Posted in General Articles by Tomina Slevin on 9/1/2009
Welcome to Ometepe, an island in Lake Nicaragua that was formed by two volcanoes. On this island, Trans World Missions established an orphanage, Cicrin, in the early 1970's. Cicrin was created for mistreated, abandoned, and at-risk children of Nicaragua. The orphanage provides housing, food, clothing, medication, education, Christian upbringing, psychological attention, safety, and hope to these children. This is also our location for our last month of ministry on the World Race.
The Girls Room El Rancho or hang out area w/ hammocks
Kitchen & Dining Room Overlooking the Lake Hand-washing clothes
Our meals typically consist of rice and beans, and sometimes fish, squash, or soup. Ministry has included construction of a feeding center, working in the garden or kitchen, hanging out with the kids, etc. It has been great to have physical labor ministry and to see the accomplishments that come from our time and hard work.
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Posted in General Articles by Tomina Slevin on 7/27/2009
Our friends in village Arroyo Palenque
My last week in Mexico was spent in the village Arroyo Palenque. The word "Arroyo" means "brook" in English; it was music to my ears. After weeks of intense heat and humity, the whole team was excited to spend the week in the river. The kids swam with us all afternoon, or until their tiny bodies turned purple from getting to cold-crazy! We had childrens program in the afternoons where we sang songs, did skits, and played games. We also had prayer meetings with pastor Marcos (pictured above in blue-striped polo). And for the first time I preached in a church and it had to be translated twice-first into Spanish by squadmate Mark, then into Chole by pastor Marcos. By the time the congregation understood what I had said, I had already forgetten what I had wanted to say next! It was a crazy couple of days and a great way to end my time in Mexico.
 If the chickens, roosters, ducks, dogs, large trucks, and blaring Mexican music didn't wake you at 5:00 AM, the kids were sure to stop by and stick their heads in your tent. Good morning!
Lindsey and Maria cool of at the river. The kids loved this game. One person was chosen as the leader.
He/she would lead the other children in a series of actions.
The person who was "it" would have to guess who was the leader.
Can you guess the leader?!
Playing tag in th field with the kids was fun. The kids loved helping us play cards. Mark and Sablo.
But, watch out for cow pies!
A big thank you goes out to our amazing host mom and her children. They shared their home with us and let us laugh with them in their kitchen. Mama also made us lots of good Mexican food. Thank you!!
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Posted in General Articles by Tomina Slevin on 7/15/2009
Viva la Mexico!! After 16 hours and 3 bus transfers, team Clay and Banah arrived in Pelenque, Mexico. We were relieved to find our housing contact waiting for us. Unfortunately we were not as lucky with ministry. We were unable to get a hold of our contact. And so, we have spent the last few days listening to the Lord and finding places to serve. We have preached at a few churches, a rehab center, and a prison. We have also done some ground work at the Bible Institute where we have been staying. We are looking forward to teaching Bible studies and children programs in nearby villages next week.
But before we get ourselves ready for village ministry, itīs time to party. July 14th was a special day for team Clay. Not just one, but two birthdays.
Happy Birthday Melissa and Tomina!!
We celebrated in the sun at Agua Azul.
After dinner we celebrated in true Mexican style. We had a piņata! And true to World Race style, we were to cheap to buy one. So, Lindsey and I made one out of a fan box and napkins-itīs a sun!
The fan box was very strong. We got tired...Melissa broke out the machete.
Finally, the piņata was broken and the candy eaten.
We all went to bed full of sugar and happy. It was a day full of surprises (41 emails) and fun. Thank you for all the birthday wishes. I had an absolutely fun and memorable birthday.
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Posted in General Articles by Tomina Slevin on 6/27/2009
Last week was English camp at the Global Cafe. The theme was English through the arts. Our days were planned: visual art, literature, dance, music, and drama. We only had five campers to our 9 staff. Not the turn-out we had hoped but the kids got to have one-on-one instruction, and it turned out to be a great week.
Summer and Aaron help campers proofread their papers. Me and Meri.
On Tuesday we learned about dance. After researching ballroom, tribal, and hip-hop dancing, the students had fun dancing themselves. We played DDR (Dance Dance Revolution). Meri helped her sister Karla!
The kids enjoyed the break from English lessons for a little ultimate frisbee.
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Posted in General Articles by Tomina Slevin on 6/27/2009
Our Croatia contacts, Tim and Grace, left for a conference in Austria this week. Team Clay took the opportunity to finish some renovation projects while they were out. Flowers needed to be planted. Chairs needed painting; walls needed touch-ups. And Tim had hopes of one day turning the cafe basement into an office/lounge. We all knew that time was limited. So as soon as they hit the road, we hit the projects.
Cafe basement - Before Cafe basement (new office) - After
It was hard work. Everyone came in early and stayed late, but we finished before they arrived back to Croatia. Was all our hard work worth it? DId they like the new look of their cafe?!
Yes! We have happy cafe owners. We are so thankful for our our contact Tim and his staff. We felt so blessed working with them this month. We are glad we were able to bless them in return by finishing the renovations on their cafe.
And that concludes this episode of "While You Were Out: World Race Edition."
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Posted in General Articles by Tomina Slevin on 6/13/2009
I have made it to my ninth month on the World Race. I am surprised to find that the closer I get to end of the Race, the more homesick I become. My excitement to be reunited with family and the need to make plans for reentering the States has created a fog in my mind that distracts me. It's as though there is a divide in my soul. Part of me is on the World Race, and the other part is sitting on a comfy couch in Roseau, MN. It's a daily struggle to reconnect these dueling sides and keep focused on the day's tasks. I am split and ironically, that is exactly where God has me: Split, Croatia. Thankfully it is a beautiful city. It helps keep my head out of the clouds and back in the present. And the present is an amazing place.
My team is serving at a coffee shop called The Global Cafe. The cafe was opened by an American couple about five years ago. They came to Croatia as missionaries and wanted to play an active role in the community. They started the cafe with hopes of meeting people in the community and forming relationships to share the gospel. Now the cafe is a common hang-out for the local High School students. Saturday nights the cafe is open late for movies, games, and karaoke. Sundays are reserved for church and English camps are held during the summer months. The Global Cafe has since been transferred over to a new missionary couple, Tim and Grace. But nonetheless, the cafe has become a beacon of light just as the missionaries had hoped.
  
The students and the community are not the only ones to be drawn to the light of the cafe. I have too. I have loved spending my days at the cafe making coffees and chatting with the students who have skipped class just to come hang out. I have loved being a part of a church community again and am looking forward to teaching English during camp next week.
My mind still wanders at times and I know that my focus is split. But it's okay. I know this is where God wants me to be and like I said, it's a beautiful place.
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Posted in General Articles by Tomina Slevin on 6/4/2009
My last night in Arcalia, Romania was full of food, charades, and laughter. Teammate Summer and I were prayer walking around the village when we decided to make a last minute visit to our new friend Claudia and her family. We knew our knock on the door was a surprise but they welcomed us as though we were expected guests. They quickly showed us into their living room where we shared the strongest coffee I have ever tasted (I had trouble drinking it without making a face.) Then, out came the food: Coke, cookies, crackers, and every variation of sweet cheese pastry imaginable. The family ate until they were comfortably full, while Summer and I were encouraged to eat until we were uncomfortably full.
As we ate, we acted. Neither Summer nor I speak Romanian. Claudia and family do not speak English. So each of us tried, sometimes unsuccessfully, to communicate our side of the conversation by acting and pointing. Our conversation was the most fun game of charades I have ever played. My favorite was the repeated actions by Claudia's husband. He would put on his cowboy hat, dismount his imaginary horse, draw his imaginary guns, then spin the guns and place them back in the holster. He reenacted this scenario five or six times throughout the evening. I'm still not sure what he was trying to tell us but we all enjoyed the laughter it created.
At 8 o'clock we realized we had been visiting for nearly four hours and so we told our host it was time for us to go home. Before leaving, Summer and I prayed for Claudia and her family. Our prayers were bathed in tears; first Claudia and her husbands, then mine. As they walked us to the front door they acted out their thanks. They explained to us that no one comes to visit them because they have little money and a broken home. They wiped their tears and were then all smiles. They "said" they were so glad we had visited. We were given big hugs and sent on our way. As we walked away down the gravel path I kept looking over my shoulder to see Claudia and her family standing at the gate waving. They waved until we were out of sight.
On the World Race I expected to learn about the needs of the world and how to minister to them. This is what I am learning: the one thing I hear in every country, in every village is that people feel they have been forgotten. Poverty, social status, societal norms, crimes, sin-we find reasons to label and judge. We find reasons to separate ourselves from "them." And then, we wonder how we can minister in this world. We think we need to create the perfect five-point presentation of the gospel. We think we need the right supplies and the right words. But, we don't. In Matthew 22:37-40 Jesus explains that the greatest commandment is love. It's a passage I have read a thousand times but makes more sense to me today than ever before. There are people all around the world who feel they have been forgotten, and the greatest thing we can do is see them. Our greatest mission is to sit down, eat sweet cheese pastries, play charades, and laugh. Our greatest command is to love. And when we do it, God shows up.
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Posted in General Articles by Tomina Slevin on 5/21/2009
My team spent the last two weeks in a small village called Arcalia, Romania. Our contact Gabby moved her family (husband and three children) into her in-laws house so that we could live in her home during our stay. While the seven of us piled into the small living space I thought to myself, "Why would this women be willing to give up her home?" It didn't take long to discover her motivation. Here it is:
Alex (1), Silvo, Rouel, Alex, Gabriella, Gabby. Everyone's name is either Alex and Gabriel.
Isabella and her sister Luchiana.
Their grandmother is raising them along with her two other grandchildren.
Sisters Donna and Gabby- sweetest girls in the whole village
Gabby with the kids in her yard after we did a kids program.
Arcalia is a spiritually dry place. Gabby is one of three believers in the village. The lack of hope drives many parents to alcohol. Some simply leave; granndparents must take on the responsibility of raising their grandchildren. Some kids are left to themselves, no one to love them, no one to feed them- no one except Gabby. Her home, her kitchen table, and her heart are always open. Her yard is a safe haven. She desperately wants these kids to feel loved, to feel important, and to place their trust in Christ. She believed my team could help her do it. And so she moved out so that we could move in.
And it makes me think. Would I be willing to do the same? Would you?
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Posted in General Articles by Tomina Slevin on 5/16/2009
Seriously, Ukraine was freezing! Many nights it got down to 20 degrees. And we didn't have heat! At night I would put on my warmest pants, thick socks, a t-shirt, a long sleeve shirt, my sweatshirt, and hat. Then I would wrap myself in my sheet and get into my sleeping bag, zipping it to the top. Next I'd put on my eye mask to keep my face warm. I'd put a blanket over my head and slide down to the bottom of my sleeping bag. It kept me warm but made waking to go to the outhouse as night even more of a bother.
Our days weren't much warmer than our nights, but moving around helped keep us warm. So, we spent time playing soccer at the orphanage, visiting babushkas in nearby villages, and making general repairs at the summer camp (Lindsey, Carly, and I made a volleyball court!). We also spent Easter eating candy and searching for colored eggs with the orphans.
I enjoyed doing ministry in Ukraine but the thing I will remember the most are the nights spent around the fire. Every night Joel would light a fire (Thank you Joel!) and we would be drawn to its warmth. Some nights I only spent a few minutes before heading to bed. Other nights, I would stay for hours mesmerized by the flames. We held worship, told stories, ate s'mores, and laughed a lot. Sarah caught herself on fire twice (pants and hair--no injuries). Joel and Aaron worried their teammates by trying to jump the fire. Squad mate, Erin, had a birthday and we celebrated with fireworks and a dance party. The fun and laughter helped us forget the cold - friendships were strengthened and memories made.
Ukraine was cold, but I'll always remember the warmth by the fire.
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Posted in General Articles by Tomina Slevin on 4/2/2009
Please do not mistake my lack of blogs this month as a lack of enthusiasm for India. It is actually quite the opposite. I loved India so much that I wasn't willing to spare time for writing blogs. So here is a recap of the past month:
- My teammates and I worked in a school for street kids.
-We played games, taught Bible songs and stories, and did crafts.
-I worked with the 3-5 year olds. I taught them the ABC's and numbers. They were crazy and adorable.
-I loved their sweet greetings every morning, "Good morning, ma'am!"
-I fell in love with each of the kids. On the last day I was making a mental list of my favorites (only slightly tempted to leave my clothes and pack the kids in my bag). When I had finished my list I realized that I had named my entire class.
-Each evening my team visited different homes for prayer and Bible study.
-We were welcomed so warmly. Chai and cookies were always served.
-Many of the Christians met in private to avoid rebuke and judgment from family and friends. They risk of being shunned by their families was great. They were fearful yet eager to hear the word of God.
-I got to ride in a rickshaw everyday.
-I bought an Indian Punjabi for only $12. It is beautiful!
-I got my nose pierced! All the girls on my team went to the jeweler together. I love team bonding!
-I got a henna tattoo.
-My teammates and I dressed up in our Indian attire and had a fashion show in our hallway.
-We then went out to a restaurant for a traditional Indian meal. Buttered naan is amazing!
-I bought a cute pair of boots, a jacket, jeans, scarf, and dress in preparation for Eastern Europe. Everything was super cheap.-We also had another fashion show in the hallway. It's amazing how a pair of boots and a nice pair of jeans can make you feel like a girl again.
-My team had Pizza Hut and game night on Fridays.
-My teammates and I hiked to Mussoorie to get a view of the Himalayas.
-I went for a hike with teammates Joel and Summer. Joel let me use his machete to cut trail!
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