Podebrady Camp!!

This week I had the honor to do camp with my team's home for the summer.  Podebrady, Czech Republic - just east of Prague has been our home away from home since the beginning of this adventure!

The team we had this go around was truly amazing.  Coming all the way from Sacramento, California we had a group of 6 energetic americans from the group Remedy.  We also had a handful of volunteers that in one way or another found their way to this camp! They proved to be priceless assets in both relationships with the students and doing AMAZING WORSHIP and songs!

For the Czech side we had two youth leaders and a handful of students all laying down time and effort for camp to be tons of fun and effective!  One of the greatest parts of this trip has been meeting and building relationships with the people who are leading the Christ movement day in and day out here in Czech Republic!

Our team was blessed to have another training in Brejlov, one of my favorite places on this beautiful earth!  With tons of fun and great talks I was able to start building relationships with all of those that would be helping us throughout the week!!

The time came for us to make our way to Lesni Bouda, the location of the camp.  The cottage was located on a mountain in the tallest mountain range in the Czech Republic.  It was truly beautiful in both daylight and night!

After last minute preparations for the English classes, the STUDENTS CAME!  It was fun seeing some familiar faces but also to meet all of the new students!  From day one bonds started forming as we played sports and just did all the camp stuff!  That night the students were assigned to classes and it ended up that my class would be me, my co-teacher (girl)  my (guy) translator, and a class of 6 girls! 

English classes went amazingly.  It was fun to see the students eager to learn new phrases and words but mostly class was great because it broke down some of the walls the students had put up!  By sharing about myself and asking questions I could begin to see what their lives were like!  And my class opened up wonderfully which allowed the christians in my class to speak Christ's truth!  It's the best thing to see!

The Podebrady group was probably the most active yet.  Here are some of the activities we did:

• Lots of soccer!
• Team Activities - chants, flags, etc.  DOMINATION STATION
• running around in the woods in the pitch black night!
• Hiking to the top of the Black Mountain
• Karaoke (I sang Friday and a duet to Heart Will Go On)
• Games including lyrics and whip cream
• tons of more fun!

We did run into one big problem this week which we saw coming but didn't think would happen.  On Wednesday night Josh, (my fearless leader) had to leave us to get on a train to Serbia.  He Czech visa for 2 years had not and still is not processed and his temporary visa has run out.  He now is serving with Josiah missionaries in Serbia and doing camp.  We don't understand why but we trust God in his plans!  But God used Josh leaving as a catalyst.  Josh spoke on his last night that his own hopes and expectations were not being fulfilled but he trusted God with what was to come.  That night it seemed the whole camp opened up.  My class and most other classes used Josh's example to speak on our hopes in the world and how some were failing.  It was so weird but exceptional to see something we viewed as terrible turn so many minds toward God.  He works in his own way!!

The spirit was moving!  We know of 2 people that accepted Christ and the hearts of many others were moving!  This is why I came here.  No, this is why God sent me here.  I'm so glad I could be a part of this and see God's work!

The end of camp came quickly but luckily we had Follow-Up!  I had the honor of playing bass with the Church's youth band which was a cool experience.  Never thought I would be playing while someone sang in Czech!  After church we hung out and played games and just kept the relationships going that we had made at camp!  I felt like I was with a group of friends from back home!

But the day came when we had to say goodbye.  We shared memories and hugs with both the Americans and Czechs as they boarded a train to Prague. With the craziness of our last week coming up we don't know who we will see again and who we won't.  But I know who I'll see in heaven

Again I just feel blessed to be here!  As my time here comes closer and closer to the end its crazy to me how long I have been here and everything my team has done.  God used me and it was the time of my life.  Thank all of you for the prayers and making this happen.  Continue to pray for energy and Josh's visa.  I love all of you!

Nolan

First Camp Hradec Kralove!

Hello everyone!

Sorry about it being so long since the last post but I have been super busy preparing and doing OUR FIRST CAMP.  After so much time touring and getting the word about English Camps it was finally time to start teaching English and sharing the gospel.  But our camp experience started actually a couple days earlier at Team Training!

3 days before camp started all of the intern teams and American teams serving in Bohemia came to Brejluv.  At a beautiful hotel (that used to be a mill) on a river we met the Americans that would be helping us do camp and just got time to bond and prepare for lessons!  Our team consisted of Cooper from Florida, Tim for Germany/Ohio, Laura and Morgan from Illinois (but originally Texas!), Megan from Iowa, and Bree and Melissa from Virginia.  It was fun to have people from all over the place and learning about the many different walks of life everyone was at.  The intern team was also able to reconnect with the other intern that were at training.  It was so cool to be away from people for about a month but reconnect instantly!  With all the teams there were many great talks and lots of late night talks!

But come Friday, we all had to go our separate ways, aka CAMP.  We loaded up the intern, Czech, and American team on trains for about 6 hours and finally arrived in Petrikov, our camp.  Staying at the hotel and restaurant Sport Grill, we stayed up late doing final preparations and making sure everything was perfect and spending LOTS of time in prayer for the camp and especially the students.

Saturday the 7th came quickly and so did the train carrying the 70 something students!  We had a nice hike back to the hotel from the train station so we all began to introduce ourselves and establish some relationships!  That night we welcomed everyone to camp and introduced them to the Camp Dance and other crazy things done at camp!  After 12 years being at summer camps I was so excited to get back to Theme songs and constantly yelling :)

I can't tell how much God answered my and ya'lls prayers for my English Class.   Being a film student I didn't think i was qualified or ready to teach anything, let alone a language!  But God provided the activities and plans for the best.  We had a Texas and Sports days, and it seemed they enjoyed themselves and learned a lot.  I think most importantly god showed me an open mind.  I had plans set but constantly I would scracth them by seeing what they were interested in!   One afternoon all we did was look at a U.S. and I answered questions and told them about the country.  They also loved teaching me.  Whether it was facts about the country or a nursery rhyme they loved seeing me try, (and especially fail) at the Czech.  I could not have asked for a better class!

We also ate... and ate... and ate.  The rumor around JV is that the place we did camp at had the best food of all the camps.  After eating there for week I fully believe that!  We had all the Czech foods (Svitcova, Fruit dumplings, and gulas!) and some other great meals.  Meals were also just a good time to sit back and talk to the students!  Relationships were built 24/7!

We had lots of fun extras we got to do during the week too!

• bobsledding (tobogganing)
• water sports
• Hradec Film Festival (film workshop I and my buddy did)
• Texas Dancing (taught them two-step and cotton eye joe)
• Capture the flag

Most importantly we got to share the gospel.  Throughout the week and the summer we are focusing on the story of the Prodigal Son.  Transforming the story into a more modern take, we're able to connect to what goes on in students life (in Czech and America).  Building on the story we were able to share how God is great and the only thing that will fulfill one's life.  It definitely made the students think and lead to some great discussions.  It was awesome to see God pull one students thoughts a full 180 in matters of hours.  Yay God!!

We are a day away from starting training for our second camp.  Continue to pray for energy and wisdom as we set out for two more camps.  Also be praying for my leader Josh's visa to come through soon! Thank all of you for the prayers and love.  Couldn't do it without  you!

Podebady, Parents, Prague, and much much more! part 2

Our leaders greeted us with a nice surprise during the weekend,  WE WERE GOING TO PRAGUE!! So last monday we loaded up and spent an amazing day in one of my favorite cities in the world
Here were some highlights!

• Found an upside down horse!
• Got some awesome Starbucks
• Went to Old Town Square
• Saw some ART
• Finally got a Czech Jersey
• Indulged Rachael's UK food cravings at Mark's and Spencer's
• Indulged my Mexican food cravings at an authentic mexican place!
• Photo shoot at the Lennon Wall

All and all it was a great day in a great city.

After Prague we went cross country (4 hours on a train) to Cesky Tesin for a work project.  Fortunately there were already 2 other Czech JV teams already there we had a great time catching up and swapping stories.  It was a friendly reminder that there I myself am just a small part of Josiah Venture and the mission group as a whole!  To hear all the stories of Christ is amazing and I loved all their company

We spent 2 days working (or really destroying) a town house in the Czech Hills for a missonary family.    The Dicksons opened up their project and their life for us to help out.  While sitting up on a roof 20 feet up (my mom would be so happy) I got to hear how the Dickson's got to Czech and their life story.  Its been great hearing about all the different missionaries and how everything has added up and been provided for them to serve the Lord.  We torn off the roof, took out toliets and tubs, moved bricks, and my favorite - jack hammering their entire driveway.  MASCULINITY!

The work project was a good break from our normal routine and do some physical and manual work for Christ!

We are now on the eve of going on our first training for camp!  I can't wait to get camp going and start teaching some English and some Good News!  I feel we have been prepping and now it is time for our work and all the work of the Czechs to come to life!!!

Prayer Requests: for the whole team (Josh, Jitka, Rachael, Bethany, and myself) for strength and energy!  Also that we can focus and remember we are hear for Christ and not for ourselves.  This is a blessing so i want to use it for the most!

Podebady, Parents, Prague, and much much more! part 1

First I would like to apologize for the long time without posting.  After going through my head of everything I have done in the mean time it has been crazy!  I have been blessed to have the opportunity to do some much over here in The Czech!  So lets get started!

I realized I have not really talked about my team's living arrangements in our home base Podebrady (pOd-ie-bra-dy, a little confusing).  We have had the pleasure of literally living in a Czech church, having two rooms upstairs.  We have the pastor and his family as neighbors and it has been great getting to know them well through having different meals together and watching some of the Euro Cup!  Our little home is comfortable and a nice place to rest!

Next big thing that happened in my life..... THE PARENTS CAME!!

The Mama and Papa got to meet and have dinner with the team, which ended up being a time to tell how we all got to the Czech which was AMAZING to hear!  After saying goodbye to the team for a couple of days the parents and I went back to the hotel and talked for awhile by the pool.  Email and facebook are great but there is nothing like telling your parents face to face what is going on in my heart and life!

Not only did we hang the parents and I almost went visiting some sweet places!  First was a huge Bascillica in Kutna Hora!  It's always fun to see all the detail made hundreds of years ago for church! After a hearty lunch of Svickova and Gulas we found ourselves in the crypt....

In Kutna Hora there is a crypt where, after years of getting lots of dead bodies, the caretakers began to make sculptures and fixtures out fo the bones of the dead.  You heard me right.. there are columns and little huts made out of human bones.  The room was centered around a giant chandelier made out of femurs and spines.


That night we cheered on the Czech EuroCup team in a Irish Bar (we seemed to be a little nationality confused eh?), but unfortunately we lost.  I spent another night with the parents but had to be back to the team for a visit the next day.  As quickly as my parents came they left.  I think it was amazing for my parents to see what I was doing firsthand because they are the ones who supported me doing this and created me to the person who would do this.  I owe it to them! 

That weekend was our "visit" (even though we were living there) to Podebrady's youth group!  We stayed with the youth pastor Ales' family at night while we played sports and just hung out with the youth group!  The group is ready to go for camp and I can't blame them I am too!  It was fun to sit and have a meal and just take in the Czech culture for teens.  Its great to feel like a missionary but sometimes its amazing to feel like you are part of their lives and culture! We played pretty much every sport imaginable under the warm (not texas warm but warm) including volleyball!  I can't wait for a couple weeks when we'll be teaching so English together!