After much anticipation and many hours of preparation, the day finally came - the opening of our new club location in Boskovice! Before the grand opening on Wednesday, we all worked as a team to get the space ready with some final cleaning and setting up for a concert and other opening events. On Wednesday morning, as the youth pastor drove us to Boskovice, he said "only 10 hours until opening!" At first I thought that 10 hours seems like such a long time, but then I remembered how long the youth pastor has been praying for Boskovice and this space and the months of preparation it took, and I realized all God did to allow for the opening of this new club to finally be happening!
Final Days of Preparation
Proudly Holding the Plan B Sign
- which has a spelling mistake, but at least I tried ;)
When the time finally came to open the doors for our Plan B Boskovice Official Opening, I was amazed with all the people who came to support the new club. Overall, we estimated there were about 200 people who came during the event! I enjoyed spending the time with friends and members from our church as well as watching all the kids from Boskovice with their parents as they experienced the new club - I am praying they are excited to come to the club as I desire to get to know all these new kids and share God's love with them!
Fun on the Bouncy Castle
Our new Plan B location used to be a disco club before we renovated the space to make it a youth club. The disco club was named "Majak," which translates to "Lighthouse." The Elim team and I are continuing to use the name "Majak" in reference to our new club as it seems to fit our mission to be a light for Christ in this city! Additionally, practically everyone in the city understands where to locate the club when we say it is on "Majak."
With Friends at Plan B - Boskovice
Like many cultures, Czech says "football" in reference to "soccer," which made our afternoon club time at the sport's field a bit funny as we played both soccer and a simplified version of American football! At one point during our time at the sport's field, there was a group of four kids throwing a football around in the middle of the field and about six other kids playing soccer around the group - so really we were all playing "football," just two different kinds. It was fun trying American football with the club kids as we created a game more similar to Ultimate Frisbee, which allowed even the littlest club attenders to be involved.
Trying out American Football
On Thursday we spent club time doing lots of different activities - foosball, billiards pool, table games, table tennis, computer games, some more American Football, and jumping on the trampoline.
Table Tennis
Over the weekend, I was invited to join a youth group from another city as a guest for their English Camp reunion. One member of our church in Letovice helps as a leader for this youth group, but he could not stay the whole weekend; still, I really enjoyed the time getting to know a new group of friends. I felt so comfortable with this youth group during the weekend that I had to remind myself that I had only met them all Friday night!
Youth Group Picture
We spent the evenings around the campfire singing camp songs and roasting sausages. The village where we stayed was in the highlands of Czech and since we were in a small village, we could clearly see the brightly shining stars. The sparks from the campfire seemed to want to join the stars as they shot heavenward while everyone's sausages sizzled. We each shared some jokes, testimonies, and stories as we continued to get to know each other better. The leader of the trip also prepared a seminar for us to look deeper into the first chapter of the Gospel of Mark. It was really fun to watch as everyone came to conclusions about the text and how we all really felt the words rather than just reading the scripture.
Seminar Teaching
We went on an adventure as a youth group and went climbing on some large rocks. It was great team-bonding as we helped each other find the best route to climb the rocks and cheered each other on as we reached closer to the top of the rock hill. The view from the top was spectacular and well worth the climb!
Looking at the View
At the Top
Watching the Rock Climbers on the Steep Side
(Don't worry Mom, we went up the other side with a more gradual incline...)
While finishing up our final meal together at English Camp Reunion, the youth group surprised me with a Diploma for having courage to come and join their trip even though I didn't know them. I really enjoyed getting to know everyone and hope to have some time to visit them again!
My English Camp Reunion Diploma
When I returned from the camp trip on Sunday afternoon, I dropped off my bag at my house and then left for a festival at the Catholic Church in Letovice. Elim was helping a little with the event, so I joined in with the activities. Some of the kids I teach at LetFest attend the Catholic Church, so I spent lots of my time running around with the kids! I did also spend some time with a couple friends my own age at the festival - one of my friends is a tour guide, so she gave me a private tour of the Catholic Church; another friend is a musician, so he played a song for me on the church organ. It is truly amazing all the things I get to experience and the fun time I get to have with friends along the way!
Festival Fun
Last week seemed to be the week of parties as we opened the new club in Boskovice, had an English Camp reunion, the Catholic Festival, and also a birthday party for one of my Czech sisters! The days are moving quickly, but each day brings moments when I remember all God is doing here and I am reminded of how blessed I am to be a part of His work here.
Since the school year has officially started in Czech, I made a video of my time with the club kids and friends this summer. Check it out here! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Z9tEGVr3Fg&feature=youtu.be