roll call: summer intern team 2008!

Ben, Leah, Aubree, Josh...


...and sometimes Jozef!

Ben: 21, health care student, Arizona. Skills: hauling metal mattress frames, balancing our team budget. and writing English lesson plans way ahead of time. Likes: all food (even the lemon pepper hot dog skillet), one on one conversation, rock climbing and swing dancing. Dislikes: being sick and missing out on school visits and The English Patient.

Leah: 33, JV missionary, Iowa. Skills: hauling booty to the train station, changing plans at the last minute, forgetting to get receipts. Likes reading, talking, laughing too loud, dancing in the kitchen. Dislikes: dirty floors and too long fingernails.

Aubree: 21 (22 in 5 days!), BA in Spanish and International Relations, six month intern, Arizona. Skills: cooking, public speaking, private speaking, super-funny-comments-that-make-great-quotes speaking. Likes speaking, dancing with David on the square and headbands. Dislikes: stereotypical girl stuff and global injustice.

Josh: 22, BA in History, California. Skills: lemon pepper hot dog skillet, "Hour of Power" cleaning and random Czech phrases. Likes physical contact, jumping, big words like "to laud." Dislikes: the typhoid fever he picked up in Ethiopia and scalp itch.

Jozef: 23, Economics grad student, CZ. Skills: leading Strakonice camp, explaining things in detail, making good suggestions. Likes economics, that he can go with us to Presov camp and hanging out with students. Dislikes: romantic comedies and wastefulness.

I'm so thankful for this team! They have been serving whole heartedly and non-stop and are a huge encouragement to me and to those we're working with. Please pray that we'd be in step with the Spirit, that we'd be unified and also individually go from glory to glory as we become more Christlike. And that we'll have loads of fun. :)

A brief preview:
June 28-July 5--Ceske Budejovice Camp with Grace Church, AZ
July 8-11--Strakonice Camp training
July 12-19--Strakonice Camp with Soma Church, WA and Cherry Hills Church, CO
July 19-22--Strakonice Follow Up
July 26-28--Presov, Slovakia Camp training
July 29-August 6--Presov Camp and Follow Up
August 7-10--Summer Intern Debriefing in Prague :(

i luv summer 4-ever!

This past month has been so full, here's a brief recap of some of the highlights...
Amazing Race, May 28-30

So, okay, this year the deal was to travel al over Czech and take pictures at various sights, so one of our tasks was to go to Karlovy Vary and get a picture in front of the Hotel Imperial and drink from a natural spring. However, no more trains or buses ran by the time we were finished, I didn't want to hitchhike, and the hotels were way too expensive. So we went to one of the bigger hotels, nursed Pepsis at a diskoteka until about 2 (above), and then snuck into a secluded corner of the lobby and dozed on the chairs until we got up at 5 to take our bus to Plzen.

...Intern Training, May 30-June 4...Staz: Final Project Presentation, June 2-4...Summer Intern Hang Out Day at Lucka's parents', June 5...

Visting Ceske Budejovice, June 13-15

We had such a good time with these guys! From playing volleyball to eating Chinese to praying together to going to schools and inviting students to camp (above), that weekend bonded our hearts to the CB youth group.

...Staz Final Week & Graduation, June 10-12...Pisek Celebrations, June 13-14...

Hillsong and Matt Redmond in Vsetin CZ, June 15

We took a quick trip across the country to join 4000 other Czechs (plus some Poles and Slovaks) in praising God! Ahhh!!! A theme that kept showing up in the text was selfless worship, giving our lives to follow Jesus...may that message take hold here.

...Visiting Schools in Prague, June 18...Leah at Coufals' Retreat in Olomouc June 20-22...Pisek Pre Camp Party, June 21...Strakonice Team Hike and Hang Out, June 22...

Life 'Round Here, June 16-26: washing chairs at the church, spontaneous dinner parties with old and new friends, teaching at the Strakonice High School, English Club Parents' Party, cleaning out an attic...

One thing I love is when people come together and eat! We met this graffiti artist at the park (far left). We were playing games and he thought we were a group of mentally challenged kids but then he played with us, came to dinner, and now has a new understanding of who Christ is.

And tomorrow, June 28, Ceske Budejovice Camp starts! Yeah!!!

Hillsong London in Czech Republic (Vsetín)

Packing up Staz...

David explaining his final project, Five Reasons Why Students Leave the Church. As the Staz interns each presented the papers, I wanted to cry. All the students showed how the Lord has individually transformed each life.


The culmination of it all was the graduation ceremony and celebration.


The Staz interns clean up great! I already miss these guys, but I's so proud of each one and have full confidence that they'll keep serving the Lord.

Coufals' Retreat, or How the Women's Ministry Team is Pregnant with Metamorphosis

Lucka and Radka, Olomouc in the background. I love these ladies and am thankful to have gotten to serve with them these past years. Each one was an example to me of leadership, hard work, sacrifice, wisdom, grace and beauty. Both will be working in the public sphere as well as continuing to serve in the church. May God bless them in the next season of their lives!


Petr and Agnes, looking into the future (or watching the Jumping Drums concert). Agnes (who's due at the end of the summer!) is going strong with the Eva Eve (Eve to Eve) project. Several years ago, she picked up a copy of The Bride Wore White and started doing girls' purity retreats with Dannah's material. She eventually co-authored and edited a book, Eva Eve, about purity by Czech women, for Czech girls. She then changed the retreats to coordinate with the book and started training regional counsellors: women who teach at and organize the weekends.


Zuzka, a young woman who was part of the Staz program this year (left, with Marketa) just came on as a regional counsellor. So even though the womens' ministry team is technically ended, Eva Eve is taking off. Please pray for Agnes, Zuzka and this ministry.