#jvcteam

[jacobdhash]

A Day (un)Like Any Other

So, today is my last full day in Europe. And what a weird last day it is.

What I mean by that is that it has been like any other day, in a sense. I have spent the majority of my time editing in the KAM office. I went to lunch to Ima Vera, where I have gone near to everyday these last few weeks. I got a pizza, like I have every time.

Of course, there were some different things, like the morning van debacle. (Long story short, my dad and I are eternally cursed to have Volkswagen van issues, but to keep buying them for some reason. The clutch/linkage is messed up, so I can't put it in gear. The problem is being solved. Sort of. Nevermind.) Today I am actually handing over a finished project. But still it feels normal.

For now.

When I leave the office, I will not come back here for at least a year, if not more. When I leave Czech tonight I will not come for at least a few months, possibly a year. When I get on the plane tomorrow, I will not see my dog or my house or my country until Christmas. When I finish the last bottle of Raspberry bubble water that I love so much, I will not taste it again for a very long time. 

When I say goodbye over these next few days I will not see these people for a long time. These people that have meant so much to me for so many years.

I would not say that this goodbye is more painful than the big one last year. No, last year was tough. This year is... different. For many reasons. For one, I know my destination. I know, much more than last year, at least, what this year holds for me. I know many of the people I will see. I know what life will look like. And I look forward to it.

But I also leave here with an even greater desire to come back. I know that nothing other than God will be able to keep me away for ever. When I talk of my future, the question is not whether I will move to Poland, but what my role there will be. 

Knowing that makes leaving/coming home easier. Not easy, but easier. I am excited about this year, and I am not ready to not be here. I am excited to go, but despise the idea of leaving. And listening to sad/epic instrumental music is not helping. But it also feels nice.

My time here is not completely done, though. I still have to figure out how to get a non-working van into a different country. Hah! That's something that most people don't get to say. It doesn't surprise me much though. I'm a Hash. Van problems seem to run in my blood. I wonder if some day I will have as many stories as my Dad. ... Probably not, but I will give him a run for his money!

Please pray for a good last day, and that everything with the van would go smoothly. A really chill flight would be great too. Also, there was a death in the extended family, and it is hitting hard. If you could pray for God's comfort for my cousins, I would really appreciate that! Thanks! //

[jacobdhash]

Old Friends in New Places

So, yesterday I got to go to the Fusion Camp in Banksa Bystrica, and it was great! I got to see Josh Howard, which was great, and I also got a sweet surprise. Hudson, Kari and Elliot Jones were all at this camp as well. Many of you may not know who that is, but Hudson and Elliot are fellow JVK's from Slovakia, who moved to Little Rock, AK about 8 years ago. Kari is Hudson's wife, and the two of them are moving to Slovakia with JV soon :). It was a great reunion, and a super fun time to hang out with them. It was also pretty sweet, because we realized that we do still like each other (maybe even more now that we are older), and that we live close (Little Rock is about 3 hours away from JBU), so we have decided that we will hang out sometime this next year. I'm psyched.

(Hint: I'm the one in the middle. Hudson is on the left, Elliot on the right, Kari took the picture.)

The last two pictures I posted on here are of Elliot, in case you were wondering. He's cool, and photogenic. Takes great pictures too - you should check him out on istagram ( @_ellrah_ ).

Today was really chill. We left the camp in the morning after grabbing a few interviews and such, and I have been 'binge watching' some TV shows in an attempt to rest. It's worked pretty well.

I also got to talk with Laurel Jackson, a JVK from Slovenia, for a little over an hour tonight. She has just moved to the states to start college at Wheaton U. It was really fun to talk with her, and I was struck by how similar we are in a lot of aspects. There are now 8 JVK in Illinois, so I am thinking I will have to go up there and hang out with them for a while sometime this year.

Any ways, it's late, and I actually get to go to Church tomorrow (it's been a few weeks because of all the travel and camps!), so I need to get to bed. Once again, thanks for supporting me on this journey! This week should be all about editing again, so if you could pray for energy, focus, and creative juices for me and the rest of the team, that would be great! Thanks! //

[jacobdhash]

Questions

I got to edit today! I'll let you guys all know as soon as anything I have filmed or edited is out. But, I gotta tell you, there are some people who have been so deeply impacted by English Camps. Seriously, there are moments where I am about to cry because of the beautiful things people are saying.

Actually, it has brought up a few questions for me, and they are ones that are hard to answer. Really, they all boil down to 'what I should be doing?' Like, I think about what I will do after school. And I wonder if there is any way that I could not come back to Eastern Europe, to Poland, and work with youth? Is there any way that I could NOT do camps? Could I really live like that, with no camps?

And, when I think about that, then I start wondering about why I love camps. And one of the many (so, so many) reasons I love camp is because I get to invest in people, and I get to teach.

I realized this year that I love teaching/preaching... whatever you want to call it. Seriously. Any chance I get to be upfront and help people grow, everything inside of me rejoices. I knew I liked it, and people told me I was good at it, but I never realized I loved it.

And that then brings me to the question of what I am doing now to prepare to do these things that I love. Well, I'm going to be an RA, and I love investing in people, so that makes sense. What about... Frisbee? Does that make sense? Honestly, not really, but I am not abandoning that. I love it, and I think I am learning great things about community and living a non-ministry centered life in a God-honoring way. And it keeps me in shape. Big plus.

So, what else? ... Classes. What am I doing in school that is going to prepare me for doing ministry, if that is really what I want to do? How does Cinema fit in to this? Honestly, I am legitimately confused about whether I am doing the right thing in studying Cinema, and not Bible, for instance... It's very troubling. I almost wish that I could abandon Cinema, but I can't. I love that too. Many of my best memories of this whole last year are film sets. And I really think that God has me in that for a reason. I just... don't really know what it is right now.

But I will wait on the Lord. His plan is best, even if it includes me being confused for a while.

Besides, everyone says it's fine to change your major to something completely different, even if it's at the end of Sophomore year, right? RIGHT?!

In any case, please still pray for Daniel and I as we travel, and for energy as well, because we are getting pretty tired. Probably because of posting all of these updates. Also, keep the camps in your prayers. Incredible things are happening, and people are coming to know the Lord as their Savior, which is awesome. The leaders need your support.