Home Again

We've been home now since Sunday and are readjusting to our time zone once again. All our luggage made it with us, and we had no complications with flights or subway connections. 

We'll be debriefing with Herb Janes in NHC Global Ministries, as well as with Jeremy Deck and Paul Schoolmeesters in the coming weeks. 

We're so grateful for our time in the Czech Republic, being welcomed into peoples' homes and lives. We learned a lot, saw and experienced a lot, and are overwhelmed by all the love and support. Thank you to all!

Below are a few pictures from the trip.

Kostel Jinak Service

Lida, Magdalena, & Marketa

Vašek & Daniel, on train, from Prague

Overlooking villages and Sumperk

Miša, Lida, Jennifer & Lenka

Daniel & Jennifer, Prague Castle

Vašek & Jeremy, Selfie in Prague

Sumperk City Hall

Kostel Jinak Service

Kostel in Spring!

Nearing the End

Our trip is coming to a close; the time has passed so quickly! Herb Janes and Loren Burkett finished their time in Bulgaria and stopped in Sumperk for the past 2 days. Yesterday, we all traveled to Prague; Jeremy, Herb and Loren stayed behind as their flights back home were scheduled for early this morning. Daniel and Jennifer will remain in Sumperk through Saturday night.

We were unable to visit schools during this trip, because senior exams were taking place. So we're trying to make the most of our remaining time here by scheduling coffee and pub appointments with our friends. Today we possibly have a time of English conversation taking place with some of the seniors studying for their English exams. 

It has been great to see what the everyday life in Sumperk looks like compared to English Camp weeks or vision trip weeks when people have taken off work or it's too chilly to be outside. Streets are full of farmers markets, people on their way to or from business meetings, and it's a regular day to everyone around us. 

Things you can pray about as our trip nears its end: 

• making the most of coffee and pub connections
• for us to say goodbye well
• senior exams that continue to take place

Update - May 4

We have been in Sumperk for 5 full days now. We have been keeping busy, visiting friends and making new ones. Saturday, the girls had a surprise birthday party for Lida in the morning, and we all went to Jirka and Esthers house for lunch. They have a beautiful home just outside of the city, nestled into the base of the surrounding hills. We were so grateful for their hospitality and enjoyed the lovely time with them. It was probably the best weather we have experienced so far here, so we took advantage of the opportunity to sit outside for our meal. 

Vasek continued his sermon series through the book of John that evening at the Kostel service. He taught Jesus message of "Peace be w for ith you" from John 20.19-31.

Yesterday we went to visit Majak -"lighthouse"- in Vsetin. Majak is 1 of 3 main churches in the Majak network. You can learn more about the Majak network here. It is neat to see the Global church in action, unifying and collaborating on the things that matter most.

We had an amazing lunch at a beautiful restaurant with Robert and Adela from Metro Church in Olomouc. It was actually their 1st wedding annivesary, and they chose to spend it with us! Lenka and her sister, Aneta, joined us to walk around the city of Olomouc after lunch. We walked through a couple cathedrals and observed the festivities, celebrating the 70 years of WWII. Soldiers were firing howitzers in the streets, and people were dressed up like the throwback times.

Kostel has a regular ministry of Open Houses where the church members and invited friends can gather at peoples houses and enjoy just hanging out, relaxing, and getting to know each other. There was an intense game of Bang! happening all night. We watched Dr. Horribles Sing Along Blog and ate snacks and had good conversation.

Things you can pray for -

• Seniors are going through end of year exams right now.
• Continued relationship building and connections

A praise- jet lag seems to be finally subsiding!

Friday in Sumperk

It is spring time in the Czech Republic! Jennifer is excited to see all the flowers blooming since she was last here in the late fall. Everything is so colorful! 

Our team arrived here in Sumperk late Wednesday night. After 15+ hours of travel, everyone was eager to get some rest. Thursday was thankfully a low-key day of schedule-planning, sushi, and catching up with Vasek, pastor of Kostel Jinak. 

Jeremy met with Vasek and the Kostel leadership team for English Camp plans, while Daniel and Jennifer went for a walk, retracing her steps from the Fusion prayer walk in the fall. Come evening, Daniel and Jeremy enjoyed games with the guys while Jennifer visited with Pavla and Lenka. 

Today is a National Holiday in the Czech. Everyone in Sumperk was out on the streets for festivities - childrens´ rides, games, sports, cars and food. It has been fun observing all the people that recognize Jeremy from past English Camps. 

Tonight we will all be watching the World Hockey Championship and past English Camp attendees will be joining us! 

A few ways you can be praying-

• health
• jet lag to wear off
• effective connections with friends
• good, quality conversations