Zapik!

Thanks everyone for praying for our Zapik retreat! We had outstanding weather in a beautiful location up in the mountians of the Podljubelj area, just a few kilometers from the Austrian border. The picture to the right is the facility that we stayed in. We had 15 students attend the retreat. I think that everyone had a good time (as you can see from the laser tag crew) and that they were all challenged to think about who is writing the story of their
lives and if they are willing to submit to God and let Him be the one directing their lives.




Across the street from our camp facility was a former Nazi concentration camp that was a labor subcamp from the infamous Mauthausen camp from 1943-45. Prisoners at this labor camp were forced to hand dig a tunnel through the mountain pass of Ljubelj into Austria. We all took some time to remember the victims of these atrocities as we reflected on what we want our own lives to stand for too.

First 2 Weeks

"We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair." -2 Cor. 4:8

I have now been in Slovenia for almost 2 weeks and the above verse has been my anchor as I transition into life here. I have much to learn and adjust to but I am not overwhelmed and there are certainly many perplexing things here as I cannot understand the language yet but I am not despairing as the Lord is with me and my hope is in Him. Actually, my transition has been quite smooth and comfortable in many ways and it feels more and more like home in my apartment everyday as I continue to get unpacked and settled in. I have had many firsts in the last 12 days including: going with a group of Slovene students to watch a movie in the capital city of Ljubljana (saw National Treasure 2 in English :-), shopping for groceries by pictures because all of the labels are in a foreign language (well foreign to me, not to the residents here), ordering food by pointing because I have no idea how to say anything in Slovene yet, walking to the train station and riding the train to Ljubljana all by myself, bringing my groceries home in a basket on the back of a bike instead of in the trunk of a car :-), attending a youth event at Trdna Skala (the name of our youth center which means "solid rock") and then getting my own key to the building afterwards. That last one was very surreal for me as I have prayed for the ministry of Joel and Amy since they moved here and have been involved from a distance since the beginning of Trdna Skala and then to actually be here physically as a part of the ministry and to even have my own key to the building was very profound for me.

I'm so glad that I am here and am confident that this is where the Lord wants me right now! The JV team here has welcomed me with open arms and I already feel integrated into their team. I've been over to four different homes for meals and have quickly reconnected with old friends and made new friends. Also, I have already met about 15 of the students here and they are a great group of kids who are down to earth and easy to converse with. We have an annual winter retreat this coming weekend for the students in Kranj (the city I live in) called Zapik, which means home base or safe place. The theme for the retreat is "A Story" and messages will be based on 2 Cor. 3:1-3 where it talks about how our lives are like letters read by people and that we can be a letter from Christ written by the Spirit of God and have a great story if we allow God to write it. So please be praying for the students who will attend. Pray that God will prepare their hearts to receive this message and that the Holy Spirit will be guiding their thought processes as they evaluate the story their lives have told up to this point and what they want the story of their futures to look like. Pray that many students would decide to let God write the story of their lives and that they would find joy in surrendering to Him as Lord and Savior. Pray also that the Lord will give me good connections with the students as I get to know them and they get to know me and that it will serve as a good springboard for me into the ministry here. We will also be doing this same retreat the following weekend with a JV youth group from a nearby city where the ministry is just getting started so please be praying for those students as well. There is the possibility that I will travel to this city periodically to help the couple there who are heading up this ministry so pray that the Lord would show me if He has some students there that I could connect with and mentor.Thanks everyone for all of your encouraging emails and phone calls! Thanks for praying for me and the ministry here in Kranj. I'm glad to have you all on my team! "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit" (Rom. 12:13).

Arrival Day in Slovenia

I arrived in Slovenia on Feb. 7th and here are the pics from my first email sent from Slovenia that not everyone received:

View from my apartment window when I lean out a bit. :-)

Sunset over the city of Kranj...my new home for a year!

I give thanks to God for smooth and uneventful flights to Slovenia and no problems with customs or lost luggage. Thanks everyone for praying! I flew into Slovenia on a beautiful, sunny day and was greeted at the airport by most of the Slovenia Josiah Venture team (9 out of 14 members I think) and the pastor (and his wife) of the church I will be a member of and even one of the students. It was such a warm welcome and I am excited to join their team in Slovenia! In the afternoon Joel took me over to see my apartment and unpack a bit and I love it! Attached is a picture taken from my balcony...okay I had to lean out a bit to get the view of the mountains but they are there. :-) And then the other picture is the sunset tonight looking out over Kranj towards the mountains (not taken from my apartment). This truly is a beautiful city and I don't think I will get tired of looking at those alps! Please continue to pray for my transition into the language, culture, and ministry here.For those of you who have been asking for my address in Kranj, here it is:

Kathy Codanti

Ulica Toncka Dezmana 8, St. 69

4000 Kranj

Slovenia

It would be best to only send letters to this address right now because Joel is a little concerned about if they will actually be delivered to me or not since the apartment is owned and registered in someone else's name. So if you want to send a package to me it would be better to send it Joel and Amy at the following address (I think he came up with this scam to hijack my packages :-)

Kathy Codanti

c/o Joel & Amy Woodard

Pipanova Cesta 4

4208 Sencur

Slovenia

Also, I have the following Vonage phone# that is an Oregon# but will ring me in Slovenia through the internet: 503-766-3379. Just remember that I am 9 hours ahead of all you west coast people so please try call before 1pm your time. :-) Thanks everyone for your prayers and support...I love you all!