New and Improved...

I now have an Easysite...it's amazing...you should all get one!!! If you are a Musician, have a business, are a missionary, or regular person who wants to blog or post pictures....

Here is mine: www.easysite.com/bellaragazza

Please check it out for all future Serbia and life updates....THANKS

and also please check out www.easysite.com ...at least try the 30 day free trial! I promise you won't be dissapointed!!!!

Thanks Vicky

God is good!!!!

I am sooooooooooo stoked right now! Tanja and Zoli and their daughters received their visa today. So after tons of prayers, they are able to come and visit us at the end of February for a few weeks! I can hardly contain myself! I am SOOOOOOOOOOOO Happy right now. They are such amazing people and great friends. They deserve a bit of a vacation more than anyone I know. Things are so hard with a new baby and in Serbia you don't really have money to have a babysitter...you do it ALL - All the time...so anyways thanks to anyone who prayed and also Pam has been raising some money to help them come out here, so if you would like to donate let me know! Hope you are having a blessed day too!

Love...

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
~ by 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 ~




"There are only four questions of value in life. What is sacred? Of what is the spirit made of? What is worth living for? What is worth dying for? The answer to each is the same. Only love."
.
.
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God IS Love


"Love never dies a natural death. It dies because we don't know how to replenish its source. It dies of blindness and errors and betrayals. It dies of illness and wounds; it dies of weariness, of withering, of tarnishing. "
-Anais Nin



"I love that you get cold when it's 71 degrees out. I love that it takes you an hour and a half to order a sandwich. I love that you get a little crinkle in your nose when you're looking at me like I'm nuts. I love that after I spend day with you, I can still smell your perfume on my clothes. And I love that you are the last person I want to talk to before I go to sleep at night. And it's not because I'm lonely, and it's not because it's New Year's Eve. I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible."

Mark Twain

Love: The irresistable desire to be irresistibly desired.

If you judge people, you have no time to love them.
-Mother Teresa



The best love is the kind that awakens the soul and makes us reach for more, that plants a fire in our hearts and brings peace to our minds"
- The Notebook



The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return.
- Moulin Rouge

One word frees us
Of all the weight and pain in life,
That word is Love
~ by Socrates ~

I have learned not to worry about love;
But to honor its coming with all my heart.
~ by Alice Walker ~

To love a person is to learn the song
That is in their heart,
And to sing it to them
When they have forgotten.
~ by Anonymous ~

A part of you has grown in me.
And so you see, it's you and me
Together forever and never apart,
Maybe in distance, but never in heart.
~ by Anonymous ~


The greatest tragedy of life is not that men perish,
but that they cease to love.
~ by W. Somerset Maugham ~



Some pray to marry the man they love,
my prayer will somewhat vary:
I humbly pray to Heaven above
that I love the man I marry.
~ by Rose Stokes ~




Some people come into our lives and quickly go.
Some people move our souls to dance. They awaken us to new understanding with the passing whisper of their wisdom.
Some people make the sky more beautiful to gaze upon.
They stay in our lives for awhile, leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never ever the same.
~ by Flavia Weedn ~

Maybe you can help...

I received this email from Greg today... I think it's a great idea...

Hey Vicky!

This morning I woke up with a new idea. Do you know anyone who has had training in ABA Behavioral Therapy that would be willing to come over and work with Hana for several months? Maybe Jeff could ask around at church. We would try to raise finances for his/her stay and while he/she is here he/she could help train us to continue therapy after he/she leaves. This would be a great way to possibly solve the mess we are currently in. We wouldn't have to pull the other kids out of school, move over to America, quit ministry here, etc. Well, let me know what you think.

So if you or anyone you know has ABA behavioral training for Autism and might be willing to make a trip out to Serbia....please email me or GREG @ gjsivulka@gmail.com. I know it's a lot to ask but you never know if someone might be able to do it...and it would mean a lot to keeping their family together and ministry going!

Thanks for considering and keeping it in your prayers!

This is HANA :

Greg and Jelena's Serbia Update Email

Oct. 3, 07

Dear Family and Friends,

I know that many of you are curious to know what is going on with Hana, our youngest daughter who has been showing symptoms of autism. I’m sorry for taking so long to write to you all and really do appreciate your concern and constant prayers.

Well, we still haven’t received a definite diagnosis for Hana. We have had her examined by several doctors, psychologists, and psychiatrists here in Serbia and none of them are really sure about what exactly the problem is. Some think it might be PDD (Pervasive Developmental Disorder), which is basically a mild form of autism. Others think she is just slow and needs speech therapy and more interaction with other children her age. Still others suspect there may be some neurological problems in her brain. We just found out the results of an EEG she had the other day (a test that measures brain waves/activity with electrodes attached to the head). The doctor said the test was inconclusive, but definitely “does not look good.” We are going to try to take her to have another EEG done that is more thorough and to also have an MRI done. (I hope you’re not getting confused by all these initials!) Because of the bad EEG results, now we are wondering if this could be a case of Landau-Kleffner Syndrome – a neurological disorder which results in aphasia (an acquired disorder of language), epileptic seizures and inability to recognize sounds. Hana has been known every so often, before age 2 even more often, (in the middle of the night and during the day) to have horrible temper tantrums that could possibly be considered seizures (arching her back, banging her head on the floor and screaming uncontrollably). She still isn’t really communicating verbally, though she is able to repeat everything we say. She understands very few words and non-verbal communication is also very poor. It’s so sad and frustrating not being able to communicate with our own daughter! Please continue to pray for her recovery.

If it turns out that she does have LKS (Landau-Kleffner Syndrome), there are a few advantages in comparison to autism. This syndrome, for example, can be treated with medication and can be completely cured.

Even though this is a very trying time for us, the Lord is continuing to give us the strength we need and His incredible peace. We are leaning on Him more than ever!

Jelena was able to take a leave of absence from her work and continue to receive full salary (one of the benefits of the socialist-style government here). This benefit will continue all the way up till Hana’s fifth birthday if she hasn’t recovered by then.

We are still confused about what to do concerning treatment in America. The thing that makes it so complicated, among other things, is our older kids’ schooling. We could have them go to an elementary school in America for several months while Hana receives therapy, but we think it might be too hard to get them back into their school over here when we return. They would probably have to take a year over or go to summer school. The schools over here are much more demanding. For example, Benny who is in the fifth grade has 13 subjects! Three of those are French, English and Serbian. He’s currently learning Math and Geometry that I didn’t start learning until 7^th grade or even later! Every other year all of his books, except ones for foreign languages, are in the Cyrillic alphabet. We have seriously considered a plan to have one parent go over with Hana while the other one stay back to help the other kids finish their semester in school. We would then meet up in the States during the three-week Christmas break. If we do decide to go through with this, Jelena would probably be the one to go because Hana seems more attached to her and we don’t want to frustrate her any more than we have to. Another option is to all move back to the States for good, which we really see as a last resort. We really don’t want to move back, but we will if we come to find out that it will definitely help Hana get better.

We have been taking Hana once a week for an hour to a retired developmental specialist in Novi Sad (located an hour and a half from here) that has worked with autistic children for many years. She has an excellent reputation and has helped a great number of children through behavioral therapy. Soon we will start taking Hana twice a week, but according to the books, this is not enough time. We have tried to do drills at home with her on our own, but this hasn’t been going very well.

Well, that about covers the latest. Thanks a lot for your encouraging emails, letters and for the many prayers that have been lifted up on our behalf. Thanks, too, for your financial support.

Love in Christ,

Greg

P.S. The church is doing great here. There are many new faces, including some teenagers.

Sara and Benny’s First Day of School

Hana with Developmental Therapist in Novi Sad