Even though our language learning is going slowly we are picking up some useful phrases.  We have included a few so you can give it a try! 

But remember...

        the “a” sounds like the “a” in father
        the “e” sounds like the “e” in pet
        the “i” sounds like a long “e”, as in bee
        the “o” sounds like a long “o”. as in boat (only a shorter sound)
        the “u” sounds like the “oo” in book
        the “r” is trilled or flapped
        the “j” sounds like the “y” in yet
        the “š” sounds like the “sh” in ship
        the “đ” sounds like the “j” in jam
        the “č” sounds like the first “ch” in church
        the “c” sounds like the “ts” in cats

I won’t go into declensions, or how to conjugate, or the six cases, or the gender of nouns, or which syllable gets the accent because I have not figured all that out yet.

Hello          Bok! (for children or people you know)     

                   Dobar Dan (for everyone else)       

What is your name?        Kako se zoveš?

I’m                .               Jesam            .

Pleased to meet you.    Drago me je.

How are you?                Kako si?

I’m good, even great.    Jako dobro, čak izvrsno.

Do you have bread?    Imaš li kruh?

No, I don’t.        Ne, nemam.

Not a problem.        Nema ne čemu.
   

Where is the church?    Gdje je crvek?  If you ask that question, you must pull out your map – well, at least I have to!

See you tomorrow!    Vidimo se sutra!

Goodbye         Bok! (for children or people you know)    

                       Doviđenja! (for everyone else)

 A month before we departed for Croatia, Dan and I realized that we needed to have dental check ups.  A friend told me about a couple from our church, Jim and Kim Harms, who were very good dentists and could help us.  I made an appointment for Wednesday, April 18th – about a week before our departure.  At the check up and cleaning, Kim found I had a cavity and possibly a cracked tooth which might need a root canal and crown!  A year ago, right before we left on our eleven week road trip, I had an old filling replaced and it had bothered me since then – but as we were on the road, I learned to live with it and had never gotten around to doing anything about it.  So here we are – eight days before we leave for four years, with some major dental work.  Over the next week, Jim and Faye, his dental assistant, spent hours on my teeth!

Thursday, 4/19: Cavity filled, pressure and ice cube test on my back molars.  OUCH!  I had two cracked teeth!  Two back teeth filed down, temporary crowns put on and a very numb mouth.  Took Advil.
Monday, 4/23:  Root canal on one tooth that was still aching and one very numb mouth.  Took Advil.
Tuesday, 4/24: Checked on still aching root canal tooth and delayed permanent crowns for a day.  Took Advil.
Wednesday, 4/25: Two permanent crowns put on at 6:00 in the morning.  Took Advil.
Thursday, 4/26:  Left for Croatia, still taking Advil.

The lab they used to make crowns was also owned by Christians and they did a rush job - the crowns were ready on Tuesday morning.  What a whirlwind!  And what a testimony to God’s provision!  Needless to say, I had to cancel a few plans and didn’t get quite as much done as I wanted but my teeth are doing much better now, and I am so thankful that God provided the Harms.   Maybe next time I won’t leave the dental appointment until the very last moment!

"Znate li hrvatski?"  "Samo malo."  The translation for this is: “Do you speak Croatian?”  “Only a little.” 

Language learning is going slowly.  Our tongues are stumbling over unfamiliar sounds and words, while our brains are trying to adjust to different letters and grammar – declension, conjugation, gender, and all those cases!  Thankfully, we have a few people to help us including Mirna, our language helper, who meets with us a few times a week, and Danka, the teacher at a private language school, who is helping us with grammar.  We hope to be increasing our time with Mirna and decreasing our private lessons for awhile until we know more words and phrases.  While we are at the language school, Ellie Beth spends time with Kati and her son, Aron, who is six months old.  Ellie Beth has enjoyed taking walks with them to the market and playing games in Croatian.  Lydia will soon be joining them.  In July, I will be taking an intensive language class at the university while Dan is at camp.  Then in the fall, Dan and I will start language school at the university while all four of us continue with language helpers.

Please continue to pray for our language learning.  Although many people speak some English, especially the younger generation, we want to be able to communicate to the Croatian people in their heart language.  It has been frustrating to not be able to connect with people because we can’t speak their language.  

Aron, Kati, and Ellie Beth

Language Learning is Messy

We finally have internet access!  It came earlier this week and we are now able to update this site a little more frequently and also send out updates to our faithful prayer partners.  We are pretty excited about this.  Rather than try to recap the last several weeks, I think I'll just fill you in on our day today since it was a typical day for us.

Botanical Gardens on our Cell Phone camera

The service was all in Croatian.  We are getting better at Croatian, but it is still very difficult to follow anything other than greetings and simple phrases.  Praise songs are great though, because we can pick up lots of phrases that are repeated over and over until we learn them.  One I caught this morning was "Ti si moj kralj!" which means, "you are my king".  It is an exciting moment when you can lean over to your family and say, "Hey that means you are my king."  However, it is a little frustrating when they all say, "Yeah, we know".  I'm getting used to that as well.

When it came time to take communion, we encountered another of those extra decisions we have to make a lot.  One cup was passed around to everyone and it was wine.  Do we give it to the girls or not?  Bonnie and had a quick discussion and made a call (I'll leave the decision up to you if you ever have to make it) just as the cup came by.  Unexpected things keep popping up in places we don't expect them.

As the sermon started I was thinking that my time here so far feels like surfing.  I have never actually surfed, but I often feel like I am on a little board on top of a huge wave that is constantly moving forward.  There are times of beauty when you relax and look around, and times of intense activity as you struggle with your board, knowing that the wave won't stop to let you get back on.  Even the falling in is not bad, but riding the board is a heck of a lot more fun than struggling to get back on to the board.

After church we relaxed a bit, and then I drove Bonnie to an empty parking lot so she could practice driving the stick shift and then Bonnie drove home for the first time in Croatia.  This was her first time to drive in Croatia.  The traffic here is more intense than in the States so it took her a little while longer to choose to drive.

Thats the day and it was actually very typical for us.  I am looking forward to the time when things like going to church are more of a routine process for us.  However, I am also thankful that we are here and acclimating to this new culture so well.  It is truly a blessing in the way God has orchestrated so many events around us to make this a smooth transition.  He is good.