summer schedule

Our first camp of the summer starts today!

Here's our schedule for the rest of the summer:

Term 1: Vysoké Mýto
June 28th - July 5th

Term 2: Vysoké Mýto (with First Baptist of Geneva)
July 12th - July 19th

(The team will be in Vikyřovice during this camp, but I'll be in Vysoke Myto for a second camp with them.)

Term 3: Šumperk
July 26th - August 2nd

Intern debrief: Prague
August 7th -10th

I'd like to introduce you to my team...

top to bottom, left to right-
me, Aubrey, Josh (or "Hawaii")
Erica, Chris, Paul

keep praying

Just a reminder, please keep praying that God will provide the financial support for me to get back to Czech for good. I need to raise another $900 a month. It seems overwhelming to me, but I know I serve a God who is fully capable of providing His resources in order to get me back here. Please pray that He will lay it on the hearts of His people to help support me so I can get back and serve Him where He called me to serve.

Matt Redman concert-in Czech

Last night I went to a worship concert in Czech. It was so amazing to see that many Czech Christians worshiping God together in one room! One thing that I found interesting, was how many people I knew there. It seriously felt like a family reunion! But it also really shows just how small the Christian community is in Czech...yet another reason to be on our knees for the Czechs.

always a paradox

When I arrived in Písek on Friday night, the first thing that came to mind was, 'home sweet home.' Although, it was followed by the sad realization that it won't be home. There's a part of me that will always think of Písek as home, but pretty soon I'll be moving to a new "home", a home I haven't even visited yet.

It's amazing how many paradoxes there are as a missionary. Goodbye's are hard, leaving is hard...but leaving is exciting, too, and hello's are always so amazing! I'm sad that I'll be leaving Písek, but I'm excited to be moving to Výsoke Mýto, too.

My time in Písek was great! It was short, but I was able to see everyone I wanted to see in such a short period of time. I kind of felt like I was able to say an official goodbye to my friends there, my church there, and the town. I know I'll be visiting again and I'll see my friends there again, but I also felt like it was healthy to have some closure. The same day that I left Písek, I was also able to meet my future ministry team in Výsoke Mýto. I've heard many good things about them, and it was so great to meat all of them! I can't wait to be able to get more time with them!

All my bags are packed...

In just a few hours I'll be on my way back to Czech for the summer! I already switched out the currency in my wallet, have my passport packed, and I'm ready to go!

This summer will be my 7th, 8th, and 9th English camps (and for some reason I still get nervous about teaching English). I'm really excited to get back to Czech and to build some new relationships there. This will also be my first summer to join an intern team with JV. All of the other camps I've worked with have been "wild card camps", where a Czech church teams with an American church. It will be nice to see what the rest of the country is doing, and to experience an intern team. I'm praying that God will prepare me to be stretched in the ways He wants to stretch me and that I'll grow closer to Him through it.

more time with the kids

After spending a week in Nashville, my sister decided to drive up to Chicago with me. It was so great to be able to get an extra week with her and the kids. We were so blessed to be able to get time with the whole family. It's sad that it doesn't happen more often, but we appreciate it that much more when it does happen. We took the kids to a museum a couple days ago and it was so nice to get so much time with my mom, my sisters and their kids. I just have to say...family is such a blessing!

A Week in TN

I've spent this last week in Nashville with my sister and her kids, and I have to say...being an aunt is THE BEST! I really can't compare it to being a mom (since I'm not one), but I love this! I know I shouldn't encourage this, but it's always been my secret goal to become the favorite aunt. But shhh...don't tell anyone.

On a more serious note though, one of the hardest thing for me when I leave to go overseas is not seeing the kids. When I left to move to Czech, Sierra had just started walking...by the time I got back, she was running and talking. The next time I saw her, I cried because of how much she had grown. Another thing that was hard was that I was in the delivery room with Sierra and the one to say, "It's a girl!", and with Hayden...I was in Czech at an Exit small group. I had never been so homesick than when I knew I was going to miss being there. So when I say goodbye, it breaks my heart more than anything to have to say goodbye to the kids. That's probably why I treasure the time I get with them so much. I'm sure I would treasure it anyway, but it's that much more meaningful to me knowing I need to soak up all the time I can with them while I can.

Man, I love these kids!

So, I leave a week from tomorrow and here’s what’s on my to-do list for the next week:

• watch my friend’s son (two half-days)
• snail mail update (including: writing, designing, printing, cutting, addressing, & mailing)
• write and send thank-you notes
• catch up on 25+ emails
• prep for three weeks of English camps
• prep for teaching on Czech culture at First Baptist (+ teaching the night before I leave)
• oh, and I almost forgot…PACK!

I'm surprised I'm not overwhelmed yet.

I SPEAK PEE

Entry #1

It was Nicki’s second summer mission trip to the Czech Republic. This time, she decided she wanted to learn more Czech. She had already learned phrases like, “I don’t speak Czech”, and “I don’t understand” and things like that. So she asked me if I would teach her something new. Now, I’m not a big fan of telling people they’re saying something when they’re not, so I thought it would be funny if I taught her some slang…something that the Czechs would find humorous. So I taught her how to say, “I have to pee.” So Nicki practiced and practiced and got the phrase down without any Czechs hearing her say it. Finally, she was ready to use it. A bunch of us were sitting down and talking, and Nicki looked at me and said, “Okay, I’m gonna do it.” And then she stood up and said, “I speak pee!”

(Names have been changed to protect the innocent from embarrassment without their consent.)

an interesting idea

The other day, I spent some time with a family who I’ve known for years. We were up until all hours of the night talking and laughing until we had tears in our eyes. One of the many outcomes of my visit with them was that my friend decided to encourage me to do something…

The challenge: Write a book containing humorous missionary stories – stories of cultural flubs and language blunders.
The title: I SPEAK PEE