Eight members from Bethel athletic squads will be spending just over a week outside of Bratislava, Slovakia, where they will team up with the mission organization GoodSports International, led by Tom and Debbie Johnson. Together they will use sports, after-school, and summer activities to help kids come to know the Lord. To learn more about the GoodSports International organzition, click here. Each day someone different will blog about their devotional shared in the morning, as well as their highlights throughout the day.
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Ahoj from Slovakia!  Today was the last full day our group spent in Slovakia and it was filled with many memories.  To start off the day we went to the Old City in Bratislava to get souvenirs and gifts for our friends and family.  We roamed around the streets of the Old City looking at various souvenir stands and the beautiful architecture in the city of Bratislava.  After buying souvenirs we piled into the van and headed back to Devinska to prepare for the International Kids Day.  On the way back, Romàn stopped at the Chuck Norris Bridge so we had a chance to walk across the bridge and look at the Danube River.  The bridge borders Austria and Slovakia so we were able to be in two places at once as Perk reminded us was just like the movie A Walk to Remember.  After walking across the bridge we went to a restaurant called Corleone and had a delicious lunch.  When we were walking out of the restaurant after finishing our meal, we ran into a bunch of kids from Good Sports which was a great surprise.  We all walked over to the area where the International Kids Day was going to be set up and started to prepare for the day.  There were stands set up for food, music was playing, and there were various stations such as floor hockey, basketball, and baseball set up.  There were also a few inflatables set up for the kids to play on and candy for the kids to eat after going to the stations.  The afternoon was an absolute blast hanging out with kids and running the sports stations.  International Kids Day certainly ended in a way we did not expect.  The fire fighters who were at the International Kids Day sprayed a bunch of foam for the kids to play in.  Some of us weren't planning on going into the foam, but the kids from Good Sports had a different plan.  We all eventually ended up being covered in foam from head to toe and it was an absolute blast.  There was a slip 'n slide that was eventually created on the hill that slid into the foam and made the foam even more enjoyable.  After our fun in the foam, we headed back to the hotel to shower since we had foam on every inch of our body.  After we cleaned up, we headed over to Good Sports for our final evening with the kids.  We ate pizza, hung out, and danced one last time before we had to say good bye to our new friends from Slovakia.  Saying good bye to the kids and workers at Good Sports was extremely difficult.  There were many hugs and tears, but we are all so extremely thankful for the opportunity we have had to come to Slovakia.  I cannot even express in words how thankful I am for the relationships that we have been able to build.  This has been an amazing experience that I will forever cherish and a huge thank you to everyone who has been supporting us through prayer and has supported us financially.  We greatly appreciate it!
 
Blessings,
Anna Bernstetter