Chicago
This summer, I joined the Junior High Mission Trip to Chicago. As a leader for the 6th grade girls starting the last school year, I was greatly encouraged that four of my girls were interested in going on the mission trip this summer! Throughout the year, we had shared with them about missions and having a heart for those who are less-fortunate and those who are spiritually lost. These four young ladies, alongside 19 other middle school students in our youth group, gave a week of their summer to sharing the gospel and lending a helping hand in a suburb of Chicago.
During the week, we had three different locations for serving -- a church summer youth program, a food shelf, and a work project site.
VBS - On our first day, I was a part of the group that went to the youth program site. The youth students I was with at this site did a fantastic job putting together the program for these kids that focused on our VBS theme, "Shine." Together, these youth students put on a skit of Jesus healing the blind-man, one student gave a testimony of learning to follow God in his fear, and then all students broke up into small groups and led a discussion with the kids about fears. During this discussion, a couple of the girls realized the girl they were talking with wanted to trust Jesus and asked to invite Him into her heart! My girls had the privilege to walk her through that process and pray with her to accept Jesus as the leader of her life! I loved sitting back and seeing God work through these girls in that moment to share His love so clearly for this little girl who desired a deeper relationship with Him!
Still incorporating the theme "Shine," the students came up with a game using glow-sticks and another game with the blindfold. During the middle of the blindfold game, the student leading it sat all the kids down and explained how it is hard to understand all the voices to avoid the obstacles, but that when we listen for God's voice and follow His voice, we know we will always be on the right path. He related it also to the blind-man story they had acted out that morning, and the kids were great listeners during this interlude. Additionally, we made disco-balls with paper plates and another student talked about how a disco-ball reflects light with all the mirrors and how we are also supposed to reflect Jesus's light so others can see Jesus through us! It was a wonderful lesson and so beautifully shared by these youth students with the kids.
In the middle of our time at the church youth program, we received notice of a Tornado warning. We immediately got all the kids to safety in a lower-level bathroom and waited out the storm. While there for 45 minutes, the youth students took charge caring for the little kids, praying over everyone, and entertaining them when the wait got too long. I was so proud of these youth for the ways they pushed away their own fears in that moment to care for the little ones and demonstrate leaning into their faith for peace in times of uncertainty.
Food Shelf - The following day, I was with the group at the food shelf. We helped set up the room, stocking shelves and loading up the produce bins. The students then went to work helping the people bag their items and bring them out to the curb to pick up with their vehicles. During the day, the students would also check inventory and see what needed restocking. While helping the people load their groceries, the students regularly asked the people if they could pray for them. There was a often a joyous congestion of cars at the curb as students prayed over the people. In the middle of the day, we suddenly got a HUGE delivery of frozen Factor meals! With limited frozen storage space at the food shelf, we knew we had to pass off most of these meals that day. One student and I set to work sorting the meals so they could be easily chosen. At one point I turned around to help someone and when I turned back, my student was gone! I quickly realized she had not disappeared, but had simply climbed into the box. She said, "It's easier for me to reach all of them now!" Organizing these meals and seeing the smiles it brought to so many faces was my favorite part of the food shelf.
Work Project - On our last "working" day, I was back again at the VBS location, but in a different area. My team helped in the basement, which was in need of a big, deep cleaning. The custodian at the church is terrified of little crawling critters and had been anxious to clean the basement space so it could be usable. After learning which of my students were the brave ones to step on any little spider we found, we set to work sweeping, moping, scrubbing, and clearing out trash bags filled with items for the dumpster. The kids worked so hard! The mopping water got dirty so quickly, and we refilled the water and cleaning product a couple times already. I knew we would need to replace the water again to also scrub the walls and tables, but I wondered how effective it would be as sometimes it seemed there was an eternal layer of dirt on the floor and items. Just then, we had been clearing out an old storage room, and I came across a few packages of old cleaning wipes! To my surprise, they had not yet dried out and I was so excited God provided the exact thing to help us in this project! When we showed the final product to the custodian, there were tears in his eyes and hugs all around. We were all so grateful to have helped him in this big way.
On our final full day in Chicago, we went into the city to see some of the sites and pray over the city. We also put together bags for homeless people to give away to people we saw on the streets of Chicago as well as many New Testament Bibles to share our faith with people we met. Many of the students had more than one conversation about God with someone on the bus, metro, or street as we moved between sites. It was fun to see how receptive some people were to receiving a little Bible and to be prayed over. One of my girls had stepped out in bravery to share her faith with a woman on the bus who simply said she wasn't interested in a Bible. My student was kind and remained joyful, though I could tell she was discouraged, so after we reached our stop, I simply told her how proud of her I was for being brave and sharing joy with that woman. I reminded her that sometimes it just takes a small seed and then next time someone talks to this woman about God, maybe she will be more receptive. This student said this moment was one of the most impactful for her on this trip! Remembering that God asks us to plant seeds, and it is the Holy Spirit's job to then do the work is always a great reminder.
As we were finishing up our day in Chicago, many of us still had our homeless bags since the area where we were did not have many homeless people. The girls were feeling discouraged as they had hoped to give their bags away to someone who needed it, so I said, "We're renaming them. They are now called 'Blessing Bags.' Just go bless someone!" Suddenly, the girls had fresh eyes and they saw people who were thirsty from the hot day and needed the water bottle we had packed, people who were working and needed a snack, people who looked tired and just needed a smile. Within a few minutes, the bags were all gone. The girls had joyfully spread the love of Christ through their giving hearts.
Czech
Originally, the plan had been to return to Czech in October for a week of ministry, but due to an ongoing renovation project at the youth center, the trip had to unfortunately be canceled for this year. With a team of young adults ready to serve that week in October, we are now going to Honduras to help some missionary friends there! I never stop being amazed at how God aligns all our plans to fit His purpose. As we made these decisions for the relocation, I realized I still needed to get over to Czech to see some people and to simply be in the place I had called "home" for so many years. So, I made a quick decision to fly to Czech, and I left two days after getting back from Chicago. While I was in Czech, I got to spend time with the youth group, see many friends, and spent hours on bike rides around the villages.
I ran into many friends at a Food Festival in town over the weekend. I was also greatly pleased to see some students who used to attend English Classes with me at the festival! I was welcomed with many hugs and lots of memories of how the students still reminisce of English Classes. It is encouraging to see the impact that was left and how God is still using those memories to remind these families of His love.
For many years, this family has taken me into their home, and I love being able to call them my "Czech family." I have had the blessing of watching these kids grow over the years and becoming dear friends with their parents. Sitting in the garden outside the home with coffee in the morning, playing games on the living room floor, hearing music fill the home, and seeing new artwork on display in the halls alongside ones that have always been there brings me so much joy, and I truly feel overwhelmingly welcomed.
One of the big dreams I had for visiting Czech again was to see the place my ancestors came from. Being 50% Czech and coming from a very Czech community in the states, I have known my family heritage my whole life. During Covid quarantine in 2020, I took a deep-dive into ancestry and located the place my family came from. I traced them back to the 1500s. Through the home was a good 2.5hr drive away, my dear friend took me on a roadtrip of a lifetime to visit the home where my ancestors had lived for generations. It was a surreal experience -- one I will treasure a lifetime.
One of my special things in Czech was bike rides. I found so much joy in traveling through the nearby villages on my bike, just exploring the beautiful countryside. When I had lived in Czech, I would often take Saturdays and sneak away to nature, finding a spot to hang up my hammock and read. With all the hills in the area, there was always a good spot to find for a view, and I have learned to love biking the hills for the view that I know will come. I am always grateful for the time I get to be back out on the bike in this area (though sometimes I can feel that my knees aren't as familiar with the hills anymore!). The week that I was in Czech, I went out on the bike every day -- totaling 70mi for the week.
The views are never a disappointment!
Sometimes it feels like no time has passed at all when seeing friends again! With some people, we can just easily jump into wherever we left off, and I am so grateful that we can still stay in touch through all technology offers these days. Though, I do miss them often!
During my time living and doing ministry in Czech, I was blessed to be able to interact with so many families and kids in the community. Sometimes, I had the blessing of teaching all the kids in a family, which includes this family here! The eldest was in my very first Children's English Class that I taught at LetFest when I was going to Czech for missions in the summer in high school. In turn, I received all the other children in my English Classes. The last classes I taught before moving back to America, the youngest three were still in my classes and the middle child was one of my translators. I am so grateful for the friendship with their parents and that I was able to teach all of them over the years.
On my way back out of Czech to return to America, I spent a half-day in Prague doing some of my favorite things and some new things that I had always wanted to do! It was a fun day, and I am convinced more and more that there is always something more to do and see (or to see again!) in this beautiful city.
If you've been reading this blog over the years, you will know while living in Czech, I had the most adorable pet rabbit, Kuli. While I got him almost unintentionally (he was a farm rescue bunny), I soon realized I needed him as much as he needed me. One of the hardest reasons for leaving Czech was knowing this dear little friend couldn't come with me (international travel laws didn't allow it) -- but he had a wonderful retirement with my Czech host family, and I regularly received updates and pictures of how he was running in the garden and playing with the girls. On July 21, my friend wrote me that Kuli wasn't doing well suddenly, and I called immediately to say goodbye. As I spoke over the phone, Kuli tried stomping his foot (a rabbit's way of communicating), and I believe he recognized by voice before passing on a few hours later. I was saddened not to be able to say goodbye in person, though Kuli's long 9.5yrs of life is a huge testament of my years of ministry in Czech -- I'm convinced he was the most well known rabbit in the city!
While I was in Czech visiting just a few weeks after Kuli's passing, I was visiting a friend who had occasionally pet-sat for me when I was traveling. One of my friend's kids (a little buddy of mine) quickly told me he had a surprise for me and brought me over to see his new pet rabbit -- just a few months old. He very wisely said, "I always like remembering the times we would watch Kuli for you when you were on trips, and I knew someday I wanted a bunny of my own. When I got this one earlier this week, I saw how quick it ran and it reminded me of your Kuli, so I named this one Kuli too." It was so special for me to see the legacy created in this community after years of investing, pouring into people, and seeing how even the simplest joy of a little rabbit can show an abundance of love.
With over 25 years of ministry connection between the American and Czech churches, it is no surprise when Czechs come to visit us in America. This summer, these two friends came for visits. They each stayed with different host families, though I was happy we found a time to all connect together! It has been fun seeing them around at church, events, and just getting together while they have been here -- and it was interesting being in Czech with them on the other side of the ocean! We successfully swapped places for a week!
Youth Group
Youth Group
Over the summer, youth group has continued with off-site events. I have loved seeing these girls throughout the summer and enjoying the time outside with them as we played games and studied the book of James. We are all looking forward to starting the school year again to get back into the regular rhythm of youth group at church, though having this connection times throughout the summer has been wonderful.
After coming back from Chicago Mission Trip, a couple of the girls talked with their moms about going to nearby parks to share their faith as they had in Chicago. One mom reached out to the other moms of girls in the group, and they have gone out twice to share their faith in parks in the community! It is fun to see how these girls had a spark from the mission trip that has continued as they came home. At youth group last Wednesday, the students from all summer mission trips shared about how they saw God work on the trip, and it was heartwarming to hear from all these students the ways they grew in their faith and saw God working through them on these trips!
Toddler Bible Study
Due to the trips (Chicago and Czech) this summer, I was only able to help teach at Toddler Bible Study one week this month! I have greatly missed this little learners and hope to be back with them again soon. On the day I was with them, I had found an old Sunday School coloring sheet of the Israelites crossing the Jordan River. It was a fun coloring sheet that folded to stand up and look like the people were walking between waves! As the toddlers colored, one of them asked what the people were carrying. I explained the Ark of the Covenant and how God traveled with the Israelites, and this was His holy place -- like a throne -- that they then put in the Tabernacle, which was like the church building that traveled with the people. The little kids thought this was really interesting, so I pulled out a Children's Bible and found a story of the Tabernacle. I explained to the kids that God gave very specific instructions about how to build this church-tent and asked if they would build churches with the blocks I had set out. Soon, I realized they weren't just building a church, but one of the students was walking around with the Children's Bible and giving instructions on how to build a Tabernacle! They successfully created a replica of the Tabernacle and were so excited they had followed the instructions like the Israelites!