Roma

For All Saints Weekend we found a great deal for a trip to Rome: plane tickets for $50, train tickets for $50, and free hotel rooms thanks to Amber's mom (yay for Susan!).  We stayed right in the heart of downtown Rome within walking distance to many famous landmarks, including the Colosseum.  It was a quick trip, Thursday through Saturday, but definitely worth it.  We had some great gelatto, Italian ice cream, and some great food.  We enjoyed a Caprese Salad with fresh buffalo mozeralla as well as lasagna and different pastas.  

Vatican City was amazing.  Especially as we walked into the Sistine Chapel and saw the amazing work Michelangelo did portraying the greatness of God.  I was prepared for the Chapel to be small, so I was amazed at how big it actually was.  To see the amount of work he put into this masterpiece is truly amazing.  We also went into St. Peter's Basilica as well.  Which was huge.  Everything about it was larger than life.  There were statues of former popes lining the walls, standing at least two stories tall.  

Here's Michelangelo's Pieta.  Truly an amazing piece of art.

St. Peter's Basilica

Here's Aaron and me wrestling in the Colosseum!  We took a guided tour and were amazed at the sheer size and complexity of the Colosseum.  

Fall Retreat

On a cool Friday afternoon we made the trek over to the bus station, piled onto our bus and made the three hour journey to Fall Retreat.  You see the group from Bratislava and Kosice to the left.  We had a few new faces and many old ones come together for a weekend of spiritual conversations, fun, and fellowship.  

Mark Sanders spoke to us about satisfaction.  He is on staff with Campus Crusade in Budapest, Hungary, after starting movements in Romania.  He worked with Student Venture (Campus Crusade's high school ministry) and therefore had no problem engaging the crowd, even with a translator.  

Between Mark's talks we spent time in groups discussing what Mark had said, it was encouraging to see students leading discussion groups in Slovak and hear them sharing their testimonies with others in the groups.  It gave us a vision of the indigenous movement of Slovaks we will be leaving empowered to reach this part of the world for Christ after this year.  

We also spent some time enjoying the mountains where we were as well.  We played some volleyball, some went on a hike, and some of the girls tried to make friends with the sheep who were grazing through the field where our cabin was.  I also had my first taste of buchti (boo-kti), which is a dinner of a pastry filled with a dab of jam and then covered in a sauce similar to chocolate milk.  So basically every kid's dream of dessert for dinner.  It wasn't my favorite but many love it.  

 

At the beginning of last month Amber, Dara, Aaron, and myself (Mikey) hit the streets of Kosice to participate in the 85th Kosice Peace Marathon.  We ran the half-marathon, which is 21 KM or 13.1 miles.  It was a great experience as the city came alive cheering on the runners.  The team came out to cheer us on complete with signs they had made for each of us.  The route ran right in front of our apartment and ended where it began on Hlavna (Main St.).  We were definitely tired after that, but it was a great feeling to finish the race, especially as they put a medal around your neck as you cross the finish line.  Amber, Aaron, and myself are looking at running another one in Prague in the spring.