Life Update
Hi everyone!
I feel so free now that I am no longer constricted to writing about our bicycle trip. Sure I could have gone out of order, but really, who does that? Now that I have this newfound freedom, I will give you a little update on our lives. Upon returning from our bike trip, we had about a week and a half of summer left before we started teacher-work at school. We went on a few more long bike rides to cities around BB and enjoyed what summer weather there was left.
You can't tell we're up high, but there was a very steep climb to this plateau. Also note the lack of bags!
Mid-August we had to go back to work- that meant two solid weeks of painting for me. I barely survived it, but just when I thought the paint would never come off my hands, it was time for school to start! Zakladna škola Narnia has 5 grades this year, complete with a fresh batch of super cute first graders. And of course all of my favorite students from last year are around too.
This is our friend Vierka's son Danko. He is just so darn cute.
Only two weeks into school I got deathly sick and stayed that way for at least 10 days. I started getting better just in time for Burke’s Cousin Dale and Naresh to visit. We traveled with them to Česky Krumlov and then to Prague. The former is a beautiful little city near the southern border of the Čzech Republic with an amazing castle in the center. It rained most of the time we were in Prague but we still had a great time and saw a lot of things we hadn’t seen before. We had such a wonderful time with Dale and Naresh, not only hanging out together, but speaking English, riding in a car, and sleeping inside in a building. You can see more photos from this vacation here.
This is us most of the way up the castle in Cesky Krumlov
The view of the castle from our hotel room. So beautiful!
Post bike trip I’ve tried to remain healthy and it’s been working out for me for two reasons. First, when I haven’t been sick I’ve been running (okay fine, it’s a pretty slow jog) but it is far enough and frequent enough to count. And second, I discovered a couple months back that I apparently am lactose intolerant. Suprise! So combining that with my 13 year vegetarianism makes life interesting. I generally think of it as half way to vegan, and you know what, I like it. I’m shocked how much I don’t miss cheese.
Mirabelle plums that we picked on a bike ride. I pitted them, froze them and disperse them into my morning breakfast smoothies- so good!
Also in our lives, I am proud to say that we have a lot going right now. The Youth with a Mission Dicipleship Training School (YWAM Slovakia DTS) started up again in September and we LOVE going to the open evenings on Wednesday nights. Another night during the week we attend a group meeting that is doing a video series on How to Hear God’s Voice, equipped with a great learning opportunity, lots of prayer, and wonderful fellowship.
The last thing happening is that we are preparing for my parents’ visit. We are so excited for them to come on October 25th (my dad’s birthday) and they will be here for almost two full weeks. I hope that we can actually squeeze in all the things I plan for them to see.
I look forward to even shorter blogs in the future and of course sharing the details of my parents visit with you.
Douglas Falknor:
Lizzie & Burke
I read your blog before we came to Slovakia, but didn’t have a chance to post. What a difference that insight has made. We’ve met and seen a new people and land.
I’m happy for you two that you’ve had the experience very few life times afford. Until now, and only with your help, I hadn’t been more than a few thousand feet into the contiguous neighbors of the U.S.
Now We (your mother and I) have glimpsed inside your school, seen some of the kids, yes, very cute, and met a couple of parents, acccomplished all.
The city and land. It’s good to see an economy on the way up. So much new construction and an enterprising people. Many things are different–different people, different time. But we’ve arrived into a society not waiting to begin, but one that is in full swing. Their wired- with cell phones everywhere–public transportation and cars abound.
The folks we’ve met seem more than motivated by their freedom, they are, perhaps, energized and some even driven. Evidently, they can expect a bright future. Their actually support of public education becuase their children are their future unintentionally puts our system and short-sighted self-interest to shame.
I’m excited to see what our second week in this land brings.
You’re living a full and fulfilling life. I can’t wait to see what’s next.