Boys and Men

We just had a really fun visit with Steve and Sean Meyer from our home church in Tremont.  Steve and Ed are great friends, and Sean is a best buddy of our boys, Jayce and Tate.  They came for a few days to say hi, see what is going on with us, and bring us some goodies!  I am sad that I never got a picture of the boys playing floorball in our foyer, because that is what they did most often while in the house.  And when I say boys, I mean the boys AND the men!  We had a great few days, and although it was super sad to see them leave, it was quite refreshing to have some dear friends bringing encouragement and joy to us.

Steve has spent many years of his own life overseas spreading the Gospel, so it was really good to hear his insights and to think about some of the questions he asked us.  We so appreciated the link back to our home church, and the care we regularly receive from Northfield.  We are very blessed with our church family in Tremont, and the relationships that we have that continue across the ocean.  This visit from the Meyer boys was a great representation of that care.  So thank you Meyers, and thank you NCF, for keeping us in your hearts and prayers.

The three sporting their rival hockey team caps

Better late than never???

It is truly October already, isn't it???  I see that our last blog post was dated May 28th.  Uuuuuummmmmm...let's see if we can catch this thing up...

Our English camp theme for the summer

NCF Tremont comes to do camp with us!!!

Three siblings serving together...but first, a taste of our local soda

Every summer teams from U.S. churches come to Slovakia to help with our English camps.  They bring the English teaching, the activities, the energy and much of the Bible teaching as well…not to mention all the American candy they bring along to give away!!!  J  This summer was a huge treat to us, because one of those teams came from our home church in Tremont, Illinois…and the best part was that Ed’s brother, Doug and his sister, Sheri, were two of the three leaders of the team.  Evan, the third leader, was also a huge asset to the camp. 

The three leaders:  Doug, Sheri and Evan

Camp evening program

Traveling with these three leaders were 10 students who were the teachers of the classes and the leaders of many parts of camp, along with 2 extra “minors”.  These minors were too young to be considered part of the team, but their presence at the camp was a huge bonus to our family.  They were two of our kids’ cousins, who came along to enjoy the trip and hang out with our kids.  Three of the 10 actual team members were also cousins, so all together, 7/15 of the team from Tremont were members of the big Rumbold family!  J  That is an awesome percentage! 

First stop...McDonald's!!

The cousins 

This team was truly incredible!  They jumped right in and allowed the Lord to use them in the lives of the students, teaching them about having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and the joy that He brings.  It was so much fun to see these kids in leadership roles, and leading to the fullest!  They were all a great blessing to us and to the whole camp.  

Other great things happened this summer, with 9 other English camps across the country, 100 unbelievers hearing about Jesus, and 42 of them accepting Christ into their lives.  Now these Slovak youth groups are working on following up with these new believers, to disciple them in their new walk with Christ.  We are always blessed by the willingness of the U.S. teams to come and be a part of the work that God is doing at these summer English camps.  And we are always thrilled to see how God is reaching out to draw all people unto Himself. 

A Little Taste of Home

Now we are well into the new school year, the resuming of activities that summer put a pause into, and more daily life in Bardejov.  And we have already had some dear visitors!  Wendi’s uncle and aunt, Joe and Barb Zimmerman, (Joe is the brother of Wendi's mom) blessed us with an amazing visit at the beginning of September!  They were doing a little touring of Europe, and started their trip by coming this far east to see our world.  We showed them our town, and basically just enjoyed being able to spend precious time with them here.  Our kids loved being with them as well…we all felt like we had a delicious taste of home with their presence with us.

Welcoming them to the Krakow airport

A view of our town from the top of the church's bell tower

So, Joe and Barb…thank you for your time with us.  Thank you for all you brought to us in your suitcases.  Thank you for living life with us here these days.  We loved every minute of our time with you, and we so appreciate your efforts to get here!  We love you!