Salzburg

Greetings from Salzburg.

For the next few days, I'll be in the city that was the birthplace for Mozart, and the setting for ''The Sound of Music.''  It is beautiful.  However, we almost didn't make it out of Budapest.  While on the metro, we got stopped by ticket control officers (a middle age woman with huge frizzy hair and her partner, a middle aged, tired man).  We didn't have properly validated tickets because the onlz machine dispesing tickets took only coins and we were out.  Anyway, she went from expecting 2400 HUF (about $12)  from each of us (there are 6 of us), to taking 4000 HUF (about $20) for the whole group.  This was after a threat to call the police and raise the fine to 5600 HUF (almost $30 each).  We finally escaped and made it safely to the train the next morning.

Salzburg is great (a bit more expensive), but great nonetheless.

More updates to come...

 
Josh

Budapest

Hey y'all,

I'm here in Budapest for the third day.  We are having a great time viewing the sites.  Yesterday, we spent in the old part of the city by the river.  We took a stroll up castle hill and then by parlament.  For my birthday dinner, we ate at the only Mexican place in town.  It was great.  Today, we saw "Statue Park" an outdoor museum filled with statues from the communist era.  We had a great time posing with the statues and taking pictures.

We are leaving tomorrow afternoon for Salzburg, Austria (the sound of music).  I think while the girls are taking the "Sound of Music Tour" the guys will be sliding down slids into salt mines.  Anyway, I'll try to keep you updated.

Josh

Off to Thessalonica!

After a very hard first two and a half weeks, we are off for a little R&R in the biblical city of Thessalonica. We have been studing 1 Thess. in our bible study and will get to see the city where Paul was ministry to. I'll update soon.

End of Briefing!

We have finally come to the time where we are no longer in "briefing." We are done with presentations about culture and religion, have finished training, and are ready for outreach. Tomorrow, we will hit Belgrade with our Bibles, the Holy Spirit, and hearts for the Serbian people.

Tonight, we went for a walk in a fortress. The fortres lies and the confluence of the Danube and Savo(?) rivers. It is massive. I am also amazed at how late everyone is up. It seems this slcity never sleeps. The people and shops stay open until at least midnight (that's our curfew for project).

Anyway, expect a longer update on Friday. That's my day off and the day after the first outreach. I'm sure I'll have much to report :).

--Josh

Serbia Photos

Here's a new site to see my Serbia photos.

http://f2.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/joshfriel/album?.tok=phN1LQBBYKeyfi0o&.dir=/c2b8&.src=ph

SX 2004 Prayer Requests

Health & Safety
For safety as we travel
That all of our belongings and supplies make it to and from Serbia
For safety as we travel within Belgrade
For safety for those traveling after the project
For ease of travel especially for the 3 kids
That we all would have good health while we are in Belgrade
For safety as we participate in sports and other activities in the city
That there would be peace & stability in Serbia

Support/Finances
For all of the support necessary so that all of us can go
That we would be good stewards of our money and that we stay within budget
That the Euro would go down in value ($1.15 US)

Team
That we would be a team known by our faith and love for one another
That we would walk in the Spirit
That we would work well together and resolve conflict quickly and graciously
That we would have good attitudes and servant hearts
That we would develop strong, healthy relationships with each other
For Matt Thiessen and Beth Bohlmann as they lead the project (wisdom, strength, patience, etc…)
That each of us would feel loved and appreciated
That we would work well with the Serbian national team (Erol & Tanja)
That our briefing time would provide a good foundation for the project
For the small groups, men/women’s time, & training times to be fruitful and effective (personal growth, ministry skills, relationships, etc…)
That many of us would return next summer and for 4 students to join Brandon for STINT 2005
That we would have a fun and memorable experience this summer
That our R&R in Greece would be restful, refreshing, and fun

Ministry
For a burden for the Serbian people that will carry with us to our campuses back home
For compassion that leads to action
For confidence and courage to proclaim Christ
For wisdom and insight into effective evangelism strategies
That we would have effective Jesus films showings, sports camps, English camps, surveys, etc…
For open and receptive hearts to the Gospel – that many would come to faith this summer
That we will find 2 people who will eventually become leaders of the ministry in Serbia
For wisdom in relating and engaging with Orthodoxy
That we would engage in good spiritual conversations
That we would find Christians to encourage and build up
For wisdom & discernment on a possible vision trip to Nis (20,000 college students)
That we would gain inroads with the university – starting up an exchange program
For vision and direction for Erol & Tanja as they lead the ministry
That God would raise up laborers in Serbia

Here's the rock the car hit. You can kinda see the tire tracks leading up to the rock. From here, there is no trace of the car for about twenty feet when it started rolling on the ground. 

Here's an inside view of the car. The picture was taken through the broken rear windshield. 

Here's the front view. The roads were dry, and I don't remember having the windshield wipers on. 

Here she is. Notice that grass "growing" from the car door.