When I started writing this blog, I didn't have many goals in mind, like reaching the 100th post. I wanted simply to keep my supporters and friends informed of the ministry I get to be a part of in Czech, and truthfully, that is still why I write this blog. However, it has also become a place for me to record stories and look back on and see through my own writing how God has grown through this ministry and through the work I am a part of here. The 100th post seems like such a great achieved goal (honestly, the server told me it was the 100th post, I haven't kept track myself!), so it seems like the perfect time to wrap up a wonderful end of the summer and move into the school year. I wasn't home for much of the month of August (read about everywhere I was in the paragraphs to follow), but when I was home, I enjoyed the long days, the summer thunderstorms, and especially spending time with the Connect Club girls.
Picnic with the Connect Girls
At the start of August, I took a few days to rest after a full July of camps and festivals, but I didn't stay home for long. I left to spend a couple days with friends enjoying some beautiful lookouts in Czech. We took a day-trip and climbed the tallest mountain in Czech on the boarder of Poland! The view was spectacular, and well worth the climb to the top. I enjoyed looking at the little flowers that tried to grow on the peak and even a little bird who willed her way to the top also. The next day, we didn't climb so high, but we still made it to the top of a tower in the city where my friends live for another great view. I don't think our legs would have let us climb any higher than the tower on the second day after the hike up the mountain.
The final stretch to the top!
View from the top
I spent a couple days at home after the hiking trip before I met my parents and brother in the Netherlands for a summer vacation at the sea. The cooler weather prevented us from diving into the water, but we all soaked our feet and walked the endless shore. I enjoyed all the time chatting and playing games with my family and, of course, relaxing. We really wanted to embrace the Dutch lifestyle and took a bike trip along some canals and villages. Of course we stopped at a few windmills and toured one on the way. The green fields were spotted with cows, to which my brother stated, "These are beautiful cows! Like 'Milk Carton Model Cows'." After a few days at the sea, we moved into a suburb of Amsterdam and my heart for history was filled. We bounced between a canal tour and a museum before spending some time just wandering the old streets of the city. It was a great time to spend connecting with my family and enjoying all the time together.
For the past four summers, I have attended a three-day Christian Festival for Youth Groups. I am always so impressed with the effort that goes into the festival, and somehow I am surprised each year how I can enjoy it more than the previous. This year was different for me in the sense that I didn't need a translator for programs and seminars. It was also different in that after living in Czech for three years, I realized I have many friends in the group of Christian circles around the country. I was frequently found reconnecting with friends I hadn't seen all year as well as making many new friends. After arriving home from the festival, I received a message from my mom that said, "I hope we can chat later. I can't wait to hear about all the new people you met." I didn't have WiFi all week and hadn't talked with her before, but my mom just knows at festivals like this, it is inevitable that I will have a handful of new friends.
A year ago at camp, I had met three friends and we connected together really well. Even though we hadn't seen each other for a year, we reconnected again quickly and they introduced me to more of their friends. While at camp last year, another new friend thought this group of three and I were all a part of the same youth group because we had become good friends so quickly. When I explained we had just met each other the day before, the new friend was really surprised and said, "you have some serious leadership skills!" This friend was also at the festival, and a couple times he would walk past me and this group that continued to grow with new friends throughout the week. The first time he walked past, he simply shrugged his shoulders and shook his head saying, "I'm not even surprised anymore..." I absolutely love that the love of Jesus can bring so many people together and create lasting friendships! (You wouldn't be able to tell, but one of the guys in the middle of this picture just wanted to go down the stairs. Instead of letting him through, we simply said "Jump in! Smile for the picture.")
Since Festival United is for youth groups around all of Czech, I found sometimes I got caught on a word or slang in a conversation that was regional dialect as I joined in on conversations with my friends in Czech. Though it never prevented us from having conversations, there were a couple times clarification was needed (although, that is nothing new for my regular conversation routine.) However, there was one time a group of us all sat together and chatted after an evening worship session. Halfway through the conversation, one friend said, "I think it is really interesting we are all speaking Czech with each other." I was confused, "Why is that strange?" My friend looked at me and pointed to the different members in the group whom he all knew, "Us four are actually Polish, this friend is Ukrainian, and you're American. None of us are speaking in our native language!" Since English is usually the second language for people I meet in Czech, I suddenly felt a little more understood surrounded by a group of those who also had to learn the language like I did. One of my friends later said, "Isn't it cool how God brought us all together from so many different backgrounds?"
Instead of using the photo booth, we decided to be original and just take a picture with the sign for the photo booth!
Just as my friends from camp introduced me to their friends at the festival, I was also thrilled to introduce them to my youth group. After introducing them once, I noticed that they frequently found my youth group in the massive crowd and would say, "There's your youth group! Let's go by them!" My heart was full as I got to share the time with my youth group, friends I hadn't seen all year, and new friends during the programs and concerts.
There were 12 of us from our Youth Group who attended the festival together - the largest group we have had so far! (It has especially grown for me from the three of us who went together four summers back. I still remember I got everyone I knew from the festival in one picture together!) Since the group was bigger, we divided and attended various workshops and seminars and would tell each other about them afterwards. I loved watching my youth group dive into the programs and discuss what God was teaching them throughout the weekend. On the first night at the festival, we found out that our youth leader was not feeling well back at home. We circled up on the sidewalk trying not to block the way too much as the large group of us prayed together. I am excited to see how the youth will apply what they experienced at the festival to our regular youth group meetings.
In these last days of summer, I've been spending much time with my Connect Girls. While many of them are anxious about starting school again (as the majority of them will be in different classes this year whereas for five years they have been with the same group), they are looking forward to starting Connect Club again regularly. We talked about how they can invite the new friends they make in class to join Connect Club, so these girls are going into their new classes with a vision of reaching out to new classmates. We are all ready for the new school year to begin!
Me: "should we try to make a silly picture underwater?"
Little friend: "... every picture underwater is already a silly picture!"
At the pool
Playing at the Playground