Prague and Heading Home

We had a great time exploring the beautiful city of Prague. I have been many times and it still takes my breath away. The history and the scenery is amazing. 

We got to see the castle, the cathedral, the town square and much more. 

It was fun to hang out together and enjoy this beautiful city as we wrapped up our time here in the beautiful country. We were thankful that it wasn't too hot outside and the buildings created shade we could rest in. 

We got to check out a couple new places that were recommended to us by the missionaries here and it was really fun. 

It's hard to get the full effect from the photo but we went to this awesome 1920s cubism restaurant for lunch and it was like eating in Gatsby's house. The architecture was really neat. We also had our traditional dinner in the converted bomb shelter where we ended the night with encouragement and our highs and lows. 

The next day it was off to the airport. Denia and Amber headed off to Germany and the rest of us got ready to go home. 

See you soon California!! We have missed you!! 😊

Follow Up

We had such an amazing camp and the best part of our trip is it doesn't end there!! We invite the students to follow up events to get them connected with the church in their home town. This is one of the biggest reasons we do this trip because we partner with local churches. It creates an avenue that students can stay connected even after camp, even after we leave, the students have a connection to a church that will support them and help them grow!! 

The first event we did was at the church so the students knew where the youth group was. We did a mini camp and played games, had tea and looked at photos from camp. We even had some people visit that didn't go to camp and it was a great way to meet them and give them a glimps of camp. 

Then we all got to go to our home stays. Some of us stayed in villages like this one.

Some of us stayed in the city. It didn't matter where we stayed, it was fun to live with our Czech friends and experience what it is like to live in Czech. It also allows up to make deeper connections with these students. 

The next day we did two events. The first one was paintball and it was AMAZING!!! 

We had so much fun playing paintball and talking to students after we were done playing. It was so fun!!

Here is an idea of the amazing course that they have in the middle of the forest!!!

Then later in the day we had a barbecue and cooked spakačy. 

It was yummy, as usual. :) 

We were going to have a scavenger hunt around the city but it was very hot so we changed plans and went to the town pool instead.

It was a great way to connect with students and get some relief from the heat. 

The next day was Sunday and we invited our students to come and check out the church that we have been taking about. It was nice to see students there enjoying their time. 

We got to share a bit about camp and James, Kadri and I got to share about our stories. It was a really special time and we got great feedback from it. 

Then it was time to say our goodbyes to our amazing Czech team and wonderful students as we got ready for our train ride to Prague. 

It was full of tears and love!! It is always a special and bittersweet time as we say goodbye. We don't know when God will bring us back or if he will but we can find comfort knowing that God is in control and has equipped the Czech team to take care of these students. 

We arrived in Prague after a very warm train ride and were very excited to be underground taking the subway to our hotel. 

We had a great debrief with Josiah Venture and then had some team time in the city. We went to a look out tower and had dessert at the restaurant at the top. 

It was a great way to end a long day of emotional goodbyes and hot train rides. 

We will take on the city tomorrow and then get ready to head home on Tuesday. 

Last Day of Camp!!

Wow!! I can't believe it is the end of camp!! It went by so fast but was so much fun!! We had an amazing time with the students.

Our team was amazing and worked great together. We also are very grateful to partner with an amazing Czech team that cares so much for these students!! 

We made an amazing team together!! We are so thankful for them and how intentional they are. We have learned so much from them and hope we have encouraged them in how amazing they are. 

We finished off our camp with lots of fun memories. We got to have a bonfire where we shared smores with the Czechs and we got to have spakčy over the fire. Spakčy is is really yummy sausage you cook over the fire. 

We also had a visit from Casey and Kristen Yorman and their two sweet boys. The Yormans are missionaries from our church that live in Czech and work with Josaiah Venture. It was so fun to catch up with them. 

The boys were in heaven to have snores. :) 

We also had a fun talent show where the girls and boys did a lip sync battle. The boys represented Taylor Swift and the girls sand Justin Beiber. It was so funny!! I hope someone has pictures of this...we were doing it so I do t have then. Bummer 😔

We finished today the day thanking our Czech team.we gave them presents from the Jordan. 

They gave us presents from their youth group. :) 

Now we get ready for follow up!! 

Camp is going great!!

We are having so much fun at camp!! We have been so busy that I forget to take pictures. But we are doing so many fun things. Our English classes have been going really well and the students are having a great time. We are traveling through the decades in English class and focusing on the 50's,  60's, 70's, 80's, 90's and today. We have talked about drive-thus, landing on the moon and slogans for protests. We have done some great activities to go with them. 

This activity they had to create their own. Planet and tell about it. It was really fun!! 

We have also had a lot of fun in the afternoon playing sports and doing different workshops. 

This is a picture of all the girls in the dance workshop that was offered. It was fun!! 

We also has a really fun day outside with a big slip and slide on a hill that is also a small ski slope in the winter. It was so fun but because of the water I didn't bring my phone. Imagine the best slip and slide ever and that was it. :) Super fun!! 

Kadri and Lenny have been rocking it by being our MC's and keeping everyone excited and engaged!! 

Just a glimpse at the craziness!! 

James and Gee are bringing the students the evening talks in a dramatized format of the life of Paul and they are doing great!! 

We also went on a hike together and it was wonderful!! The nature here is absolutely beautiful and it was fun to talk and walk with students and share the experience together. 

It was a great time for us to connect and talk with students. I really enjoyed it!! 

Getting to the top was so rewarding and beautiful!! We had lunch together and played games. It was great!! 

Thank you for ally our prayers. I think our conversations with students have been great and we are making some great connections. We will be sharing the gospel in a couple of days so please be praying for the hearts of students to be open to the Good News!!! 

First Day of Camp!!

Yaa!!! The students are here and we all couldn't be happier!! We spent all morning getting ready for them to arrive and when they did it was all worth it. :) 

We began the morning meeting as a team and encouraging each other and praying for our camp as a team. 

We then had a wonderful surprise!! We got to witness one of the Czechs on our team get baptized!! It was a very special time for all of us to be apart of.

 I remember when it was her first camp and it has been so wonderful to watch her continue to grow each camp!! It is wonderful to celebrate the work the Lord is doing here. 

We then had lunch with all the Czechs that are helping us for camp. 

Looks like they got photo bombed...haha!!

It was a great time to catch up and get excited for everyone else to arrive. :) We prepared the hotel with decorations, student names and boards for English classes. We finished just in time for students to arrive. It was a fun rest of the evening with dinner, camp games, camp dance and one of my favorites....the Czech skits. They are always so funny and this year the props are amazing!!

I'm looking forward to how the story progresses. 

We also went on a short night hike and had a very silly American Night. It was so silly I forgot to take a picture :( bummer. Ready for bed and ready for a full day of camp tomorrow. 

Travel Day....to Camp!!

It was a long day today full of lots of travel with trains, waiting and cars. 

We had a quick breakfast so we could catch our first train from Brejlov to Prague. 

We then waited for our next train in Prague and enjoyed some shopping and yummy coffee. 

We then boarded our next fast train to Vsetín.  We are thankful to be traveling with our amazing Czech to show us the ropes. 😉

We then boarded our last train to the town we will be doing camp in Velké Karlovice. We were waiting for Palo, one of the Czechs from the team, to pick us up and were taking in the view of this beautiful country. 

We finally made it to our camp after a long day of traveling and met with the rest of our Czech team!! It was wonderful to connect with everyone again and pray for the camp that starts TOMORROW!!! 

And worship together!!

Please be praying for our camp, our team, the Czech team, unity among our teams, students, the evening talks, English class and for everything to run smoothly. Camp is jam packed so it may be hard for me to post everyday but I will do my best to keep you updated. 

Thanks for all your prayers!!

Last Day of Training

This was our last day here in Brejlov and it was a wonderfully refreshing day both spiritually and physically.  We got to spend more time with our Czechs and had some good quality team time together. 

We talked about our plans for camp and had time to prepare for our English classes. We also got to enjoy the beautiful outdoors in Brejlov by going on a walk together. 

We stopped to pick the berries, like the Czechs do, and spotted the small things in nature. It is so beautiful here!!

Some of us tested the water and went out into the river and others had ice cream and played games. 

Our day ended with doing the camp dance and camp songs and camp games.

We are playing a camp favorite, ride that pony....I wish I could have caught it on film because it is very funny, but you can kind of get the idea. :)

You can see how packed it is as we try to do the camp dance together. Very fun to have so many people from different parts of the world coming together for one purpose. 

We also said goodbye to a dear Czech, Martína, that has been a huge help to English Camps for Josaiah Venture as she is now moving into an international role with conferences. We are happy she will still be with Josaiah Venture. 

This was the card we all made for her.

It was a bittersweet moment as we said goodbye to her. 

We ended the night with worship, communion and commissioning. It was such a special time for our team to get filled up spiritually before we go on our journey to camp tomorrow. Please pray for safe travels, continued rest, health and that the hearts of the students would be hope to the words that will be spoken at camp. Please pray for our English classes and discussion groups. Looking forward to seeing the rest of our Czech team tomorrow!!!