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...