Beginnings and Completions

The school year at EGT begins and ends with a church service. I remember the worship service at the beginning of the year. Everyone was in formal dress and met in front of Tisovec church. Students and parents were everywhere. I walked through this sea of faces, not recognizing one of them, and made my way down the aisle of this huge, cold church to sit in the designated “teacher” pew. I sat through a church service in a language that was as foreign to me as gibberish. And I was welcomed as a teacher-missionary into this school community with no idea of what the year would hold.

Our closing worship was on Wednesday. Again, everyone was in formal and met in front of Tisovec church. Students were everywhere, but this time as I walked through the crowd, I realized that I knew every student’s face. Not only could I call them by name, but I could ask them questions about the things that were going on in their lives and the things they had planned for summer holiday. I talked with so many students that it took me a while to find my way to the font set of pews. Just as in August, I sat through a church service in a language that I still don’t know. Yet as I was sitting, I watched my students and I was struck by the way these worship services bookend my school year and time in Slovakia. It seemed that nothing had really changed, and yet so much had. I have grown in confidence and in experience. And I have formed relationships with my neighbors and friends in Slovakia. While this year has certainly not been a walk in the park, I am thankful for both our first worship – where I knew nothing and no one , our last worship – where I realized that I had a place in this Tisovec community, and most of all, I am thankful for all the time in between.