up north to Klagenfurt Austria to the IKEA there to furnish our place.

Boarder to boarder in just a few days, good thing its a small country.

Big time

2010-08-12T17:39:00.005+03:00

Not sure how many of our readers know our friend Alex Rettmann but we think he and his family are pretty cool.

Just so happens, that Slovene's are pretty stoked on him too...

Sharon and I were at BTC, which is kinda like an outdoor mall here in Ljubljana, and as we were heading to the car I leaned over and said to my wife, "there's alex." To both our amazements there he was up on a huge advertisement for the "Big Bang" electronics store. And if its not a photo of him then he must have a stunt double roaming around Europe somewhere.

Alex nice work at makin it big time over here!!!

lost in translation

2010-08-08T23:48:00.003+03:00

If it wasn't for the amazingly nice staff I would have washed my dishes in the toilet.

Thanks staff.

First Impressions

2010-08-06T23:39:00.004+03:00

We have been apartment hunting these last 2 weeks. A few days ago, after looking at 11 places, we made an offer on one of the places that we had seen on our first day of hunting. After we saw it, Sharon said, "That place feels like home." I, being the astute husband, took notice and figured that would be "the place" when it's all said and done, even though the place was under construction and didn't feel super homey.

Here is a shot of the living room.

The offer was accepted and now we are just waiting for the contracts to be drawn up and for the kitchen remodel to be done. We were hoping to get in this next week but it looks like we won't be able to move in until August 25th.

Here is our future kitchen where we'll cook some killer food that can be shared with university students and build community around our table.

Speaking of first impressions... we got to meet our new land lady 2 days ago. As we talked (through our real estate agent as our translator), about the apartment, utilities and all the fun details of moving in, the land lady seemed super cool. Hopefully we came across well in our first meeting too. I say that because about a week ago I started to come down with a rash called impetigo that I used to get every year as a kid. It's a staph infection that itches like crazy and can spread if you itch it.

So, due to my condition I looked like I had been roughed up in a street fight, and it looked a lot worse a few days ago.

Mountain time

2010-07-31T00:12:00.007+03:00

Each year during Kriz (the theological training time for university students) they head for the hills for a few days. Everyone stays at a hostel in the Alps and gets some solitude time to pray and hang out with God. Its also a bit of a break from the heavy teaching they've been drinking in all week.

We got some great hang out time with students.

Eliana made lots of friends.

The scenery was beautiful.

While up there I had a chance to go mountain climbing and summit my first Slovene mountain, Prisojnik. The crazy thing about this mighty hill is that there is a huge hole through the top of the mountain called "the window." We got to climb up through it on our 3000 ft elevation gain to the top. It was sweet, even though my camera battery died.

You can see the hole, which is like 70 feet high, in this photo.
Here is a shot looking back down through the hole. It's hard to see but in the bottom right of the picture there are some iron posts and cable that some crazy cats drilled into the mountain so we could climb this beast.

checkin out the town

2010-07-29T23:01:00.003+03:00

Last Sunday Sharon and I got to walk around downtown Ljubljana. We had a fun time getting acquainted with our new home and getting a feel for the city. We also got a chance to pray and ask God to show us where we should live.

Here are some lovely girls in a lovely setting.

Here is the administration building for Ljubljana University

Eliana appreciating some Slovene art

And finally my hungry girls sitting down for

some much deserved pizza.

Please join us in prayer that God would show us which apartment to rent. One that would not only be a place of refuge for my girls but a place where students experience God's love and life changing community that they can't shake.

In country

2010-07-25T12:19:00.005+03:00

Before take off on Wednesday

Saying goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa Morrow

We arrived in country a few days ago and are trying to adjust to the time change, and by us I primarily mean Eliana.

Our trip - We were scheduled to leave at 4:30pm on Wednesday from Seattle but due to mechanical problems our flight was delayed 3 hours. That meant that we would miss our connection in Iceland (we had a 35 min. layover). But before we left Seattle they already had us rerouted through Norway and though it would add an extra 7 hours to our travel time, we would still make it.
By providence however, the airline superintendent upgraded me and my two and a half ladies to first class for the 8 hour flight to Iceland. SWEEEEET! The extra leg room and comfy seats were highly appreciated by Sharon, and I wasn't complaining as I sipped some fine red wine and ate my steak.
We got to Iceland and were herded from one flight to the next and were off to Norway. Upon arrival there we had 5+ hours to wait, so we got some lunch and our little girl who had no idea where she was let alone what time it was got a nap in her little tent in the middle of the Oslo airport. We hopped our last flight to Munich, Germany and got in at 9:00pm Thursday evening. Josh Patty met us there and we loaded up the van and started off on the 4 hour drive to Ljubljana, Slovenia. I was able to stay awake and enjoyed the silhouettes of the alps as we scurried through them on the way to our new home.
We got in to the Patty's around 2:30am and got to sleep around 3:45. Luckily jet lag kicked in and my thoroughly confused body was up a couple hours later.

My girls livin the vida loca in first class

Here is my sleep deprived girls in Norway

Ready for takeoff

2010-07-20T22:28:00.003+03:00

We leave for Slovenia tomorrow!

The time has finally come and we are ready to go. It's been tough saying goodbye's for the last 2 weeks. I (matt) don't do well with goodbye's. In fact when saying "see ya'" I often have an allergic reaction where my eyes get irritated and begin to drain. Unfortunately the doctors say there is nothing they can do. And every now and then its contagious, so sorry if I infected you.

I said goodbye to my family last week and we are now in Tacoma, Washington saying our goodbye's to Sharon's family before we leave from Seattle to Europe tomorrow afternoon.

It has been great to be here for Hazel's' (Sharon's mom) birthday. She had some of her sisters from Australia in town, so its been a real treat to hang with the reli's (australian for relative).

Thanks Mimi and Papa

2010-07-16T06:09:00.008+03:00

The last two weeks I (Eliana) got to live with my Mimi and Papa. My mom and dad needed a place to stay before they started the move to Slovenia. I loved my time with them. I got to do so many things. Like...

Watering the flowers,

Story time,

Swimming,

Chatting with Mimi,

Walking in the driveway (I love rocks),

Taking a break with Papa,

Riding the go-cart (I now know why some people call Mimi "speeder")

Eating good food (Mimi fed me PB&J and lots of cookies :)

I even got to play with great grandpa Mormance,

and see my cousins,

And more cousins,

I love my cousins,

imitate famous movie stars,

It was so good to spend so much time with family, I had so much fun

(I love my family so much)

And I love my Mimi and Papa SO MUCH!!!

Thanks for taking good care of me.

Things that make me smile

2010-07-01T21:45:00.011+03:00

Wow - it's been a long time since I (Sharon) have posted. Matt's been doing much better than me at keeping this updated. So, in an attempt to "catch up" and because everyone prefers photos to lots of text. . .here are some photos of things that make me smile.

My mama and her grandbaby

Hobbes loves Eliana. And Eliana loves Hobbes.

(I'm just glad her mouth wasn't wide open - eww!)

(Sidenote - right now, every animal is "puppy" to her. It's pretty cute.

She'll see a cow and say "puppy" like she is so excited that she knows the word.)

Life with this man is never boring!

I can't help but smile every time I look at this photo!

She loved her day at the pool. . .

. . .and I loved getting to snuggle with my water baby.

We all got baggage

2010-06-24T20:17:00.004+03:00

Sharon and I have been doing a lot of pre-engagement and premarital counseling lately and we tell couples that everyone has baggage that they bring to the relationship. But the thing that will be important in any marriage is what you do with that baggage.

Well we had an opportunity to get rid of a lot of our literal baggage (not emotional) the other day. The Good Shepherd Slovenia team left and took a load of our stuff with them. They were not going to use all of their baggage allownaces for international travel so they gave us the opportunity to send some of our stuff with them.

Thanks so much SLO team! You Rock!

Prepare for take off

2010-06-24T19:58:00.004+03:00

A few days ago Sharon and I got the green light from Josiah Venture to buy tickets to Slovenia!!

So we were able to get a smokin deal on a one way ticket to Europe (thanks Caroline Watts).

We leave from Seattle on July 21st. We will probably leave the Portland area on July 16th to go up to Seattle to be there for Sharon's mom's birthday and spend a few days with the inlaws before we make the big move.

We can't tell you how excited we are and how hard it will be to leave. Thanks for loving us and standing with us as we go to Slovenia to talk about how amazing and transformative the love of God is.

SOT

2010-06-15T03:25:00.006+03:00

Last week Sharon, Eliana, and I were at SOT (school of theology) in Sunriver. It was a good week of listening to some super bright guys as they talked about God, the Bible, and the church in some new ways. Well they were apparently very old ways, but the concepts were newer for me anyway.

Not only did we press into some serious theology every morning and evening but we had some time to play.

Eliana got to go swimming.

I got to play with Jason on the tandem he rented. (notice the air under those tires)

Soma Schooled

2010-05-21T10:12:00.006+03:00

Last week I (matt) had the opportunity to go to Soma School up in Tacoma, WA.

It was a great time of learning, doing, and dreaming and I want to Thank GSCC so much for making it possible for me to be there!!!

Learning...
Essentially they immersed 30 or so church planters into some killer training on how to start a missional church based primarily on small groups that live out some solid community and reach out into their neighborhoods to include others into that community. It was some solid teaching and fascinating methodology, but super challenging as to how the church should relate to the world and live on mission in it.
One of my big take aways was that, "we need to live in a way that demands a gospel answer." This really made me think how I need to be so radically shaped by the gospel that my life is so different and so other worldly that people want to know why I do what I do. That I might actually do what the Bible says and put others and their needs above my own.

Doing...
Part of Soma School was experiential as we got to got to live with people who are a part of their church community for the week. We also got to go to their home groups and see what they do. They even gave us an opportunity to serve with them as they went to a park to volunteer some time making it look prettier. Andrej, Terry, and I got to help eradicate some blackberry bushes. It was good to help restore an area of the park that hadn't been worked on in 25 years. I think God loves to make things new and restore beauty to brokenness, so we enjoyed joining in a tangible way that day.
(its hard to see but short sleeve shirts were a bad idea when fighting blackberries)

Dreaming...
I had the privilege of hanging out with Terry and Anrej, who both came from Slovenia for this training. It was amazing to talk about the things we were learning and how they could be implemented in Slovenia. Honestly, I learned so much just listening to those two talk about how to reach SLO and hearing their hearts for that country. I can't wait to serve alongside and learn from men like that.

I want to be this kind of friend.

2010-05-18T03:57:00.004+03:00

O the comfort, the inexpressible comfort

Of feeling safe with another person

Having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words

But pouring them all out, chaff and grain together

Knowing a faithful hand will take and sift them,

Keep what is worth keeping, and with a breath of kindness

Blow the rest away.

--Diana Murlock Craik

GBCing it

2010-04-30T02:28:00.000+03:00

This last couple weeks we have been busy going from small group to small group at Gresham Bible Church (GBC).

It all started months ago when some friends of ours, the Rau's, visited GBC and mentioned that they had some friends who are missionaries and needed a church to help send them as they go to Slovenia. Vergil, the pastor, said, "have them call me." So we did. At the end of January we met Vergil over lunch and discussed the possibility of partnering together to reach Slovenia. That meeting led to further meetings as we all dreamed about the possibilities.

Then 4 weeks ago GBC officially accepted Sharon, Eliana, and me as their missionaries. In that meeting, Vergil asked me if I could preach in two weeks. So a couple of weeks ago we got to stand up in front of the church to talk a bit about Slovenia and then I taught on Luke 9.21-27 which was the next lesson in the series. Since then we have had the privilege of going to lots of home groups to meet the people of GBC. Its been cool getting to see the life in this church plant thats 3 years old and the friendships that we are forming there.

Thanks be to God for His provision.

A couple more pics from my sister's birthday

2010-04-24T21:50:00.007+03:00

We told Lynn we'd pick her up outside her building after work. . .

. . .but then we went in and let Eliana go find her. . .

She was pretty excited to find her Auntie Lynn!

And to give her a big hug!

We were all pretty excited to see Auntie Lynn and celebrate her day!

Love you Sis!

I'm so glad we got to celebrate together.

Dancing in the rain!

2010-04-24T21:23:00.004+03:00

2010-04-10T01:31:00.004+03:00

These are three very important ladies in my life: my sis, Lynn, my mom Hazel, and my baby girl.

Well, today happens to be a very special day - today is Lynn's birthday. So, I want to take this opportunity to say that I am so glad that the Lord gave her to me as my sis!

Growing up, Lynn and I were as different as two sisters could be. She was outgoing, athletic and full of life (while I was more reserved, shy and full of life in a quiet sort of way).

When I was learning to drive, my mom kept telling me, "Sharon, drive with confidence!" And when Lynn was learning to drive, mom told her, "Lynn. . . drive with caution."

When I was in high school I played volleyball. I was a setter and when up in the front row my coach would encourage me to go up for the block, saying "It's all psychological. The other team doesn't know that your fingers only go two inches above the net." When Lynn went to Multnomah for college she decided to go out for volleyball even though it wasn't her sport. (At that time they didn't have a basketball team.) Her nickname ended up being "The Wall" because she was pretty amazing at blocking the ball.

The funny thing is that even though Lynn and I are so different in so many ways, (really different temperaments), it feels like the older we get, the more similar we become! Our interests overlap a lot more now. Our styles are getting more and more similar. She is one of my favorite people to spend time with.

You know how they often say - you'll end up marrying someone like your mom or your dad? Well, I ended up marrying someone like my sister. Crazy huh?

Well, all that to say, Lynn I love you and I'm so thankful for you! I would not be who I am today if I did not have you for my sister!

Eggciting Day

2010-04-06T03:53:00.001+03:00

We had a great Easter with my (Matt's) family today. It's always fun especially with all the festivities at the Mormance house.

Eliana was super cute with the Easter dress Sharon got her on a killer sale the other day.

Her Mom was lookin pretty dang good too.

She is a smokin hot pregnant lady, might I add.

It took Eliana a little bit to pick up the whole idea of hunting eggs, but she soon caught on and had a blast hunting with mom.

Then it was time for a cousins picture.

She's going to miss them, aunts, uncles, and grandparents so much.

Unfortunately, Eliana has already inherited her dad's poor hearing. So we decided to try out these new hearing aids. She wasn't very hoppy with their quality though.

(sorry had to make some pun)

A Chuckle for your Day

2010-04-01T23:53:00.005+03:00

Oh, my goodness, this is too cute.

Check out this clip on Carlos Whittaker's blog Ragamuffin Soul. It's called "Single Ladies, Parenting and Fatherhood."

It will put a smile on your face :-)

Big News

2010-03-30T09:50:00.003+03:00

We are excited to announce that Sharon and I are expecting a new addition to our family on September 22nd! This came as quite a shocker to us since we weren’t trying to get pregnant and quite honestly didn’t think we could get pregnant naturally. It took us so long to have Eliana and even then only though fertility treatments.

We feel like God has given us an amazing gift and tangible reminder of His grace towards us. All we can say is WOW! Everyday we are still trying to wrap our heads around it and yet thrilled. Here is our most recent picture of our baby.

In other news, we have created a new blog for those of you (mom) who really just want to see more kid pics on our blog.

So, without further ado, let me introduce "Life in the SLO Lane." You'll see a link for it to the right. (By the way, that is SLO as in Slovenia, not as in "slow." Sheesh, when was the last time that life felt slow?!)

Soma School

2010-03-30T02:03:00.004+03:00

I (Matt) was really hoping to get into a special training in May where I would spend a week with a church in Tacoma, WA. learning why they do what they do and experiencing how they do it first hand. By God's amazing grace, I'm going.

What's so special about this training you ask? Good question, glad you asked.

Soma Communities is a different form of church that is based on and in community. They move the primary emphasis from a typical Sunday service which tends to be "come and see" to a mid week small group "go and be" way to reach the neighborhoods they live in. These small groups (missional communities) also come together on the weekend for a service, but its not the main emphasis and they would even say that the church is really the small groups. So we'll learn how to form deep community on mission, which is something that I can't wait to inject into the DNA of the university ministry we will be starting in Slovenia.

Josiah Venture is also partnering with Soma in regards to church planting in Eastern Europe. They are helping J.V. to train national church planters. In fact Terry Jackson is flying over from SLO to the training with a Slovene couple (Andre & Nina) who are going to plant a church in Maribor, Slovenia. Can't wait to spend some quality time with them learning some killer stuff.

To learn more about Soma School click here. Its cool stuff, can't wait.

a walk to remember

2010-03-22T07:10:00.005+02:00

Saturday was absolutely beautiful here in Portland. It was a sunny 70 degrees (thats 21 for my Euro friends) and the trees were in bloom so Sharon, Eliana, and I headed to the waterfront park area to stroll.

We took a couple hours to enjoy the 2.5 miles which goes up from the Hawthorne Bridge along the east side esplanade to the Steel Bridge and back down to the Hawthorne again on the west side waterfront park.

I love P-town, especially on its rare sunny spring days.

Tennessee trip

2010-03-22T07:05:00.006+02:00

We are back from our trip to Tennessee where we visited the Luke's and the Norman's. These are couples who are trying to help us raise support and get to Slovenia. It was a great time of connecting with those families and their kids.

The Norman's took us out to some good BBQ.

Shoot, these folks know how to put the fun in fundraising.

I love southern cooking and apparently so does Eliana.

It's always great seeing the Luke's

February in a nutshell

2010-03-05T03:39:00.007+02:00

February was an eventful month packed full of excitement.

Eliana turned 1 year old, has started walking and got her first tooth.

Meta, Neja, and Mateja visited from Slovenia

We moved into the new missions house on Good Shepherd's property.

Slick Dog

2010-02-07T08:37:00.004+02:00

On Friday I took my lady out for a cost effective time on the town.

(AKA cheap date night)

We dropped off our little girl at my parents (Thanks Mom) and then headed to the highly acclaimed and yet locally owned Grocery Outlet store in Gresham.

I know what you're thinking to yourself right now.... He's good, real good.

And you're justified in that thought.

You see on the first Friday of the month our local bargain store has free wine tasting from 4-7. There were 19 wines to sample and 4 fabulous cheeses with of course, complimentary crackers. We prepared our bag-o-adjectives and hobnobbed as we enjoyed the bouquet of the bountiful reds, whites, and rose.

Sharon found a new favorite that was a rare vintage of White Zin from Coastal Vinters that boasted a whopping price tag of 2.99!

After pairing it with some smoked gouda, that date cost us around 5 dollars.

Here's my lovely bride basking in the experience.

See you there next month

A special Thanks is in order

2010-02-04T20:19:00.005+02:00

This last year Bob and Anita have graciously opened their home to Sharon, Eliana, and me.

It was early January 2009. We were living with Sharon's sister in Wilsonville and looking for a place of our own before we had our little girl. We had just looked at a single wide trailer in Boring for rent and by chance were going to Bob & Anita's for dinner. Upon hearing that we were looking for a place they offered for us to live with them. At that point in the conversation we reminded them that we were having a baby in February. We mentioned that we weren't crazy excited to have a crying baby in the house during sleep hours and were shocked they might be ok living with someone else's crying baby. They assured us they love kids and it wouldn't be a problem. Our jaws dropped.

So this last year has been a huge blessing for us as this beautiful couple has let us live with them in their beautiful house.

Bob & Anita,
Thanks for taking in and loving some missionaries. May God bless you for your sacrifice.

Here are some shots of them and their place

Beautiful!

2010-01-31T09:05:00.006+02:00

What an amazing night!

Tonight our good friends, Anna & David got married.

We got to spend some time with them before they got married and we can say with confidence that they are perfect for each other!

A little background info . . .

I (Sharon) first met Anna when she was a student at Multnomah (during my time working as a Residence Director.) Because Anna served as an RA and then a HRA we got to spend many hours together. (So many fun memories - she made me laugh and I learned a lot about prayer from my time with Anna.) After graduation, Anna served in Slovenia with J.V. for 4+ years.

The story yet to tell...

Soon I'll have the opportunity to go to Slovenia to start building relationships with students who used to meet with Anna. (The high school girls Anna mentored are now in University.)

In this photo (from the right):

* Christina Stanton- maid of honor, worked with JV and was Anna's roommate in Slovenia, also a HRA from Multnomah

* Me - holding Eliana

* Anna - who looked stunning!

* Kathy Codanti - served in Slovenia for a year working with Joel and Amy Woodard.

* Stephanie Rogers - preparing to move to Slovenia to work with JV, also a Multnomah grad

* Mateja - a Slovene girl who was mentored by Anna. She flew in for the wedding and was one of Anna's bridesmaids. I can't wait to get to know her!

up in the air

2010-01-29T00:03:00.003+02:00

Do you ever feel like there are times when the stuff of life is up in the air?

We have some of those things right now.

We know that God is sending us to Slovenia but there are still a few details He has to work out. It's frustrating because of a lack of control, but kinda fun at the same time to be in the Father's care.

2010-01-25T09:32:00.006+02:00

A few days ago, Eliana turned 11 months.

Here is her 11 month shot:

And a few of the outtakes.

Did I mention that she's becoming a climber? Yeah - sure keeps us on our toes!

sittin'

2010-01-25T07:09:00.006+02:00

Last night we got the great opportunity to hang out with my some of my (matt) nieces and nephew. We got to watch them for a night while my sister and brother in law were away for the weekend. It was so great spending some time with them. . . just playing, eating, and hanging out. It was also fun for Eliana to kick it with the cousins.

I love family.

It is going to be so hard to be away from family again when we go overseas.

A friend once told me, "Its always harder for those who stay, than those who go."

As hard as it is to go, I think he's right.

Thank you to our wonderful families for loving us and letting us go.

Encouragements

2010-01-16T09:07:00.006+02:00

There are so many things that the Lord does to encourage us in this waiting period. He recently encouraged me through a little note that Anita (my gracious housemate) put on our door:

"I have chosen you and will not throw you away.
Don't be afraid, for I am with you.
Do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you.
I will help you.
I will uphold you with my victorious right hand."
--Isaiah 41:9-10

Just thought you might enjoy a little encouragement today too.
-- Sharon

2010-01-16T08:53:00.002+02:00

Wow! It's been one month since we posted. I think that is the longest we have gone between posts. This past month has been filled with wonderful holiday memories with family and friends. All that to say. . . we're back :-)

My Gift from God

2009-12-14T23:52:00.012+02:00

"MATTHEW"
Origin - Hebrew
Meaning - Gift of God

Today is Matt's birthday.
(Note: Dec 14 was his birthday, but I was having some issues with Blogger.)
And he is my Gift from God in so many ways!

I love your crazy adventurous spirit!
(Yes, that little blur in the middle of the photo is Matt diving from the cliff.)

I love the way you see into people's hearts, speaking words of truth and hope.

I love your commitment to walk in what is true and right
- and how you teach others to do the same.

I love how you see the humor in any situation.
(You were so excited to get this shot of matching comb-overs.)

I love how you love Eliana and me.

You truly are my Gift from God! I am so thankful that I get to do life with you!

Happy Birthday Sweetheart!

Third time's the charm... We hope!

2009-12-14T23:44:00.006+02:00

Last week we went to Salem (for the 3rd time) to get an official apostille stamp from the state. We need to prove that all our documents that we are turning in for our visa to Slovenia are legit and this stamp does just that.

Theoretically, we have everything we need for our visa except our "letter of invitation" from a church in Slovenia. We have had a long and difficult process acquiring this all important letter. We have been waiting for 7 months to see if the Slovene Baptist Denomination would invite us and just recently we found out that the church we are going to work with won't have the authority to provide that letter. So we (and by that I mean Terry) are looking into other options. Please pray that God opens another door to get invited so I can get these cute girls overseas soon.

Civil War Blues

2009-12-04T23:37:00.004+02:00

Last night Sharon, Eliana, and I went over to my parents to watch the Civil War football game between Oregon State and University of Oregon. It was a great game and even though our team lost we had a great time cheering and hanging out with family.

We got the cutest little cheerleader around.

The big 40

2009-11-30T09:00:00.003+02:00

Today we celebrated my (matt) parent's 40th wedding anniversary.

We had a great time celebrating them and the legacy they have given us. We made a slide show and a memory book for them and they loved it.

Good job Mom & Dad!!!

We love you.

Giving Thanks

2009-11-26T03:06:00.002+02:00

This Thanksgiving we want to thank all those who have been standing with us in prayer and financially supporting our ministry. It is so amazing to us that so many are so interested in Slovenia and what God is doing in and through us. You are such an encouragement to us and we thank God for all of you.

9 months

2009-11-25T02:27:00.008+02:00

Our little girl turned 9 months old on the 20th.

It is amazing how time flies by and especially as you have a visual reminder that is growing in developing before you everyday.
She is army crawling all around our living room here at the Bailey's house. We have had to baby proof our room as best as possible. Its crazy just how much we discover about our parenting as she learns to discover and explore her world.

Here is a quick video of her getting excited about her Diaper Duckie, which is a distraction technique my wife came up with as we change her diapers. Her response quacks me up. To view click here.

Here are some 9 month shots of our sweet little girl.

Back in TN

2009-11-16T04:21:00.012+02:00

We have been having a blast staying with our friends in Tennessee during this support raising trip.

Here's a glimpse into our time here:

On our first night here we visited Jenna's 242 group. This group of 7th grade girls had collected money from babysitting job, taking on extra chores, and dipping into their piggy banks to help support us. It was fun and humbling all at once.We had the young adults group at church scheduled Thursday night but nothing during the day... until Kelli (the Lukes friend) got involved. She picked us up in the morning and took us to a meeting she had planned with a pastor at a local church. Then on the way back suggested that we stop at another church in town to see if the pastor would support us. It was wild and so far outside are box but so fun. We had a great day with her and her husband.

Today we hung out with Zack and Paige. They have led mission trips from their church (here in TN) to Slovenia to work with Johnny and Brooke. We had a blast hanging out with them, hearing their stories and getting to know them better..and enjoyed some local cuisineThe sweet potato fries were to die for! (Have any of you ever eaten here before?)

The Lukes have a trampoline out back. Matt has enjoyed hours (and I do mean hours) playing with the kids. Got a fun shot of him with Eliana:Eliana was having fun - really she was :-)

Encouraging Times

2009-10-25T22:41:00.006+02:00

Two months ago we were down. We felt stuck, defeated, and tired in the support raising process.

But God has been moving lately! It has been so amazing to watch our support jump from 30% up to 50% the last month and a half. He has also brought us into contact with people who have been an unbelievable encouragement to us. God has placed people like Brandt & Shannon Luke, Aaron Schaefer, Mike Fitz, Christina Stanton, and Curt & Jana Austin in our life at just the right time to say just the right things. Thanks for allowing God to work through you.

Another key moment was hanging out with Josh Patty on Tuesday, he was in town from Slovenia for just a few days. It was so encouraging to talk and dream about our roles and the future of Slovenia. One thing that stood out was the need for extreme discipleship among university students. He mentioned that the old Bible study once a week just isn't cutting it. It is so hard for the students who follow Jesus to continue in their faith in the midst of the constant pull/pressure of their family, friends, and society to abandon or minimize their relationship with God instead of following hard and pressing into Him. One of the long term dreams of JV in Slovenia is to start a dorm house for the college students to live in community and love Jesus together as they study. To be honest, our hearts began to pound in our chest’s as we thought about the possibility of walking with Slovene students in that way and entering into intense discipleship with them.

Things are coming together and we are so stoked.

first cold

2009-10-22T20:00:00.003+03:00

Eliana had her first cold a few weeks ago.
Honestly, I mention this just so I could post this picture Sharon caught of our little girl blowing a snot bubble.

Nashville was amazing

2009-10-14T02:59:00.016+03:00

Last Friday Sharon, Eliana, and I flew to Nashville to visit some dear friends and work on raising some support.

We got in Friday evening and Brandt Luke, (my first mentor), picked us up from the airport. It was so good to see him and to catch up on what God has done over the last few years. One thing I love about Brandt is that no matter how long its been since I've talked to him or seen him, he makes it so easy to jump in right where we left off. We got to his place and were very warmly greeted by his 4 wonderful kids and his wife, Shannon. We spent the long weekend thoroughly enjoying the really fun times and great conversations with our friends.

It was so encouraging and honestly just what we needed in the midst of this long process of raising support. . . Speaking of which, the Lukes introduced us to quite a few of their friends so that Sharon and I could share about what we will be doing in Slovenia. It was exciting to share our hearts and vision with others outside of our sphere and to watch God stirring something in TN. We hope and believe that God is opening some doors in the Nashville area for people to join participate in what the Lord is doing in Slovenia.

This trip was Eliana's first flight and she did better than we could ever have imagined. We were a little nervous after hearing many stories of kids that wouldn't stop screaming. Many people recommended Benedryl, but she slept most of the way without needing any medicine.

The Hibbs are off

2009-10-09T15:45:00.003+03:00

This last week our good friends Peter & Jen Hibbs left for Australia with their two little ones. It was a bitter sweet day for us. On one hand we are sad to be absent from such close friends and on the other hand it was good to see them heading to the ministry God has prepared for them. Honestly it was personally encouraging for Sharon and me to see that it is possible to raise support and report to the mission field right now too.

As Peter was getting ready to walk through security I looked at him and said, "One day, dude, one day." You see we love the Hibbs and love doing life and ministry with them. So I was reminding him that one day we do just that again.

May God bless you and your ministry Hibbs. We love you.