Everything, but not quite because more can always be said

It's been a full week since I've posted. Life's been busy and internet access limited, but I'm back.

Prayer requests:
We are doing school visits this week in Strakonice to promote English camp. Please pray that God will provide many opportunities to capture conversations for Him and many would see the light of Christ shine through us.

Pray that our team would continue to grow in unity and patience with one another. No matter how great anyone is, when you've been with them for 3 weeks straight and you know you have another 6 or so to go, it can become quite tiring.

We would finish and accomplish what needs to be done with God honoring excellence - English lesson creation and prep, Bible studies, learning and reviewing the Story of God Messages we will be giving, and whatever else arises.

God would provide financial support for two Czech interns on another team - Babu and Vashek. They are both incredible people who have recently come to Christ (with in the last 3 years I believe) and have a passion to proclaim God's word. If you are interested in supporting them, please let me know and I will get you the information you need.

My coleader Bonnie has a lot on her plate. She is leading the first camp and helping to lead the other two. She is also one of the main teachers for English camp (Telling the Story of God and leading dialogs) as well as teaching English classes. Pray that she will be diligent in her leadership and seek renewal and rest in Christ alone.

For our first English camp coming up. It is the first 2 weeks of June - training and camp. Pray that the Christians will grow in their faith and tell others of Christ boldly and that the non-believers will come to repentance, that the Holy Spirit will fall like a waterfall over the students at the camp and many would come to salvation.

Also, some of you may be waiting for a team picture. Who are we after all?

L-R: Bonnie Boyd, Cory Dimler, Martina Pixova, and Myself. Feel free to look any of us up on Facebook.

God has been incredibly faithful. We just got back from our first youth group visit this past weekend. We went to the village of Bohumilice in the southwest of the Czech Republic. It is a village of rolling hills and farms, interesting insects, which I remember seeing in Ukraine as well, and some great people and lots of bread, fresh fruit, and no napkins.

Along with those things come some Czech culture lessons I want to share with you:

Something Czechs love is syrup. No, not maple syrup. Flavor syrup for water. Who wants plain old water when you can add a flavorful sugary syrup to it? They are kind of like the powdered mixex many add to water in the states, but it's syrup. The family we stayed with had their own special recipe, which was delicious. It was black elder flower lemon syrup. I know it sounds crazy. They make about 3 liters of it at a time. They get a tone of black elder flowers and put them in jars of water with either lemon slices or just lemon juice, couldn't figure it out. They let it sit for a couple days, add sugar, then simmer it get the water out and refrigerate it. Voila! Homemade syrup. I do want to try and make it back home, but I'm sure there will be plenty of trial and error.

We also discovered a new ingredient for potato salad - gummi bears. Do with that what you will.

Lastly, we discovered two new ways to have pasta. Forget what you've thought of variety. Leave behind tomato sauce and alfredo, scampi and the like. To enjoy this meal you simply need to make some butter pasta and have either ketchup or cocoa powder for hot chocolate and powdered sugar. I will admit, when I saw it all on the table, my first thought was the movie Elf and how he put maple syrup on the spaghetti. I can't imagine this was too far from that. Give it a shot. It's pretty tasty, but don't expect it to sustain you from lunch 'til dinner if you're planning on having an active afternoon.

We stayed with a great family whose home is attached to the church. They were an excellent example of Christian hospitality, the kind you picture when Paul and John tell believers to welcome and strengthen and encourage traveling brothers and sisters. We had a warm bed, warm showers, fresh cherries, a homemade dinner that was great, and some wonderful conversation.

I wanted to post something before we left and get some prayer needs out to you, but I was unable to do so. One of them would have been over the teaching I was asked to give Saturday night.

It was one of those times I felt completely stripped of all of myself and only left with God and His word. I had no resources, no extra materials, not a lot of time, no computer. It was just reading God's word and praying for Him to direct me toward the right passage of scripture because it's His message. I am merely a steward of it. God directed to Acts 3:1-10.

I then wrote the talk, which was completely different than any I had done before. This had no cool outline, to trick or strategic method. It was a story. It was also the first time I have manuscripted a talk and read what I wrote word for word.

I found myself empty. I had written a talk from a passage I did not study beyond reading and praying and listening. No commentaries here. I found myself reading a talk I wish I knew better. I found myself stiff and trying to read and have good eye contact, which is quite difficult. It was those times where you know God has asked something of you, and all you have are the 5 loaves and 2 fish, and by His grace and power multiplies it to glorify Himself and it happens to be what people need, and you did not know it until it was all over.

It was a great weekend. We got to meet and fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ who are stepping out in faith and obedience, many of whom have family and friends that do not believe and are very hostile to the gospel. One of the main student leaders in the group moved out of her mom's house because she wouldn't let her got to church. We are only here for a summer, this is their life. They are part of a remnant here in the Czech, and they are standing God's foundation with Christ as their cornerstone. Their youth group is eight people. I go to a school where I live on a floor with 30 other Christian guys for 9 months of the year. They are standing firm. It is an honor to stand and serve with them.

So, thank you for all your prayer and support. I miss home a lot and friends and family. I feel your absence. God has used you in immeasurable ways to bless me and help prepare me for this summer, and I wish I could share it with you in the flesh. I look forward to the time when we get to catch up in person and not merely through blogs and instant chat.

Finally, if you haven't already, I recommend subscribing to my friend and teammate Cory's blog. It's very good, and he's got video updates. Also, feel free to peruse the many great pictures he's taken throughout our trip. There are definitely some good ones.