Arrival in Prague...

After some tearful goodbyes, we left for Ostrava at 845am. We changed trains in Ostrava and boarded a fast train called the Pandolino. 3 hours later we arrived in Prague, and fortunately it was overcast today, so it was not too hot. Traveling both by subway and light rail, we arrived at our hotel. After we checked in, we decided to go see a few sights before our debriefing this evening. We went to one the castles and a large cathedral. We are now at our debriefing waiting for it to start.

More goodbyes

We enjoyed a great church service and delicious turkey lunch yesterday with our new friends in Haviřov. In the afternoon, some of us went to have pizza and some of us went to a tea room. In the evening, we visited the location to which the church will move in September. It was the first time that many from the church had seen the location, and all of them were beaming with pride. It is a blessed situation to need to move to a new location because the church family had grown so much! We prayed over the new location, and walked back to the previous location through the center of town. The architecture still has a very communist feel, but there is a surprising amount of open space and many green trees.

The family I am staying with here has been amazingly gracious and kind. I will more more about them later.

This morning, we board the train to Ostrava, and then to Prague. This evening, we meet back up with some of the other teams we met in training a week and a half ago. More updates later (pending internet connectivity in our location in Prague).

Rehearsals, A Performance, and Goodbyes

It has been another very busy few days. After our prayer labyrinthe on Thursday night, 8 students newly commited their lives to Jesus. This was very moving to all of us involved, and helped to provide immediate feedback about God working through us at camp. It also helped to provide motivation and recovery to us and our tired bodies.

On Friday, we finalized rehearsals for the main concert on Saturday. Friday night, we held a camp-wide talent show, and were wholly entertained. Saturday (today) we rehearsed and performed the final camp concert for a large crowd of the students' friends and families. The concert went very well, and all those in attendance were very pleased. We said our final goodbyes to some of the students. For others of the students, we will say goodbye to them after we attend church with them tomorrow morning at their home church. We have moved out of our camp, and into host homes in Haviřov (pronounce the ř like a zh sound), which is within about 10 miles of Ostrava (if you are looking on a map).

With my host family, I went to the grocery store this evening. Those of you who know me well know that I am not usually allowed to go to the grocery store because I find and buy all sorts of new items are were not on the list. Well, I didn't buy anything, but there sure was a lot to see. :) A few observations: shopping carts here have 4-wheel steering, the salami section at this particular medium-sized grocery store was about 30 feet long and took up 6 shelves, and, you bag your own groceries. I would have been dangerous in there if I had room to bring items home the the US. That's all for now, more tomorrow (including pictures from the concert!)

Collision: Not what you might think...

It has been a busy week, so I will try to get back up-to-date. Each day, in the morning and the evening, we meet as a whole camp. We sing songs, do the "camp dance", and see a skit or video that relates to that day's message. The theme of the camp is "Collision" and each day's message is related to a collision in some way.

The first night was entitled "Jesus is different from what you think". It highlighted the collision between Jesus and the negative associations some students might have with Christians. The talk can be summed up by Ghani's quote, "I love your Christ, I don't love your Christians." The goal of this talk was to open the hearts of the non-Christian students by asking them to have an open mind about Jesus and Christianity, possibly despite their previous experiences.

The second day was about Jesus and the Adulterous Woman. The collision was between the tendency of humans to be quick to judge and the act of the same humans seeking mercy for their own offenses. It highlighted how frequenty humans want to focus on the imperfections of others, while ignoring their own imperfections. It helped to communicate that Jesus was perfect, but not judgemental.

The third night was about Jesus and Zaccheus. It showed a collision between what the people of Jesus' time expected, and the reality of His mercy shown toward Zaccheus. Zaccheus was transformed by Jesus' grace at a time when he really needed it, even though he (like us) did not deserve it.

The fourth night was about Jesus and the Rich Young Ruler (Mark 10:13-31). By asking the students about what was very important to them in life, and what it would take for them to give up those things, we demonstrated the fact that having everything (or anything) we want pales in comparison to having Jesus. It was a collision between earthly possessions and eternal life.

The fifth night, including inspiring and personally relevant talks by both Moriah and Rich, was about peer pressure and how that was related to Jesus and Pilate. It showed the collision between truth (including doing the right thing) and pressure from outside influences, especially peers. It was helpful to show the students that how they react to difficult situations predicates the direction of their lives. By making the right choices, even when it is difficult and no matter the cost, the students' actions can be an invaluable example to others.

I will post about the sixth and seventh nights as they happen. Stay tuned.

Survival Photos 1

Our team descending down the first steep hill to the waterfall

One of the challenges was to fit all nine
team members in a telephone booth

Team member Adam's canyon crossing

The landscape is similar to Colorado, but some things are
quite different

Bradley crosses the river with a harness and anchor line

One of the valleys from our descent 

Taylor perched on a cliff about 40 feet above the waterfall

Sheep in the countryside were not uncommon

Moriah muses by the moire and mist...

All-Camp Choir Rehearsal

Wow...Survival.

We had an amazing day. A 9-hour, 10-team hike/challenge course that included crossing rivers, climbing, and hiking through mountains, valleys, and plains. We started at 2pm and finished at 11:30 pm. We are all very tired, but it was a great experience. I will post more detail and photos tomorrow.

A few photos

Campers lined up to play games on arrival day

Hotel KAM, where Fusion camp is taking place

Scott and Kaja, one of the camp leaders,
demonstrate how to play the game
"Knight, Horse, Princess"

Czech Republic's Got Talent!

The talent displayed by most of these students is amazing. We had our first all-camp choir rehearsal this morning, and the students are learning 8 songs by ear with three parts (sopranos/altos/men). We worked on 4 songs today, and the students picked all of them up very quickly. Additionally, most of the songs are in English, a second or third language for the students. I am actually learning a few Czech songs, as well.
Contributing to talent from the American side are Moriah, Christan, and Taylor. They led worship this morning, and Moriah led the Hillsong United song "Hosanna" entirely in Czech. Their ability and enthusiasm have been rejuvenating for us "older" members of the team and the whole camp!

The students are here!

Yesterday, all 60 of the students arrived. We played games on the field with them. Some games were designed to let the us and the students get to know each other better. Others were to make sure that at least some of their energy was used up so that they would not be awake all night. The students were introduced to their workshops and workshop leaders, and we had our first meal with them. After the evening program (camp dance, songs, and a message), one of the large areas was converted into a "tea room". A concept with which I was not familiar, a tea room is like a chatty coffee shop, except instead of sitting at tables and chairs, patrons sit in circles on rugs and pillows on the floor. It is quite popular with Czech youth, and the students really enjoyed it. We enjoyed tea biscuits, crackers, pastries, and cappucinos.
A moment of the evening: outside one of the windows, we could see a professional fireworks show in the valley. Because most of the students were sitting on the floor, they did not have a good angle to see it without standing up. I was able to communicate to one of the leaders to encourage her to stand up and see them. She saw them, and then told the students. Unfortunately, as the students all stood up, the last firework of the show sparkled, and they did not see anything but darkness outside the window, leaving them to wonder whether it was all an joke to get them to stand up. We assured them that it as not, but you could still see the skepticism in some of their eyes. :)
I will try to upload some arrival pictures later today, but our world has been much different since the arrival of the students.

Prepared for arrival...

We spent today preparing for our students to arrive. We unpacked and set up the lighting, sound systems, and the stage. We were also able to get away for long enough to walk down the road to a local restaurant. A few of us enjoyed rabbit for the first time, and enjoyed it quite a bit! The food here has been great. There have been a variety of different meals, including fruit dumplings, which was like having dessert for dinner!

After rain througout the morning, it was sunny, cool, and clear in the afternoon. (The weather seems more like Colorado every day!) More Czech leaders arrived in the afternoon, and we were able to meet with them and have dinner. Everything is coming together nicely, and we are looking forward to the students' arrival tomorrow afternoon.

Final Training Day

Moriah, Christian, and Taylor at Rehearsal

Thursday was our final day of training. After full-team training sessions in the morning, Moriah, Christian, and Taylor practiced for when they will lead morning worship with the campers. As many of you already know, the talent that each of them has is amazing!

Following a camp-wide soccer game in the afternoon, we had a prayer labyrinth in the evening. At the end of the evening, we commissioned the 7 other teams training with us here in Malenovice. They leave today (Friday) to go to their camps throughout the Czech Republic. Our camp is being held at the same location where we did our training, so we are blessed to only have to move between rooms instead of between cities.

The rain (and additional lightning) returned last night, and is continuing through this morning. Fortunately, it has now also helped lower the temperature. We begin preparations for our campers today, as they will arrive here tomorrow afternoon. Please keep us (and now, additionally, the weather) in your prayers.

Taking a rain-czech...

After some great talks this morning, we are experiencing our first rainstorm. It is not affecting the temperature much, but it makes the mountains here feel like home. We have not seen any lightning, fortunately.

One of our talks this morning was about the small groups where we will be interacting with students at the camp. It will be interesting to spend time with the students, who are at various levels of their knowlege of English...

Czech Culture Tidbits - Shoes, Blinks, and No's

1. It is customary to remove your shoes when entering a Czech home.
2. In America, we acknowledge each other with a smile, a head nod, or a hand wave. In the Czech Republic, many Czechs acknowledge each other (and us) with something much more subtle: a blink.
3. In America, when we ask a question or make an offer (such as "Would you like some pie?"), we accept the first response given. In Czech culture, you should make the offer three separate times to determine someone's true intention.
Example:
First time: "Would you like some pie?" - "No, thank you."
Second time: "Are you sure you would not like some pie?" - "No, I would not like any pie"
Third time: "I have some pie here, would you like some?" - "Why, yes, I would love some pie!"

Another great day (and it's not even over yet!)

We started the day with worship songs, and a class block learning more about the history of the Czech Republic and some unique aspects of Czech culture. (Watch for a Czech Culture Tidbits post later today).

Nick, one of the interns who is here for the summer, led a class block about "Building Well". It streesed the importance of being intentional while establishing relationships and helping to make connections with our Czech students while they are here. Nick had a personal experience to share about how "seeds" of God's message that he planted two years ago are now bearing fruit. It helped us to keep in mind that despite the fact that we may not immediately see the results of the things we do during this trip, God has a reason from bringing each of us here to plant "seeds."

After lunch, we started working on more of the specifics about what we will be doing after the students arrive on Saturday. This evening, we will get a chance to learn more about the other teams who are serving at other camps here in the Czech.

A great evening

We just had a great evening worshipping and playing games ("Encore") with the rest of the teams. The sun is setting and we are going on a brief walk before heading in to bed. For those of you who are wondering, we are 8 hours ahead of you. More in the morning!

At camp!

We are all at the camp. More details soon.

We have landed!

Both teams landed in Prague a few hours ago. All of our luggage arrived with us. We are leaving the airport in a few minutes to head to Malenovice.

Now in Hotlanta!

We have made it to Atlanta safely, and on time, and are waiting to board our 9.5 hour flight to Prague. It is quite warm, even inside the airport, but everyone is faring well. We are sitting next to another Josiah Venture team from Tucson, but they are going to a different part of the Czech.
Our next update will be from 5,000 miles and 6 time zones further east. See you tomorrow!

Off We Go

Both teams have made it to the airport, checked in, and passed security. We are at our gate. First major hurdles: complete.

Almost Ready...

It is less than 24 hours before our departure for the Czech Republic. We fly out of DIA tomorrow (Monday) morning. After a brief layover in Atlanta, we have a nine hour flight from Atlanta to Prague. I had a chance to talk to most of the team at church (Cherry Hills Community Church) this morning, and everyone is very excited. Thank you for visiting our blog, and we appreciate all of your prayers!

Team Member Profile - Taylor Flowers

Taylor Flowers just turned 17 years old and he is going into his senior year of high school at Mountain Vista High School in Highlands Ranch, Colorado. He is deeply involved in music at his school and extracurricular musical activities, as he has been playing the piano for about 12 ½ years now and the violin for 5 years. He recently participated in All State Orchestra and All State Choir this past school year and he has been involved in piano competitions, violin orchestral groups, school musical (theatrical) productions, church worship band, and barbershop harmony singing choruses. He also loves athletic activities, and most of all, he enjoys baseball, ultimate Frisbee, wrestling, shuffleboard, and Pesäpallo (look this one up if you haven’t heard of it- it will blow one’s mind). Most importantly, he has a love for Jesus Christ my Savior and he loves to share this with other people his age through missions work, fellowship, and, when appropriate, common conversation. He gives all of his life’s successes to Jesus Christ and he praises Him for this awesome opportunity to water some seeds that he and his team planted last year in the Czech Republic! J

Team Member Profile - Christel Obrecht

Christel has been married to Rich for 25 years and is the mother of three wonderful daughters.  She has loved being a wife and mother and feels that it is bittersweet that her girls are growing up and preparing to move out of the house.  She is looking forward to the next chapter of her life with her husband, waiting on what the Lord has planned for them.

Music was a huge part of Christel's life growing up.  Being from a very large family, there was always music being played in the home.  Her favorite however, was hearing her mom sing and play the guitar.  She and her sisters sang solos, duets and trios in the church growing up and still to this day love to get together to sing.  Christel, along with Rich and their girls, has been in the church choir for many years and consider it such a privilege to become “one voice” singing for the Lord.   In 2009, Rich, Christel and their daughter Moriah traveled with the church choir to the Czech Republic.  This was a definite life-changing event!  She and Rich are feeling that the Lord is leading them to missions and are trying to be patient and wait on the Lord to lead them to what He has planned for them.

Christel received Christ as her Savior at a very young age but, struggling with low self-esteem and feeling unlovable, it wasn’t until later in life she came to understand God's never-ending love for her.  Because of this, Christel’s desire is to help others understand that they are valuable and are a treasure to Christ.

During her free time Christel enjoys golf, anything “artsy” (painting, making jewelry, etc.), cooking, camping, dirt biking and time with family and friends.

Please pray for Christel that she will be a light to the people she comes in contact with. Please also pray that she will be a help to the Josiah Venture team and that she will be an encourager to the entire team.

Team Member Profile - Moriah Obrecht

Moriah Obrecht is 18, and lives with her parents in Highlands Ranch, CO. She was born and raised in Colorado, and has hopes to branch out as a missionary later on in live. She will be attending Torchbearers Bible School in Fraser, CO. It is a one year program preparing students for the missions field, college, and just life in general! She loves photography, singing, and doing things at the church.

She wants to get a degree in Sacred Music at Moody Bible Institute after she graduates from Torchbearers in hopes of starting a choir ministry in churches in Eastern Europe. She believes that choir in churches is a lost ministry that should be brought back in hopes of showing Christ’s love through music, and giving Him glory through it as well.

Moriah has been to the Czech Republic two times, and has enjoyed every part of both trips. The first year she went, 2009, was with the Cherry Hills Community Church choir and it was the hook, line, and sinker to her new-found ambition to join in eastern European missions. The second year she went was with the ex-Cherry Hills youth pastor Matt Hartman, who will be moving to Czech this year. Josiah Venture was the organization that got them there, and she loved that trip even more than the first! She was pushed in ways that she can’t even express; in physical, emotional, and most of all, spiritual attributes.

Every year gets better and better, and Moriah hopes to get the chance to be a true leader for the students at Fusion camp! She is preparing herself to be surprised in magnificent ways, and is praying for a chance for the students to see Christ's love in her every day that she is there.

Please keep Moriah in your prayers as she tries her hardest to show God’s love! She appreciates all of the support she has been getting from all of her loved ones, and hopes that the relationship stays firm as she tries to continue the path of pursuing joining Josiah Venture as a missionary!

Team Member Profile - Bradley Heisler

Bradley Heisler has been married to his wonderful wife, Nycki, for 17 years. They have two children, Parker, who is 15, and Bella, who is 11. While Bradley, Nycki, and Bella are Colorado natives, Parker was born in Texas, where Bradley and Nycki were in school at the time.
Bradley enjoys music in many different ways, from singing and playing music on the guitar and keyboard to attending concerts with his family. Bradley and his family also enjoy hiking, and hope to summit 14,000-foot Mount Elbert later this summer. Family hikes give Bradley the opportunity to indulge in one of his other hobbies, photography. The landscapes of Colorado offer many opportunities for him to snap photos.
The Heisler family has attended Cherry Hills for 3 years. They are happy to be able to use their various talents at the church: Bradley is active in the choir in various capacities, Parker plays guitar in the high school youth group band, Bella has been active in Kids Khoirs, and Nycki is teaching a sunday school class this fall.
Bradley is excited to journey to the Czech Republic this summer. He is excited for the opportunites that will arise as he works with the rest of the great team that Rich and Christel are leading.

Team Member Profile - Rich Obrecht

Rich Obrecht has been married to Christel since 1986, and has three lovely daughters, Hannah, Rebecca and Moriah.  They have lived in the Denver area since they were married, but have visited such wonderful places as Texas, Arizona, California, Oregon, and the Czech Republic to name a few.
Rich’s hobbies, at this point, involve collecting and reading books as well as anything (yes, anything!) to do with aviation.  The particular genres of books that Rich enjoys are anything relating to history (both fictional and actual) as well as relevant religious themes, particularly church history and theology.

Rich has been a member of Cherry Hills Community Church since 1998, and has been a member of the church choir since 1999 (or thereabouts).  Prior to this membership (both in the Choir and the church), when the church he was attending had a choir, he was a member.  Rich has thoroughly enjoys his experience in the current choir, and always looks forward to the interaction with the other members at every activity.

In the fall of 2009, after a missions trip with the Choir at church to the Czech Republic and Israel, Rich enrolled in Denver Seminary to pursue a Masters of Divinity, with an emphasis in Youth and Family.  However, recently, Rich felt compelled to change his emphasis to Intercultural Ministries due to the impressions from his missions trips over the previous 2-3 years.

Rich is excited to head to Czech again this year and work in the Fusion camp with Milan Szturc and Terry English!

Want to know more about the Czech Republic?

Here are a few relevant Wikipedia links to items related to the Czech Republic, its history, and its culture.

Czech Republic
Jan Hus
The Munich Agreement
Prague Spring
The Velvet Revolution

Do you have recommendations for more links? Please send them to bradley@heisler.name.

So You Think You Can (Learn How to) Dance?

Invite your friends and neighbors to our "Evening of Ballroom Dance Instruction" fundraiser! It will be June 12th from 6pm to 8pm at Littleton Dance Academy. Team member Scott Elliott will be leading the class, and we will be learning the Waltz, the Samba, the Cha-Cha, the Foxtrot, and the Jitterbug. We are suggesting a donation of $20 per person for this evening of instruction, but any amount is greatly appreciated. We hope to see you there! Click here for a flyer with more information.

Team Member Profile - Scott Elliott

Scott Elliott graduated from the Boston Conservatory in ’91 with a Bachelor in Dance and Theater Performance and a minor in Music. While in Boston he danced professionally with a Latin American company until he moved to Dayton Ohio to be a soloist with the Dayton Ballet. There he danced for 4 years, staring in major roles such as Surprise Symphony, Carmena Burana, The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Merlin and Mozart Charades. While a soloist, he also taught Ballet, Modern and Jazz dance to the second company and the Ballet school.

After having surgery on his knee for the second time, Scott retired from the dance world and went back to school for his Masters in Health and Sport Science from the University of Dayton. Two year later he became a Physical Education teacher in the Dayton Public School system. After bringing Dance and Gymnastics to his school he found interest in starting a competitive team of boys and girls for what he called Cheer-nastics. He then took these 3^rd–6^th grade athletes to qualify for National Cheerleading Competition in Orlando Florida.

Then he moved back to the Berkshires where his family now resides. Working as the Senior Program Director for YMCA Camp Hi-Rock in Mt. Washington, Scott spent his years directing summer camp and year round programs. During the winter months he danced with Olga Dunn and taught at her school. Soon after being noticed in the community, he performed and worked with Whitney Grey at Berkshire school, where he taught a range of jazz and lyrical movement to students, over two years. The following three years, he lived in central Massachusetts at Camp Frank A. Day where he was the Director of Camping Operations for the West Suburban YMCA in Newton MA.

In 2007, Dance was reintroduced to Scott as he returned to the performing world as Uncle Drosselmyer and the Rat King in the Nutcracker for the Littleton Dance Academy in Littleton CO. Scott continues to dance and perform for the Littleton Dance Academy as well as help the dancers at Cherry Hills Community Church.

The Fusion 2011 Czech Republic blog is now live!

Welcome to our blog! We are a group of people who attend Cherry Hills Community Church in Highlands Ranch, Colorado. We are also a missions team heading to the Czech Republic in July, 2011. We are going to help at Fusion, a multimedia music and arts camp organized by Josiah Venture. We will be added biographies, schedules, and trip details before our trip. Then, during our trip, we will be posting photos, video, and stories about the amazing interactions we have in the Czech Republic. Check back soon for more!