Stories: The end of the summer and a trip to Istanbul

The summer is done.  All the interns fly out tomorrow, and I do as well.

It has been an incredible summer.  From our three camps we saw three students saved and repent and believe on Jesus Christ for salvation, and we were invited into God's current work in many others.  It was a summer of planting, watering, and reaping.  God reminded me of John 3, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”  This is my hope for the students now that camps are over.  Sometimes, you do not know what is going on inside a student, but you do not see the Spirit of God moving, but you have faith in it, and God has given me faith to believe and pray for these students.

Man Time at Strakonice Camp

At each camp I saw changed lives - people who were touched by Christ through His word and His love through His Spirit, and us, His chosen vessels of clay.  One student at our last camp said this to me, "There was no conflict here.  It was amazing."  I thought about that for a while.  How often can you put forty people together for a week, and only a handful know each other prior to that week, and an even smaller handful have known each other for longer than a few months, and have essentially no conflict?  I believe God gave us His grace to be of one heart and one mind and one Spirit as He is one with Himself, and this student got to see it, and he knew it was special, something different, in his words, "amazing."

Ultimate in the rain at Litvinov Camp

I was given the opportunity to be a spiritual brother again.  I have messed up in my share of brother-sister relationships/friendships - biological and spiritual - and God gave me opportunity for redemption, and He did redeem it.  I was asked and given the opportunity to speak words of truth into the lives of my sisters.  Here, I must thank Donald Miller and Grace Groups of Open Heart Ministries for giving me some tangible, creative ways to give words to others (If you want to know what they are, just let me know.).  I am incredibly thankful for God's redemption in my life.  I certainly do not deserve to be a safe person for others, but God has decided to change my heart and make it more like His, and along the way He is molding me into a safe person for others, with grace for the mistakes I make along the way.

Swimming in the Jordan Lake

Team BonJon 2010 is not departing each other this summer just as teammates and brothers and sisters.  I believe each of us would say that we are also departing as friends.  I am very thankful for these relationships.  God has used these people as sanctifying vessels in my life this summer, and He equipped and called me to be a sanctifying vessel in their lives as well - through righteousness and sin.  Thank you, Ryan, Alli, Jenda, and Eva.

Leading alongside Bonnie this summer has also been a great joy.  Last summer, we would both have told you it was very difficult to lead with each other, let alone build a friendship, and we probably would have never picked to team up again, but God had other plans, and Josiah Venture paired us up for a second time, to our surprise, and we were surprised.  The summer's camp theme was "Redeem," and we lived out redemption as we saw God take what was nearly a bit of a disaster last summer and change it into something great this summer.  Last summer we entered in as strangers, frustrated by our differences and various strengths and weaknesses, and this summer we entered in as friends - excited by our differences and wanting to support each other's strengths and cover each other's weaknesses.  Thank you, Bonnie.

Watermelon Rind Home Run Derby at Litvinov Camp :)

Fun "non-spiritual" memories from the summer: getting slapped on the butt by a 65(?) year old woman in Litvinov while buying drinks for my team, having "Man Time" at Strakonice camp where we took off our shirts, did warrior yells, and played viking football; getting a new nickname at Zlin camp - Mufloniček (mountain goat), going hiking and playing ultimate frisbee in the rain at Litvinov camp, having a watermelon rind home run derby with Ryan and Barry (pronounced bar-ee) at Litvinov camp, going swimming with the team in the Jordan Lake in Tabor, having my first B52 in Prague.

I'll have more "stories" posts to come, but I need to move on to something else for the time being.

It is 3:52 a.m. in Prague, and I leave Czech to go to Istanbul today at 12:00.  Why?  Well, when you enter the Czech on a tourist passport, you can stay for 90 days.  My 90 days is up on Sunday.  Now, ideally, my extended visa would already be in and effective by now, but there have been some complications.  Czech is also part of a group of countries known as the Schengen Countries.  "Under the Schengen agreement, transiting from one country to another within the Schengen area is done without border controls. In fact, the Schengen visa makes it possible to visit all the countries in the Schengen area and to cross internal borders without further formalities." [1]  Unfortunately for me, the 90 days applies not just to being in Czech but to being in Schengen period, which means I not only have to leave Czech but I must get to a non-Schengen country as well.  The kick: nearly every country in Europe is a Schengen country.  Exceptions are the U.K., Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Croatia, and Turkey, and the cheapest airfare was to Istanbul, Turkey, which is why I am will be in Istanbul from today through Sunday.  I will be staying at the Istanbul Harmony Hostel.


So, all this said for now, here are some things that I/we could use prayer for:
- Transitioning into what's next - for interns going home (American and Czech) and for me into fall ministry here in the Czech
- Safe travel and stay in Istanbul.  For ministry and evangelism opportunities along the way and while and there.
- Learning to live on my own well.  I'll be living on my own for the first month of my time here in Czech.
- Learning the Czech language.  It is very difficult.
- For the churches to follow-up events and seeking to continue building into the relationships and ministry started at camp - discipleship and evangelism.
- Humility in listening to the Lord confessing and repenting honestly and openly and sincerely.


Thanks for everything.