A New and Better Way

Salzburg, Venice and now Siena. Waking up to the sound of bells. Watching water lap against the doorstep. Seeing where parts of the Sound of Music were filmed. Eating amazing food - bosna, feijao (can you believe that) and tons of chocolate pastries. Being spoiled rotten by Hazel and Richard Funk in Salzburg. Praying, laughing and joking together. Going to a free concert by a Christian orchestra and choir, seeing a concentration camp, eating lots of chocolate (did I say that already). Making new friends and meeting up with old ones. All of this has been part of my adventure since the end of English Camps. It has been intense and wonderful. Thank-you so much for your prayers for safety. So far things have gone very well in that regard. God is good and I feel so blessed to be seeing and experiencing all of this. I am learning so much. This trip is such a gift. Will see you all soon! Blessings!

If the last week of camp had a theme it would be this - joy. I don't think I've ever laughed that much in a week before. Yes there were tough moments. (The food was so greasy it gave myself and several others the runs. But its not a mission trip until you need anti-diarrhea pills right? I think everyone has one of those stories). But the tough moments were definitely outweighed by the fun and the friendships that were formed. The last week of camp took place at a location called The Silent Valley. We were 27 people in total with only 16 of those being students. The rest were families from a local church who made English camp their family vacation. It was great because it was like having extra leaders. The camp itself was in the middle of nowhere, it was a 30 minute walk/hike to the closest town. My class was small, 4 girls and one guy. There was quite a range in their language ability but we managed to learn and have a lot of fun doing so. The highlight was the skit we put toge

This time next month I'll be on a plane flying to Chicago. Crazy how quickly time flies. For the past week I've been back in Prague recovering from the flu/cold I had. I've been staying with the Potmas and their kids again which meant a lot of my time was spent resting and playing with the kids. I don't think I've ever played this much lego before. :) I also had the chance to see a couple of students from the first week of English camp which was good. I did do a bit of sightseeing on Wednesday and some shopping yesterday. Don't know what I'd do without the Potmas and their hospitality. Trying to figure out train schedules and lodging for my travels after English camp was a bit stressful. Still working on it. Can't say I'm fond of details but things are falling into place now. Looks like I'll be going to Vienna for a few days with Boris, then to the TEAM conference for a few days (Aug. 5 & 6) then its off to Salzburg, Venice and hopefully Sien

Hello again! The second week of camp is well underway and things are going fairly well. Unfortunately I've caught a cold/virus so I've been doing a lot of sleeping and not so much teaching. Please pray that I'll feel better soon. My throat is sore, my sinuses are congested and I'm really tired. My head feels funny too and the meds I'm taking make me feel lightheaded so that's an experiene. The amazing thing is I'm not feeling discouraged or frustrated. Somehow I've been able to just accept things as they've come and I know that's totally God. Though I do confess I'm wondering how I'll manage another two weeks of camp. But Mark Potma did tell me that for next week I could sit out if needed. They have enough female teachers. But I don't know what I'd do with a whole week off in Prague so I'm still planning on going and just helping out where I can. Also the staff this week have been great with covering for me and making sure I&#

Wow!! and double wow! I'm smack dab in the middle of my first week of English camp here in the Czech Republic. And what an amazing time its been so far. I'm so thankful God has allowed me this opportunity to come and be His hands and feet. He is also blessing me daily with little and big displays of His love. The staff for this week of camp is such a perfect fit for the ministry that it can only be God. Pray that He will continue to use us and that we will be bold. There are many non-believers who are at camp for the first time. Yesterday on the bus trip to the zoo I sat next to a lady who told me up front that she thinks God and religion are right up there with drugs and alcohol, something people just use to get through life. And she wants nothing to do with religion or God, but she respects our beliefs. Because of the political history here any type of organiztion, religious or otherwise is viewed with great suspicion. The Christians here really have their work cut out for th

Not much to report. Took the train for the first time yesterday, great scenery. The rest of the staff for the first of English camp start arriving today. I'm tired from staying up late reading the other night (silly me). Right now I'm visiting a TEAM missionary, Amy, in Podenbrady. It's a spa town outside of Prague. Very pretty. Its great to finally be around someone my age!! And I'm excited that camp starts next week! But I'm fighting some nervousness and fear too. Worried about energy levels and diet and such. I've been so blessed meeting the TEAM missionaries here. What awesome people! It's so cool to see God at work in this country. Progress is slow but they have such a vision, it's really neat. Not sure I could do it long time though. People really aren't overly friendly or open until you know them. Learning a lot about myself with this whole experience. I really am a people person and traveling with company definitely beats traveling alone. Tha

Yesterday and today have been full of firsts. I took the metro by myself for the first time yesterday, had my first Czech language lesson today, bought my first meal on my own today and slept through the night for the first time last night. I also ventured into downtown Prague on my own for the first time yesterday. What a gorgeous city! I'm sorry I couldn't post more photos. I think I'll have to get a Flicker account. I'm attempting to post some on Facebook so you can check them out there too. Last night I went to Alpha with Mark. We stopped by a little local grocery store to get the food for dinner and then headed out to the church. As I mentioned the church is held in an elementary school. Making dinner was quite the adventure. Here I was with two Czech guys in a semi-equipped kitchen trying to make a meal. Pastor Robert had it all planned out, he used to be a cook in the army so the plates of "cold dinner" looked great. We mostly used gestures to communica

Ahoj! This is my second day in Prague. I arrived at 1 o'clock (Czech time) on Saturday afternoon. I have already had the chance to do some sight seeing and this evening I went to the local church. Sadly, the Southcity Church (which meets in an elementary school) is the only evangelical church in the Southcity side of Prague's 4th district. There is one Catholic church also but that's it. This means there are only 2 churches for 45 thousand people! Can you imagine? On the way to the service Mark Potma (missionaries I'm staying with) told me that Czechs don't even use churches for weddings and funerals! But I was going to talk about my flights. Wow! I could totally tell you guys were praying. Everything went so smoothly. I also got to have some really neat conversations with the people who sat next to me. From Chicago to London I ended up sitting between two University of Missouri students. They were also on their way to Prague for an exchange/study abroad program. Jo

Greetings from Chicago!! I must say that the city lives up to its name. Yesterday when we toured downtown it was quite windy so I got to sport the windblown look for the evening. Chicago also has great older buildings, amazing deep dish pizza and a gorgeous sky line! I took a ton of pictures and really enjoyed being a tourist for the day. I'll post some of them when I have some more time. Training here at TEAM headquarters in Wheaton has been fairly intense. We have breakfast at 7:15 and start sessions at 8 a.m. Its a pretty non-stop day. Really relevant info for the most part though. We've learned lots of good safety travel tips, what to expect if a TEAMserve missionary gets kidnapped, how to avoid being pick pocketed, etc. I don't think I'll have to worry about the kidnapping stuff but there is a gal going to Eastern Asia so that stuff is relevant. Also learned about TEAMs history as an organization, what to be aware of as far as knowing our own expectations, the best

It's been a full week! Lots of last minute coffee dates, phone calls, and shopping trips. I do believe I now have everything I need (that I'm aware of). I'm also all packed. I managed to fit everything into one suitcase and one backpack, and there's even some room to spare! Please pray for safe travels. Thanks Meliss for the tips and heads up about the London airport. One bag only! ;) Here are some pictures of the last week and a bit. Quite a few of these were taken by Martha, you can see some more pictures she took at http://www.flickr.com/photos/trippykel/sets/72157600324864649/ Next time I post it will be from Chicago or Prague!!!

Wow! Time has really flown. Today is my last day being the marketing assistant at Company's Coming. I've really enjoyed working here, the people are really great and the pace is relaxed. As usual I'll be missing the people but not the work. I'll especially miss visiting the candy dish in Gail and Blair's offices. Chocolate fix anyone? Thank-you to those of you who have been praying about the health issues. I am feeling somewhat better. I went back to the medicentre last week with a pretty high fever and the doctor reassured us that the dizzines and other symptoms are just due to a virus. Apparently I caught a second one on the tail end of the first. The dizziness is practically gone but I'm pretty fatigued still. Would definitely appreciate continued prayers. Traveling when you are sick is no fun, but hopefully everything will clear up before then. Only 12 more days! Now that I am done work I'm trying to do all the last minute things. Resting, shopping, pack

So for the last two weeks I've been struggling with dizziness off and on. Prayers about that would be appreciated. Apparently its a virus but I'm not sure. I have been to the medicentre a couple of times already. I've also been going to physio for some lower back issues and my physio doctor recommended another doctor who can help me with the dizziness if it persists. I could have positional vertigo or some such thing. Whatever it is I really hope it clears up before I have to leave. Last week I received my schedule for the summer. June will be mostly orientation and then I have 4 weeks of camp back to back in July. Its going to be busy! For the first week of camp I'll be working with the 10-13 yr olds. That's a really impressionable age so please pray that I'd be a good role model and that I'll have the energy to keep up with them. Still need to buy things like a rain poncho, batteries for my camera, running shoes etc. but I haven't felt well enough to d

I leave in exactly 30 days. Its hard to believe. I don't think it will seem real until I'm on the plane. Preparations are well underway. I purchased my Eurorail pass last weekend and the backpack sitting on my carpet is a constant reminder of the journey ahead. There are still a few more details to work out but almost all my support is in. God is faithful. Thank-you so much for partnering with me on this adventure. It would not be happening without your love, prayers, support and encouragement. I can hardly wait to see what God has in store.