two dear friends

One of the many blessings of working with people is that I get to build some amazing friendships. This summer, I’ve had the opportunity to get to know some incredible people. Two of these extraordinary people are Katka and Zuzka, from Vysoké Mýto. God has really blessed me by putting these two girls into my life! We met in June at a Matt Redman/Hillsong concert and have done two camps together since then. We’ve all said to each other that we feel like we’ve known each other for years. It’s amazing the foundation that God has given us in such a short amount of time. When I move to Vysoké Mýto, I’ll be working with these two girls a lot. What a blessing! I am so incredibly thankful that God put these two girls in my life!

Vysoké Mýto/Geneva camp (part 2)

For me, one of the most exciting things about this camp was the partnership with both of the leadership teams. It was a partnership between my church in the states and my future church in Czech. It is so amazing to be a part of both of these teams. I think one of the hardest things was that I couldn't decide which meetings to go to, since I'm a part of both teams.

Before we started camp, we had a couple days in Prague, and another day in Vysoké Mýto with both of the leadership teams (Vysoké Mýto and First Baptist). During that time, I was able to start building the foundation of some great relationships with the team. There are two girls who I especially connected with-Emmy & Caitlyn. After spending quite a bit of time praying about it, and talking with Ken (the college youth pastor at First Baptist), the final conclusion is that I'm going to start discipling these girls between now and when I move back to Czech. (And who knows, maybe we'll still get the chance to meet through Skype after that.) I'm really excited about this! I love these girls already and I can't wait to see what God does through these relationships!

Vysoké Mýto/Geneva camp

Today is the last day of my second camp this summer. I had a great time connecting with the students and playing lots of games with them. Last night, we split our discussion group into two groups...the guys and the girls. I'm not sure how the guys' group went, but the girls had a wonderful discussion. There was a different level of comfort when we had a smaller group of girls, and it allowed all of us to be more real with each other. I'm so thankful for these girls and their willingness to open up like they did!

starbucks in prague

2008 brought a wonderful thing to prague...Starbucks! And not long after that, a second and third one opened! Just yesterday, I finally had the chance to go to Starbucks in Prague for the first time. Soon after that, I was taking the metro to my next destination (Starbucks still in hand) when I saw another one! I was pretty excited! It intrigued me enough that I had to find out just how many there are in Prague now. It's official, there are five! AND in three weeks, there will be six!

on staring

I have learned many great things from my parents. And if God wants me to have children, most of those things will be passed on to them. But lately I’ve realized that my children might have to learn things in a different way than I did. (This is, if I’m still living in Czech and if I end up having kids here.) For example: when I was little, I was taught that it’s rude to stare. However, if my kids grow up in Czech, they’ll have to learn that it’s rude to stare in America. It’s actually not rude to stare in Czech. I was on the train recently when one of my friends called me. When I answered and started talking to her (in English!) a little girl turned around and started staring at me. During part of the conversation, her mom even joined her in staring, and by the end, her little friend was staring as well. By the end of our conversation, we had quite the audience! I was reminded of something one of my other missionary friends said once, “Sometimes I feel like the circus is in town when I go somewhere.” It’s very true. I’m not really used to being the tourist attraction. But hey, it’s part of the fun of living in another culture.

Vysoké Mýto camp

The end of our first camp for the summer has already come. Here's a couple pictures of my English class. We had a great time building relationships, learning English, having great discussions, and playing MANY games together.

Thursday night, we had the chance to share the Gospel with them. Then we gave them the opportunity to stick around if they wanted to talk to anyone. Almost everyone stayed to talk! It was so neat to see so many people interested in hearing more about who God is. I love to see people open to figuring out what they believe and asking questions. It's very encouraging to me!

I SPEAK PEE

Entry #2

Yesterday, this girl wanted to tell a couple Czechs that her husband is a triplet...and since they didn't completely understand, I tried to interpret for her. So I said, "her husband is a triplet."…or at least, that's what I thought I said. What I really said, was...she has triplet husbands. Oops!

a couple amazing girls!

I just have to say, after being with these girls for almost a month now...they're AMAZING! God really blessed me with an AWESOME team, and a couple GREAT girls who are becoming very dear to me.