slovakia, part four: van rides, translators and Banska Stiavnica

hey there! I'm back for part four of my Slovakia recap!!

so. Saturday came. we were going to be spending the day with the Slovak team and our two Romanians. it was our day to bond as a team. I woke up bright and early and threw on my favorite chambray shirt and pink skinny jeans (cause honestly, is there anything better?) and we headed out.

we were heading to Banska Stiavnica. its totally fine if you can't pronounce it. it took me try after try after try. it rolls right off my tongue now, though. so there's hope! :) it was about a two hour drive from Nove Zamky and we were riding in a van, me in the very back seat with Emily and Hutch.

now, I get extremely car sick at times. I need air coming out of the vents, pointing right at my face, or be able to see out of the front, or something. and...I always get deathly ill when driving in the mountains, and the place we were headed was very hilly and twisty-turny and I got deathly ill. I thought I was going to die and was about to ask them to let me out, when we pulled over because Mrs. Sue wasn't feeling well either. we both got some fresh air and arrived at our destination shortly afterward.

the Cerrillo family: Mrs. Sue, Mr. Lou and Paul

I officially met most of the Slovak team throughout the day. Marcel. Gabika. Filip and his sister, Nika. Eva. they were fantastic, y'all. we all just clicked. we had jokes. we made fun of each other. we were like siblings. Eva and I teased each other mercilessly, but we knew that we each cared about the other. she joked that she was gonna throw me in a river, and I brought her cups of Kofola when she was outside with the kids. really, honestly. this team was the greatest mission team ever.

Mrs. Donna, Pica and Mrs. Nancy

that day was spent touring, looking at wood work, I got to check out a castle with an extraordinary view, the kids (meaning Paul, Emily, Hutch and David M). went through a mirror maze, we ate good food and drank Kofola and got to walk through another castle. it was a great day. now I'll shut up and show you some more pictures.

Peter and Michaela and their two little girls 

clockwise: me, Emily, David and Hutch

clockwise: Mr. Lou, Paul, Mrs. Donna, Mrs. Dee and Mrs. Deb

Emily, Hutch, David and Paul

22 of our 26 teammates while we were in Slovakia

I rode home in Filip's car with him, Nika, Emily and Mr. Frederic. but guess what? I slept most of it. sleeping was better than getting sick again! we got back and then went to supper. as usual, it was delicious. (it always was delicious).

when we got back, the "worship team" practiced for Sunday morning, and that was fun. it was me, Emily, Pica, David M., David C. and Mr. Lou. we sounded good together, too. it was my favorite part of the trip, singing with them.

me, Emily, then Pica and David, and then David....yeah...its confusing. :)

 And then we all went to bed...trying to get a good night sleep in preparation for Sunday...