How can I stand here with you, and not be moved by you?

That is the question this trip has left me with. Now what? For two straight weeks, I woke up every morning with the sole purpose of sharing Christ with the young people of the Czech Republic and encouraging the believers there. 24/7 we were focused on Christ alone. Now what? Back to "real life" where I am distracted by a million other purposes each day: what does that person think of me? trying to get a piece of the American dream, wasting away hours each day in front of a television or computer screen, or just trying to get through the day without messing anything else up. I want that purpose here, taking advantage of every opportunity. We only had a week with those kids...here, I can put things off and procrastinate. To count everything as loss for the sake of the gospel.
How can I stand here with the God of the universe at my side, in my heart, and not be moved? not be living that purposeful life?
I found myself encouraging the Czech believers more than I had anticipated during these two weeks... both with words and with prayer. In my discussion group, we had 3 out of 4 kids who were believers. Each night as we walked through the gospel, we focused on Tomas' (the non-believer) questions, but every time I would as the believers, their reponse was "oh, we already know and have this problem solved." True, and excited that they were confident of that, but at the same time... this is the gospel, the good news...what does it incite within your heart? How does knowing this simple truth change you each time you try to comprehend it? By the last night, I decided it was time to push them even more. I encouraged them with running the race, sprinting hard towards the throne of God and asked them what now? What happens after English camp? They responded and just talked about how refreshing this was. One girl in my group had shared her testimony after one of the evening talks. She talked about how encouraged she was by all of the people who had come up afterwards and thanked her and told her what it meant to them! She was encouraged to share more. Another girl was one who talked about how refreshing it was and refocusing to hear this again. And then in return, I was being encouraged and challenged by them and just watching God work through me once again. One in particular had been on my mind all week long. We sang in the worship band together, and at the end of the week I wrote a verse on her paper that we all signed for everyone. She came up to me the following day and gave me a huge hug saying that God had really spoken to her through those passages. I really have no idea what was going on, but just how the Spirit moved through that was sweet to see. Another girl was in my English class last year and I knew she was a believer. On the hike we walked together and just caught up. She goes to a Catholic church and youth group, but is so solid. She is excited about her new high school because there are many Christians. She was part of a Bible study/support group at her school and also was attending a Christian leadership camp towards the end of the summer. It just baffled me to see how hard she was running after her Jesus despite everything her culture tells her... it isn't cool, not what all of her friends are doing, all the stigmas against Catholicism... no, she is running hard! Her and a handful of other students were on mission at this camp with us. A few girls started up conversations at meals about what their peers thought of the spiritual talks, and others had brought pamphlets to pass around to people who were curious. It was great to see our brothers and sisters there blossoming.
This leads me to something else I learned. We were much more bold this year than last year for sure. Culture was not an excuse for not sharing truth. Culture here is not an excuse. Cyrus kept referring to Acts 13-20 on Paul's missionary journeys. He doesn't hold back in sharing truth because they may be quiet, more closed people. God is bigger than those closed hearts. We could tell the Czechs were nervous through some of the messages and discussions and admitted afterwards that this was challenging and stretching for them. Ha, us too! The night before gospel night, we talked about being broken, and I was more bold with speaking truth than I have ever been in my entire life. We were going through some passages in Romans and just about Paul and who he was, and I honestly could not believe some of the things I was saying! Awesome! But how many times here do I hesitate to share about God with people because I judge them: oh, they are too hard and closed off, I can't just out and out share that. They've already made their mind up about Christianity; what good is my testimony going to be? I have been shocked over the past few months by the number of people that have never heard the true gospel before. They hear all that the world throws at them about Christians and about Jesus, but never the rock solid, saving truth of the good news of Christ and what He has done for everyone. God is bigger than all of the stereotypes in American culture, bigger than people's pride, and it is not up to me to convince people into heaven... it's bigger than me as well. Something I've always known, but one of those lies that has stayed in the back of my mind and held me back.
So, the best part of the trip for me, aside from seeing 4 people step from darkness into newness of life, was at our talent show. The final act came up. We were all exhausted, ready for bed, when the last group goes up front. They set up on stage and a familiar tune started playing. I thought out loud, "No, couldn't be" It was Lifehouse "Everything" and as I glanced around at the kids and their costumes, I knew it was the very same skit:
http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=ee73e63418003b47d7d5
This was shown at our college group retreat last fall, and it is so incredibly moving. I looked again at the kids performing... all of them believers, including Klara, only a day old in the Lord. Jakub, Petr, Marketa, Ali. I was completely overwhelmed. I figured one of the Americans had put this together, but it was Marketa (the girl in my English class from last year that I spoke with on the hike). She had planned and organized the entire thing and made sure it was the last act of the night. What a note to end on!
So praises:
Praises for growing and stretching all of as believers to better equip us for ministry, whether it is with the kids from camp, in Colorado, or in North Carolina, for working through me to be bold and learn humility as well.
Praises for softening 4 hearts that we can now call family!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I still am just in awe and wonder of that... and just to see the joy they all possessed immediately!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Halleluia!!!

Also, another favorite moment... the last night, we added in some worship songs. We had played the fun songs all week long, and we had just asked if we could play some simple worship songs.
We practiced Lord I lift Your Name on High, Open the Eyes of my Heart, and God of Wonders. How sweet it was to just worship with the Czechs!!!!!! When we actually sang them with the group, some people sat down, but a large group stood in the middle and took on hearts of worship and sang with us. I closed my eyes and imagined the heaven we had talked about all week long.
In closing, I have such a genuine desire to continue praying for all of the campers and our Czech brothers and sisters. I invite you to do the same. This song was on my heart and mind the entire trip... it is my prayer for Vsetin:

''You’re the God of this city
You’re the King of these people
You’re the Lord of this nation
You’re the light in this darkness
You’re the hope to the hopeless
You’re the peace to the restless

For there is no-one like our God; There is no-one like our God

Greater things have yet to come
Greater things are still to be done in this city
Greater things have yet to come
And greater things have still to be done here

You're the Lord of creation
The creator of all things
You're the King above all kings
You're the strength in the weakness
You're the love to the broken
You're the joy in the sadness

Greater things have yet to come
Greater things have still to be done In this city

Where glory shines from hearts alive
With praise for You and
Love for you in this city''

And we're back...

The last two weeks have flown by, and I can hardly believe I am sitting in my room back in Colorado once again. Lots of processing to do in the next few days. Prague was amazing, and we have officially used just about every possible mode of transportation in the last few weeks, save a bike...we have been on a plane, subway, train, bus, tram, car, on foot (a lot), boat, even a horse and carriage (fakt yo!). I miss all of the Czechs so much, and no one could say "no-oo" or "okie dokie" on the way back without a sigh of sadness, mixed with a few giggles as we recall all of the amazing memories.

We didn't have any trouble with the flights back... except for Cyroos getting "randomly" selected to be extra security checked four out of five times... one of those being in customs in Chicago, where a dog sniffed out some stow away fruit in our team bag that Cyrus got busted for. No worries... it was fine, but definitely good for a laugh!
So after 26 hours, it is still Wednesday and time for some much needed sleep.

Buh ti zehny

Cam

The Long Goodbye

Well... tomorrow morning we leave for Prague, or Praha as they call it.
Today we went to church, had lunch with the campers and then a final program with songs, fotky and sports...Then there was dinner with the Majak (Lighthouse) church before hanging out at Danecek's (bachelor pads are the same all over the world :) and saying goodbye to dear dear friends.
It was all amazing. I love these people, this town, the church here. But saying goodbye once again, I feel like a piece of me is being ripped out. I am excited to spend some time just debriefing and relaxing as a team in Prague, trying to comprehend all that God did here. Pray for our hearts as we leave, pray for the Czech team carrying on the work here. My heart is overflowing with joy, but aching as well - that seems to have happened a lot this summer.

Buh ti zehny
(God bless you)

Cam (C-ah-m as the Czechs and Cyrus would say :)

Back in Vsetin

We just arrived back in Vsetin.  I am exhausted and at any given moment I could be laughing hysterically or crying or both.  I have not been able to put into words the impact this camp has had on me.  Thursday night we had gospel night, and had two more students make decisions for Christ.  One, Adella, from the smaller kids camp last year!!!!!  We sing a song at camp called "One Day Soon"  These are the lyrics:

One day soon I'll be with you

One day soon when life is through

I'll go home to be forever with You.

I looked around this morning and we had 4 more brothers and sisters that we can honestly say that about.  Then saying goodbyes this morning... once more, so many kids who I did not know I had that much of an influence on came up in tears...  I gave Klara a huge hug and told her how excited I was and that I would be praying for her.  She thanked me, then her face lit up with the realization as she said "I'll pray for you too!"  

Last night, during our evening program we sang a few worship songs:  Lord I lift Your Name on High and Open the Eyes of my Heart Lord and God of Wonders.  Singing God of Wonders was so awesome!!!!!!!  So excited just to worship with these people.... something about worshiping... every tongue, every tribe, and every nation!!!!!  AAAHHH!!

Wow... more on my experience later as I process all that God did this week.  

Last night, we pulled an all nighter, so needless to say, I'm pretty tired and not thinking too straight right now.

We get to go to church in Vsetin tomorrow morning at CB (where the youth group is), then have lunch with the campers.  Pray for that time as many of the kids who are still searching said they wanted to come to church.  Pray for the Czech team as they take over getting these kids plugged in to the youth group and other activities.  Pray for the new believers as they go back to their regular routines and families.  Then tomorrow evening we are having a bar-b-que (we'll see what that means in Czech :) with the Lighthouse Church (the church plant that Daniel pastors).  We leave for Prague Monday morning...

Pray for our energy and strength and just these last few days here as we have to say goodbye to some dear brothers, sisters, and friends (for me a second time).

Love y'all!

Cam

O LORD I will praise You and exalt You for in Your perfect faithfulness You have done marvelous things, things planned long ago.  Isaiah 25:1

GOD OF WONDERS, HE IS GOOD!!!!

Last night, Klara, one of our campers, one that some of you know from one year ago, accepted Christ!!!!!!  She is our sister!!!!!!  WEEE!!!  I have been so encouraged seeing the team's work a year ago... and the fruit this year!  Be encouraged.  We also had one other boy, Dan, give his life to Christ... and it's not even gospel night!  Tonight is our big discussion and decision time.  We have a lot of kids that are very interested and quite a few that are against anything Christian.  Pray for these kids, pray for Cyrus as he speaks tonight.

Pray for protection.  Pray for Helena, a girl who got really dizzy last night and is in the hospital doing tests and things.

I do not have much time, but wanted to post this as I was so excited!  And just to ask for you to especially pray for tonight and also for tomorrow night as we share Christ boldly.

Love,

Cam

Camp starts today!!!

Ahoj!

Today we are off to camp!  WAHOO!!!  Yesterday we met with the Czech team all afternoon.  I am with the same teaching partner as last year, so that will be really neat since we already are familiar with one another's teaching and translating styles.  

We learned all the songs and the motions to them and the camp song.  This year's camp song is "Friend like that" by Hawk Nelson, so that one is a lot of fun!  Then we all had dinner together, conversed about the fact that animals make different sounds in Czech than they do in America, which is completely different than the sounds they make in Russia, which we deduced was from the radio-active grass.  As you can tell, the evening was full of laughs.  We played some games together.  It was good to be able to just have fun together, both with the Americans and the Czechs.  

I will be teaching the lowest level English speakers, so could definitely use prayer for that!  Just a little nervous about it.  I am really excited about getting to know the kids and singing in the band while we are here.  Please be praying for strength and energy for our team as we are all still a little jet lagged.  Pray for unity between the teams and then two people that are coming today to help with the camp.  

Alright, I better go pack up my bag.  Have a great week.  Thank you for your prayers and looking forward to what God is going to do this week through us!!

Love,

Cam

AHOJ!!!!!!

Hi all!!!!

We made it to Vsetin after about 25 hours of travel... whew!  Made it with no problems, although time was a little tight in London.  We also lost one bag, but luckily not one with clothes in it, and it should be here tomorrow.

We were greeted at the airport in Prague by Pedjut... good to see a friendly face.  Made our way by bus and by subway to the train.  I love the trains in Europe, so it was awesome seeing the country side as we made our way southeast to the small town of Vsetin.

In Vsetin, we are staying with the same family we stayed with last year (the Skalkas).  They are an awesome family and have been fun to visit with.  It is a beautiful foggy, rainy evening, and the air is just a tad chilly, and everything is so green (especially compared to Colorado)!!  Tonight we get to just relax and sleep in tomorrow before meeting with the Czech team tomorrow to make plans for camp!

Brings back a lot of awesome memories from last year, but also making a lot of good new memories.  

Thank you for all of your prayers!

Love,

Cam

I'm leavin' on a jet plane...

6 hours to go until we head for Denver International Airport!
Hard to believe it's finally here and we are leaving today...but here we go!
Thank you all for your support and prayers!! I am excited to see what God does through them.
Have an amazing few weeks!

Hebrews 12:1-3

Prayer Requests

The following is my support letter with prayer requests...


Dear Friends,

I hope this letter finds you doing well once again. I am officially a college graduate and alumni of Colorado State University! I graduated with a degree in equine science and am taking some time off before applying to physical therapy school. I do not know exactly what is in store for this year and right now am taking some time to enjoy the Rockies and learn more about my Savior without the hindrance of school.
I am still very involved with Mountain View Community Church as a member of the college group, and I have also had the opportunity to help with the youth group as a result of God’s working through my time last year in the Czech Republic. Many of you know I went to the Czech Republic last summer with Mountain View to teach English and share the gospel with middle and high school students. I will be returning to the Czech Republic this summer from July 13th through 30th.

I am really excited to have the opportunity to be apart of the English Camps once again this year. I have included a flier explaining English Camps. Mountain View has partnered with Lighthouse Church in Vsetin, Czech Republic. Two of the ways they reach out into their community is through sports camps and through teaching English. Every summer, they host week long English camps for middle and high schoolers and bring native speakers to help teach. Each night, we do a spiritual program that builds throughout the week and culminates in a gospel presentation on the last night.

This year we will only be there for two weeks and helping with one camp. However, it will be the high school camp again; I felt like the most meaningful relationships were developed at this camp and have already spoken with several campers who are returning and very excited to see us again. I will once again be in charge of an English class. This small group of people I will spend three hours per day in English class with, in addition to about two hours of discussion on the spiritual lessons of the day. I ask for you to be in prayer for these kids and the relationships we will build. I ask for them to see the love of Christ shining forth through me as well as the four other members of our team. I pray that God would be softening their hearts and allow them to open up in discussion and be honest with themselves as they grapple with the truth. Please pray specifically for Lucy, a girl in my English class last year who is not a believer. She showed a lot of interest as the week progressed, but was not ready to make a decision for Christ as of last summer. Pray that she would not hesitate this summer and would embrace Christ as her Savior.

I ask for prayer for my heart this year. Last year, God moved abundantly through me because I had no idea what to expect and could only trust in Him. I pray that this year I would not be tempted to take the reins and would allow the Spirit to move through me. Pray for strength and endurance and an urgency for sharing Christ to the people of the most atheistic country in Europe. Please pray for spiritual growth and that God would use this time to prepare me for what He has in store for this fall.

I also ask for prayer for the logistics of the trip: for safe travel and good health, for the details of camp to fall into place, for our Czech teammates working so hard to organize the camp and get the kids there, for servant hearts for our American team, and finally for finances. I saw God supernaturally provide support last year, and I pray that we would trust He will do the same this year as we seek Him.

My hope in sending out these letters is to raise up an army of people praying for us this summer as we prepare and go over seas.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions at L.Cameron.Taylor@gmail.com or 803-760-8950. Thank you in advance for your prayer support in reaching central Europe. I am so excited and honored to have this opportunity once again and would love for you to be apart of our mission in the Czech Republic.

In Him,

Cameron Taylor

However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace.
Acts 20:24

Less than one week!

Less than one week until I return to central Europe with a group from Mountain View Community Church in Fort Collins, CO. I am so excited to go back and see familiar faces and meet many new friends.
Right now, we have a little less than 50 kids, with about half of them that have never been to camp before! So that is a chance to share Christ with 50 kids, 20-30 of which could be hearing the good news of Jesus Christ for the first time!!!
Also, praise God! As of right now, we have nearly met our financial needs for the entire team!!!!! God is truly amazing and sovereign and will provide if we just step out in trust. I can hardly believe it myself!
Later on this week, I will be posting specific prayer requests, and then will update as I can while I am in Czech and then recap once I get back, so book mark the site and check it every so often to hear what God is doing in central Europe through His children.