Reading "Cavlin and Hobbes" and "Garfield"
The View of the Village
Like most Tuesdays, we had Plan B club where we spent time with each other, played foosball, and other table games.
Foosball at Club
Unlike most Tuesdays, we also introduced a new club activity - "Bumper Balls"! This new Elim toy is being enjoyed by all the kids at club, and the leaders are having lots of fun with it too. It is fun to roll, bounce, and summersault around the room, and we learned it is also incredibly funny to flip others upside down in the balls because the person can get stuck upside down for a bit! Two of the other Elim leaders came up behind me when I was trying out the ball and flipped me upside down also, but after working with them the past couple summers and getting to know them, I guess I would expect nothing less. The dream is to eventually have enough Bumper Balls to use in soccer competitions - I am so excited for this new game!
Bumper Balls
Trying out the Bumper Ball
The opening of our new club location in a nearby city is coming soon, so on Thursday morning, a couple of the other Elim leaders and I went to the new location and worked for a few hours to clean, vacuum, and prepare the new space. We arranged new sofas and had a competition to see who could put together IKEA tables the fastest. I vacuumed a couple dozen spiders who had inhabited the corners of the building, but after a couple hours of cleaning, the place is looking great to soon have kids running around! I am really excited for all the ways God will use this new location and use each of us leaders to share his love with the kids in this city.
New Kids Club Space
Cleaning the Kitchen/Bar
After preparing the new club location, we went back to Letovice for soccer day! It was the perfect soccer day because it was a little cooler outside, but we still had the afternoon sun. We also had a good number of kids who came to play. I am always impressed with the amount of soccer skills that these kids demonstrate, whereas when I first started playing with them, I would get really excited when I just passed the ball successfully to a teammate! Yet, these kids are helping me learn how to play better by blocking, moving around opponents, using my head and knees for high balls, and I even took a spin at goalie. At one point in the game, I took a hard block to my shoulder. It didn't bother me as it is part of the game, and I had successfully blocked the ball, but one of the little club kids on my team said something to our opponent like "Hey, be careful with Kendra... she is like our princess." It was funny that even in the midst of a soccer game, these young boys can go from being competitive teammates to little gentlemen! It is really lots of fun building these friendships and getting to know the kids who frequently participate in our matches at the sport field.
Soccer Day
Goalie Save!
We were at the sport's field again on Friday for youth group. Obviously, we played more soccer and there were enough people who came to have three teams! Some of the club kids who are regularly at the soccer field, saw us at the field and joined in also. I find it really exciting that these kids see us at club times and then realize we also meet on Fridays as Christians and some of us even go to church Sunday mornings together. It is truly witnessing when we say to each other, "see you tomorrow!" and a club kid asks what we are doing on Friday, and we get to tell them that we also meet also as a youth group. While playing soccer on Friday, a couple new kids stopped by. I quickly learned they were also Americans and they come each summer to visit relatives! We appreciated talking with each other and finding common ground quickly in speaking English. When I told one of the brothers I was staying for the year, he said that he heard winters are brutal in Czech. I was a bit shocked because all that I have heard about winters here seem much more mild. We then realized the difference since I am from Minnesota and these new American friends are from Texas!
Texan Kid - "I heard it is sometimes three months of winter in Czech."
Me - "Only three?! I've seen snowstorms in May..."
Texan - "What?!"
By then, we were laughing as we realized how opposite our state's climates are!
With Friends at the Sport Field
This week was so much fun with all the activities and sports. We are really making the most of these last couple weeks of summer and getting in all the time with friends, and I know we are all hoping for more time playing games together again soon. This week - between watching the Olympics, playing club games, Bumper Balls, and soccer - it felt like the games really did begin!