Welcome to the 4th of July, Slovakian style. The American Chamber of Commerce seems to be quite active here in the city as the 2 countries have very good business/political relations. The blow out event for the year (for the Chamber of Commerce) is the 4th which they have been doing here for several years. As you can see, the celebration takes place in the shadow of the greatest landmark in Bratislava, the 13th century castle.

The organizers did an excellent job of bringing a real American feel to this celebration including a nice little parade. Some of these Marines work here in the American embassy. There were probably a little over a thousand people in attendance tonight including people from all over Europe. As with most gatherings in these parts it had a real international feel in addition to the Independence Day atmosphere.

I believe most of the parade participants were Slovak. If you had to organize such an event with only Americans the parade would be a bit short.

There was quite an array of classic old cars as well as a beautiful John Deere tractor. All of the parade cast were throwing candy to us gawkers. I'm pretty sure I got the most candy.

Like any good July 4th party, its all about the kids. There was a great variety of activities for the kids today.

This was a huge hit with the kids although it is currently being occupied by the American Ambassador to Slovakia. I think he was doing a live t.v. interview while trying to not get thrown into the trees.

Climb that cactus, but watch out for the pricklies!

What would an American celebration be without loud country western music and line dancing. After the live demonstration there were lessons for the party goers. The Europeans seem to really enjoy learning the boot scoot. You dont need boots, hat or the silver belt buckle to enjoy this dance. YEEHAW!

And of course no truly American celebration would be complete without...the Beatles? Well, we all know without America the Beatles would have never rocketed in to superstardom, right? These guys were great, amazing likeness in sight and sound. A real crowd pleaser and they really were Brits.

This is down town AM CHAM (american chamber...) The ticket was 600 crowns which is about $22. The price of admission was a great value because once you were in the door everything was free: popcorn, ice cream, a huge variety of all-you-can-eat food (tacos, burritos, hamburgers, hotdogs, chicken, salads) cotton candy, and all the games/entertainment/activities. And of course...

Fireworks! They put on a real nice display of the rockets red glare. I heard that many city residents knew of the celebration and were planning to find a nice place somewhere in the city to watch this display (Zadarmo- free of charge).

She may not speak english but her wardrobe speaks American.

And these were my compadres for the evening. Sarah (front left) who is from Indiana and has been in Slovakia for 14 years, Kenga (sorry, not sure about the spelling) who hails from Poland, and Stefan my Slovak friend whom you have met before on the blog. Sarah and I wanted to make the Pole and the Slovak sing God Bless America but they wouldnt go for it.

This is Marsh and Tuula who have made previous appearences on the blog. Marsh is from Great Britain and his wife Tuula is from Finland. They lived in Austria for 15 yrs before their 16 years here in Slovakia. They were smuggling bibles into this region long before communism came crumbling down. We had a lovely evening together. I cooked up some steaks on the grill and then we retired to my living room for ice cream and conversation. I have learned much from this couple about what it means to live and serve in Slovakia. Despite the daunting challenges, God has given me important opportunities to connect to so many people through slow, patient relationship building. There are so many ministry moments and they are difficult to quantify but rich nonetheless. However the question I have been asking myself the past 6 months is: what is a realistic goal/expectation for a 2 yr commitment? Based on what I am learning from my mentors, and personal experience, I believe it may be more simple and plain than originally imagined. It seems that my primary focus should continue to be learning the language and engaging in the slow, painstaking process of building trusting relationships with a Slovak people who find it quite difficult to trust. Within the everyday conversations and interactions are the unseen building blocks of trust and access to the hearts of a people who are still searching for freedom. The communists are gone but the imprisonment lives on in so many within the emotional and spiritual bondage of darkness and hopelessness. My hope and prayer is that I may be a humble and faithful companion to my friends here, exemplifying a life which leads to the freedom and to the light.

I recently had a nice lunch outing with my friend Pali. We originally met at the Lutheran church where I have been invited to teach a few times. Pali has a very real and deeply abiding faith which is a great encouragement to me. The cultural differences between our countries means that his expression of faith is unique to me. I see it as a great opportunity to learn about an aspect of faith which I have not encountered.

These are my friends Emma, Peter, Adam and Alex(not in this photo). They were introduced on the blog way back on Christmas day whem they graciously took me in for dinner. Emma is an English girl, Peter a Slovak. I met them at my home church where Peter serves as a translator for the services. This lovely couple has been a friend to many past missionaries who have come to this area. Here you can see the early stages of the house they are building a short distance from the city.

This home may look quite standard to most Americans but this is truly an odd sight for Slovaks. Most homes in Slovakia are not built with wood. However this is no oridinary wood home but rather like a pilot project which is slowly gaining some momentum here. The proper term is "Passive House." It boasts some rather cutting edge technology which uses some sort of underground piping system which provides the house with the heating and cooling it needs using a very reduced amount of energy. In addition, many of the materials used to build the house are more environment friendly. The draw back is that at this stage it is more expensive than the standard building trend. I have found many Slovaks to be quite environmentally conscious.

This is the more standard building trend which uses a block system. Apparently, they are terribly inefficient in terms of energy and conservation. I believe the materials for making these blocks is plentiful in the hills and mountains around this region. However, it doesnt appear to me that there is any shortage of wood either.

Alex and I found ourselves up a tree without a ladder. Just a couple of monkeys hangin out.

This small village known as Stupava, and others just like it, is where Peter and Emma as well as many other young families are migrating out of the city. These migrations are sort of like Slovakia's version of the suburbs. This is the local Catholic church in town where there just happended to a wedding going on when we walked by.

The perfect day for a wedding. Here's a shot of the bride just before she walks into her new life.

There couldnt be a better get-away car from your wedding than a pink Cadilac.

After returning to the city I realized there are always more interesting pictures to be discovered. I have walked past here dozens of times and just realized this is a picture many of you would like to see. This is a tunnel which goes right underneath the castle. So, there you have it. Another small sample of a great 3 weeks here in Slovakia.