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.