experiments in "artsy" photography

aubrey would be so proud

Come Thirsty retreat

I just have to say, I have the best small group EVER! It's truly a blessing to be able to come back from Czech and jump right back into my small group. They're pretty amazing! This last weekend, we were able to head up to Michigan for a retreat. We stayed at Maranatha and had a FABULOUS time! I seriously think we packed a week's worth of things into one weekend. We went disc golfing, played volleyball at the beach, "midnight" mini golf, "midnight" ultimate frizbee, ("midnight" only meaning that it was dark out), played Apples to Apples, Catch Phrase...the list goes on! It was such a great weekend with such great people! I'm so thankful for the blessing that God gave me in this amazing group of people!

Radost (Joy)

One of my favorite passages has always been the beginning of James (well, I love the book of James, but especially James 1). About ten years ago, I lost a couple friends who were very dear to me. I went on my first summer-long mission trip and a couple weeks after I got back we received a phone call that changed my life as I knew it. These two dear friends of our family were in a fatal plane crash. I thought my world was going to crumble before my eyes. Soon after this, my mom started going through and memorizing the book of James with me. "Consider it pure joy..." 'Yeah right!' I remember thinking. But we pressed on, "...when you face trials of many kinds. Because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. And perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." After some time, those verses started to really sink in. Within weeks of the accident, a friend of mine lost her sister to a car accident. I still wouldn't have "considered it joy", but I suddenly saw a reason why God was putting me through this trial. The trials that I was going through gave me the empathy and understanding to know how to help my friend through her trials. Looking back, I can see God's hand in this more than anything. Of course, I miss Craig and Jessie a lot! But throughout the years, God has been developing something in me that I would never trade for anything. Maybe it's perseverance, maybe even maturity. But I'm thankful for the times throughout the years where God has chosen to put me through these trials, so that I can learn to be more and more like Him.

this summer was awesome...

we pretty much had the best intern team ever.

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.

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!