Střední odborná škola informatiky a spojů, Kolín - akce EXIT TOUR

Exit Tour in Kolin!

what has been up

Girl par-tay, girl par-tay...Kaakushe, Zuzka and Gabi modeling and making potato pancakes. They were super good, especially with stinky-butt cheese and sauerkraut. At camp this year we got to know some super cool people and are thankful to be friends.


Our JV Czech team (Kam) team building before JV fall conference officially began. [Author's note, I spelled "officially" 5 times before I got it rite. Write. Right.]


The Kam team in all it's beauty. At JV fall conference this year there were about 150 of us from 9 countries, and I would guess the median age to be about 22. What a joy to see so many national young leaders soaking up great teaching, encouraging and inspiring each other, and playing Estonian kiss tennis (yep, not a typo).


Right after Fall Conference, we from South Bohemia drove right to our English Camp Revival weekend and had a blast doing skits, singing [ha! Today really is typo day, I wrote "sinning"--and I just spelled "typpo"--ahahaha!] dancing, playing games...and we had great discussions. The Lord is soooo faithful to continue what he's begun in young people's lives! Above: Martketa, Paja, Verca and Karolina.


Pavel and Kaakushe as Mach and Sebestova. I wish I could explain it... :)

Strakonice Camp 2009... !!!

The whole camp--ahhhh! I love these guys! This year's camp was a great mix of core students, old friends and a bunch of new faces.


Kaakushe and Ondra being cute.


We had reps from 3 different rock bands at camp so one night was a big concert...shown here is HI (aka, Hide Behind History) feat Naomi, Martin (below), Vaca, Petr. Also playing were Corsaires and The Average.


Dan tries Martin's emo rock star style...almost, Daniel, almost.

the AVERAGE

Follow up, Strak style

After the big follow up party Sunday evening after church, we had a kidnapping mystery game. Lisa and the winning team of babes! From the left: Martina, Eva, Lisa, Gabi, Megan, Peta.


Jon, Luke and Dan show that they're tuff enuff even with Luke's busted arm. (Busted during the afore-mentioned game). Follow up can be ruff, boyz!


Monday night after the official end of follow up, unofficial follow up was still going strong--here's Nik and the ladies hanging out at our fave restaurant "By the Pope."

I miss you team hotness

Dan. Lisa, Martin, me, Nik--after Strak camp and follow up, after debriefing in Prague (as shown) they all flew back to school and I somehow try to continue life without them. *sigh* They served faithfully, full on, tirelessly and funily (?). I still laugh when I think about Lisa pretending to be Jola, Dan quoting anyone, Nik being Ol Gregg, Martin being Scottish...o, the memories!


Yeah!

Why Europe Rocks: Reason #41

Sharing Europe with loved ones...!!!! Bex and Em came for 11 days of fun and food and travel and it was such a rich time--I love you and miss you ladies!


Bex in the Alps by Salzburg.


Bex and Em by the Charles bridge in front of Prague castle.


Me and Em being cool in Vienna.


Rollin with my homies in Strakonice!


One of Emily's many wins in the food dept. How come she got that and I got pickled hot dogs with onions?

Cesky Tesin Camp 2009!

This was a sweet camp--it was so good to be with the old gang again...


...and what a blessing to serve with the new gang--in two years some great students came to faith and have added a lot of love and energy to the Cesky Tesin youth group. Above Terka, Vita and Hannah set the stage for a skit before evening program.


The extended intern team (missing Lauree our greatest rockstar): Dan, Martin, Lisa, Naomi, Lydia, Leah, Nik, Eva. Three of our Strakonice foxes came to Cesky Tesin camp to serve with our team.


Making disciples who make disciples...Dee, Lisa and Eva (with Martin being a bit creepy in the background).

Why Europe Rocks: Reason #40

Seen in a restroom in Budapest--nuff said.

I am somebody...

One of the staples of camp are these kinda lame (sorry, but let's be real) songs we sing with motions. Even though they're over 10 (15?) years old, I will always love them for the lyrics: "I am somebody/because God loves me/I'm accepted/just the way that I am/His love is higher, deeper and wider/than you or I could ever understand." Word.

Ceske Budejovice English Camp 2009

My crazy class! John Paul, Marek, Maca, Matej, Sam and the girls: Mira, Eliska, me, Tyna. We had vigorous discussions about animal sacrifice, dinosaurs and creation, free will and Jesus' deity. And we do some great "Taxi Driver" skits.


Marek and Karol, looking thoughtful. This year at camp we are presenting the gospel in the context of the whole Bible by following God's redemptive arc through creation, the flood, the prophets and patriarchs ad finally Jesus and his church. It's definitely challenging for the students (and the leaders) but it's also been good to know that they've really heard the full gospel.


Bara, me, Sarka. The younger members of the CB ministry team did an amazing job of sharing Christ with their friends over meals and late night talks. Praise God!!!

introducing: the interns! and colors the ball

Nik: 21, from Ohio, engaged to Minda and is majoring in youth ministry at Moody Bible Institute. Likes shopping, quoting Bon Qui Qui, ear candles and teasing. Dislikes Indian food, wasting time and mornings.

Dan: 21, from Wheaton IL, footloose and fancy free and also a Moody youth min major. Likes telling stories, speaking Czech, saying "No no no," singing and playing Carcassone. Dislikes having his toothbrush dropped in the toilet, nasal congestion and flakiness.

Lisa: 21, dating and is an el ed major from AZ. Likes running, sound effects, affection, chocolate and muesli. Dislikes unkindness, uptightness and too much white bread.

Martin: 21, from Blatna CZ studies IT in Scotland. Likes his super old Audi, all things Lonsdale, soccer, saying stuff with a Scottish accent and playing the recorder. Dislikes being teased about all the hearts he breaks, that MJ is has passed on and the food at Avia.

Leah: 34, from Davenport IA but lives in Strakonice CZ. Likes laughing loudly, clean floors, coffee talks, foreign food and dancing. Dislikes unresolved conflict, boring details and bad smells.

the month in review: june

Holy cats.
So, the summer interns arrived on May 27th and life hasn't been the same since. The first thing we did was our JV version of the Amazing Race:


In Budapest acting out Batman. We also ate nasty super spicy pumpkin soup, balanced bats in front of a cathedral, interacted with carnies in Vienna. Highlight: hitchhiking in Slovakia.


The team! Nik, Dan, Lisa and me. Martin at this point is still finishing up school in Scotland. Highlights so far: sharing our testimonies, our 2 Corinthians study and our little vacation in Pavlov.

After a pretty intense week of intern training, my team and I hit the streets of Ceske Budejovice, Strakonice and Cesky Tesin doing:


School visits! Inviting students to camps and teaching conversational English in area high schools. Highlight: meeting Ewa Farna at the Polish HS in Tesin. As one boy told us "She's the Czech Hannah Montana." Or Avril Lavigne. Czech her out here


Manual labor! I love it! Here Eva joined us in Cesky Tesin and helped clean the youth leader's new apartment. Highlight: feeling good :).


Hanging out with students and youth groups! Here we are playing the monster game in Strakonice...


...and in Ceske Budejovice playing Jitka's foot game. Highlights: Carcassone with Dominik and the gang tonight, Nik falling into a ditch, meeting a girl who draws amazing anime, The Average concert at the Rokac...it's been so rich


Another fun thing we do is getting to know the people we'll be serving with at camps. Here, we're with Bonnie and Jon's team and part of the Strak team at the Strakonice castle after church last Sunday. Highlight: Kaakushe acting out Harry Potter and me thinking it's Star Wars. Generation gap?

Next week camps begin! This June has flown by, but it feels like eons since we picked up all the interns at the airport. I'm so thankful that we are on the same team and have gotten to live a lot of life together these past weeks. Today we washed windows at our church and hung out with some of the Strakonice gang. Tomorrow we'll go to church, take the train across the country for our work project. Tuesday begins US camp team training for our first camp, Ceske Budejovice, which starts on Saturday. Bring on July!

English Camps a-comin'

...and so are the summer interns! This Wednesday everyone joins up in Vienna to begin the Amazing Race that leads us into intern training at Malenovice. EEEEE!!!

Southwestern Bohemia Youth Conference 2009

Youth groups and individuals from at least 4 different denominations and several cities in this region came together for a weekend of worship, teaching, community service and hanging out May 3-5. The last night David Novak (a denominational youth leader) challenged us to come to Jesus and drink of the living water. At the front of the stage were pitchers of water and glasses and students went and drank as a symbol of taking a step of faith to receive from the Lord. Young people gave their lives to Christ and rededicated themselves to the Lord that evening, it was beautiful!

Eva Eve: Pisek Girls’ Weekend, April 24-25

We ate, we talked, we threaded beads, we danced around a firepit--pretty much your typical weekend de la femme.


But what was so special about this weekend was that the age range was toddler to grandma; finally generations got to mix it up, hear each others' stories and encourage each other. Sweet times!

Why Europe Rocks: Reason #39

The Unbearable Uncertainty of Public Transportation


Monday, May 18

5:10--Emily and I leave apartment
5:30--get on bus to Jihlava
8:35--miss first bus, stay on bus, decide to catch bus from Brno, have a hot dog for breakfast with Klara
9:45--miss second bus
10:16--miss train
11:00--get into Brno, have to wait for next train which will get in at 13:47. Czech Embassy closes at 14:00. I call the number I have to see if they'll wait for us--the lady on the other end is not helpful.
12:16--get on train to Bratislava
13:35--call Autumn who's already there. She says she has to return to the Embassy in a half hour for her visa and will wait for us.
14:00--train gets in, Em and I run to the taxi.
14:15--Autumn, Emily and I all meet at the front door of the Embassy. Autumn gets her passport with visa and I beg the lady to please let Em and I get our visas. She's all smiles and helps us. !!!
14:40--say HI to Laura and run to take taxi to train station
15:00--get on train to Prague
22:30--arrive home to Strakonice! With our visas!!!