The first half of this past week has been packed but the second half has been quite restful. In both scenarios drawing closer to God has been essential.
This past week, our team organized camp materials, attended Josiah Venture outreach ministries, youth groups, and many meetings. One week ago, we had the amazing opportunity to see an Edge practice in action and participate. After organizing supplies, our intern team attended an ultimate frisbee practice in Havířov with Pavel Pham. It was an amazing experience to see how sports can be used as an outreach to young people and also see the love and passion some of these Czech leaders have for the youth in their country.
Our team running english activities in a highschool in Český Těšín.
Our team outside of the highschool with a friend Aidan and I have worked with at previous camps.
The following day, we had another school visit for a camp I will be serving at this summer. All of the school staff were so welcoming and excited that we were there, and a lot of the students had a blast. We ended up doing seven classes that day with a short thirtyish minute break for lunch. It was very exhausting for me, but also very encouraging to work with my team, experience God giving me strength, and also see many students I knew from previous camps that went to the school. After the school visit, our team went straight to a Fusion rehearsal where we sang in a rock choir, did activities with the students in the group and talked with them. We got home late that night after being out since early in the morning.
Early the next morning, we boarded a train to Pardubice in central Czech Republic. Here we met Mark Kruppa who is an amazing man of faith working in many different roles in JV while also starting a church plant in Pardubice which is a city without any thriving church. The city also has a lot of really interesting history and culture which was fun to experience as we walked around town. But what we really went there to do was encourage young kids at an event in which they ran up and down the stairs of the school until they had climbed the height of a European mountain of their choosing. While it doesn’t sound like it would be a smash hit in America, the kids were so into it here and it was fun to come along side them and cheer them on. We left Pardubice around 9pm for a three-hour train ride back to Ostrava. We didn’t get to sleep until 1am that night.
Our team with Mark Kruppa in Pardubice. While we were walking through the town square, there was a festival, and hats were placed on our heads!
Before the running began, we all chose to run the height of the tallest mountain in the Czech Republic.
In the middle of the event, we took a break and played frisbee with some kids. It didn't really catch on, but it was still fun!
We went back to running the stairs and some of our team manned the tracking station.
We took a picture with one of the students when she finished their run. She ran the height of Mount Blanc!
After three days of being out all day with people, I really needed rest and God blessed me with a lot! These last few days have been much slower with less meeting people and less high energy situations with students. I have had time to relax a bit and focus on God, more personal relationships with my team and people back home, as well as work on camp prep which needs to get done by this time next week (Which is when the first mission team training and subsequently first camp term starts). Additionally, on Sunday we attended a church service with the sermon in English which was amazing to hear, and I did not realize how much I had been missing preaching in my own language. Much of the time there is no translator, and when there is a translator, it is different than hearing the original speaker directly. This was truly a blessing from God.
Overall, this past week has reminded me of this passage from the book of Hebrews:
“
There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.
- Hebrews 4:9-11
”
Rest is always available as a believer, and not only that but we are invited into this rest. God doesn’t desire not stop work every minute of every day, but He desires us to rest and offers the best rest that can be offered. You can look also at Matthew 11:28-30 to see more about the rest Jesus invites us into.
Furthermore, in the times that have been difficult this week, I am reminded of this fantastic promise of Jesus that my amazing girlfriend shared with me:
“
Truly I tell you,” Jesus said to them, “no one who has left home or wife or brothers or sisters or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age, and in the age to come eternal life.
- Luke 18:19-30
”
While the purpose of coming here was not to earn this reward, being reminded of it after I have made the decision reminds me that God does care about me so much and that what I am doing is not pointless. It also reminds be of all the other promises and blessings of God which are so great and so undeserved. It helps me to be thankful and full of praise when it gets tough.
It’s one week until the first short term missionaries arrive and we begin training and camp and it feels like there is a lot to get done.
Here are some more miscellaneous pictures from the past week:
The intern team posed with a statue of a railway engineer by the train station in Pardubice.
We saw a police car that was a Ferrari in Pardubice. It was pretty cool!
Sunday before church, we baked cookies that we gave to some missionaries and passed out at church.
Prayer Requests:
- All the work that needs to get done would get done
- Safe travels for all short-term missionary teams traveling this week. Also that traveling would go smoothly without delays and losing anything
- Intern team unity and energy
- Finding rest amongst chaos