We love having a green space to enjoy time together as a family. We spend time almost everyday playing with our dog and having adventures with our toddler. We also love stepping out on our balcony and feeling like we have a place of solace. Living in the midst of another culture has unique challenges that are often taxing mentally, physically, and spiritually. We are thankful that we have a place of retreat just one step out the door.

Our beautiful backyard serves many purposes for both our family and our ministry. It’s a place we spend time almost daily, and the background for many memories. Beautiful flower bushes, plentiful fruit trees, and lots of green grass fill our space.

We have wonderful landlords who maintain our outdoor space and garden since they live in the city. But we’ve still found ways to make the space our own. We recently got a swing, during the pandemic, for our toddler and a small blow up pool for summer fun. We’ve found its important to get out and use the space.

We are blessed with some amazing landlords, who maintain our outdoor space. Since they live in the city, this is their larger gardening space. They graciously share the fruit of the labor from their garden and fruit trees.

Slovenes take great pride in their outdoor space. In fact, the word for yard in this language is simply garden. Almost every home has at least some space dedicated to gardening. Nature and health are also very important cultural values. Being among nature is important, and we are grateful to take advantage of that in our space.

In the winter, we often find ourselves waking up to a white blanket of snow covering our backyard. The small hills make for toddler approved sledding. It's a peaceful beauty that brings rest to our souls.

We initially wanted to live more in the city, however this was the only house available for rent. While we didn’t envision ourselves living in the village setting, we’ve come to love the peace with great proximity to our work and ministry in the city.

At times, our outdoor space can also transform into a space for ministry. When restrictions in our country limited our in person church services, we were able to host our church right outside our window. We also have been able to host church fellowships and picnics here.

The pace of life in America is so much faster. Before moving here, we didn’t often spend much time in our backyard on a daily basis. We are grateful that the culture here has taught us to slow down and enjoy God’s creation. And when we see his majesty surrounding us, we realize how great a gift it is.