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Jennn Herzberg
Rovniankova 4
85105 Bratislava
SLOVAKIA
jennnbread@juno.com
phone: 011.421.908.877.496
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My apologies for not posting a newsletter more often. It gets a bit complicated for me to gather the pictures, write the articles, format them all into a good-looking newsletter, then have my “Web Guy” (Steve) put it all up onto a website... so it takes a bit longer for me to update y’all. I’m hoping to develop a smoother system to do all this, in hopes of updating you once a month, rather than every other! Thanks for your patience!
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December and January were great! Classes before Christmas were filled with CHRIST-mas related activities, including making nativity sets, learning “Away in a Manger” (sung at the school’s Christmas program!) and fun wintry games like, “Pin the snowball on Frosty” (consisting of a snowman drawn on a chalkboard with various targets labeled and having children line up with soaked tissues to throw at it!). I had great fun with my students celebrating our Savior’s Birth!
I spent much of Christmas week in various homes, experiencing Christmas “Slovak style.” Christmas Eve and Christmas morning were spent with my Slovak “family”, the Fabrici’s, who took me in as a daughter and sister. We even called my family in America on speaker-phone! It was a wonderful evening, as we attended church, opened gifts, and enjoyed one another’s company!
Christmas Day included going to church again in the morning, and then spending the afternoon and evening with some fellow Lutheran Americans at the home of the English-speaking pastor and his wife! A rousing game of Czech Monopoly ensued and, five hours later, I was broke and had to bow out : ). Overall, this holiday was a chance for me to be reminded that Christmas is NOT all about the traditions we develop with our family or church, but about celebrating the human birth of our Redeemer, Emmanuel, “God with us.” And whether it’s English or Slovak, we rejoice in the Savior of ALL NATIONS.
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Prague, Vienna and Bratislava were taken over during the first week of 2003 by four members of the Herzberg family, known as “Mom, Dad, Matt & Jennn.” The week included such exciting events as “Dodge the Fireworks Set By the 12-Year Old Children in Vienna on New Year’s Eve” and the introductory course, “Public Transportation in Europe 101: the Differences between Trams, Trolleys, Trains and Buses”. Other, more tame and cultural events included worship in a Slovak Lutheran church and dinner with one of Jennn’s students and his family. A great time was had by all, with Jennn remarking, “It was so great to have my family see a little of what my life is like. God really blessed that week.
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The Herzberg family with one
of Jennn's students and his
family, the Szadvari's |
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I love my students! I’ve always felt more “gifted” in working with younger, rather than older, children, so I thank God for this opportunity to further refine these “gifts”! It’s still a huge challenge to operate a classroom where we share such a small common vocabulary, but I’ve seen great improvements in the last six months! Rarely do I bring the “slovnik,” or dictionary, to class anymore. Students really seem to understand most classroom commands now…and that’s the first step! So join me in thanking God for hurdling that obstacle.
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Coming back to school in January was not only a time of reunion with my students and fellow teachers, but also of new beginnings. As of January I’ve been working twice a week with 4TH GRADERS. That’s right, 8-9 year olds! What BUNDLES of energy they are, but we’re having a great time and they love to practice their English. It was quite a reality check though, when some of the first English words they spoke to me (besides “Good morning” and “thank you”) were “Shut up,” “Osama bin Laden,” “al Qaeda” and “Islam.” Yes, the realities of this world can’t escape even my Slovak 4th graders.
“Aky pekny obraz...” she slowly sounds out (“what a nice picture”). Despite numerous questions of “Why study a language that no one but Slovaks speak?”, Miss Jennn Herzberg (right, studying her Slovak book) has begun the slow process of learning another language. She has the privilege of studying with a woman in the congregation who has a doctorate in the Slovak language, and her high school daughter who speaks great English. What a blessing and opportunity for Jennn to build a new relationship with these women, as well as prepare her to build relationships with others in the future! |
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Thanking Jesus for...
- Awesome times of reunion with family, friends & Steve in the last two months, and for His protection during all that travel!
- GENEROSITY and PATIENCE of so many Slovak nationals who are working with me and supporting me here!
All the opportunities to build relationships with my students and share the JOY found alone in Jesus!
Asking Jesus for...
- His blessing and protection as the LCMS missionaries in Central Europe gather for our Spring Retreat April 4-6 in Gyor, Hungary.
- Wisdom and guidance for all those involved in the impending war in Iraq
- For strength and safety of the troops
- For all missionaries and Americans abroad
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To the left you see “Webguy Steve”, also known as Steve Partlow, creator of this webpage and my very supportive boyfriend. Recently he was able to visit me in Europe for a week, and I thank God for that time to refresh and renew our relationship with each other!
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Though I mostly can’t understand what people say (when speaking in Slovak), I can usually pick out my name among the otherwise indistinguishable sounds…however, I noticed early on that many people would say “Jennifer Herzbergova” (pronounced “herzbergoVAH”). What was this “ova” all about? I soon discovered that all women in Slovakia have this “-ova” at the end of her surname (example: my pastor’s name is Klatik; his wife is Mrs. Klatikova). I don’t know much more than that, but I find that it really gives women a “sweeter” sound to their names. Cool!
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Jennn with some of her students during their "School Ski Trip" to Oravske Vesele, in northern Slovakia.
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Jennn playing ping-pong with her headmaster, Juraj Fabrici, to whom she lost miserably.
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Jennn spent one week in Irvine, California, attending the DCE Interns' Conference and enjoying some beach time! (Above)
Left are her fellow interns and Patra Pfotenhauer, DCE Director.
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Do you have any questions or comments about my work in Slovakia? Please e-mail me at jennnbread@juno.com or send a note to my parents, who will let me know!
Rev. Terry & Susie Herzberg
31-06 Morlot Ave.
Fair Lawn, NJ 07410
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Thank you for taking the time to hear about what God is doing through me in Central Europe! If you are interested in supporting me financially, please send a tax-deductible gift to:
OUR SAVIOR LUTHERAN CHURCH, 22-15 Broadway, FAIR LAWN, NJ 07410. Make checks payable to Our Savior Lutheran Church, with "Slovakia Mission Fund" in the memo line. If you’re interested in encouraging me with letters, etc, please contact my parents at the address to the left, and they will let you know the best ways to encourage my work here!
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To be added or removed from this mailing list, send an email to jennnbread@hotmail.com with the word ADD or REMOVE in the subject heading.
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