Día de Demolición

El frente de nuestro nuevo templo: un antiguo centro comercial

Hace poco mi iglesia en Praga dio un paso gigantesco. Fue algo que ninguna Iglesia de Dios había hecho antes en la República Checa. Compramos un edificio. Tras haber encontrado una buena ubicación, de habernos comunicado con muchos (muchísimos) bancos para solicitar un préstamo y una larguísima espera, ¡por fin fuimos aprobados! Somos la primera Iglesia de Dios que tendrá su propio templo dentro de la República Checa por lo que nos sentimos súper contentos y orgullosos.

Como verá en la foto, nuestro templo tendrá que ser reconstruido antes de que podamos usarlo. La semana pasada demolimos paredes, arrancamos la alfombra y celebramos que tenemos nuestro templo.

Pastor Jerry dirige nuestra primera oración dentro del futuro santuario.

Nuestros pastores ya comenzaron a decorar el lugar con una cruz a la entrada del salón que servirá de santuario. ¡Qué emoción será verlo transformado dentro de unos meses!

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Durante la demolición nos enfocamos en abrir el espacio para los salones de los niños.

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Como verá en la presentación, ¡derribamos varias paredes! Muchos de los hermanos y las hermanas trabajaron para que no incurriésemos en el gasto de contratar obreros.

¡No sabía que teníamos tantos constructores talentosos! Tampoco sabía lo difícil que es construir algo. Les confieso que no podría dedicarme a esto a tiempo completo. 🙂 Sin embargo, me alegra haber dado una mano y ver los cambios tan dramáticos en un día.

Estos son algunos de los obreros que se encargaron de remover los ladrillos.

Al final del día llenamos dos contenedores con desechos. ¡Fue un comienzo súper exitoso para todos!

Por supuesto, durante el día tomamos algunos recesos para recuperar las energías. Una de las áreas será convertida en un café y allí compartimos café y bizcochos y un almuerzo delicioso preparado por la familia Voerman.

Durante ese descanso conversamos juntos y visualizamos la manera en que usaremos este café para compartir tanto entre nosotros como con la comunidad.

¡Creemos que este espacio tiene muchísimo potencial! Este edificio es la respuesta a muchas oraciones. Esperamos mudarnos a finales de 2016.

Peticiones de Oración para este Mes:

• Más fondos para el templo. Todavía estamos levantando fondos para cubrir los costos de la renovación. Si desea más información, visite la página de mi pasto AQUÍ. Tenemos que recoger unas 730,000 coronas (como 30,000 dólares americanos). Le invito a que ore y si así lo siente, envíe una ofrenda protemplo. Estaremos muy agradecidos. Haga sus donaciones AQUÍ. Todas las donaciones serán usadas en la reconstrucción. ¡Gracias por colaborar con nosotros en la preparación de este templo para la gente de Praga, República Checa!

Demolition Day

The front of our new church – it used to be a shopping center.

Recently my church in Prague took a huge step.  A step that no other Church of God has taken in Czech Republic.  We bought our own building.  After finding a good location, contacting many (many, many) banks to see if we could qualify for a loan, and lots of waiting, we recently received word that our loan was approved!  We are the first Church of God to own our very own building in Czech Republic and we are so happy and proud.

As you can see from the picture, our new church building needs some reconstruction before we can move in.  Last week we had a demolition day to tear down some walls, tear up some carpet, and celebrate having our very own building.

Pastor Jerry leading our first on-site prayer in what will be the sanctuary.

Our Pastors are already decorating the new place, by putting a cross at the front of the room which will be our new sanctuary.  It will be really exciting to see this room develop over the next few months!

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During this demolition day, we focused on taking a few walls down to make more space for what will be rooms for the children’s ministry.

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As you can see from the slideshows of some of the rooms, we were able to knock down quite a few walls during our demolition day!  Many people from the church came to help save the cost of hiring others to do this.

I learned that we have a lot of talented construction workers in the church!  I also learned that construction work is so, so difficult.  I’m pretty not sure I’m cut out for it full-time. 🙂  However, I really enjoyed lending a hand and seeing our building change so much in just one day.

Part of our talented team of workers removing bricks to our dumpsters outside.

At the end of our workday we filled up two dumpsters with discarded materials.  It was a hugely successful beginning for us!

Of course, during the day we had to stop for some breaks to keep up our energy.  We were able to use what will be our cafe space in the new building to enjoy coffee and cake and a nice lunch brought by the Voerman family from our church.

It was nice to take a few minutes out of our busy day to chat with other church members and visualize this space being used for our cafe time after church and also for outreaches to the local community.

We see a lot of potential with this new space!  Many prayers have been answered with this new building.  We hope to fully move in by the end of 2016.

Prayer Requests this Month:

• For more funds for the church building.  We are still raising funds to cover renovation costs.  You can find more information about this on my Pastor’s website HERE.  We still need around 730,000 Czech Crowns (about 30,000 US Dollars).  As you can see, we are trying to keep costs down by doing some work on our own and not taking out a loan to cover renovation costs.  Please prayerfully consider giving a gift toward our new building.  Any amount would be greatly, greatly appreciated.  You can donate by clicking HERE.  100% of donations will go directly to renovation costs for our new church building. Thank you for partnering with us to make our new church building a reality for the people of Prague, Czech Republic!

Mission to Mars

The Mission to Mars crew ready for blastoff!

Recently I was able to travel to Mars for a week.  Or, I should say, a simulated Mars inside a Czech school as part of our annual English Camp experience.  With five other crew leaders and twenty-six other crew members (also known as teenagers), we embarked on a week-long adventure to the red planet.

Welcoming crew members to the Mission to Mars team.

We began Monday morning by gathering our team members together and making sure everyone and everything we needed for our mission was accounted for.

One of our first activities on our spaceship to Mars was learning to function in zero-gravity.  All crew members had fun bouncing around (at a local jump park) and experiencing weightlessness.

As we flew to Mars, the crew gathered together each night to watch a video that helped teach us themes that were important during our mission (purpose, mission, struggles, teamwork, communication, control, etc.).

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Unfortunately, as we were just landing our spaceship on Mars, we experienced a crash.  Half of the crew (Alpha) was separated from the other half (Omega) and then had to figure out how to reconnect with each other.

Fortunately, each team found supplies for building a habitat (necessary on Mars in order to survive the extremely cold temperatures found there).  I was able to visit one habitat and enjoy some freshly-grown potatoes straight from the grill with some members of the Alpha team.

With our excellent technology, the leaders of the mission were still able to communicate with all members of the Mission to Mars crew.  While both teams were still trying to find each other, they were also able to receive messages from us about the daily themes we had been working on previously in our mission.

“I am the Way, Truth, and Life…”

While discussing these themes, our leadership crew was able to talk about how our belief and trust in Jesus as the director of our lives has given us purpose and mission in our journey through life.  We shared how he helps us overcome any struggles or challenges in our lives, no matter how difficult.

Finally, both of the Alpha and Omega teams found each other on Mars!  We had a big celebration on the last day as we all gathered together again.

We had a great week on Mars!  I personally learned a lot about space, space travel, Mars, and working together well as a team.  I saw all of our crew members learn quite a bit about the importance of having a mission and purpose in life, how to overcome challenges, and how to learn from the experiences of those who have journeyed longer than them.

*My teammate Sabrina Evans created this great video from our Mission to Mars English Camp.  Check it out for an even better view into the fun we had during our week on Mars.

Prayer Requests this Month:

• For the leaders to be able to keep a good connection with the teens at this year’s camp.
• For many of the teens to begin to attend our Upside Down youth group.
• For these teens to realize that they each have a purpose and mission in life and to begin to discover this through a relationship with God.

 

Together We Make a Family

Enjoying a nice Spring day on the beautiful property of our 2016 Church Vacation!

Living as an expat (a person taking up residency in another country) far away from my family for most of the year can be such a difficult thing.  This has definitely gotten easier for me over the years as I have adjusted more and more to living outside of my home country.  I often (probably daily) wish that I could live closer to my family.  While there will never be any substitute for these biological relatives in my life in Prague, I am ever grateful that I also have a “family” here.  My church family in Prague is a reminder that I have those who love me and support me on both sides of the ocean.  One group is related by blood and the other by a love for God and what he is doing in Czech Republic.  I am so grateful for both and the roles they each play in my life!

Recently my church family in Prague had a church vacation.  We traveled about two hours from Prague to a small town called Slavikov.  Here there is a wonderful conference center located in the middle of beautiful nature and right beside a lake. Living in a large city most of the year, moments spent in scenery such as this can be so refreshing for me.

Some of my Prague “family” enjoying a nice walk through the countryside.

The purpose of this trip was to spend time together as a church family, and to deepen relationships with each other and with God.  We enjoyed some time worshipping together and singing songs of thanksgiving and praise to God.

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We also heard some encouraging messages from our Pastors, about loving others and receiving God’s love for ourselves.

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And, we did what anyone does on vacation: had lots of fun together!  We played a trilingual (English, Spanish, and Czech) game of bingo one night.

I had the prestigious job of bingo caller for a few rounds of the game!

We also had a bonfire one night where I learned to roast Czech sausages over the fire.  Since our pastors are missionaries from Germany, they taught us how to take bread dough and wrap it around our skewers to cook over the fire.  I had a lot of fun participating in this cultural tradition!

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I really enjoyed spending time with my church family in Prague on this vacation. The more I develop close relationships here, the more I feel rooted and connected to this land and these people.  It is an honor to be a part of this church family!

Some members of our English Speaking Prayer Group enjoying laughing together.

Right now our church family is going through a lot of changes.  The lease on our current church building expires this summer.  Our Pastors have been diligently looking for a new place for us that will be a good location at a good price.  Our church has been praying about this transition for over a year.

Recently we learned of a good possibility for a new location.  After praying about this, our leadership team felt we should pursue purchasing this new property in order to renovate it for our church.  This is a big step for us to take and one that is not taken lightly.

The details for purchasing the property are still being worked out with a hopeful move-in date toward the end of the summer.  In the meantime, we are trying to raise funds for additional renovation costs.  You can see pictures of the building and read more information about this HERE.

Prayer Requests this Month:

• That our church would be able to secure the purchase of this property and raise the funds needed for renovation so we can move in this summer.
  • Please pray that many would partner with us in this initiative so that the truth about God’s existence and love for all can continue to go forth here.
  • Please pray if God is calling you to give toward this cause.  Any size gift would make a huge difference to this project.  Perhaps God is calling you to make a one-time gift or to pledge a smaller amount monthly.  Your willing heart could make a big difference in supporting our church and our church family in Prague.  If you are interested in giving, you can give online HERE.

Thank you for being a part of my family, no matter where you live!  Truly, together we make a family.

 

Veselé Velikonoce! Happy Easter!

Happy Easter or Veselé Velikonoce from Prague!  I had a great weekend celebrating the wonderful gift of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection to our broken world.  My church in Prague had a Good Friday service on Friday night with candles, a shadowed cross, and a time of communion for all.

On Sunday morning the light broke through (literally – it was around 63F here in Prague, finally a nice Spring day for us with lots of sun!) and we celebrated Jesus not only dying for our sins on the cross, but that he rose from the grave to conquer death and sin for all.

After our beautiful service, we enjoyed our traditional Easter lunch together.  Since our church has many people like myself who are so far from family on the holidays, it is a wonderful celebration of us being the family of God as we gather to eat together.

I had a wonderful Easter in Prague!  Please enjoy some photos (you can click on each one to make it bigger) below of all of these activities:

Prayer Requests this month:

• For a good ending to my Czech intensive language course.  My last week of the four-week course is this week and I have really seen a boost in my understanding and use of Czech.  Please help me by praying that I will continue to learn and speak Czech well.
• For individual clients, that God’s hope and healing will be evident in their lives and presenting issues in our weekly sessions.
• For my church in Prague, as we are still looking for a new building.  Please pray with us that God will provide the perfect place in just his timing and that we can all wait patiently until this time.

 

Carnival!

 

Prayer Requests this Month:

• For all the children that attended our Carnival.  We hope that some will become more connected with our Life Center (an outreach of my church here in Prague).
• There are many seminars coming up this Spring that my team is offering. Please help us pray that these counseling seminars will be well received and helpful to those attending.
• Winter is so long here in Prague.  Although the days are getting longer, it can still be so dark and cold this time of year.  Please pray for encouragement and strength to keep serving here while Winter is in full force.

A Holiday Season at Home (in Prague)

Enjoying a walk along Charles Bridge on what could be considered a “balmy” day in Prague in December (temps around 50F/10C).

I spent this past holiday season at home.  Lest you be confused, by home I mean Prague.  I recently celebrated four (!) years of living and working in this gorgeous city and have grown to view it as my true home for this season.  I love visiting my home country and culture, but I am grateful that my host country is now such a comfortable place for me to live.  I always feel like I am coming home when I land in Prague, and this feeling gives me immense peace, as it has not always been the case.

So, this Winter I was able to be at home during the holiday season.  I really enjoyed settling back into my life here after a trip to the States to be with my family for Thanksgiving.  Prague is even more breathtaking than usual during these winter holidays.

Traditional Christmas markets on the Prague Castle grounds.

I love going to Christmas markets in December and buying handmade gifts for friends and family.  Usually in all the major squares in the city there are rows of booths with crafts and holiday food to purchase.  Even though it can be cold walking around, the Christmas lights and decorations (plus some hot fruit punch) make it seem much warmer.

Michelle and I enjoying some homemade garlic potato chips, hot cinnamon sugar almonds, and hot fruit punch at a Christmas market (St. Vitus Cathedral lit up in the background).

Czechs love to bake traditional Christmas cookies in December and my church here holds an annual baking contest after our yearly Christmas service.  This year I made American-style brownies with a peppermint frosting.  My teammates, Michelle and Sunny, made melting snowman cookies.  They looked so cute and everyone at church (especially the children) loved them!  They even won second place in the contest!

Czechs celebrate Christmas on the 24th of December and many cathedrals in the city have a traditional Christmas mass on this day.  I was able to visit a mass with some friends at the Church of St. Thomas, which was established in 1285.  It was amazing to sit in this service and think of the hundreds of years of history in this place and all the people who have attended Christmas Eve mass in this same manner.

Enjoying the cold Christmas mass (the cathedral is too big to heat, so everyone wears coats, scarves, gloves, and hats during service!).

Christmas day for my team and I (all Americans – so December 25th) dawned with sun coming through the windows (something we don’t take for granted in winter here).  The three of us had a nice breakfast together and then lit all the candles on our Advent wreath.  This is a tradition my team has had since my first Christmas in Prague.

Traditional Czech Advent wreath made from fresh pine boughs, pinecones, and other decorations.

After doing our Advent devotional and praying together (one of my favorite ways to begin Christmas day), we opened presents.

The decorated Christmas tree in my flat with stockings still full and presents unopened.

This was a great Christmas season for me!  I loved being at home and spending time with people that God has added to my life while living in Prague.  For as many years as I continue to call Prague home, I hope to continue these meaningful traditions.

Prayer Requests this Month:

• For my teammate, Michelle, who is in the process of applying for her visa to live in Prague.  Please pray that she will receive this quickly and in God’s perfect timing.
• For my Spring work/ministry schedule.  My team is now scheduling lots of counseling seminars for the next few months and I continue to meet weekly with individual counseling clients.  Please pray for God’s wisdom as we plan the Spring schedule and for moments of rest and peace in the midst of this busy time.
• For my church in Prague.  We are in the process of looking for a new building for when our current lease runs out this summer.  Please help us pray for just the right place for us to meet, for a good price, in a good location, and at a good time.  We are trusting God’s leading in this and believing this move could be quite strategic for continuing ministry opportunities.

Merry Christmas Tidings from Prague

Merry Christmas from Prague!  I pray you are in the middle of a wonderful holiday season.

I am so enjoying spending Christmas in Prague and taking in lots of holiday traditions here.  You can see some of them in this short video update (sorry that the sound isn’t the best!):

As part of this Christmas season, recently I was able to preach at my church in Prague, Nové Začátky (New Beginnings).

Preaching with Vasek, my translator, with the advent wreath lit behind us.

I really enjoyed presenting an Advent message about Joy.

Speaking about the joy found in God telling us to not fear the dark situations in our lives.

I was able to share from the Bible text of Luke 2:6-18 where the Angel announces the birth of Jesus to the shepherds and tells them not to fear.  I talked about God’s joy being his presence with us and how this can lead us to not fear troubling situations in our lives.

At the end of the sermon, I passed out small votive lights to symbolize God’s joy in us lighting up the darkness around us and being a light to others in our lives.

You can watch a short video clip of our church singing a worship song while holding these lights as we closed our worship service this day:

If you would like to listen to the whole sermon, you can HERE.

May you experience the same joy this Christmas!  God is Emmanuel, present with us always. May you know this especially during this Christmas season.

Prayer Requests this Month:

• That you, my supporters, would have a wonderfully bright Christmastime and know that God’s joy is with you every day.
• For my team here in Prague.  We recently added a new team member, Michelle Saint-Loth.  Please pray that she adjusts well to living in Prague and that we can all work well together as a team.
• For God’s light to shine brightly in this physically and spiritually dark city of Prague.  That many here would come to know Jesus personally as they experience the light of his presence in their lives.

 

A Refuge(e) Opportunity

Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know,
and a nation that did not know you shall run to you,
because of the Lord your God, and of the Holy One of Israel,
for he has glorified you. ~ Isaiah 55:5

By now you are probably very aware of the refugee situation in Europe.  

Over the past few months, especially in August, millions of refugees, mostly from Syria, have been migrating from their homeland to Europe.  

The reason for this is complex and stems from a civil war that has gone on for nearly five years now.  I remember when I first moved to Prague in 2012 meeting a Syrian refugee in my first Czech language course.  We talked a bit about how the situation back in his country was very difficult and how he was hoping at some point to welcome his entire family to Europe, once he was settled here.  I have since lost contact with this brave young man, but I think of him often and pray his family is safe.  

In Czech Republic we have seen some trains carrying refugees come through our main train station.  However, this is not the preferred route many of the refugees have been taking.  Many of them are traveling through Hungary, Austria, and now Serbia and Croatia, in hopes of reaching Western Europe, where opportunities to settle seem to be a bit stronger.  

Still, everyone living in Europe now is being confronted by this new reality of a wave of refugees pouring in.  

Many of us have been looking for ways to help, even if we don’t live along direct routes the refugees are taking now.

My church in Prague, New Beginnings, recently collected medical supplies and sleeping bags to give to churches in Serbia and Croatia to hand out to refugees who are traveling across the continent in search of better lives for themselves and their children.

Collection of supplies for refugees donated by my church in Prague.

As a Christian living in Europe, I am overwhelmed with empathy toward this people group who feels so desperate to escape war conditions that they would sacrifice so much, their homes, livelihood, current stability for their families, in order to seek a better future for themselves and their children.  How hard it must be to leave everything familiar behind because you feel there is no good future in your own country.

As a foreigner in this land myself, I know how difficult it was for me to move away from my country, my family, my language, and my sense of belonging.  

What helped me the most in this difficult process was believing that my refuge was not in my present living situation, but in the God I serve, who wants me to feel safe in him and his provision for my life, no matter where I go.

I long for these refugees moving across Europe to have a refuge as well, a shelter or protection from danger and trouble, a place of relief and comfort.

This can be provided through physical needs, donating medical, food, and clothing supplies to keep the refugees well taken care of as they journey toward the hope of a better future.

This can be provided through prayer, as we pray God will keep these refugees safe and provide spaces for them throughout Europe where they can be welcomed.

This can be provided through those of us living in Europe visiting refugee camps and teaching native languages, playing games with the children, and making crafts with the women there.

This can be provided through offering cultural adaptation classes for adults and children, as my team has offered to do through a local Refugee Aid Office in Prague.

So how can you help?

Watch the following powerful video to know more about the refugee situation in Europe and why we should provide a place of refuge to this people group:

*Video contains a few difficult scenes, but nothing that hasn’t been displayed in national/international news.

Read some articles that have challenged me to action in this situation:

• Where the Children Sleep – Details the reality of the lives of refugee children.
• Inside the Refugee Crisis-From Budapest to Vienna – a blog post by a former missionary in Prague, Talitha Brauer.  Her reflections on recently traveling from Budapest to Vienna with a refugee family.

Give financially to organizations that are already working on providing places of refuge for these refugees:

• Church of God World Missions – Addressing the Mass Migrant Exodus
• Organization for Aid to Refugees – Organizace pro pomoc uprchlíkům

Pray for the needs present in this refugee opportunity:

• Pray that refugees traveling across Europe would have safe travels, encounter welcoming and friendly people, and be provided with places of refuge along the journey.
• Pray that God would use this opportunity to bring many of these refugees to have hope in Him.
• Pray for lights in the darkness, that Christians living in Europe can use this time to show the light of God’s love through service to this displaced people group.  Let us be hands of love as we reach out in care and concern.

 

Circle of Fellowship

“The next best thing to being wise oneself is to live in a circle of those who are.” ~ C.S. Lewis

This summer has brought about a circle of fellowship for me.  I have been able to be involved in celebrating a wedding, fellowshipping with other missionaries, visiting a sister church in another country, and sharing with friends over good food as we celebrate birthdays.  This has been a summer rich with fellowship and I am grateful for all the people that God has placed in my life here in Europe.

Celebrating Zdeni’s upcoming wedding with a pottery painting/jewelry making party at a local cafe.

At the beginning of the summer I gathered with a few friends for a wedding shower for a Czech friend of mine who got married in June. We had a great time chatting for hours over coffee as we painted some mugs for Zdeni and Petr to use in their new home.

A gorgeous, sunny day, perfect for a lovely wedding!

A week later the wedding took place and I was able to attend and see how beautiful and happy Zdeni was on her wedding day.

Reading a portion of 1 Corinthians 13 to Zdeni and Petr.

It was an honor for me to be able to pray with the couple before the ceremony.  We read a passage of scripture and then prayed for their marriage to be filled with the love that flows only from God.

A nice fellowship time over a meal with fellow missionaries.

Later in June I was able to travel to Lisbon, Portugal, for the annual Single Vision conference.  This conference is held every summer in Europe for single missionaries serving in Europe and Africa.  It is always inspiring to meet with other singles on the mission field and learn from their experiences.  I have some friends that I am only able to see when we gather together at this conference so it really has become a highlight of the year for me!

Lindsay and I in the Jewish Quarter in Krakow after eating a traditional Jewish meal there.

In July I traveled again, this time to a new country for me to visit!  Earlier in the year I learned that my sister would be traveling with her church to Poland to help some missionaries hold an English Camp.  Lindsay had a few free days in Krakow after the camp and asked if I would be able to meet up with her.  Of course I was happy to do this and really enjoyed spending time with her and exploring this amazing city.

A plaque on the front of Oskar Schindler’s factory.

While in Krakow I was able to visit Schindler’s factory.  Oskar Schindler was a German working in Krakow who was able to save thousands of Jews during World War II by employing them in his factory.

Schindler’s huge factory, which now stands as a museum in Krakow.

It was amazing to me to stand in front of the building that was actually used by Schindler decades ago to save so many lives during this horrific period in Europe’s history.  As Krakow has such a dark history during this time, it was inspiring to think of the good that was done by Schindler and others who sacrificed so much to save so many.  This was definitely a highlight of the trip for me.

Enjoying worship at Kościół Jezusa Chrystusa on a Sunday morning in Krakow.

While in Krakow I was able to attend a sister church there that belongs to my denomination, Church of God.  It was wonderful to visit with the people of Kościół Jezusa Chrystusa and worship with them.  I love fellowshipping with other believers when I travel across Europe and drawing hope from their commitment to God.

Gerardo and Baffour manning the grill on a very hot day in Prague!

Summer in Prague means lots of grill parties.  As the winters are usually so dark and cold here, we all can’t wait to get outside and enjoy the weather while it’s warm! This summer for Europe has been quite different from normal, though, as we have had record breaking heat waves for months!  In Prague we have had a few weeks where the temperature stayed in the 90s every day.  This is an even bigger deal when most places (including my flat) don’t have air-conditioning and you are not used to such hot summers.  We still enjoyed many grill parties, though, and braved the intensely HOT weather!

Pastor Jerry was showered with cakes for his birthday! Can you guess his favorite flavor?

At the beginning of August we gathered at Pastor Jerry and Ulli’s house to celebrate Jerry’s birthday.  They just purchased a new house with a really nice, big backyard. We had fun celebrating his life (and also our Associate Pastor, Vašek, whose birthday was a few days later).

Enjoying a homemade Czech meal made by Zdeni in her new flat.

Later in August my newly-married friend Zdeni invited me over to her new flat that she recently purchased with her husband Petr.  She made a delicious Czech meal for me and we looked through her gorgeous wedding pictures.

Milan grilling pork, chicken, and sausages for a hungry crowd!

At the end of August I was invited to another grill party as a thank you for helping out in another Czech wedding.  A few months ago, Milan and Maruška, a couple from my church, got married and I made some American-style brownies for the reception. The couple wanted to invite everyone who helped with the wedding over for a grill party in their backyard to thank them.

Enjoying the last days of summer weather during an outdoor grill party.

I had a great time hanging out with people from my church in Prague and this was a wonderful ending to my summer full of friendship, fellowship, and fun adventures. My roots are definitely growing deeper in this part of the world and I am thankful for all these people I am able to share life with.  My circle of fellowship is growing wider and wider with each passing year and the richness of these relationships continues to amaze me.  What a great summer it has been!

Prayer Requests this Month:

• That God would continue to provide me with healthy, refreshing fellowship.  This definitely helps me to feel more at home here.
• For a busy Fall schedule.  Fall seems to always be the busiest time of year for my team in Prague.  Please pray we would have wisdom in planning our schedule and be able to offer our services where needed.
• For individuals clients, that God would continue to provide hope and healing as we meet together weekly.