Dober dan from Beograd!

Hello everyone! We're sorry it has taken us so long to give you all a long update of what we've been doing here in Belgrade. We have been so busy with meetings, touring the city, and learning more about what our two months here will look like.

The first days were a struggle with being so busy, jet lagged and uncertain about what our purpose here is. Our team took some time to pray and discuss our struggles, and we've since seen God working through us, giving us comfort and peace of mind.

Yesterday, we began teaching our English classes at a language school. Casey and Emily are teaching 6 students aged 12-15, and Cassie and Carolyn are teaching 2 girls that are 14 and 17. The students are so eager to learn English and really enjoy all things American. We let them pick English names, so they chose Peter, Taylor (Swift), Miley (Cyrus) and Duane. We will teach them in the mornings from 10-12:15 every day for the next month or so.

We also got connected with a humanitarian organization called Bread of Life, that works with local Gypsy communities. We took a trip out to the village, and played games with about 15 kids, ages 2-8 while their mothers had a group meeting. We sang "baby shark", played Duck Duck Goose, hokey pokey, and had a blast. The kids were so enthusiastic and excited to meet us, and they wouldn't let us go at the end. We can't wait to work with them again, because they really gave us the encouragement, laughter and joy that we have been missing here.

The weather is finally turning around - the first few days were really rainy and gray. We must have brought the weather here to Belgrade from Seattle. This weekend we will go to Lake Ada, which is really close to the city. We'll go there for the softball championship for the Serbian women's team. We might play softball later today and try to build relationships with the women on the team.

For now, you can be praying for energy, as our days are very long and exhausting. We could also use prayer for health, as many of us have struggled with allergies, migraines, and annoying bug bites. We miss you all very much, and will hopefully update again soon!

Love,

Emily, Carolyn, Cassie and Casey