April and May Update

Piran, Slovenija for May 1st holiday.

Somehow April managed to get by us without an update, but we'll sneak it into this one for May! Don't forget to click-the-piks to enlarge.

What better way to start off this update than by mentioning our 17th anniversary just passed on April 29. We can hardly believe it's been this long already that I stole away my little Serbian lady from her home town of Subotica! We're so blessed and thankful for each other and for our two children, both of which are outright miracles! And on that note, please pray for Matea as we'll explain below.

May is Matea's Month

Ice Cream in Piran.

From taking off training wheels to taking out tonsils, we have big news for Matea these days. She learned to ride her bike a little over a week ago, and now she's scheduled to have surgery on next Monday, May 14. Her adenoids and tonsils need to come out. We have long suspected that she might need this procedure because of her great difficulty breathing. She often goes into apnea and it is unnerving to hear her gag, choke and cough at all hours of the night. Poor little thing must not be getting quality rest with that kind of broken sleep. 

Her visit with the specialist over a month ago confirmed the problem, but we've had to await a call from the hospital to give us the appointment. Since it was getting down to crunch time (the procedure must be done within two months of being seen), we prayed this morning specifically that they'd call TODAY. And...they did! We're really looking forward to having this behind us all. 

You might recall that when Luka had the same operation, he hemmoraged badly after being released and it was rather scary to find him asleep on the couch with blood coming out of his mouth. It turned out to be an emergency re-admittance for another 3 days. We pray for a smoother recovery and that she will not have the adverse reaction to the anesthesia the way Luka did, which was really violent upon waking up. Please join us in praying for Matea's surgery this coming Monday, and that she'll stay healthy from now until then, otherwise we'll lose her slot.

Perside watching the kids perform.

Perside

Pray also for Perside who has long suffered with arthritis and hip problems. By the way, Perside oversees our children's ministry and is the wife of Nino, one of the elders at CC Treviso, and a mother of three young girls. She'll be getting a hip replacement done and as you can imagine, she's pretty apprehensive about it all. 

We trust that this will be a great blessing to her in the end though, bringing relief from the constant pain and limitations of movement that she has endured for years. Pray for peace for her, a smooth surgery, and for Nino and the girls while Mommy is down for her recovery period.

The Scatas

Bob and Lori Scata

Bob (one of the elders at CC Treviso) and Lori Scata will be departing for the USA on Tuesday, May 15, for a long visit. They have much to do while there, including prepping their house to become a weekly rental unit during the Summer break. 

They've had some trouble with previous longterm tenants abdicating their contract, thus leaving them with a lot of unpaid costs to cover. It's vital that this house be finished on time and, we pray, booked by vacationers. Without this, Bob and Lori would be forced to remain in the states to sort out the situation, being unable to return to serve with CC Trevso. We certainly pray they can return, and that during their absence this summer God would stir others in the fellowship to step up into any needs with gladness. 

Sunday School Show and Lunch

All the kids were up front doing their demo with the teachers.

This past Sunday we had our end-of-the-Sunday-school-year show, followed by a lunch together. Each teacher had the group demonstrate something specific they had learned. 

Lori covered the ten commandments with a technique that makes memorizing them in order very easy! Emma did the lampstand from the tabernacle, sang the song "This little light of mine," and talked about good deeds. 

Stop, pensa (think), prega (pray). Steps to avoid angry outbursts!

Perside did a theme on the giants we face, in particular, the giant of anger. Luka narrated it (his first time) and did great reading in Italian.  They closed out with a cute dance. 

We couldn't help being warmed by these little faces. We love them with all their simplicity, enthusiasm and innocent transparency. Not to mention how thankful we are for the wonderful teachers who pour into them every Sunday, month after month.