Greetings!
It is I, your friend, Slobo Trbanek, writing. Hope this finds you well and happy.
I am doing okay in some ways and not-so-okay in other ways. The good things that have happened include becoming engaged (yes, my girlfriend, Ivanka Petrovich, and I are going to get married!), becoming more proficient in my English and in my writing, getting a new job (work at Kroger now; work as a bagboy, which was what I used to do at the old store before they closed), and surviving the flooding that recently hit Nashville a few weeks ago.
The not-so-good things that happened include losing my job (see above), the flooding (lost my home; I'm now staying with another friend until my house can be fixed up), having my mama in the hospital last month (she got fluid on her lungs; she had a hard time breathing; it was a very scary time for us), and continuing to have to wait for my new prosthetic leg (the one I was going to get was way too pricy; I couldn't afford it). I am still having to walk on my crutches, which is a pain.
I also lost my church home. The church where I go every Sunday was damaged by the flood; now they're having church in an old warehouse; it is okay, but it's not the same. It somehow doesn't feel like a church.
Other than that, I am okay. God will get me through the bad times, which He has. I am a very strong person; I have always been, even since living in Bosnia-Hergozovina. The war was what made me a stronger person. The way I figure things out is this: if I can survive a war, and survive losing my leg and paralysis, then I can survive just about anything!
The floodwaters have gone down, but damage can still be seen in some places. Some people lost everything; even some country music stars lost everything, including their homes. They are now staying with friends. I lost everything too, but I bet nobody even cares or knows about it. There have been people coming to help clean up, so Nashville is starting to look like herself again, bit by little bit. They've held telethons and other events to help raise money to fix up our city, and people have been especially kind.
When I got my new job at Krogers, it was an answer to prayer because for a while, things got pretty sticky, especially when it came to trying to pay my bills. Now I don't have to worry so much, and now that I have Ivanka in my life, things have gotten even better for me.
I am about to graduate my ESL class. I have improved so much since my last journal entry back in January (four months back). I am very proud at how good I sound; I no longer sound so much like a foreigner; I sound more like an American, which pleases me greatly.
My teachers there are very proud of me, and so are my clasmates. I've worked very hard at my English, and it's paid off big time!
Well, I have to go. It's way too early for even me to be up. I will write in here again; hopefully I won't wait four months to write in my journal! Until I write again, this is Slobo saying take care and may God bless you as much as He's been blessing me!
~Love, your friend in Tennessee, Slobo Anton Trbanek. :)
