Bardejov, Slovakia

We arrived in Bardejov in late afternoon, and had a fun reunion with the Rumbolds. Ed and Wendi Rumbold and their 5 kids are friends from our home town in IL and they live in Slovakia as missionaries with Josiah Venture. Here's their blog if you want to know more about them and see what they're up to!

They have a wonderful woman at their local church named Jelka who makes these amazing cakes, and here was her Christmas cake to them.

And to understand how huge this cake is, all of the 7 Rumbolds and the 5 of us had a good portion after dinner (or 2!), and this is the tiny dent we made in it!

Kevin and Ed went to a local supermarket and Kevin was amused to find this beer. He has 2 cousins that have married Kozel brothers, so he got a few to send back to them.

The Rumbolds host a lot of summer interns for the English camps they are a part of, so they have a huge house. The kids' room is huge, so all the older kids got to have a slumber party in the big room! They had a blast!

The next day Kevin and Ed drove up to Poland to visit the Auschwitz Concentration camp. Wendi and I spent the day with 8 kids. We decided to take them for a walk up to the town square to see their village. It was so cold, I'm pretty sure a few of the kids cried almost the entire time! I know their youngest was particularly cold since she was riding and not walking.

This is their church.

This manger scene was still up in the town square.

Wendi and the gang (hers and mine!) in front of the Catholic church in the town square.

The boys and I.

A few more shots around the town square...

And back home for more games and play time. The kids had a movie night...

and then when Kevin and Ed got back we went out for dinner.

This was their local restaurant and we had a great time. The food was great, the company wonderful and it was the cheapest meal we've had in Europe so far I believe! We fed all 12 of us for less than it costs Kevin and I to eat out in Grenoble!

A few pictures from Ed and Kevin's day at Auschwitz, courtesy of Ed:

Suitcases with names on them...

Confiscated brushes of every kind...

And a sobering memorial to those who were senselessly killed.

Thanks, Ed and Wendi, for a great time! We loved seeing your part of the world and catching up with you again! You were terrific hosts and the kids had a blast. Hope to see you in France soon!