#vikyrovice

[joshhawaii]

Prep Periods, Prayer Time

As a leader at camp I am not in an English Class. It is during that time that I pray, work through some camp/team problems, and prepare to present the Story of God. This was my view one morning: This week I really felt the joy of being able to share the Story of God with these students. The first full night we shared the story of Creation. The end of the story left Adam and Eve in the Garden living in a perfect relationship with God. We wanted students to feel the perfection, so that the Fall would feel like the blow it really was. After telling the story, I took a walk to pray during discussion groups. The most UNBELIEVABLE sunset was spread across my view, and I felt the perfection that God created Adam & Eve in. I love how the mists are in the valleys, too. It was a great privilege and feeling.

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[joshhawaii]

Vikyrovice Camp

Vikyrovice camp got off to an interesting start. I found myself very exhausted and overwhelmed throughout the week, but we also saw God really work at camp anyway. At the last night we gave an invitation for students to accept Christ and 3 students responded. Others remained in the room to think about things and ask questions. We really felt the Spirit of God at the camp and especially that last night. Here are some pictures: A-B-C-Flak...a very painful game but a great crowd breaker for the first night

Group Photo

Campfire...always a great way to hang out and talk

Paintball for followup...the first game was boring but the second game I shot 5 people.

Goodbye at the train station

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[joshhawaii]

In Between Camps

Well, this summer has been an amazing ride. We are now finished with our 2nd/3 camps and are resting in Sumperk for the weekend. We leave tomorrow for Malenovice and US Team training. Our team is definitely in camp season. Basically after the beginning of the summer when we're meeting the different groups, the last half of the summer is all camp stuff - and we're busy constantly. We've felt the pull and pressure of this time, but have endured it with the strength of the Lord. We are loving our time here and can't wait for this third camp. All the same, we are resting so that we will be ready once again to pour ourselves out for those who come to camp. This last camp with Vikyrovice had some definite blessings that made it easier. It was nice to arrive earlier to camp and have time for setup and rest. We were also blessed to be working with two groups who knew what our camps were like and were ready to get into camp mode. Also, having about half the students returning was such a blessing. But this camp brought its own set of challenges. Most of the Americans got sick throughout the week. Some Czechs had it too, but I felt like we were all drained at different times. I actually got sick for the last full day and am just barely getting over the cold. I also found myself distracted by some of the things that are going on with one of my good friends back home - and I found out about it from other people. I must give God all the Glory, though. He worked through these difficulties. I was even able to share some of these things in the evening program, contrasting earthly love (which can cause so much pain) and the Love of God as shown in the story of the prodigal son. Though it was a bit awkward for me to share something that hit so close to home, I believe that God used it to open up the students even more. We found that at this camp students were really open to sharing their lives and the questions that they had about God. Though no one put their faith in Christ, there are many that are asking great questions and are so close. Please pray for these students who are seeking to know the truth. The last night Tomas, the Vikyrovice youth pastor, shared about the benefits of doubt, and challenged the students to keep searching. As I work with this group in the fall, I am looking forward to the challenge of knowing how to best followup this experience. As I said before, we are entering our final camp time starting Tuesday, and we need prayer for energy (though God has already been abundantly providing it). I am looking forward to meeting this group again and hopefully being more involved in an English Class and Discussion Group. Here's our schedule for the next 2 weeks: Tues (22) - travel to Malenovice for US Team training, meet US youth group Wed, Thurs (23-24) US Training, continued relationship building, unifying teams Fri (25) Travel to camp and prepare for camp, rest Sat (26) Students arrive in the afternoon for camp, first evening program, etc. Sat-Sat (7.26-8.2) Camp. Please pray for the evening programs every night, where we challenge the students to consider truths of the Gospel.

[joshhawaii]

Another Czech Update

Here's a basic rundown of what we've been up to. Last week was our first English Camp with a town called Vysoke Myto. A team from Bend, Oregon came to help out and it was the first time that these groups were coming together. As an intern team our role was to bring them together and my specific role was to be responsible for programming and all that stuff (making sure everything ran smoothly, etc.) At that camp we saw God working in the hearts of students. Though no one accepted Christ as their Savior (that we know of) everyone was asking good questions about God and what He's done, and all the small group discussions were headed in the right direction. I can say that specifically for me God was teaching me so many things about leadership and how He works. In the past few weeks He has been teaching me dependence on His Spirit and showing me that the amount that I feel/sense this need now is just a small taste of how much I need Him every hour of the day. I needed to depend on Him at camp, and His Spirit worked through me as I shared the evening messages. I just learned so much that I will still have to unpack it, but it was good to have Trev and Cass (my mentors/"bosses") there to walk Erica and I through. This week we have been at US Team training with a team from Peoria, IL (after a few days of rest). It's been great to catch up with them and get to know the newbies on the team. I also spent the first night hanging out with Jerry and some of the intern teams - sweet, sweet fellowship. Tomorrow we head to our camp (second for the intern team) and it will be so sweet. We will need increased pressure to depend on God, as it can be easy to think we know it all coming into it for a second time. There are also several returning students that we are excited to share our faith and our lives with as well. This summer it has been my goal to empower Czechs to serve. The first camp was a place of training for me and I think our role was to start the training process for their team. Our last/third camp will have a heavy emphasis on this discipleship, as the team has been well prepared for this camp. The camp that we go into now will be a mix of the two, and I am excited to see how God will use these Czechs to reach out to other students. I am excited to see what God will do in the rest of my time here.