Love is a Universal Language : A Week of New Experiences

Days continue to fly by quickly, and when I think about all that has happened in the past week, I feel that I must be writing a blog post for the past month! Last Sunday, I was invited to stay with some friends in Brno - a big city about an hour south of where I live. We spent a few days together exploring the castle grounds in Brno, visiting churches and cathedrals, walking through parks and shops in the city, and motor-cart racing. My friends also took the time to cook with me and show me the packages of the seasoning and ingredients we used in the meals so that I will know what to look for in the grocery stores. I am determined to learn to cook some more Czech meals! But for right now, I am getting a grasp of the basics in the art of cooking... I have recently mastered French Toast and noodle soup [cue applause... ;)].

In Brno

Exploring the Castle Grounds

Motor-Cart Racing

I do, however, have enough "cooking" skills to create some classic American desserts, so one night this past week, I invited a few friends over to watch the Olympics together and share some American snacks. The Puppy Chow was a hit, and they all enjoyed the Dirt Pudding, but some of my friends were a bit confused why we would put chewy gummy worms into sweet, soft chocolate. Still, they were optimistic to try the new dessert. However, EVERY friend was skeptical about the Ants-on-a-Log. Note: I couldn't find raisins at the store, so I substituted M&Ms. I thought it was really tasty, but one of my friends said "Why would you ruin a great peanut butter and chocolate dessert with a vegetable?" When I told her that we normally eat this snack with raisins instead of M&Ms, she was even more confused as to how we could enjoy something created from three very different foods!

Snacks for the Olympic Party

American Desserts

This past Wednesday, I made a new friend! Well actually, I meet "my new little Czech sister," as her older siblings say. The host family I stayed with the two summers before had their sixth child just over a week ago! She is a beautiful, healthy little baby and is loved greatly by all her older siblings and parents. There is definitely enough hands to hold and rock her... and enough little voices to call to mom when she needs to be fed or changed! I loved holding this little 5-day-old bundle of joy, and I am so excited for the ways God will use her as she grows and learns about his love for her.

So Excited to Meet Her

Sweet Little One

I had some time during the week to get together with a couple friends to get ice-cream and coffee, and of course, visit the river. It is now becoming cooler outside, so we don't put our feet in the river to cool off as much, but it is a natural meeting place for many of my friends. We also grouped together in one friend group that we affectionately call "the gang" for pizza one night. All but one of our friends was there, which is really good attendance since this group has generally been scattered between Letovice, Prague, Brno, Norway, and Minnesota! It was fun catching up with each other, especially since some of the gang is leaving again soon for more adventures throughout Czech, Great Britain, and Asia.

With a Friend (we met 7 yrs. ago!)

The Gang

We didn't have club this week because each of the leaders had a "holiday week." For my holiday/vacation, I joined some friends on a trip to a different city (Vsetin) for the United Festival, a Christian festival in Czech. It began on Thursday and continued through to Saturday night, and we spent the days with each other at seminars, workshops, and concerts. I was really blessed that each of my friends took turns translating the devotion talks in the morning and the seminar lectures so that I could also stay connected with all the speakers were saying. The theme for the festival was "Immortal" ("nesmrtelny"), so the speakers talked about how our time on Earth is limited and that we will all eventually have to leave everything behind, but the one thing we can be sure that is immortal is our relationship with Christ. I was encouraged to see so many young Christians together and to truly see their hearts as they worshiped with the variety of bands in the concerts. We all really enjoyed the music; I especially liked the bands Divine Attraction and Kutless, who performed at the evening concerts! There was much time at the festival to be with friends, and each day, more and more friends would come and join us and participate in the festival events also. So much happened during the few days at United, and we were frequently laughing with each other! I really had lots of fun and it excited me to see so many young believers gathered together - it gives me so much hope in a new generation of believers in this country and further expanding ministry and revival through Czech!