Summer Interns

This summer we have hosted 5 interns. These folks are college students who wanted to get a taste of foreign missions. So they joined us for the summer and served alongside us. I have overseen them this summer. Amanda, Bryan, Lauren, Luke and Drew have live in my bldg. in flats on the floor below. I have discipled the women each week while Phil has discipled the men.

The interns have been so much fun and such an encouragement to me. They have spent lots of time building relationships with Czech and American believers and non-believers here in the city and have been salt and light in their lives as well as brought them to church. The interns have also done special outreach projects such as hosting free barbeques at Sir Toby's youth hostel as a way as reaching out to backpackers and getting the name of our church, Faith Community Church, out in the community.

I love love love these new friends of mine and will be lonely for them when they depart back to the States at the end of July. It has been such a gift to be able to grow alongside these awesome men and women of God.

Worship team

For several months now I have been serving as the worship leader at church. I love that because our church is so new, I get to be a part of helping shape and lead our worship. Our little worship team is typically composed of 2-3 vocalists (currently me, Laura and Elizabeth, 2 amazing American women who are teachers), and an awesome guitarist/ musician, Ondra, who is a Czech believer. He is in university here in Prague. But this summer the fabulous interns have been helping out, and they have added so much fun and creativity to our sound and time together.

Each week, based on the upcoming sermon topic, I choose the songs we'll sing :) (so fun) and then lead practice each Wednesday night in preparation for Sunday's service. I have learned a lot more about how God's grace is more than sufficient as He enables me to do this job for which I feel inadequte. Serving the church in this capacity continues to bring me much joy and satisfaction.

Here's a photo of us in our old location (which was a cafe). Pictured from left to right is Ondra, me, Elizabeth (an English teacher), and Luke (an intern and student at William and Mary. He usually plays a mean bass guitar but now he's hammin' it up with the shaker.:) Our services are no longer meeting at the cafe, but we now rent space in a Czech church.

Sixth Grade Prayer Warriors

Until last year, I taught 5th grade at a Christian school just north of Charlotte, NC. I taught there for six years. It was such a rich experience for me in many ways. The lower school faculty were like a family. We supported each other in prayer and shared honestly our prayer needs with each other in our meetings. AND we laughed and laughed together all the time. I feel like God grew me a lot spiritually, professionally, and emotionally during that time. Plus, I learned more about what it's like to be in real Christian community. Our amazing lower school principal, Susan, took me and a team of teachers down to Peru 4 times in 3 summers. There we had the privilege to work with Scripture Union (Union Biblica) and their Bible teachers. We held interactive workshops in which we taught fresh ideas for teaching the Bible to kids in the public schools in Peru. The missions teaching trips still continue today!!

This year's sixth graders (about 60 in all:) adopted me as their misisonary to support through prayer. What an honor!! I have really felt their prayers and am so encouraged by their faith. Recently, I have received 2 fat envelopes in the mail containing beautiful encouragement cards from the sixth graders!!! The cards were full of birthday wishes, scripture verses, and words of support. Several of them had jokes and funny memories we shared last year. I felt hugged about 60 times!! I want to thank the sixth graders again for their cards and their fervent prayers. I am honored to be your friend and sister in Christ. I love you all!!!

Escape

Sunny and I helped paint at the Davises' new flat the other day. They just moved in yesterday, and it is beautiful!! I am excited about the ministry that will take place there. So, Phil left before Sunny and I and shut the gate which locked behind him. When she and I went to leave, we could not get out!! So, we climbed over the fence and risked our lives, but we were not scared at all. Sorry, retraction.....we did not risk our lives, although Sunny (with her fear of heights) was a tad nervous. We tried to be incognito, so the neighbors would not wonder, but just as Sunny was climing down, a huge group of people appeared from nowhere. We were laughing so hard, she froze and couldn't do anything. You had to be there I guess, but it was a good time.

Weston

This is my youngest sister, Weston. She is a sophomore at a college in Virginia. She is studying in Spain for 6 weeks. On June 6 she is coming to stay with me for as long as I can keep her :) I am so excited about the time the Lord has given us to be together!!!!!

Castles

I have made a new friend, Lucie. She and I met in the park the other day as our dogs took off running together. She is Czech and lived 10 years in Canada, so her English is amazing. We had the best time talking! Last Monday she drove me, Maysea and her dog, Verdi, to 2 castles.chateaus. just outside of Prague. Both have huge grounds that are wooded and have lakes and streams. So, the dogs had a blast runnung and swimming. The castles were beautiful. We first visited Pruhonice. Then we saw Konopiste. This one was especially interesting to me because it was the country retreat of Archduke Francis Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie. Their assassination by Bosnian Serb, Gavrilo Princip, essentially started WWI. Any 6th graders reading this remember this from last year's History?? I thought of you guys and was so excited. That's a photo of me in front of their home.

Rebekah and Petr

These are new friends of mine. I met Rebekah thru our ladies' Bible study. She has lived in Prague about 3 years. She came over here from Atlanta to be involved in ministry. While here, R. met her husband, a Czech named Petr! They are both believers. IN fact, Petr's grandfather was a pastor during the time of Communism and had an underground church. I love these two. Rebekah fixed me a delicious dinner the other night, complete with a delicious traditional Czech salad of chopped veggies, grated syr (cheese :) and tossed in this herb vinigrette. The meal ended with a tradiitonal Czech gingerbread- type cake. Delicious!! Thanks ya'll!