I’m on a camel

Back for a while

So I’m back. I just arrived yesterday after a day and a half of travel and my body clock is all sorts of out of whack. I was 7 hours ahead in the Czech, 8 in Cairo, 1 in D.C where I overnighted and so, you can see how I might be a little confused about the time.

Egypt was absolutely amazing. Andrea and I had 5 really great days together and we got to travel around and do quite a bit. I’ve posted pictures of some of our adventures. I got to see the Cairo everyone thinks about and the Cairo most people don’t know about it. It was good. I can’t say much more here.

Right now, I am trying to organize both my thoughts and my life as I get ready to move in to my new apartment and begin my last year of school. God has done so much in me this summer that affects the way I think and live and so it’s a balanced walk I take in holding on to all that is of His kingdom and yet entering back in to the culture as God has me here now to serve. I’m really excited about this coming semester and coming year though. I know that God has big plans and I’m ready for whatever He calls me to. God is big and He moves. I saw it in the Czech Republic, I saw it in Egypt, and I see it here.

A summers end

It’s 1:59 AM and we are here, at the Czech Inn in Prague, taking care of last minute business. We leave here at 3:30 AM for the airport and then off we go, all to our own destinations. I’m actually off to visit my friend in Egypt for a bit It’s going to be incredible. It’s been 8 months now since we last saw each other and I know we are both really excited about this week. I’ll write more about that later but be praying that my visit can be an encouragement for her, spiritually, and also, please pray for safety.
Sitting here, with the whole summer now behind me, it’s truly hard to think about all that has happened. I don’t even know how to start. We have traveled to so many places, met so many people, and have seen and been a part of God’s movement in so many ways. A little over three months ago, I was praying about whether this was God’s plan for me at all and now, it seems as such a distant memory. I can say without the slightest bit of doubt that God had me right where He wanted me this summer. He has worked in my own heart to bring me closer to Him and it is with joy that I can say, He used me to minister for His name. Despite my weakness, Christ poured forth His love and truth on the students and it was incredible to see the way many of them responded. Christ has strengthened my faith in Him and my understanding and knowledge of Him and I feel so blessed that He is so willing. He has shown me the wickedness and sinful tendencies of my own heart and has made realize how much greater the grace He pours out on us is. God is so good.
It has been such an experience seeing Him work in others and it has made Him that much more real. God’s word is living and active and I have seen this work first hand. The power of His gospel is so great to turn our hardened and unbelieving hearts. I’m so glad I got to see this happen in some of the students I met.
Anyways, those are my thoughts for now. It’s late. 2:40 AM. 12 hours from now I will be arriving in Cairo. I’m gonna go lay down for 20 minutes. I put pictures up from the week here in Prague. Check it. I’ll see you in Egypt. Look for more updates and videos about the summer soon.

Strakonice Camp 2009

So, we just arrived in Prague for our final days of debrief. Our last camp is over and finished and it was good. Again, it was quite a bit different than the other camps. The everyday things of camp ran very smoothly and it was so nice to have some of the responsibilities taken off our shoulders. It was also the most exhausting camp because, after the last two camps, we were pretty much worn out. The camp was the biggest one this summer in all of the Czech Republic, rounding out with a whopping 102 people. With that many students, it was impossible to get to know everyone and so the time we had was spent more intentionally with those God set forth for us to talk with.

I had another really awesome English group. I felt that we clicked rather well and it was great getting to know everyone. Our discussion groups were a bit difficult because they weren’t always willing to talk but we did had some really great conversations and I could tell that, while they may not be saying anything, the truth of God’s story was still impacting and challenging them. I didn’t see any sort of revival at this camp, but what I did see was the light of Christ shine, drawing some students to take small steps of faith toward Him and, in others, turning hearts of indifference to hearts of interest and for that I say “Praise Him!” I can say that some of the students left camp a little closer to Him and that is a beautiful thing. I know that it is God that causes all of the growth and so now, we need only trust and pray.

Prayer requests:

• Please pray for my students that they will not be taken back by the distractions of this world.
• Pray that God will give them a desire for Him that can overcome this stumbling block.
• Please pray that Christ will send laborers to them that they may have people in their lives to encourage and disciple them.
• Also pray that the the Czech youth group members will remain faithful to the role and responsibility God has given to continue pouring into these students. The great work that God does here comes not through these camps, but through the relationships that carry on here the rest of the year. Please pray that God bless those relationships and use them to draw people closer to Him.

Man vs. Ostrich

Lots of new pictures are up.

The sissy show

The baby ostrich

Our final camp

So it’s late and I am here packing for our last English camp, which is just outside of Strakonice, our homebase. It is a huge camp and there are going to be over 100 people there. There will be 30 or so first timer campers and we are all excited about the opportunities that we will have, God willing. Please be praying for us, the American team coming, the Czech youth group, and the intern teams that will be there (including my own) that will be unified in Christ’s name and that we can serve and lead well. Be praying that Christ will keep us from the evil one and that we will stand firm in faith to Him when we are attacked, with fear, doubt, frustration, or anything else, for that matter. Ask that God will provide for us wisdom and that He will help us to be humble servants.

Most importantly, be praying that Christ will open up for each of us opportunities to share His gospel and our lives with the students. Pray that God will soften hearts so that as they hear, they will respond to Him in faith. It has been amazing to see the ways God has been moving here during the last two months and it is my hope that He will do a mighty work during this last camp. Thank you for being so willing to support us in prayer. Know that your prayer is truly a part of the forwarding of God’s kingdom.

If you don’t hear from me again this next week, it’s because I don’t have the internet. If that is the case, I’ll see you on the other side of camp. Ciao.

Tabor Camp 2009

Soon…

I’m sorry for not having put up an update already for this last camp. There was not any wireless internet at the camp, and although I was able to get on the owner’s office computer, the time I had to do so was mostly spent with emails. We arrived back in Strakonice yesterday and are taking some time to rest before our next camp. We went to Martina’s parent’s house today for lunch and they were so great. It was so nice to have a home cooked meal. We do not have to go to our next American team training because our American team for the next camp isn’t arriving until right before camp. This means we have to train them with the Story of God curriculum ourselves. But it is huge blessing for us to have this time to rest and re-energize for our last camp. We will go out with a bang. I’m going to be posting a video update about the Tabor camp we just finished soon.

Last night, we all put a hand in and made breakfast tacos, complete with homemade tortillas and hash browns. It was superb. Tonight, we went even further and made fajitas, complete with homemade pineapple salsa, guacamole, and tortillas. It brought me home. I have missed Mexican food the most and Jon and I were so happy to have some.