Abiding

Can I even begin to describe to you the amazing steadfast and everlasting love that God bestows on me?
Today was such an encouragement. Tough morning, but neat spending time with hanna planning my trip to praha and getting ready for camp, and then helping her make lunch. Chatted with Tatum a bit on FB... huge encouragement and answer to prayer. After lunch, had a chance to spend a few hours with the Alferdeens, especially Mindy. Wow! So encouraging. We biked around town, saw her flat, walked to the post office, then had a snack and just chatted. Neat just hearing and seeing more of the everyday life in Vsetin and hearing their process of how God sent them here.
Then a final meeting before camp. Really encouraged by Brad and Lucie, and then got to talk and hear a brief version of their story on the walk home. Excited to talk with Lucie more this week and get to know them.
Then home to have an in depth discussion on Czech versus American health care and insurance with Ondrej. Fascinating! :) So interesting especially in light of all the recent stuff in the US.
Although, I kind of freaked out when i realized a week from Wednesday, I move to Florida... what??!! why do i do this to myself? :-P
A lot of questions today and curiousities. What does this all mean? One step at a time though, just trusting, hoping and abiding, knowing He will light my path... I can plan and dream all I want, but His purposes will prevail. For now, PT school as far as I know.
Thanks for the prayers. There is still an everpresent ache, but a joy and peace beyond understanding has settled tonight as I get ready for some good sleep before the insanity of camp again... although I still might cry when I pull up to that hotel again.

Please pray

It's beginning to hit and hard.  Said goodbye to my team this morning and it was surreal as they left me standing on the platform.  Played paintball with a few of the campers this afternoon (my first time paintballing... yea, AWESOME) and then went to a meeting about the next camp with the Majak church.  All day, just an ache in my heart, and then I nearly lost it during the meeting.  We are going back to the same hotel as the last camp, and I cry every time I think of going back there without the rest of the Americans, without the Czech team, and without the students I love so much.  What I wouldn't give to go back, to be arriving in Prague once again looking for friendly faces.  It just went too fast.

But in the midst of dealing with this hurt and dreading the next five to twenty days, I'm clinging fast to God's steadfast love and have felt so loved by the Majak body here this afternoon.  Been exciting getting to know the body here in addition to all the camp stuff through our dinner outreaches the past 3 nights. 
I am excited about the 2nd camp with younger kids, although it will be challenging in a whole new way, being able to communicate very little and having to be very creative and proactive to build those relationships.  
Also, the new soccer fields that Majak just got and have been renovating are being used this week for a sports camp!  This will be used to get contacts and drum up interest for a league this fall.  The English Camp next week is also to build contacts to start a youth group.  I'm sensing a theme in my life over the past 2 years, and am just not quite sure what to make of it at this point :)

So, yes, there are exciting, amazing works of God happening here, and I don't want to miss that because I'm sad.  Yes, it hurts, but I've done it before and I know God works everything for good, as much as it's killing me right now.  I ask for a supernatural level of trust and contentment and joy and humility in what God has called me to do here.  The strangeness of the Barnabus role as I work out what it means later on...but for now, one day at a time.
I am so ridiculously thankful for brothers and sisters here that are pretty much family at this point.  It's painful at this point, and I feel like massive pieces of me are missing, but there's the hope of "One Day Soon".

camp

oh, and i'll be leaving saturday for a camp for middle schoolers with the majak church for a week. so be praying for that time as well and just to be able to love on those kids, for endurance and strength and protection from loneliness.

Beginning of the End

Last day in Vsetin with the team. they leave tomorrow for praha. beginning to have to say goodbyes to campers and leaders, and i'm not a fan... but just trying to abide in the Lord's steadfast love... psalm 32&33.
Had a neat time with the Lighthouse church last night. we had an ice cream party with them last night and just got to talk about the body of Christ. They asked how it was possible in such a big church for everyone to know people and to be so genuine and welcoming to visitors. each one of us in our testimonies expressed that about coming to mountain view, so neat just talking about that aspect and encouraging them.
volleyball with the campers today and then a hamburger party and then paintball after saying goodbye to the rest of the team tomorrow. excited about the paintball part, dreading the train station part.
for those of you who know me, I hate change and goodbyes, so please be praying for me, that I would cling to God alone.
Love y'all.

What else can I say... God is good, faithful... cannot be exaggerated...

Today we went to church and then had lunch and camp reunion through the afternoon.

Tough leaving once again. We've had one more kid give his life to Christ as of today, with one more who was so emotional about it today, he had to run to the bathroom crying. Haven't gotten the word on what became of that just yet.

Church was so neat. Worshipping in Czech, part of me so excited for heaven when I will be able to understand each of their stories and how God has worked in their lives.

Then time with the kids, just having fun. Neat time catching up with Mila and Iva... love those women!

Started to kind of, sorta begin to process what happened this week. Zephaniah 3:17 definitely comes to mind... God is so mighty to save. Cyrus preached at CB this morning and talked about evangelism and the power of the gospel and the fact that salvation is a work of the Lord alone. Encouraging as I thought on how inadequate I have felt this week. Even as I get done stumbling through the gospel and my testimony, I realize there is absolutely no credit I can take for anything that happened. Walk by faith, and God will work and to Him alone be the glory. Not to us, but to Your Name be the glory. Quite humbling. Love it! Refining fire... freedom in Christ alone.

this makes no sense right now and my English really stinks at this point :) Yo.

Tak, Cau! :)

Continue praying for us as we do different outreach activities with the lighthouse church, and follow up activities with the campers, including volleyball (Supa!), a castle, a hike, and then paintball on Thursday (mega supa! :). Then I'll be helping with Majak church (doing what, i have no clue at this point) so pray for that time as well. Pray for Zdynek, Jiri, Lukas, Janetel, Tereza, Pavla, and Hanza, students still thinking hard. PRAISE GOD for Michal, Martin, Martin, Stepan, and Iva, brand new brothers and sisters in Christ!!!!

Love y'all tons and tons! Miss you, but haven't seen my passport in a few days... hmmmm :)

God is so good!!!!!!

Just a quick post. Last night, Cyrus challenged the camp with the question, "what will you do with this Jesus?" Afterwards he gave them a chance to raise their hands if they wanted to talk more about accepting Him. 7 people raised their hands!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Of them, 4 made decisions last night and the other 3 along with 2-3 others wanted some time to think through it. I'm in awe, overwhelmed.
Pray for Lukas, Petra, Janetel, zdenek, and pavlova, that they wouldn't hesitate any longer, that they would surrender their lives. It's so incredible to me, because I know it was nothing whatsoever that any of us did. God is mighty to save and to work. Walk by faith and trust Him with the rest... guts and grace 101 :) tonight we have one last talk and discussion.
this last day will be tough. we're all pretty exhausted, but pray we finish strong. it's already getting hard thinking about leaving this place. 24/7 with the only purpose of shining and sharing Christ makes it seem like we've been here forever. this is what we're made for!!!!!!

gospel ni

hey everyone!!!!! camp is going GREAT!!!! w3e've had some amazing opportunities to share with 0ur students. tonight is our official gospel presentation and alter call. please be praying for lukas and t0mas n my class. see prayer requests below for info from last year on tomas. He has been more open this year and asking some really good questions... "tell me why he [jesus] had to die." OK :) also for the girls I am staying with. we had a sweet question and answer evening program last night that really got a lot of our kids thinking.
tonight, we will finish walking throught hte gospel nad my translator will share his testimony. pray for us as we share, for pedjut leading the time and for the hearts of our students. pray for lukas...he is from a homeless shelter and is really thinking even though he's pretty quiet.
classes are going great, but we are tired tired tired. very little sleep this week, but God is so good and faithful. for strength and joy in the L0rd alone.
miss y'all but secretly I might try to lose my passport :)

john 3:17
hebrews 12:1-3

I made it!!!

Just a quick update to let you know I made it!! Paris was a little tight time wise (I was one of those crazy people running through the airport :), but I made it to Prague, met the team, jumped on the train and now we are in Vsetin. Super excited for camp and to work with this team!! Time to rest up for the big planning day tomorrow!

Cau!

Cam

Going, going, gone!

Yep, this is me all ready to go tonight! And by all ready, I still am not *completely* packed, but getting pretty close (I still have ~10 hours :-)

Loving my new pack though!

I'm overwhelmed and beyond excited as I think about jumping on that plane tomorrow. I could not have asked for a better and more loving send off from my church body here. I love them all so much! Such a blessing just spending time with them the past 4 or 5 days.

So, here we go! Very little sleep, constantly going, living, loving, laughing, getting lost in an incredible culture and country once again. My element; bring on the plunge. The details don't matter anymore, just living for Christ and loving these students and people the best I can these next few weeks. I have been so refreshed and filled with peace and joy the past few weeks. God is so good and faithful. May that joy be contagious and students see that enthusiasm and have that open doors to their salvation.

Thank you for your prayers!

Buh ty zeheny! (God bless you!)

Jehovah Jirah

"The Lord will provide"
And He has indeed, abundantly! This morning, I received a check that was the exact dollar amount I needed to be fully supported for my Czech trip!!
Even cooler, the majority of my support came from non-Crossway people, and a good piece of that came from non-believers whom I had a chance to share with about why I'm going to the Czech Republic.
God is incredibly good.

Isaiah 25:1

1 week and counting!

1 week from today I will be somewhere over the Atlantic on my way to the Czech Republic!!!! Beyond excited as I prepare for English classes and camp activities and pray expectantly for how God will use our time there and my relationship with the students once again.
On that note, a special encouragement came tonight as I spoke with one of our campers from last year who doesn't know the Lord. She won't be at camp this year, but she said it was "a unique experience, really for [her]" last year. She had a hard time discussing it in English, but said there was something about that time, it was relaxed, awesome, different somehow. She then encouraged me saying a big part of it for her was my enthusiasm (which was definitely the Spirit through me). I really hope I get an opportunity to see her while I'm in Vsetin and with the help of a translator (or the gift of tongues) can better explain to her that those things are of the Lord and a true relationship with Christ, He places His Spirit and that joy within us as believers, and that Buddhism and the social justice activities she participates in will not satisfy her or give her that. Pray God uses the joyful spirit He's given me once again this year to soften and change the hearts of these students.
God is so good. I'm so excited to work with this team, both American and Czech, and to work with youth group aged kids once again!! woohoo! Getting up early and staying up late (or not going to bed at all) playing games, sports, and loving on these students half way around the world...24/7 going with one purpose because that's what He's called us to.
A good reminder amidst the chaos of packing and working through all the little details of the trip :)