On my Uncle Mike...

My favorite uncle, Mike Nemcik (Michal in the old country), died last week. He was always a very loving and kind man; a larger heart, you would be hard-pressed to find. He never married, never had kids, so he sort of treated my brothers and me like we were his kids. He did the same with my cousins in Pennsylvania. But we, fortunately, did not offend him as they had done, so we continued to be on his good side until the end. He did love them as well, but he is Slovak and they are like elephants; they never forget. But I digress..
A day or so after I started school (which I'll talk about in another posting.. later!) I learned that he was found severely dehydrated in his apartment, taken via ambulance to the hospital. Because of my class schedule, I was never able to get to Anaheim, about 7 hours away or so, to see him and say goodbye in person. I did get to talk with him on the phone, tell him that I loved him. He hung on for about 5 weeks, in which time he was diagnosed with liver cancer, which had metastasized from the colon. I guess you could say he is the poster child for getting that exam!
I wrote a short eulogy for his funeral, which I can't attend since it is being held in Cheswick, PA; he always said he wanted to be buried next to his beloved mother, Maria Nemcik. My Dad made sure that he got his final wish.
Here is what I wrote...
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As far back as I can remember, Uncle Mike has been a part of my life. I remember him coming up to see us almost every month. It was fun to come out to the living room on a Saturday morning, find him sleeping on the couch. We'd wake him up and he'd watch the Saturday morning cartoons with us, real cartoons, not like the digital ones they have now. He and Dad would make these bacon and onion things to eat, which I now know is a very Slovak thing to eat. I remember how all of our friends, both in Fair Oaks and San Jose, all considered him to be their uncle too, since he was more fun than all of their uncles, and he really seemed to like them and he remembered them too.
I remember going to see him almost every summer for family vacation, him taking us to Disneyland and to Huntington Beach or some other place.
When I got married, he just added Kelly into this circle of love, you could say. He just seemed to consider him one of his own.
Uncle Mike became Utco Mike when Candace was born, since she had 2 other Uncle Mikes. He made it to all the graduations, the weddings, and as many birthdays as he could, even when I lived in Washington.
When he came to visit our family when we moved to Slovakia, he heard us speaking Slovak and asked what we were speaking. "We're speaking SLovak, Utco Mike."
"No, Linda, that's not Slovak. That's Czech or Russian!" Then he spoke on the phone with his cousin, Anna. We barely understood a word he said! He hung up the phone and while pointing to the phone, he yelled, "Now that's Slovak!!"
When friends found out the Utco Mike had died, I got notes from all over the country and Slovakia, people who had met him only once, or had met him numerous times. I could list them, but we don't really have time. I did ask Kelly and our kids to tell me one of their favorite memories of their beloved Utco Mike. Here's what they said.
Kelly says, "Aside from hearing him say "Hi Ya!" he would always say, "Kelly, P-51, P-51." He got mad at me once when I paid for breakfast with him and he told me to never do that again. I thought I was going to be ex-communicated from the family."
Candace says "There are so many good memories of Utzo...I can't narrow them down to a specific one. I remember Utzo always coming in and saying "Hiya" and just bringing a smile to his face. I remember him always calling me his beautiful little girl and as I grew up changing it to his beautiful big girl, then beautiful young lady...but always saying that I'd always be his beautiful little girl. I remember getting the sweetest cards from him for every single holiday - I still have most of them. Whenever he would come to visit, he'd bring a HUGE bag of peppermints and Juicy Fruit gum. Those things always remind me of him. He would always stock the freezer with ice cream and popsicles, and the fridge with Pepsi. I remember Utzo tearing up at Hallmark commercials or sad parts in a movie and denying the tears, saying that he had something in his eyes. He always took care of his family. If someone needed something, he was always there. He was always there with a hug and a laugh. He was the most compassionate, loving, generous man I've ever known. I will miss him greatly, but I am so proud to say that he was dear Utzo Mike and I got 24 years with him!"
Caleb says, 'Utzo was always a happy, laughing guy. I remember how he'd always say "Hi ya!" whenever we saw him. He smelled of Budweiser and Listerine, which strangely enough, was not a bad combination."
Hannah says, "He used to call me moja shumna zlata, which he told me meant more precious than shimmering gold. He would always bring us the comics and even send them to us when we lived in Slovakia. He didn't want us to miss out on American comics, I guess. He'd watch movies with us, even if he didn't like the movie, just so he could spend time with us. He would always say "Hi ya!"
Nathan says, "He always called me malky hunsot, which means little rascal. He was always smiling."
There is so much more that can be said but I'll stop here. It is obvious to us that he loved us all very much and we loved him too. He is the standard by which all Uncles and Utcos are judged. We will always remember him and will pass on his love and what he was like to the next generation. We will miss him but are not without hope. We know that we'll see him again in heaven.. and maybe there, he'll speak the right Slovak ; )
*****
I love you, Uncle Mike! I miss you and know I'll continue to for years to come, but this I know, we will be together again!

On being a trapeze artist..

"She flies through the air with the greatest of ease, that daring young gal on the flying trapeze..." I know, that's not how the song really goes, but since I am like one on the trapeze, I decided to change it up a bit. At this present moment in time, Kelly, Nathan, Lani (our Labrador) and I are preparing for a big move. A huge move.. On May 31, we will say good-bye to our home, our friends, our life in Slovakia. We don't know when, or even if, we will return to live here. At this point, it looks like our move to the US will be for longer than 2 years.

It is not an easy thing to do, to leave all that we've known and done for almost 13 years. We've studied to learn the language, the culture, have been blessed beyond belief in ministry and with friendships, and now... God is telling us to leave. It's not a feeling unlike what Abraham must have felt, when God told him to pack everything up and leave, but he was going to a land he didn't know. We are returning to a land that we knew. But much has changed, for better or worse, in the US over the years.

I am really excited about going back. I plan to take a refresher course and go back to work as an RN. It's rather comforting to hear that there is a shortage of nurses, so I should be able to find a good job. It will be good to be near the "kids" again, and to be a bigger part of their lives, as well as to see the rest of our family and "old" friends. I am really looking forward to reconnecting.

I am really sad, too, about going back. I was looking at some video and pictures from camps and events in years gone by, and started to cry. I am going to miss my Slovaks. Nela, the first real Slovak friend that I made here. In a very un-Slovak way, she opened her life to me in less than 5 years! I know some things that some of her other friends never will. Petra, another Slovak woman who just wanted to spend time with me and ask any sort of question. Ingela, another missionary with sons, who has become such a dear friend and encourager. (She's not Slovak, but this is where we met, so...) Other women at the church, who consider me to be one of them, although that took a bit more time. All the BIg House gang..

But God...

When God makes it clear that I am to do something, the smart thing is to do it. It's not always the easy thing; it's not always a fun thing, but it IS always the right and best thing.

Laura Beth, a friend of mine in AZ with whom I'm really looking forward to spending more time, mentioned something about how we "must be feeling" and I like her illustration. She said we are like trapeze artist, being asked to let go of the rung without the other one yet in hand, nor seemingly near.

I do feel that way. But, I guess I"m more of a monkey bars sort of person, having my hand on the next sure thing before letting go. But I/we have such amazing peace in this.

It makes no sense! There is still such a need in Slovakia. "Things" are taking off. I finally feel like I understand and can use the language at more than an elementary school level.

But God...

It's still scary to let go of this rung, but I have to believe, trust, have faith. I KNOW that God has the next one right where we need it, when we need it. So for now, I'm flying through the air, fully extended, no net, expecting the rung....

Feel free to remind me of this ; )