Monday, July 25, 2011
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).
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).
Saturday, July 23, 2011
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!)
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!)
Thursday, July 21, 2011
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.
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.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Survival Photos 1
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| Our team descending down the first steep hill to the waterfall |
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| One of the challenges was to fit all nine team members in a telephone booth |
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| Team member Adam's canyon crossing |
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| The landscape is similar to Colorado, but some things are quite different |
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| Bradley crosses the river with a harness and anchor line |
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| One of the valleys from our descent |
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| Taylor perched on a cliff about 40 feet above the waterfall |
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| Sheep in the countryside were not uncommon |
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| Moriah muses by the moire and mist... |
Monday, July 18, 2011
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.
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