The Center for Christian Education recently welcomed its first group of visitors from Concordia University Wisconsin in Mequon, Wis. Ten Nursing students and three of their teachers made the week-long trip for an up-close look at Slovak health care, history and culture.
Their visit included tours of the 900-bed Martin University Hospital, a teaching hospital for Jessenius University, the local medical school; and a Lutheran senior housing facility Good Shepherd in the neighboring village of Sučany.
The group learned about Slovak life during the Reformation and Counter-Reformation with visits to the thirteenth-century Orava Castle and the wooden church in the village of Istebné. The Istebné visit included a lecture on the Kralice Bible—the first complete translation of the Bible from its original languages into Czech. First published during the sixteenth century, the Kralice translation remains very widely used version among Czech and Slovak Christians.
The Concordia group also made a day trip to Poland to see the Auschwitz Concentration camp to visualize the Holocaust tragedy. Short, scenic hikes and a visit to the spa in Turčianske Teplice rounded out the week. They also visited Banská Bystrica, the Museum of Slovak National Uprising, which happened during the Second World War.
“The visit was organized by Dr. Tracy Tuffey, an Assistant Professor of Psychology and Concordia’s Director of Study Abroad & Global Scholars and Dr.Joey-Lynn Bialkowski, Program Director/Faculty Chair for both Sport and Entertraiment Management and Hospitality& Event Management and CCE staff at the University of Žilina’s Department of Religious Studies”, explained Adrian Kacian, an academic director of Bible School.
***
The Concordia visit is just one example of a long-term relationship in the making between CCE and American colleges and universities. CCE can provide meaningful learning experiences in Slovakia and the surrounding region for students and educators. Interested in bringing high-school or college students to Slovakia to study Slovak history or culture? To learn about the many options available to your group, contact Adrian Kacian at adrian.kacian@gmail.com
