So soon?

Well, we've arrived at the final stretch.

Way too many things have happened in the past 2 weeks. We started going to some other cities in Slovenia. There are 3 universities in the country, and the one that we spend the most time at is the University of Ljubljana, and there are also universities in Maribor and Koper. We don't have staff that lives in those cities, so when we are in those cities we don't have time to initiate super deep conversations and really get to see where people are and point them to Jesus. Given that these are much smaller cities and universities than Ljubljana, there aren't nearly as many students to talk with. So we are primarily focused on finding serious Christian students to start their own movements there.

Example initiations for both types of conversations:
Deep - "Živjo(hello)! My name is Chris and this is my friend ___. We are in Ljubljana with a worldwide student movement, and we are trying to get to know some Slovene students, to learn about their culture, and to ask people what they believe about faith and spiritual things. Do you have a bit of time to chat?

Looking for Christians - "Excuse me, do you speak English? Cool! My name is Chris, I'm here with an international Christian movement, and we are looking for students that would say 'I'm a Christian, I believe in God, and I try to follow the teachings of Jesus and the Bible.' Do you know anyone like that?"
If they say no, then we move on to the next person. If they say yes, we follow up with what it would mean to start a movement, and how they would be involved and what would be expected of them. When asking, we have to keep in mind that  being a "leader" is a huge turnoff in their culture, so we instead ask them if they want to be "key volunteers." We try to ask as many people as possible this question, no matter if they are eating, talking with friends (groups are AWESOME - especially if you get a person that is willing to claim their belief in front of their peers), studying, or are on their way to class.

We've increased the movement here in Slovenia from 5 students who want to share their faith to more than 40 students. 5 people have come to Christ and I have a follow up today with another student who is tracking quite well with the idea of grace and the need for a savior!

As we near the last week, we are shifting our focus from people who might be interested in the movement to students who are definitely wanting to start this movement. It's kind of sad that we won't be able to talk to every person about Vsak Študent, but at the same time, that's the Spirit's job. God just invited us along for the ride this summer!

On a side note, the staff surprised us with a trip to Venice last Friday (6/10)! It was a ton of fun to get lost int he alley ways, go to the island of Murano and see the blown glass, and spend the day with awesome people. The amount of tourists was kind of annoying, but Mark's Basilica (supposedly has the bones of the apostle John Mark) was huge and beautiful. However - I did NOT like the fact that they made women cover their shoulders and their knees to enter the building - and they charged for a covering if the girls weren't able to do it themselves with their clothing. God meets people where they are. HE cleans you up and puts you on the right path #ReadEphesians2. But if you have never been, be prepared to pay double for (everything including restrooms) since it is a tourist location.