November & December 2025

Student Link

It's been a season of thankfulness and remembering a birth that changed the course of history. Each year, the holidays sneak up faster, and I have loved the regular meetings with these Student Link groups that continually brings our focus back on the reason for all the celebrations.  We've seen how "busyness" tries to take hold of our schedules, and yet, when we come together, we are all encouraged.  I love watching these ladies walk with each other in discipleship, keeping one another accountable and coming alongside their friends when seasons feel cloudy. 

Love when my co-leader is back from college to join this group again!

Over the past couple months, the girls and I have looked at themes of "friendships" and "choices." It has provided a lot of great discussions, and I love hearing these ladies ask each other their thoughts and pour into what the Bible says in regards to these topics. It seems that every meeting these two months has been in a different location - the coffee shop, two homes, and even a quick check-in call when the weather was uncertain. 

When one student has a litter of puppies, it seems the most reasonable response is to do Student Link with puppies! We all loved having sleeping pups curled up next to us as we studied together. 

One of our favorite spots for meeting on the comforts of the couch with piles of blankets, and (of course) Jack the dog, who thinks he is one of the girls.

Quick check-in video call when Minnesota weather makes it difficult to meet (so grateful for the technology to connect!).

On Wednesdays, we are regularly meeting for Student Link with anther seven students. We have a really fun time discussing the themes together and diving into deeper principles. I enjoy how this group isn't afraid to jump in with their own thoughts, analogies, and questions. These high school students are such a huge encouragement to me and the other leaders as they show the desire to grow deeper in their faith and keep themselves accountable. My favorite was hearing last Wednesday, "Kendra! You will be so proud; I'm improving!" I joined this student in with celebrating his accomplishment in meeting the goals he had set for the week and let him share how these regular habits are giving him a growing excitement in his faith. These students enjoy spending time with each other outside of Wednesday nights as well, and it is really fun to see how their regular connection with God also brings them closer together. 

Toddler Tuesdays

Seeing the holidays through a child's eyes is one of the most beautiful parts of this season. We looked at a theme of thankfulness during the Thanksgiving season and talked lots about different things we are thankful for. For many of these little kids, they could not yet think of things abstractly, so I loved the things they were thankful for that they saw right in front of them - toys, shoes, and each other. As we talked about all the things we are thankful for, we thanked God for giving us these good things. 

After Thanksgiving, we moved into a theme about Christmas! These toddlers and preschoolers had a lot of excitement around Christmas and shared all about the different decorations that were going up in their homes. One of the main decorations they talked about were the Christmas trees. I asked the littles if they had a star or an angel on top of the Christmas tree and shared how these were the "invitations to Jesus's birthday party." The kids really liked that God sent these invitations so the shepherds and kings could come celebrate Jesus's birthday. I shared how putting these toppers on our tree is a way we can remember that God invites us to celebrate each year the reason for Jesus coming to Earth. 

The last Tuesday we met before Christmas, the toddlers and I made many different nativity scenes. They worked together to create Bethlehem with the Little People toys and gave each other roles in the story by assigning who would be the angels, shepherds, kings, and animals (my favorite part was when the herd of camels and one lonely donkey came to carol for baby Jesus!).  We continued this lesson by making baby Jesus's in mangers; however, the craft had been sitting in the storage closet for a while and the stickers had all dried out. I quickly grabbed some glue sticks, but the cardboard mangers were too stiff for the glue, so I resorted to stapling them together. The whole time, the preschoolers were saying, "This project isn't going well." "I don't think this one will work." "This is not how I thought it would go." So, I used this as part of the lesson asking the kids, "Do you think everything went as Joseph and Mary had planned when Jesus was born?" The kids all shook their heads and agreed Jesus' birth wasn't as his parents had planned. "But God had a plan! And look, your baby Jesus' are all wrapped in the manger now ready to be brought home!" Sometimes our plans look like they aren't working, but that doesn't mean God isn't orchestrating it all for His plan. 

Our final nativity recreation was a classic felt board. I had all the characters out of view and asked the littles to recall who should be in the picture. As they remembered the characters, I'd let them place the people/animals/angels on the board. Then, after all the characters were in place, I gave each of the students a (very 70's looking) child character and asked them to place themselves in the manger scene asking them, "If you could have been there, where would you be to see baby Jesus." I love how these littles put themselves into the story because even though we weren't there physically, God invites us all to celebrate Jesus's birth in our hearts in remembering the reason for Christmas. 

Youth Group

Volunteering with these 6th grade girls on Wednesday evenings is never enough time with them! I am so grateful for the time to connect and pour into their lives as they ask big questions. These girls don't shy away from going deeper and pursuing Jesus together. All their different personalities mesh so well together, and as leaders, we love to see how this group continues to grow in knowing one another. 

We end each youth group time with a special handshake the girls made :)

Christmas party with all 15 girls and 3 leaders! 

With close to 15 students regularly, this group can get big for discussions! We've started randomly dividing the girls among the leaders to create smaller groups so they have more opportunities to share their thoughts and questions after programs. It is working really well.

With the holidays, there were a few weeks that we have missed for regular Wednesday nights, but we always celebrate ahead of time with the youth kids! There was a special worship and games night for Christmas, and Thanksgiving was accompanied by "Pie Night" - a tradition where the youth and leaders bring/bake pies to share. As the leaders had been giving challenges to the students about making pecan and pumpkin pies, I side mentioned in a youth meeting that it would be a real challenge for the kids if they made gluten-free, dairy-free, and nut-free pies for those with dietary needs (myself in that mix included). I had offered it almost jokingly believing none of the students would have the determination to make that work, and was overwhelmingly surprised by the loads of kindness as nearly ten little bakers came on Wednesday night with a pie that was allergen-friendly. My heart swelled with joy (and my belly filled with pies!). I am so grateful for these kids and their compassion and love to serve others.

Mini-pie bites! 

October 2025

 Fall Retreat

All through my middle school and high school years, I attended many retreats, camps, and overnights at a variety of camp locations.  There is always something special about getting away for an extended weekend to focus on scripture and to just spend time intentionally soaking in the joys of life God gives.  All during high school, I attended Fall Retreat as a student and had some very impactful moments in my own faith-walk through these retreats.  I was excited to be able to return again, but this time, as a leader.  I volunteer each week with the middle school kids at the church I attend.  It was a special time we all got together to grow and encourage these young 6th grade girls in their faith journeys as well.  Throughout the week, we learned about the Eternal Kingdom, and what life after death will be like.  The speaker shared on many things and addressed the longing for Heaven - the completion and wholeness we desire - so clearly.  There is nothing that matches listening to this next-generation talk about God's love and dive in deeper.  Those moments of deep discussion broke up the day of laughter, bravery, and learning!

 

We definitely have an adventurous group of 6th graders as free-time each day was filled at the rope's course, rock climbing wall, bouldering wall, and zip-line!  Our test of heights was challenged and conquered in many aspects!  This brave youngest group competed in all the activities and games during the week, and excelled.  It was fun seeing how these games connected with the theme of the week.  

Additionally, a big part of retreat is the focus on Bible Memory.  There is a set block of time during each day for intentional scripture memorization.  The excitement the kids had in the verses they learned was unmatched.  They would then repeat the verses they had memorized alongside the speaker as he shared in evening programs.  On the last full day of retreat, I noticed a few 6th grade boys in my memory group who were not memorizing.  I had encouraged these boys the first couple days to try some verses, but they were having a difficult time memorizing and decided the last day wasn't worth the effort.  Instead, they were bouncing a ball back and forth to kill the time.  I went over to them and said, "I'm going to read this verse as you bounce the ball - one word for each bounce. Go."

Then I said, "Now, you say the words after me on each bounce. Go."

"Now, say the words with me on each bounce. Go."

"Say the words by yourselves."

"Great! I'll sign off on your verse."

The boys looked at me with confused faces and asked, "That's it? We did it! We really just memorized that verse?!"

They asked to do another.

After a couple verses, they were combing through their packets to find verses on their own to bounce the ball to and get verse points (as we compete against other teams in verse memorization).

By the end of the hour, both boys were ecstatic with all they had done for their team and were so proud of themselves. In the first two days, they had each received about 20-30 points and on the final day, they proudly counted 120 points or more each!  Later that evening, we found out our group had won the Bible Memory challenge, rumor says only by 30 points!  I pulled the boys aside telling them that had they not done those verses, our team would not have won.  They realized how important their work was in addition to the whole team and celebrated their win alongside others who had over 2,000 points, because they too were so proud of themselves. 

Youth Group Volunteering

As shared earlier, the group I led during the Fall Retreat is the same group of girls I get to volunteer with on Wednesday nights.  The group of girls is quite large and they keep inviting friends!  I love seeing their missional hearts already at this age and hearing their insights on the things we are learning about in our youth group series.  We just finished on the book of James and have moved into a theme about identity.  This is a great theme for any age, and especially for these impressionable young girls who are just beginning to really understand how the world wants them to fit into a standard when God has called them to be lights and stand out!  I am excited to see where this leads.  One of the questions that recently was addressed asked, "what is the most impactful moment of your life."  I listened as all the girls shared only positive moments - knowing this question lends to moments of either positivity or negativity.  One of the girls shared at the very end, "I guess it isn't just one moment I'm thinking of, but every Wednesday here with all of you guys impacts me."  I am so blessed and filled with joy by these girls.

Weekly sugar intake is met on Wednesday nights ;) especially because these girls keep winning the challenges and are rewarded with sweets!

Student Link

As the school year is now under way and schedules aligned, Student Link is beginning to pick up speed again!  I currently meet with two different Student Link groups each week as we look at the different foundations of faith and encourage one another in accountability on this disciple-making journey.  The routine meetings and connections that we make through this program pulls everyone deeper into knowing more about their Savior and sharing that good news with those around them!  

Girls from Student Link meeting up for a Women's Event together

Gathering together for Student Link before Youth Group

Joyfully meeting after finding a time again that works with the new school/work/sport schedules!

September 2025

Return to Czech

After 9 months, I returned to my other home.

I have two earthly places I call "home" for the time being, and while I often wish it was easier to travel between the two, there is something about the distance that sweetens knowing someday we will all be in home together in one place in eternity.

I was incredibly grateful to be able to travel back to Czech for one week before my team arrived for our ministry Rekindle week to help ELIM Letovice kick-off the start of their school year.  During the week, I intentionally met with 14 different families and reconnected with those friends.  I was able to play volleyball with my old team, join in with Bible Dancing, walk some of my favorite trails, bike over 60 miles, and get in LOTS of bunny snuggles with my rabbit who lives with my host family.  Even with the full schedule reconnecting, I had time to drop in for most of club time twice in Letovice and also to youth group.  Being back felt really natural, and others said that too.  It was a joyous time getting to do all the things and see so many of the people who had been such a huge part of my like for over eight years.  It was a great reunion.

 

Rekindle Mission Trip

Our Rekindle Mission Trip is a small group of young adults who take a week to serve in Letovice and Boskovice to help ELIM kick-off the start of the school year.  We hit the ground running for the week of ministry as we go into the local schools, help lead after-school clubs, and ending the week with a big party!  The goal is to "rekindle" the spark in the kids to come to events at ELIM and also to encourage the leaders as they gear up to serve the community in the school year. 

We were in a total of four schools, and regularly taught the whole day!  Teachers wanted all their students to have an opportunity to learn from native English speakers.  I was so proud of this team and the lessons they created, the flexibility they had as the class sizes and ages jumped all over the board during the week, and the way they shared God's love with their presence in these schools.  Many children were invited to after-school clubs and the big Birthday Party at the end of the week, and we are so grateful for each of the kids we were able to encourage and connect with ELIM ministries this week. 

After-school clubs only grew during the week as we met more and more students in the schools.  Our team brought some familiar and new games to play with these students.  At about the half-way point during clubs, we would pause the activities to share with the kids a testimony from one of the American team members followed by a short and focused lesson from one of the leaders.  The lesson encouraged the students to ask questions, seek answers, and to not just dismiss the idea that they will just follow the crowd when it comes to belief in Jesus.  In a primarily atheistic country, this lesson certainly hit home with some youth, and we already started seeing the conversations rooting from these short lessons.

We finished off the week with a huge party to celebrate everyone's birthday!  Birthday Party is a long tradition at ELIM, and after COVID, we had wanted to bring in back, and the team last year was able to resurrect this event. The kids were already looking forward to it again this year as they remembered the fun events from the year before.  We had many traditional birthday activities like pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey, birthday hat decorating, face painting, gifts & prizes, and a clown act!  Additionally, one member from our team shared a testimony and another gave a message about the most important gift that any person can receive - the gift of Jesus's sacrifice for our mistakes.  It was a full event - we believe about 200 students and 100 adults made an appearance during the night of Birthday Party!  I have a huge love for this community, and I am so grateful the ways this team was able to help connect so many people with ELIM!

Youth Group

While talking with many of the junior & senior girls I am close with in Czech, I mentioned this group of 6th graders I get to pour into in America now.  I told them, "They remind me of when we used to meet for Connect Club!"  As I related these 6th graders to the Bible Study group we had created when they were that age in Czech, these upperclassmen talked about all the experiences they had in Connect Club and how they are some of their favorite memories.  I know God had me in their lives in that time for that reason, and now, He has me with these girls back stateside for that reason too.  As the two weeks in Czech were coming to a close, I was reflecting on how grateful I was to be back for a visit and reconnecting with all the kids and youth.  I also happily greeted a readiness to return to the place God has me now in this season and looking forward to all the ways I get to share His love with this growing group of young ladies!

Toddler Tuesdays

The question of the day is, "why?"  These kids are curious learners!  One of the the preschoolers in particular is always asking "why", and I love the conversations.  In typical toddler and preschooler fashion, the conversation always ends with "no."  The two favorite words of little thinkers - why and no.

"Why is that there?"

"It's a basket.  It holds things."

"Why?"

"In case there are items the teacher needs for the lesson. Do you want to put something in the basket?"

"No."

"Why is that there?"

"It's a CD player. It's for listening to music."

"Why?"

"To enjoy songs. Do you want to listen to something?"

"No."

"Why is that there?"

"It's a game! It's a mystery box."

"Why?"

"It's for fun. We can play! Do you want to put something in there for me to guess?"

"No."

My favorite conversation with this curious child was during our lesson time as we created owls for a lesson about "whooo loves you? Jesus!" I started the lesson asking the kids to think of lots of different birds God made and the sounds they make. While they had fun coming up with different kinds of birds and the sounds they make, I watched as this inquisitive preschooler formed his question, "But, how did God make the birds?"  Instead of just giving an answer, I sat on the floor with him, grabbed a Children's Bible from the shelf behind me saying, "That's a great question! When we have questions like that, we can look for the answers in the Bible. God gave us the Bible for these kinds of questions."  Starting at the beginning (knowing the creation story would be the first story in any Children's Bible), I said to the small group, "Look at the pictures and tell me when you see the birds!"  I paged through a couple pages and heard them all call "STOP!" I read, "And God spoke and created the birds in the sky and the fish in the sea."  I summarized, "So, God spoke, that's how the birds were created." The preschooler then asked, "But why did God make them?"

"The birds have purpose - like to eat insects and things - but I also think God just liked the birds and wanted to make them."

"Why did God like them?"

"God likes all that He creates. He says it's good.  Do you like the birds He created?"

"... no."

These little theologians in the making, after creating a fun owl project, went off to play with the couple activities I had pulled out for them.  As I was cleaning up the feathers, I heard, "Look! I made a bridge. It's a cross, like the one Jesus died on."  I didn't want to miss the opportunity this preschooler had created and said, "You've made the bridge just like Jesus did for us!  He reconnected people with God.  We can imagine the people on one side of the train tracks and God on the other.  And it is through Jesus that people can be with God again."  The other toddlers and preschoolers decided we needed God and people for the story, so they lined one side of the tracks with Little People toys.  Then, I asked them, "What will we use for God?"  Curious myself to see how these kids would picture God, I was beyond impressed when one preschooler grabbed a Sensory Bottle and shook it so the glitter swirled all around. It looked like a galaxy contained in the little bottle.  The other kids gave little "oohs and awes" as he placed the bottle on the other side of the tracks saying, "Maybe we can use this for God." 

Student Link 

We are starting off the new school year also in Student Link and will soon be adding in morning prayer and breakfast times for students before school.  Soon, we will start Student Link disciple-making programs for high school students before youth group also.  With a couple of the team members from last year now at college, we have new interest and are forming a new team of leaders to work with the kids in this year.  I am looking forward to this year and seeing all God will do through this program in the hearts of His children.

August 2025

Ministry Outreach

Early this month, I was invited to northern Minnesota as a guest speaker for Mission's Chapel at camp!  Camp Grindstone on Grindstone Lake has a wonderful, long-standing tradition of inviting non-profits and missionaries to speak and share on one of the morning chapels during the week of camp.  A college friend, who is newly the director of the camp this summer, and his staff invited me to come and share about the Czech mission trip I am helping lead this September.  The kids at camp had many questions and they were engaged during the whole presentation as they learned about kids the same age as them in another country.  I shared with the group about our Rekindle Mission Trip as we will go to help ELIM Ministries in Letovice kick-off the start of their school year with school visits, youth clubs, and a huge celebration at the end of the week.  The students at camp are able to partner with the missions that are shared by pledging a few of their canteen funds to the mission.  For Rekindle Mission, when the pledges arrive from camp, they will be used for the special birthday gifts we get the Czech children to share the gospel. As I finished speaking, one young girl came running up to me saying, "I would give a billion dollars to this mission if I could!  But I have only $10 in my canteen fund, so I wanted to pledge the mission with $7."  I love seeing the hearts of kids and their generosity towards missions!  I know these moments can impact a child in so many ways as they learn about their world and how to pray for lost people in other countries.  My heart warmed at the giving hearts and eagerness of the students to learn more and connect with the stories I shared.  I had to stop the questions to let them out of chapel on time!

Student Link 

As summer is coming to a close and vacations wrapping up, I've been glad to spend more time with these ladies studying the Bible together.  It is so fun to see them growing in their faith walks and jumping into new serving opportunities.  They all said yes to helping us launch the Student Link Disciple Building program to the youth students in the fall.  They have seen how it has impacted their lives and want to share that experience with their peers.  It is such a joy to see how invested they are with each others' journeys too.  One of the girls has been very intentional about sharing Jesus with one of her friends at school. We all come to out meetings excited to hear about the next piece of the story and the ways God is opening up conversations!  My co-leader for this group recently left for college, and we are all missing her and so excited for all she is learning and doing at school.  We love how she still connects with this group in messages and prayers. 

Youth Group

These 6th Graders will bring joy to anyone's week!  I am always so blessed by their energy, smiles, and love.  We finished our summer series on Proverbs and are gearing up to the new school year.  The youth group is all excited for our upcoming Fall Retreat in October.  It is a highlight of the year, and we are thrilled to be joining this year with the theme "The Eternal Kingdom" as we learn about Heaven and what eternity looks like with Jesus on Earth and for eternity.  I am beyond excited for the year with these girls and looking forward to how God will grow in them and through them! 

New carpeting going in the youth room, so they let us sign the floor.  I (easily) convinced the 6th grade girls we should play a prank on the next carpet guys... so we drew spiders on the floor!

Mini-golf adventures with these girls at a middle school summer youth event!  (Picture 1: "Show me your reaction when I feed you to the alligator!")

Offsite youth group picnic dinner

Baptisms

There were many baptisms this summer at the lake, but a couple stood out special this month!  One of the 6th graders in my group was baptized along with her sister!  It was so fun to see these girls who I've gotten to know over the summer publicly display their faith and share their stories.  Additionally, one of the girls I disciple in Student Link was also baptized that day, saying in her testimony that her faith really grew through these discipleship meetings!  It has been so fun to see God moving in these girls and through the church!

Toddler Tuesdays

The toddlers and preschoolers met twice this month, so as their moms were in a Bible Study, we continued in learning Bible stories on our own too.  The previous month, we had learned the story of the Lost Sheep and how the shepherd when to find the lost sheep, leaving the 99.  As the kids recalled the story from the previous week, I shared that Jesus tells two more stories about lost things after the story of the lost sheep - a lost coin and a lost son.  They were excited to learn about both!  I shared the story of the lost coin and then sent them on a scavenger hunt in the room to look for a lost "gold star" (in place of a coin).  I learned that these toddlers and preschoolers have a really hard time not peeking!  One even said as he tried to hold his eyes shut as tight as he could, "I want to keep my eyes shut, but they just want to peek!" Patience and honest play was also practiced in this lesson.

After learning about the Lost Coin, we moved to the story of the Lost Boy - the Prodigal Son.  I told the story first with a flannel graph (old school fun!); then, the kids recreated the story on a storyboard with stickers; and finally, the kids all acted out a part of the story with the toys I had set out to recreate the prodigal son story.  I loved hearing them retell the story saying, "Hey Daddy, I want to go to the city." "...If you want to you can... but come back here.  Here's the money." And interjections of, "I want to be the piggy!  I want to be the piggy!" 

The following week, we talked about Jesus being the light and what that means.  I asked the kids if the sun was still up when they went to bed last night.  They all said, "No! It was dark outside!" 

I asked, "Well, how did you see inside your house?" 

"We turned on the light!" 

"And what happened to the darkness?"

"It went away!"

"What would happen if you didn't have a light?"

One boy answered, "I'd probably run into the wall!"

I shared with them how Jesus describes Himself as the light and how He shows us which way is the right way because there is no darkness in Jesus.  We made some lanterns and then made fun glow-in-the-dark scratch off art to remember this! It was a fun lesson, and the kids especially enjoyed creating their glowing art.  They were so focused on their art, one saying, "This is my favorite day ever!"