Living By Lysa

When Dave is Gone

2012-01-30T15:55:00.000+01:00

This is not how we usually park our cars when we're at home.

Unfortunately, it's how they're parked today because Dave is gone. You know how that works right? Husband/dad leaves and things go wrong. It's a law...written in some thick rule book somewhere. I am convinced of that.

He left for the States this morning, and of course, when I went out to start my car later, the battery was dead.

It is super cold outside today. That's a piece of ice that froze standing straight up on my windshield wiper!

In times like this, a cute little doggie can only bring you a smile...not fix the problem! Nice try though Kaylee!

Thankfully Caleb is home and gave it a valiant effort. Following dad's instructions (who we were able to reach before he got on his plane), he did all the right steps for trying to get it started. Jumper cables? Check. Battery charger? Check. Heater on the engine? Check.

He even wrapped up the hood in blankets...with the heater going on underneath for several hours.

Kaylee: "Does that work???"

Well, it was worth a try for a few hours. But when all was said and done, we are now waiting for a friend to come and try something else as it's not going anywhere right now.

Oh...I forgot to mention that the van is parked funny too because while trying to sit on an icy slope and jump my car, the emergency brake froze in place so it too is not driveable.

This is what happens when Dave is gone!

To Be Continued...

What's New at Albert

2012-01-28T17:33:00.000+01:00

I remember when I moved to Spain in 1984 and had to adjust to new grocery stores, packages I couldn't read, and food that was different than what I was used to.

But there were a couple of items that I recognized and appreciated many a time that year. Any guesses??

What country in the world DOESN'T sell Coke? I was sure glad it wasn't Spain that year! If you know me, you know I grew up loving a Coke at McDonald's with my mom, though she probably shudders now to think she introduced me to it all those years ago, and that I still love it despite the sugar content! Sorry mom!

Ah Fritos...it's not that I grew up loving them or anything...but there they were in Spain that year (I've never seen them any other place in all these years I've lived in Europe)...something that I knew and could rely on! Besides, I prefer salt over sweet so it was a perfect compliment to my beloved Coke that year.

Of course I discovered many foods while I lived in Spain that were local, and not imported, and learned to love them. But there was still just something about making a trek to "supermercado" (had to drive 45minutes to get to the one that had the Fritos!) and getting a taste of home back then.

Fast forward to today. It's a different world here in Europe than it was 27 years ago. There are so many items here that you'd find in the States.

However, there was one item that was never here, but is here now in a BIG way! All the grocery stores are promoting it, and even giving it "end of the aisle" status to promote it.

Have you ever seen so many Oreos?!

Of course it doesn't do us any good now, being gluten intolerant. And frankly, I never really liked them much anyway.

But it does make me smile when I go into my little local "Albert" and there they are taking up a whole shelf!

Still Inside Me

2012-01-26T19:13:00.000+01:00

Nearly thirty years ago (gasp!) I was a teacher. Well...it's what I got my college degree in.

After graduating, I did a long term sub for one semester in the Washington state public school system, and then spent a year in Spain teaching missionary kids.

God directed my path differently from there on, and other than teaching my own kids how to read and write, I haven't been an official teacher since then.

But somewhere deep down inside me, that teacher part of me lives on. After teaching for that year and half period, I found out that the part I like best is time with the students...one on one, if at all possible.

A dear Czech friend of mine has a son who has started attending the International School in Ostrava, which is completely in English, and needs someone to listen to him read in English once a week. That's where I come in! I get the joy of sitting with G. for an hour on Thursdays, listening and interacting with him as he reads. It's perfect for both of us!

Kaylee thinks she's part of the program too - usually spends at least half the time on one of our laps! But that just makes it all the more fun.

So that little teacher part of me - the readin' and writin' kind of teacher - is alive and well inside me, and getting a little fix once a week these days!

Why We Build

2012-01-25T23:16:00.001+01:00

Last year at this time a construction firm was working on finishing up two of the Malenovice cabins, and I was in the States on the biggest shopping trip of my life, working on furnishing those cabins!

Those two cabins are in use now, full nearly every week-end. Now a third cabin is being built next to the other two. God provided all the funds to complete this one, which should be done by spring.

The lodge is also in progress right now, and due to be finished in just under two weeks! While it doesn't look like it, there will be space for 30 to sleep here.

Petr, our JV construction project manager, has been spending hours working to oversee its completion. He is amazing at what he does! Wish you could see all of these buildings that he's put his heart and soul into bringing to completion.

Next week-end in this room there will be 50 young people for a Fusion week-end. Yeah I know...you are wondering how it could possibly be done in time aren't you?! Me too! But Petr promises it will be!

Color is going on the walls each day and all the small details are being finished...

...making it an even more beautiful place to be!

A building is just a building unless the Lord inhabits it. Our prayer and dream is that everyone who spends time here will sense God's presence, and come to know Him in a personal way.

That's why we build!

Future Me

2012-01-24T16:06:00.000+01:00

Maybe you already know about this...but in case you don't, it's something that I've enjoyed and want to pass on.

A number of years ago I stumbled onto a website called Future Me.

It's been written about on CNN, BBC, NPR, The Today Show, etc. Started a few years ago (some say 2002, some say 2007...don't know which it is!) by two guys, one a web designer and the other a programmer, they do it on the side - to this day it's not their full time job. But the concept is basically to send yourself a message by email that will be delivered in the future, at a date of your choosing.

I wrote my first letter in 2007...and promptly forgot that I'd done it. It completely surprised me a year later when it was delivered to my inbox.

Even just one year later, it was such a good "perspective" moment to read what I'd written - things that I was ~~worried~~ concerned about were no longer issues, things that I'd hoped for had either happened or weren't important anymore, prayers I'd prayed had been answered - some with a "yes", some with a "no". But, most all of the answers made sense a year later. If they didn't...it was a reminder to continue to pray, or to think about changing the prayer request.

Since then, I've written over a dozen letters to have sent to me at a later date - some have already arrived, some will arrive in just a year, and some won't come until 2015!

One of the main reasons I like it is for perspective. But there are a lot of other reasons you might come up with to send yourself a message into the future. If you want to do it, click HERE. And have fun hearing from yourself in the future!

Giggle for the Day

2012-01-23T14:17:00.002+01:00

Couldn't resist posting something that not only made me smile, but actually gave me the giggles, which then turned to flat out laughter the more I read!

I was going over a menu to choose food for an event here and came across these little "funnies". The menu was in three languages, one of which was English. Funny how a few misplaced letters can change the meaning!

Spaghetti with oil, garlic and chilly - does this mean it's a cold spaghetti dish?!

Spaghetti, fresh tomatoes, garlic, fred Tiger, rucola, Parmesan - a Tiger named Fred will be appearing in this spaghetti dish? Sounds a little iffy, doesn't it?!

Pork stek with friend Italian Copernicus - this is where I really got to laughing! I wonder how the Italian friend, Copernicus, feels about being on the menu with the pork stek?!

Lettuce with tomatoes, onion, Tune fish and corn - a tuned fish in this salad? Will he play a melody while I eat?!

Mixed salad chef - this sounds like it's the chef who is on the menu! Wonder how HE feels about that?!

Mineral water with gas - if you've lived in, or visited, Europe this isn't so funny, but I got to thinking about someone visiting this restaurant who had never been to Europe and wondered how they'd feel about mineral water mixed with a little gasoline?!

Trout on butter with salvia - although this is actually spelled right, doesn't it look like you're having trout on butter with saliva?!! Oh my - not sure who would choose that item!

Roasted beef sirloin with rocket and balsamic honey sauce - a rocket with my beef sirloin? I'd like to see that!

Spinach on butter and cheese - and this one just made me giggle! Sounds like the main dish is butter and cheese, with a little spinach on top. Cholesterol heaven!

Bon Apetit!

Greg's Epic 50th Birthday Party

2012-01-21T23:38:00.003+01:00

Our good friend, and long time JV teammate, Greg Carlson celebrated his 50th birthday this evening over in Poland.

Lots of fun guests at the party like the Shepperson family who just arrived back in Slovakia after six months in the States. So fun to see these two good friends, Emili S and Kelsey, Greg's daughter, back together again!

As well as Gwyneth S. and Jillian, Greg's other daughter!

Greg and I go all the way back to high school - I've known him since he was 15 and I was 16! What an amazing privilege to have served in ministry together for over 25 years (we served in Germany together as well, and Greg was one of Dave's groomsmen in our wedding!).

We all had dinner together at his family's favorite restaurant in Ustron, Poland, then gave gifts to celebrate this epic event. Dave and I found a remote control sailboat for him - because every 50 year old man needs a big boat of his own! :)

Wherever Greg is, there is always lots of laughter...if you've ever been around him, you know what I mean. He just brings out the best in people and puts a smile on your face!

After dinner we headed to an ice skating rink that they'd rented out for the party and skated to music of the 70's...truly epic! :)

As a special gift, one of Greg's Polish friends had a man come and play his clarinet along to the music of "My Way", the great old Frank Sinatra classic. It was one of those awesome "goosebump" moments - so beautiful!

He got a big round of applause afterwards!

Such a fun way to spend a Saturday night, celebrating our good friend!

19 Years

2012-01-20T23:55:00.000+01:00

Loved celebrating Caleb and his 19th birthday tonight!

Best card of the evening...from Cece, of course!

Most interested in the presents? That'd be Kaylee!

Tastiest part of the party? Claire's berry crisp...GF and oh so yummy!

I'm feeling a little sentimental tonight thinking about the fact that this is most likely his last birthday at home, probably for quite a while since by next year he'll be at college.

Thankful it was such a sweet evening with family and friends!

Happy Birthday dear Caleb!

Where Were You?

2012-01-19T22:01:00.001+01:00

Do you know where you were nineteen years ago today? I sure know where I was!

I was waiting for a certain little boy to make his appearance.

Living in Germany at the time, I'd been on bed rest for six weeks with pre-term labor. My doctor took me off the medication on December 23rd, and we fully expected that little guy to appear any day after that.

My mom left from her home in the States on Christmas Day so that she'd arrive on the 26th, hopefully in time for his birth.

Little did we know it would be almost a month later before he'd make that special appearance!

Within hours of taking this photo (and feeling nothing), I was in labor. Our precious second son, Caleb Joshua Patty, was born on January 20th at 2:11 PM in Schwetzingen, Germany.

Hard to believe that little baby, pictured with my mom and Tyler, is turning 19 tomorrow!

Outside my Window

2012-01-18T15:16:00.001+01:00

As I sit at my desk today, this is what I'm looking at...it's gorgeous!

I am pretty sure it snowed all day yesterday - a rarity that we haven't seen much this winter.

Today the sun peeked its head out from behind the clouds, even showing some blue sky!

I think we got about 8-9 inches of snow which sure makes for a magical looking day outside.

I don't know how this Oregon girl came to love snow so much! :)

Letters for the Box

2012-01-17T22:18:00.001+01:00

It's a snowy evening here at our house...like, REALLY snowy! It's been snowing all day, our first big snow of the year. Other than being a little shaky out driving in it today (out of practice!), I'm loving it.

It was also "take down the decorations and put the house back in order" at our house today. I always think I'm doing it later than I've ever done it before, but then I look at something that reminds me that no, this isn't the latest I've ever done it.

That would be January 23, 2000 - the year I left the decorations up because Caleb wanted them on his birthday (he turned seven that year...he's turning nineteen this Friday, the 20th!). And how do I know?

Every year since 1997, I've written a brief letter to put into one of the Christmas decoration boxes, telling about how Christmas was and what's ahead for the year. So far I've got sixteen years worth of letters.

It's always a sweet trip down memory lane to read through the letters each year, especially the early ones when the kids were little.

It's also a fun way for me to capture the highlights and remember God's goodness in our lives.

And I love wondering about the coming year and what all it will hold. I know for sure this one's holding a special anniversary, a graduation, and a WEDDING!

Back From Serbia

2012-01-16T21:49:00.004+01:00

After a 14 hour train ride yesterday, Dave safely arrived home from Serbia at 4 AM. Was so glad to hear him trying to come in quietly so he didn't wake me! :)

From the sound of it, they had a powerful time together with 70 youth leaders from around the country.

Bill and Bobbie Trenkmann, JV staff in Romania, were there to teach as well, and Dave said he was so inspired by them!

They recently joined JV, but are certainly not new to youth ministry! They were MY college leaders during the early 80's, and Dave, Dan Hash and Greg Carlson (long time JV staff) interned under them at Laurelwood Baptist back in their Multnomah college days together.

Dave said teaching with them this weekend was so inspiring because they continue to love young people and God's Word - a powerful combination that has been true of them for many years!

While at the conference Bojan, the new JV country leader, was commissioned. We are thankful for this young Serbian man who is courageously stepping up to the plate to lead the team there. He is trusting God to provide for him financially, something very difficult in a country with such a small population of believers.

If God, at the beginning of this new year, is laying on your heart to give to to something new, I would love to recommend this young man. You can go to our JV website for information on how to support him.

Snow is falling heavily outside, our internet is working again, the conference in Serbia went well and Dave is home. All is well!

Blame it on the Weather

2012-01-14T16:54:00.001+01:00

No Internet at our house again today. This is getting to be an unfortunate regular occurrence

My phone has Internet but even it is slow today. At least it's enough to post something.

In past times when the internet would go out, or be slow, we would blame it on the weather. But in these past weeks when the weather has been fine, I have been more likely to make a grimacing face and not speak too kindly about our provider, who has had non-existent customer service.

Service problems I can forgive. Broken promises to do something about it...hmmm, harder.

However...given the blizzard outside, I guess I will assume the best of our Internet provider and say it's the weather today.

Caleb took this photo while out at the tutor's house studying for exams this afternoon. There is even more snow now.

Does make for a cozy evening at home while Dave is gone and the kids go to a ball for their school tonight!

A Matter of Minutes

2012-01-13T19:42:00.001+01:00

Claire and I both get our hair cut at a salon in Poland, about forty five minutes from where we live.

In all my years of living here I have to say, there is just something unique and wonderful about Polish hairdressers! And making the drive there is actually one of those things that I look forward to, especially when Claire and I go together.

On the drive today we were commenting on how beautiful the sky was, and how it looked like it was early spring with some sunshine peaking through the gray/purple clouds of late afternoon.

We parked on the Czech side of the river, then crossed over into Poland on foot, again noting what a pleasant afternoon it was.

Today it was Claire's turn to get a haircut so I just brought a magazine that had come during December and hadn't had time to read. It was such a treat to curl up on the couch in the salon and read, time just kind of standing still.

An hour and fifteen blissful minutes later, Claire had a darling new haircut and it was time to walk back across the border to our car and head home.

Little did we know what had happened outside while we had been cozily tucked away at the salon.

We walked out into blizzard like conditions, and were covered in snow within seconds!

Crazy what can happen in just a matter of minutes.

It's nice to be tucked away at home now, waiting to see what will happen tonight - if there will finally be some snow on the ground when we wake up.

Presiding

2012-01-12T11:37:00.001+01:00

I was going back through December pictures and found these...Kaylee, presiding over her yard.

Didn't want to forget the cuteness of her just sitting out there on the brow of the hill, watching over her world on a rare sunny day...probably on her Top 10 list of favorite things to do!

Who can resist this face?

She sure brings lots of smiles and joy to our lives these days!

Off to Serbia

2012-01-11T23:05:00.001+01:00

Dave left this afternoon on a train to Budapest where he's spending the night. Tomorrow he'll get on a train to Novi Sad, Serbia. It might not look like a long trip on the map, but I've done that trip and it's a long one!

He'll be with our JV team this week-end, teaching at their winter leader's conference, speaking about the importance of God's Word in ministry.

Pray for Dave, that he would be effective in teaching, for the sake of the Gospel going forward in the country of Serbia.

My New Year's Resolution

2012-01-10T17:06:00.002+01:00

After Christmas I was at Marks and Spencer, a British department store at our mall in Ostrava, and saw this little gem on the sale shelf - which is where I'd imagine it would be since it's hard to think of who (besides my American friends in the area!) might want such an item in English.

But it was exactly the type of book I've been wanting for a while...I just didn't know such a thing actually existed! And then...there it was, at our mall in Ostrava of all places.

I don't know what the original intent of this book was...perhaps to plan out your meals in advance. But, since I'm a daily shopper and meal planner (I've tried planning ahead and ALWAYS end up changing my plan - besides, I like to grocery shop every day...just one of those quirky things about me) what I wanted the book for was to record what I cook, or where we eat, each day this year.

So the book is on our counter and either Claire or I have written in it every day since December 28 (the book actually started the last week of December, just the time when I bought the book!).

I love the entry above...Claire had Grandpa Patty write in it when he made eggs for he and mom one morning while they were here.

If you're here at my house, and make something, you can write in it too! :)

Here's to a year of keeping track of everything that comes out of our kitchen.

Family Resemblance

2012-01-09T15:30:00.003+01:00

Do these people look related??

Yep, they look like Patty's!

Just trying to catch up on posting some of the photos from these past weeks of Christmas and New Years - there are way too many! I told my sister-in-law on the phone today that we took over 800 photos alone in Vienna! Don't worry...I won't post them all! But do want to remember the significant people, events and occasions from these past weeks.

PS. Internet seems back on to stay! Hooray!

A First

2012-01-07T20:33:00.001+01:00

Claire and I had the privilege of teaching a seminar at the annual women's conference today, held at Malenovice.

This is our first time ever to teach together! What a joy it was, sharing the teaching with Claire.

It was hard to get photos since we were both teaching...but I got that one quick, just to remember this special moment!

We taught from Exodus 15 on Moses and Miriam's song of worship - going through the passage, sharing our thoughts and practices of how we worship, and then giving them an opportunity to practice themselves. It was a delightful time with those women!

(Internet has been out again all day until just a few moments ago when it clicked on again. This is getting humorous! Can't wait to find out what's going on!)

Look What's in the Neighborhood

2012-01-06T13:10:00.000+01:00

After days of completely dead internet, suddenly today there is a signal. How did that happen?! No repairman in sight...but it's working for now so am taking advantage of it! I'm guessing this means that it's not our problem like they said it was...maybe it's theirs and they just figured it out!

Although yesterday was a sad day, the Lord gave a bright spot in the midst of it.

Yes, there is a good reason for that grin! It dates back to 1977 when I got my first job at the ripe old age of 16. Where??

See those familiar golden arches?! Yesterday was opening day of a McDonalds just 12 minutes away from us! I've been waiting years for this!

Claire and I went after school to check it out and see if anyone else was excited along with us.

You can't IMAGINE the lines...it was a crazy place there! Not only that but we got to see (and talk to, nonetheless!) Ronald himself! :)

I actually have really fond memories of McDonalds...from my childhood going for Cokes and cheeseburgers with my dad, mom and brother, to working there throughout high school, and to finding a McDonalds here in Czech when we first moved here 18 years ago...albeit, 40 minutes away! But it was a comfort in those early days, and has been all these years.

And for you skeptics...it's not just me who says that McDonalds tastes better here than in the States! It's still a treat to go there...and now with one just minutes away, we may treat ourselves a little more often!

Okay...posting this...and hoping that there will be internet tomorrow too!

Moving On

2012-01-05T23:27:00.001+01:00

Another day of no Internet at our house. Today's news from the service provider was they can't come until the 10th now, due to the storm (which didn't produce much snow, but brought very high winds - it is wild out there!).

I found out there is a new app on the iPhone for Blogger so am trying it out tonight, using the Internet I can access on my phone. Have no idea what it will look like when I post but am willing to give it a try as I didn't want to miss posting today.

In order to post a photo I had to take a picture of the picture I wanted to post...surely not the greatest quality so who knows how this will all turn out...or if it will even post!

It was a bit of a sad day today...we said goodbye to Tyler and Lara.

They headed to Prague by train very early this morning to pick up her engagement ring from the jeweler who was adjusting and cleaning it, then went on to Podebrady, a city about an hour from Prague where Tyler lived this past summer. They were going to see students and spend the night, then take a very early train back to Prague and fly out at 9 AM back to Chicago.

The house feels much quieter tonight. I am sure our own parents know this feeling well as we have been going in and out of their homes and lives for many years now.

But tonight marks a big step for our family as Tyler and Lara now head towards their June wedding and begin their lives together. Tyler will not come back to our house again until he is a married man!

He cleaned out his room last night as they packed, deciding what he wants to keep, give or throw away from his childhood. Kind of sobering for us.

It's a good, right and natural step - one that we have prayed and hoped for all of his life: that he would leave us to cleave to a good woman of God's choosing. And that's what is happening!

But I am still feeling sentimental tonight...it's normal, I think.

Tomorrow will be a new day, and we will all adjust back to life with the four of us. But I do so knowing we are also on the countdown of Caleb leaving for college in just a few months (he plans to leave in June to work in the States this summer before starting college).

My dad keeps telling me that life just keep getting better and better, and that there are even more good, rich and happy days ahead as the kids leave home and make lives of their own. I choose to believe that tonight as I feel sentimental about my kids leaving home and heading on into their own lives.

Still no Internet

2012-01-04T22:01:00.000+01:00

Not having internet definitely cramps my blogging ability! Am posting from my phone again.

The service provider says they will send a technician tomorrow - hope that is not famous last words.

On top of that possibility (of an unfulfilled promise), the forecast calls for 7 inches of snow so who knows if that will happen and/or if he will make it!

In the meantime...it's really been fine not having it. Enjoyed some last days with Tyler and Lara before they leave on a 6 AM train to Prague in the morning. It's SAD to see them go! Next time we are all together...WEDDING!!!!

Better post this...only 4% of battery left on my phone!

New Year's Eve Wrap Up

2012-01-02T23:10:00.003+01:00

New Year's Eve was extra special this year, having Tyler and Lara, as well as Dave's mom and dad, here to celebrate...and of course our dear Ellenwood friends as well!

Thankful to have internet back on at our house today so I can post a few (ha ha...okay...a lot!) of photos to capture our extra special New Year's Eve!

Loved seeing these kids/adults having time together. Funny thing about the above photo...look at how similar Tyler and Caleb look!

Doesn't matter how much time they get together...Dave and Mel can always find something else to talk about!

One of my favorite photos of Tyler and Lara! And just for the record...it's "Hello Kitty" bubbly to ring in the New Year for the Moody students! :)

What a privilege to have mom and dad Patty with us too!

Always sweet to be with my dear friend, Amy!

Tyler's quote after these photos...

"Oh how I miss hanging out with these guys!" (They were trying to make him crack a smile while being their crazy selves!)

It worked!

Then there are the four lovelies of the evening.

It looks like two sets of sisters! :)

Caleb...oh Caleb...just couldn't resist! :)

The view for fireworks at midnight (the New Year's Eve tradition here) was spectacular! You can even see Lysa Hora (what my blog is named after) in the distance, lit up by fireworks on top!

Photographing and videoing fireworks they set off!

Then came inside to take a nice group photo...

...which began to deteriorate...

...into this! Oh yes...no doubt about it...we do have fun when we're together!

A few last ones of the kids...should be something better to call them since they're almost all adults now...but you know what I mean!

And yes...these photos are fun too!

Love you all!

Bringing in the New Year

2012-01-01T23:14:00.000+01:00

No Internet at our house tonight, but at least I can post something short from my phone on this first night of the new year - couldn't miss that! Pictures will have to come later.

Had a spectacular view from the side of the mountain last night, watching the amazing fireworks display across the whole valley with family and friends. No better way to bring in the New Year!

This promises to be an epic year...our twenty five year wedding anniversary and a wedding for our firstborn in 2012, as well as another child off to college...not bad for starters! So curious to see what else the Lord has in store this year.

My only resolution as I come into this new year is to walk more closely with the Lord, seeking to know and love Him more deeply.

Other than that, I am along for the ride for whatever good, challenging, happy and faith stretching things He has for me!

One Last Trip in 2011

2011-12-31T17:07:00.000+01:00

Several months ago when we were talking with Dave's mom and dad about their upcoming trip here, his dad asked if it would be possible to go to Krakow.

"People always ask me, 'Have you been to Krakow?'" he said. And unfortunately his answer has always been "No...never been there".

Even though we only live two and half hours away, we'd never taken them there when they've come to visit. So we had to do something about that!

Yesterday, Dave and I took his mom and dad to Krakow and had an absolutely wonderful time in the city!

While it was cold, it was magical with all the Christmas decorations still up.

We had fun in the cloth hall, the big market in the center of the square.

And we made a special visit to meet a sweet new little baby!

Our JV teammates, Tomas and Miriam Chmiel who serve in the Ukraine, are in Krakow right now after having had their second daughter, Kristina. God provided a wonderful apartment in the city where they have been able to stay before and after the birth.

It was so special to get to see them! And all in all...a perfect day spent with people we love!

I am headed out this evening to bring in the New Year with mom and dad Patty, our dear friends, the Ellenwood's, and of course with Dave, Tyler, Lara, Caleb, Claire!

2011 has been a very happy, exciting, blessed year. Looking forward to what the Lord has for us in 2012!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Advice from my Father-in-Law

2011-12-29T23:25:00.001+01:00

Dave's dad told me yesterday that it's good to keep a journal to remember the important things in life. He says if you don't write it down, you'll forget by the time you're his age!

I'm so glad I have my blog as my journal because there are things I don't want to forget - like an evening in Vienna...

...and the best hummus ever!

Some dear friends made it possible for us to go to Vienna last week, while mom and dad Patty made it possible for us to enjoy dinner at at our favorite Israeli restaurant there. These are things I DON'T WANT TO FORGET!

It's also so special to have Tyler and Lara with us right now - we'll never forget enjoying their "engaged" days with them!

And I love remembering Caleb's enjoyment of life - even something so simple as a good meal!

And sweet Claire - she knows how to soak in the goodness of life!

Dave...he's happy when his family is happy! That's one of the things I love most about him!

So yes dad Patty...I'm taking moments out of my days to journal in my blog, so I remember all these good things the Lord is blessing us with. Thanks so much to you and mom for making that evening in Vienna possible!

Now that I have these photos on my blog, I know I won't forget, even if I get to be...well, you know, your age! :)

Guess Who Came to Dinner

2011-12-28T23:37:00.000+01:00

Any ideas on why Dave has such a grin on his face? Recognize those heads on the couch?

Any clues about who's here from this cute face?!

Ah-ha! It's Grandpa and Nana...aka mom and dad...aka Dick and Margaret Patty!

They were down in Slovenia for Christmas with Josh, Dave's brother, and family. Now we get to have them for a week!

We're glad they came to dinner! :)

Twenty Year Photo Shoot

2011-12-27T12:52:00.001+01:00

It started in August 1990.

Tyler was just a few weeks old and we were at our military chaplain's house in Heidelberg for his baby shower.

On the wall in their home, I saw a frame with two photos. Both photos were taken at the Heidelberg castle. However, in one of the photos their two daughters were little girls, holding onto their dad's hand, walking up to the castle, their backs to the photo.

In the next photo, they were teenage girls, still holding onto dad's hands, in the same spot as they'd been years before.

It was one of those things that captivated my attention...and I never forgot it.

Roll ahead two years. We were in Colorado visiting Dave's parents. Tyler was our only child, but I was six months pregnant with Caleb. In a "lightbulb" moment, I remembered those photos in our chaplain's home and thought, "I need to take a photo of Dave and Tyler from behind, before Caleb arrives". This was the photo, and the beginning of a twenty year photo shoot!

Caleb was born in January '93, and it was a year and a half later, May '94, when I remembered I needed to get a "backwards photo" (that's what I've called it all these years...a "behind" photo just didn't seem to be the right name, if you know what I mean!) since I was now four months pregnant with Claire. This was taken in the Jesenik Mountains here in Czech.

Claire was born in October '94, and in October '95 we were in Krakow to celebrate her first birthday - here is her debut in the backwards photos.

From there it continued on through the years...me snapping a photo from behind whenever I'd remember.

The kids grew...Dave's style changed!

Each photo, a special memory.

Many were in Czech, others in our beloved vacation spot, Croatia!

Each time I took the photos, I reveled in the goodness of seeing Dave and his kids, connected to each other - not just in the photos, but in real life as well.

There were many more backward photos over the next years as the kids grew up, like this one in the Dallas Airport in 2007...no more holding hands, just luggage! :)

And then there was this epic photo. We were vacationing in Croatia when it was time to take Tyler over to the mainland to catch his flight to the States where he would begin his new life as a college student at Moody Bible Institute.

We spent the night on our little boat in the harbor by the Split airport, docked the next morning and literally walked to the airport to say goodbye. I get a lump in my throat looking at that photo.

Since then I only managed to get one backward photo, taken last year in Vienna - Dave in one "Croc" shoe because he has a cast on his right foot from a broken ankle. Always a memory with these photos!

This past Friday, back in Vienna, I captured yet another backwards photo, the last of its kind in a twenty year series...

...because now there is a new person to welcome into our backward photo shoot!

Tyler's precious Lara!!

And so, on we go...now five in the picture, instead of four.

And who knows how many more over the next twenty years!

Gifts of the Heart

2011-12-26T23:39:00.000+01:00

Christmas Day was one sweet moment after another - I felt thankful all day long for the precious time God gave us yesterday, celebrating his birth with gifts of love to and from one another.

Caleb was creative this year and gave each of us "words", along with a photo that he either took or tracked down...you'll see a few more of them in the photos below. They were so special!

Tyler printed out a photo that Caleb especially liked from this past summer while Tyler interned in Czech - such a funny juxtaposition!

Claire used her gift of drawing to bless her dad...and add a little humor too! This was drawn with Copic markers.

Claire, like the rest of her family, has a love for photography so I gave her a book by Shutter Sisters who post a blog that I like...she'll have fun reading through it and I'm sure we'll see the results of it on her blog this coming year!

Dave blessed Tyler with an oil painting that he found in Prague this fall - it just seemed to capture a feeling of Prague that he knew Tyler would enjoy!

Loved this moment of him thanking his dad!

Tyler and Lara blessed us with a photo from the day of their engagement this fall! Oh how we couldn't have been happier when we got that news...it's fun to have a photo to remember it by!

Another one of Caleb's gifts of words...this time for Claire! Note the photos...so typical of these two who have been good friends all their lives!

Claire created another beautiful gift, this time for Tyler and Lara...again, done with Copic markers, it's the now infamous photo of Tyler's proposing to Lara. A moment they'll never forget!

Again...words from Caleb for his dad...priceless.

And one of my gifts of the heart was an ornament I had made celebrating 25 Christmases with this wonderful man!

One last gift of words from Caleb to me...so precious and meaningful, just like the whole day!

Thank you Jesus for your birth, the best gift of the heart.

Merry Christmas to You

2011-12-25T20:10:00.000+01:00

From our home here in the Czech Republic, we wish you all a very merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve in Havirov

2011-12-24T23:48:00.059+01:00

My eyes filled with tears as Dave spoke tonight at the outdoor Christmas Eve program in Havirov, the city we first lived in when we moved to the Czech Republic eighteen years ago.

The town square was full of people despite the rain that steadily fell.

Since most Czechs have their celebration on Christmas Eve, they are done by 10 PM and free to come into the center of town for one last moment to enjoy the holiday.

All the churches in Havirov work together to put on this special Christmas program for the city, filled with music, readings and a message which Dave had the privilege of bringing this year.

Sensing that people are more contemplative about their lives due to Vaclav Havel's death just a week ago, Dave wove him into his message. When he first mentioned Havel's name, people broke out into spontaneous applause!

Using Havel's famous saying, "Truth and love must triumph over lies and hatred" as a springboard, he talked about the ultimate way to triumph over lies and hatred - the saving power of Jesus Christ.

There was literally a hush in the crowd, and the rain stopped, for the minutes that Dave spoke. It was like time stood still as he shared the timeless message of Christ with the people of a city that we have cared about for many years.

For the first time in all the years Dave has given Christmas Eve messages, he felt freedom to lead the crowd in a prayer of repentance and faith in Jesus. He didn't ask for hands to be raised, or for anyone to come forward. He simply asked them to close their eyes and repeat after him in the quiet of their own heart.

We may never know if anyone crossed over from death to life, into a personal relationship with Christ. But I sure prayed that there would be someone who did as we stood there in the drizzle that started again as he was finishing his prayer!

It was too wet to have the camera out, but Caleb captured this shot on his phone as Dave spoke. I'm glad he did. It reminds me of that holy, precious moment tonight when the people of Havirov heard the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Vienna Christmas Market

2011-12-23T23:01:00.000+01:00

It's late...we just got home...but I couldn't resist posting some pictures from the Vienna Christmas Market we visited today. What a magical place!

Vienna is just a three and a half hour drive from our home, and thanks to a gift from dear friends, we were able to spend the night and then see the market today. SO FUN!

Much to do tomorrow so off to bed...but here's a few photos from our time today!

A White Christmas After All

2011-12-22T10:19:00.000+01:00

I didn't grow up with white Christmases in Oregon. In fact, I don't even remember ever having one. It's more likely they were rainy!

But after years of living in the Czech Republic, it feels like it's not quite Christmas unless it's white.

I had resigned myself to not having one this year since it's been such a dry fall and we've had almost nary a snowflake.

Until...

...this happened yesterday!

And this is what we woke up to this morning!

See the snow plow (aka tractor) in the distance? If he's out, it means there is enough!

We're headed to Vienna this afternoon to spend the night and see the Christmas markets there tomorrow. It should look extra pretty with a coating of snow (and be BRRRR cold too!).

Multnomah magazine article

2011-12-21T15:04:00.000+01:00

Dave and I both attended Multnomah School of the Bible, now known as Multnomah University, in Portland, Oregon.

Dave received his B.A., I earned the graduate certificate. For both of us, our time spent there was deeply meaningful.

Last spring, Multnomah contacted us and asked if they could do an article for their alumni magazine about us and Josiah Venture. "YES", we said! We love for news to go out about what God's done here in Central and Eastern Europe these past 18 years.

Their 75th anniversary edition was just published, and though we haven't seen a hard copy, it's online. We're on pages 11 through 17. Click here to see the magazine - it takes a few minutes to load but then you can scroll through and find the article.

The writer, Benjamin Tertin, did an excellent job capturing the JV story. Hope you'll take a look at it to read more about how God got us here, and what He's done since then!

Remembering Vaclav Havel

2011-12-20T22:31:00.003+01:00

I never met him.

I never saw him in person.

But I have the greatest admiration and respect for Vaclav Havel - a playwright, essayist, poet, dissident and politician. He was the tenth and last president of Czechoslovakia (1989–92) and the first President of the Czech Republic (1993–2003).

He passed away in his sleep on Sunday at 75 years old.

One of my friends wrote on her FB wall:

"Today I sat down and thought that an absolutely unique and unrepeatable chapter of my country's modern democratic history just came to an end ..."

I feel that with her. Even though this is my adopted country, I felt a deep sadness when I heard about his death - it marks the end of an amazing time in this country's history.

My friend also wrote: "These days my country is going through a time of great mourning since this man was an absolutely key figure in bringing down the communist regime here in Czech." (Hope you don't mind that I quoted you D.D.)

Though I'm sure there were many people responsible for bringing down the communist regime here, Havel is the face and heart of that historic time in 1989. Were it not for him, we very well might not be here. For that, I am deeply thankful for the sacrifices that he made for this country, bringing it into a new era of freedom where it's possible to share the Gospel.

I was in two towns today and saw spontaneous memorials in the centers. Caleb was in Ostrava tonight and captured the memorial there with these moving photos that I'm posting tonight.

The funeral is on Friday. The whole nation will mourn. I will mourn with them.

This is a link to a wonderful article about Havel by a friend of his, Paul Wilson, who translated many of his books and plays into English: Vaclav Havel: Shy revolutionary with a will of steel

Our New Family

2011-12-19T10:43:00.001+01:00

It's an exciting day when you get to post the first "new family" photo!

When our kids were very young, I started praying for their future spouses.

Of course at the time, it seemed so far away and was hard to imagine that those little people would ever grow up.

But now, the first answer has arrived!

I am so thankful for God's leading in His choice for a wife for Tyler - she is a perfect answer to my prayers for him. Lara, we love you and are excited to have you a part of our family!

VIP's

2011-12-18T23:57:00.000+01:00

It was not just an ordinary morning in Prague. No, no...does this face look like ordinary excitement?!

That clock in the Prague airport is moving much to slow for my liking...

But...if you have to wait, you might as well enjoy some coffee. And enjoy the best seat in the house at Terminal 2, waiting at Costa Coffee!

A few more minutes pass and then...is that a VIP I see???

YES!!! It's Tyler and Lara!!!!

They finished their finals at Moody on Thursday, flew out on Friday, and arrived safely in Prague on Saturday. Three happy weeks are ahead as we have them at home in Czech for Christmas!

Lara has never been here so it was a LOT of fun showing her downtown Prague, which looks so pretty all decorated for Christmas!

Yes...I'm one happy mama to have my kids home for Christmas. And yes...even though they're not married yet...that happens in June...Lara is already one of my kids! :)

Enjoying the traditional "trdelnik" at the Christmas market in Old Town Square.

They have a lot of happy life in front of them. So glad we get to share in some of those days right now!

A Day in Prague

2011-12-17T23:34:00.000+01:00

Am posting this a day later than it happened...but just didn't want to miss remembering my day with Claire on Friday. I wanted to post it that evening, but couldn't get Blogger to work at our hotel. Oh well! Will post it today and call it good!

Up at 3 AM this morning, sleepily on a train by 5 AM, headed for Prague with Claire.

We stepped off the train onto a platform I'd never come in on and saw this very moving statue of Nicholas Winton. He is a British humanitarian (still alive at over 100 years old!) who organised the rescue of 669 mostly Jewish children from German-occupied Czechoslovakia on the eve of the Second World War in an operation later known as the Czech Kindertransport. He found homes for them and arranged for their safe passage to Britain. We know one of the children he saved. It was SO moving to see this memorial to his bravery.

We then headed across town by metro, on our way to the American Embassy (with a stop at Starbucks, of course!) to submit papers for Claire's ten year passport. We were cutting it close as her current passport expires in five days, but she's been waiting to get her braces off so that she doesn't have a passport for the next ten years that has her smiling with braces!

The photography studio that takes American passport photos is up through the winding streets past the embassy - a pretty walk in the early morning.

The studio wasn't open when we arrived, so we sat in this peaceful courtyard waiting for someone to come and unlock the door at 9 AM.

It was such a sweet moment with Claire, enjoying the quiet morning on the Mala Strana side of the city. But, as the minutes ticked by, 9 AM came and went and no one was in sight with a key to this door. Hmmm...what to do?

So off we went, back down to the embassy, in a hurry as our appointment was at 10 AM and we didn't have passport photos in hand! A kind guard at the door told us about another studio that takes American size photos (Czech passport photos are a different size so you can't just go anywhere!), so we hustled in the complete opposite direction, down to the Charles Bridge, through the wind and rain, to get that coveted photo!

Thankfully they were open, we got the photos, made it back in time, did all the paperwork, and she'll be the owner of her ten year passport (without braces!) in a week.

Spent the rest of the day wandering the streets of Prague, in more wind and rain, but it didn't matter. We had such a fun time, hunting down little shops with treasures in them for Christmas gifts. Couldn't have been a better day together!

Especially because we were anticipating a trip to the airport Saturday morning to pick up some VIP's!

TO BE CONTINUED! :)

Full House

2011-12-15T22:28:00.000+01:00

There were more people packed into our church tonight than I've ever seen before.

And I didn't know at least half of them, which was actually a good thing!

It was the Christmas concert for Fusion, the outreach choir that started this fall here in Frydlant. While there were people from our church there tonight, the majority were parents of the students who are in the choir. It would be hard to get them to church...but it's easy to get them to a concert to see their kids perform!

And what a great performance it was, especially for it being the first one!

Oh how I pray that many young people, as well as their parents, would put their faith in Jesus as a result of this outreach ministry in our town!

Claire's Happy Day

2011-12-14T20:39:00.001+01:00

Three years, nine months and 8 days ago, Claire looked like this.

And then a few hours later...like this!

That would be her look for almost four years...until this afternoon.

One last picture in the kitchen at home and then it was off to Frydek Mistek...

...for a long anticipated appointment.

Tyler, Caleb and Claire have all sat in that chair being cared for by our wonderful orthodontist in Frydek Mistek. We first met her nine years ago when we began the process of braces for Tyler. She's more like an aunt now than an orthodontist as she's watched our kids grow up.

But besides being a kind "aunt", she's a great orthodontist and within an hour and a half, this was the result of her hard work, and of Claire's patience to endure many years of braces!

It's a happy day in our house as Claire has been, in her words, "De-dazzled"!

End is in Sight

2011-12-13T16:28:00.002+01:00

Three years ago Josiah Venture began something we called the 2x3 Campaign. This was an expression of our desire to double our Kingdom fruit in three years.

We saw many of you in one of the eleven cities throughout the States and Canada where we held vision nights, sharing the passion, heart and vision of JV with you.

Now, the finish line for our 2x3 Campaign is in sight! This has been an amazing journey, and we have seen God at work in ways we could never even have imagined three years ago!

This has not been about a single project, but about young people in Central and Eastern Europe being given every opportunity to hear and respond to the Gospel. Nothing makes our hearts beat faster than seeing a young person hear the message of the Gospel and put their faith in Jesus Christ.

Dave has a special message for you as we come to the end of our campaign in just 18 days. Please, take two minutes and listen!

2x3 Campaign: Finish Line from Josiah Venture | 2x3 Campaign on Vimeo.

A New Reality

2011-12-12T17:42:00.000+01:00

Anything unusual about this photo?

If you live in the States, it probably looks pretty ordinary...perhaps a shelf in a 7-11? Maybe at a corner market in a small town?

For those of us who live here in the Czech Republic, it's a new reality! Those are items on the shelf at this brand new store in Havirov, about 40 minutes from where we live.

It's the small things that still make my day!

This and That

2011-12-10T18:08:00.001+01:00

Back to one handed typing.

My smashed thumb began swelling last night, and when I woke this morning it was enormous...and oh so painful.

Went to emergency clinic in Frydek and finally got the help I needed to relieve the pressure - tried to do it ourselves last night, but without success.

So with it bandaged, elevated and iced...typing oh so slow...will just put up some photos from Dave's time in Vienna with the Advance Council. They had a great time and the Lord answered our prayers for this strategic meeting!

Ostrava Surprise

2011-12-09T22:24:00.000+01:00

I wish like anything I'd had my good camera with me today. Had to settle for my phone camera to capture the surprise.

Claire and I went downtown Ostrava this afternoon to look for some Christmas gifts.

And were totally surprised by a beautiful Christmas market in the square!

It's not that they haven't had one before...it just hasn't been anything out of the ordinary in past years.

But this year it is really something special...much bigger, better booths, more creative, a beautiful nativity scene and a big skating rink set up in the middle (sorry the photo is blurry...but just had to capture it!).

Claire and I got to enjoy our favorite Christmas market treats...roasted chestnuts for her (see above picture!) and "bramborak" for me...deep fried potato pancakes! OH MY! Amazingly tasty!

There were even dancers in the square, with gorgeous costumes, doing some festive folk dancing.

I love being surprised by things like this. It was so unexpected, and so enjoyable! We'll definitely be going back down there...might have to make sure those potato pancakes are still good the second time around.

Today in Vienna

2011-12-08T11:03:00.000+01:00

Since it's just a three and a half hour drive away, Vienna holds all kinds of memories and images in my mind over the past years.

But today there is another image that comes to mind. Dave is there leading the "Advance Council".

This is a group of JV leaders who are all passionate about seeing the church grow throughout Central and Eastern Europe. They are praying for and planning the Advance Conference today and tomorrow.

Church planters from the countries where JV is working will gather at Malenovice in February 2012 to be taught, encouraged, prayed for and re-energized for birthing and leading new, healthy churches where the Gospel will go out from.

I'm praying today for a supernatural empowerment from the Lord over these meetings right now. That it wouldn't just be about ideas, discussion and plans...but that it would be about hearing from God, who loves his Bride, the church, and wants to see her flourish in these countries, and throughout the world.

I know that's the heart of all those who are in the meetings too. May this be a blessed time for them as they tune into God's special plan for the Advance conference.

You Never Know

2011-12-07T07:27:00.002+01:00

Man in white: nice doctor at emergency clinic in Frydlant.

Woman in black: hurting lady who smashed her thumb in the car door.

That would be me. Don't be fooled by the serene look on my face. I was in agony, but trying my best not to look it.

I came home with Claire late yesterday afternoon and was in the middle of wrangling a cover over my windshield (because they said it was supposed to snow last night. It didn't.) when the car door accidentally slammed shut...on my thumb. Can you say PAIN?????

We ran inside, Claire crying, me in shock...got ice on it, saw it turn a horrible shade of purple. Kids decided I needed to get to our emergency clinic (I couldn't think about anything besides the pain) so Caleb drove me there ASAP.

The people in the waiting room were so sweet - let me go ahead of everyone. Was it the look of shock on my face? These things don't usually happen to me.

The nurse knows us and was so kind and empathetic. The doctor was great too - said he didn't think it was broken but that I was probably in more pain because of the pressure building with blood under the nail. Whatever it was...he was right it was painful. He had to stick a needle in (I know...ick, right???) to drain the blood. All the while I was burying my face in the kind nurse's arm...such a wimp about pain.

They bandaged it up, swabbed it to kill any germs, told me to keep it on for two days, take plenty of ibuprofen...and rest. Ha! With a throbbing, heavily bandaged thumb?! Difficult!

Am typing this one-handed...that's a new blogging experience. Now reminds how much I take for granted when I have full use of both hands.

And that you never know what a day will bring.

Paying it Forward

2011-12-06T15:28:00.001+01:00

When our kids were small, my best friend from high school mailed a Christmas box to us that included this:

It's been so long that I can't remember if it was her, or maybe her sister, who made this advent countdown calendar for our family. In any case, it's been up every Christmas since then - no one can remember a Christmas without it, even now when we have teenagers/almost only adults in the house.

Fast forward to last Friday. Claire and I were shopping in a little town nearby and found this oh so sweet Christmas train.

I set it on the counter after asking how much it was, sure that I supposed to buy it, but wasn't sure for whom. As I walked around the store, all of a sudden, I had a light bulb (aka: Holy Spirit speaking to me) moment.

Cece and her family! (Brian and Aleisha Stephens serve in JV with us on the Bteam - also parents to the twin boys I've written about, Gabe and Alex).

It was soooo much fun to take it over there and let Cece be the first one in the family to open one of the little doors to see what was inside (gummi bears and other assorted treats). She is just the cutest...melts your heart, she does! :)

Years from now she might not remember who it came from, or even when it became a part of their family's Christmas tradition.

But it makes me happy to think I passed on a loving tradition to Cece, her brothers and parents that my friend Karen passed on to us so many years ago!

See here for Claire's take on the story.

Caleb's STUŽKOVAK!

2011-12-05T12:51:00.002+01:00

Friday night was a significant event in Caleb's life.

STUŽKOVAK!

Pronounced "stushkovack.", it comes from the Czech word for ribbon "stuha". This party for the fourth year high school students is to get pinned with their official ribbons celebrating their upcoming maturita (graduation oral exams.)

Held in the large hall of a hotel down the valley, teachers from Caleb's high school, BMA, sat at their special table...

The ballroom was packed with parents (even though you can only see a few here, 160 people were there for the party!)...

And other students and alumni from BMA, gathered as well.

Then the special program, prepared by the class teacher and the students, began.

There were special words and gifts to each of the teachers (who walked the red carpet to receive them!)...

Then really fun dances by the fourth year students!

As well as funny skits!

Finally, it was time for the "knighting" of students with the special sword (no idea where it came from but it looks "Lord of the Ring-ish"!), the pinning of the ribbon, and the putting on of the sash that declares each student is a "maturant" - a graduating senior!

The class gathered for a photo (thanks to Claire, who was up in the balcony, for capturing all of these great photos!)

And then the two hour program was over...each student now officially in the season of studying for those huge exams that will come in May!

Seems like it wasn't that long ago that Tyler was having his pinning ceremony...and now it's already Caleb's turn three years later! Seems like the blink of an eye.

There was a huge buffet afterward of every imaginable Czech delicacy. The desserts were on another table altogether!

Caleb with some of his friends from BMA...Filip on the left is a fellow fourth year classmate. Noah and Tomas are in second year at BMA.

And finally, our dear Jirka - long time tutor for the Patty kids. He started with Caleb in 3rd grade so this year marks 11 years of doing homework, preparing for tests, getting help on papers, speaking Czech and getting help with Czech grammar! So thankful for his input and help all these years.

And so begins the heavy studying season for Caleb!

Unexpected Morning

2011-12-04T13:58:00.000+01:00

Yesterday morning I woke up at 4:15 to see Caleb off to Krakow where he was planning to take another round of SAT's.

I climbed back into my warm bed, snuggling down for some more hours of sleep while I drifted off praying for a safe trip and good tests for him.

Half an hour later, the phone beside my bed rang.

"Mom, I just filled up dad's car outside of Frydek and now it won't start - it's making weird noises."

Handing over the phone to Dave, I listened in as they talked through what the options were. Not many.

Within moments, Dave and I were up and out the door, headed to the gas station where he was stranded, the clock ticking towards the time he needed to be there.

In the end, we decided wisdom was for me to drive Caleb to Krakow in my car. Since we didn't know what was wrong with his car (though it started with a push), he was now in danger of not making it there in time, and I knew the way (he'd been there, but never driven it himself). So he and I pulled out of the gas station and hurried on our way.

We arrived at 7:45, just in time! I dropped him off and drove away with a prayer that in spite of the stress of the morning, he'd do well.

As I left from the remote location of the school that hosts the test (see here for what happened last time we were there!), I was also praying for anyone who was lost and needed help getting there like last time, that I'd see them and be able to help.

Sure enough! About five minutes later, a taxi was stopped in the middle of the road, apparently asking a man on the side for directions. I just knew it was a student bound for the SAT's!

I pulled into the oncoming lane, beside the taxi, rolled down my window and asked, "Are you looking for the SAT's?" The girl and her mom in the backseat both cried out simultaneously, "YES!!" I answered, "Follow me".

So once again, I got someone to the SAT just in the nick of time!

I had to laugh to myself as I drove off, imagining the conversation in the taxi as they followed me: "Who do you think that is? An American lady, driving a Czech plated car, in the middle of nowhere in Poland, pulling up beside and asking if we were looking for the SAT's?? She must be an angel!"

HA HA! Nope...just a mom in the right place at the right time.

Caleb said afterward that he felt good about the tests - didn't even feel tired because he'd been able to sleep the whole way there while I drove!

We relaxed with yummy holiday lattes at a McCafe before making the two and half hour drive back home.

200

2011-12-02T13:41:00.001+01:00

Last January I made a New Year's resolution. I wanted to write 200 blog posts this year.

Today is my 200th post!! I hit my goal a whole month early! A few thoughts from me to you on this day:

First, thank you for visiting my blog this year, giving me inspiration to keep writing.

It's been fun to track where all you're from...99 countries so far. I even had someone visit from Cuba last week!

With people visiting from so many different countries, I often wonder how you got to my blog. If I could wish for one thing it would be comments letting me know how you found it if you don't know me personally!

This is not the end! While I haven't set a new goal yet, I know I'll keep blogging.

The main reasons I blog regularly?

I don't want to forget all the ways God showed Himself real in our lives this year...

I don't want to forget all the ways I've seen, touched, heard, tasted and even smelled the goodness of God along the way...

And, I want to remember life as it is today, soaking in the goodness of God in every detail!!

I'll end this 200th post with a video that I wish I'd made! It captures something of why I decided to blog 200 posts this year...I don't want to miss out on life itself.

Thanks so much for coming here to read my thoughts, musings, beliefs, tips, reflections, opinions, hopes and dreams. My prayer continues to be that my blog would be a blessing and encouragement to enjoy your God-given life as it is TODAY!

Priceless

2011-12-01T12:48:00.000+01:00

On Tuesday night, Dave drove to Brno to speak for a group of Czech college students.

After meeting at the offices of the ministry organization he was there to speak for, Dave followed someone to the university location for the meeting. He parked behind the guy who led him there, on a small side street.

Held in a lecture hall at the university, the meeting room was full of students, many who were there for the first time.

Dave spoke on having a healthy relationship with your parents as an adult. It was designed to show the non-Christian students the practical nature of the Bible on a relevant topic that they're facing. Dave said he had a great time speaking, with good interaction afterward with students.

He stayed for an hour and a half after the meeting talking with them, then went out to get in the car and make the two hour drive home.

But the car was gone.

After walking up and down the block, trying to remember if this was really where he parked, a woman from the apartments facing the street put her head out the window and said, "I think your car was one of the ones that got towed".

Turns out there had been a hockey game at the university. Many cars were parked on the small side street. While there was NOT a "No Parking" sign anywhere, all the cars were parked up on the sidewalk in order to leave room on the street for other cars to go by.

But, come to find out...if you park up on a sidewalk, you need to leave at least 1.5 meters (4 feet) free on the sidewalk for people to get by. Good to know!

Someone from the apartment buildings had called the police, who came and ticketed all the cars parked up on the sidewalk. It's not a big fine for this offense.

However, for whatever reason, a little while after the police ticketed everyone, a tow truck came and towed away all the cars that were still there, including Dave's!

The cost of a tow truck coming to pick up your car is, as Dave found out, not a small one.

After paying the bill, Dave finally had his car again and drove home with a lighter wallet than what he had gone there with.

Yesterday, Dave got a letter from the organizer of the meeting with an update about conversations believers had with their non-believing friends afterward.

One young woman trusted Christ the next day!

Parking ticket - $10.64
Tow Truck - $102.15
New Believer - PRICELESS!

Free Tree: Part 2

2011-11-30T15:24:00.000+01:00

On Saturday, Dave and Caleb had to do some trimming on our "free tree" to get it in shape for bringing inside.

It started out much bigger than we thought it was when the forest guy cut it off the big tree. It needed a little help to get ready to fit in the house.

But eventually the guys did their chainsaw and trimming magic and it was ready to come inside.

There was a moment when I thought, "It's too big!"

But it turned out perfect - way to go guys! We're ready for Christmas now...a whole month early!

Claire has some more photos of the transformation of our house if you want to check them out!

Come, Follow Me

2011-11-29T14:57:00.004+01:00

This morning in our Bteam meeting, Dave led us in a study of Matthew 4:18-22 where Jesus calls his first disciples.

"Come, follow me," he says, "and I will make you fishers of men".

I was trying to imagine what that call was like for Simon Peter and his brother, Andrew, for James, and his brother John. The text goes on and says "At once they left their nets and followed him."

I ask myself, "Would I follow that quickly?"

On one hand, I have. Twenty seven years ago I heard that same call from Jesus, "Follow me". I haven't turned back on that calling since then.

And yet on the other hand...I think following Him is a daily, hourly, minute by minute calling. Am I quick to follow without any hesitation in my everyday life?

Honestly, one of the clearest examples right now of pure, obedient response to 'calling' is, strange as it may sound, by our dog.

It doesn't matter where she is...out in the field, on the other side of the house, or in another room...when I call out, "Kaylee! Come!!" She responds with bounding enthusiasm and comes immediately!

My neighbor stopped by yesterday morning to tell me Kaylee was out on our little road, which is like a really long driveway. There is no traffic except for our cars and the social services woman who brings lunch to our neighbor every day. But our neighbor was still worried and wanted to know if I was worried about Kaylee.

All I had to do was call out, "Kaylee! Come!!" And in an instant, there she was, skidding from around the side of the house, and up to my legs with pure joy at having been called. I know that she will respond that quickly nearly every single time I call out to her (it may not be 100% of the time...but it's close!).

When I think about Jesus calling out to me, "Connie! Come!", I want to be THAT fast at responding. With joy, with unfettered exuberance like Kaylee.

...happily at my Master's feet, willing to do whatever it is that he is asking.

As a side note...I was interrupted while writing this post and had to unexpectedly go down to town to pick up Claire who finished school early.

Normally Kaylee is happy to go along on a car ride, and did bound down the stairs following me as I got my coat on.

But after we walked outside, heading for the car, she suddenly stopped on the front porch. I called out for her to come, but she didn't! I called out numerous times, even walking all the way to the car to see if it helped to have me out of eyesight. Not a chance. She remained on the steps.

Who knows what was going through her head...did she know I was writing a blog post about how obedient she is! :) Ha! I ended up putting her back inside the house and going down to town without her.

Her lack of response gave me pause for thought, "Do I do that???" Do I ever hear Him calling me, but sit on the porch for whatever reason may have popped into my head, unresponsive to His calling??

Perhaps I do. I want to be more thoughtful about this in the coming days and make sure I'm the 95% Kaylee, and not the 5%!

Pecan Pie Muffins

2011-11-28T13:46:00.003+01:00

Every once in a while you happen onto a recipe that is so simple, and yet so very good. This is definitely one of those recipes!

I can pretty much guarantee...you, your family, your friends, your neighbors, anyone in the near vicinity...will be glad you gave them a try. It's like eating a little pecan pie in the perfect portion. Enjoy!

Ingredients
1 cup Packed Light Brown Sugar
½ cups All-purpose Flour (I substituted an all purpose gluten free flour - worked great)
1 cup Chopped Pecans (for my friends in Central/Eastern Europe - Pecans are at Billa & Makro)
⅔ cups Softened Butter
2 whole Eggs Beaten

Instructions
Preheat oven 350 F.

Grease your muffin pan (whatever size) or use cupcake papers.

In a medium bowl, stir together brown sugar, flour and pecans. In a separate bowl, beat the butter and eggs together until smooth. Stir into the dry ingredients just until combined. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Cups should be about 2/3 full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Cool on wire racks when done.

Makes 12.

Free Tree

2011-11-26T10:53:00.003+01:00

On the way home yesterday from Thanksgiving at Malenovice, we drove past a HUGE tree that had just been cut down and was laying alongside the road.

We drove past it exclaiming, "The top of that would make a great Christmas tree!"

We talked it about for the next few minutes as we drove home, wondering if what we'd quickly seen at a glance really would make a good Christmas tree or not, and if the forest men would even let us take it.

So we turned around and drove back to the tree, deciding we'd at least give it a try. Sure enough, they were happy to cut the top off for us.

One of the forest guys even helped Dave take it to the van.

The tree it came off was at least 50 feet high!

I don't know why, but I couldn't stop giggling about it! Getting a tree for free, from Malenovice, just tickled me.

We put it in the back of the van and followed Caleb home, hoping it would stay put.

Heading into our driveway with it still wedged in the back.

And there it is! We'll have to do a little trimming to get it to fit into our house - it might not look so big in the picture, but it really is!

We're getting ready to decorate today so we'll see how our free tree turns out.

Thanksgiving JV Style

2011-11-25T23:34:00.000+01:00

JV Thanksgiving...what a special time!

We gathered together for our 19th year of celebrating Thanksgiving as a JV family...sixty of us in all!

As always, it was a time full of blessed friendship...

...and the annual Turkey bowl! No one was hurt this year...maybe that's a first!

Jess Lindgren from Minnesota, has been an ESI (extended summer intern) with us, serving here in Czech. Thanks for giving your heart and bringing Jesus to students these past six months Jess!

Claire, Jillian Carlson and Hayley Ellenwood...precious JV Kids!

And the younger generation of JV Kids, working on their thanksgiving leaves, writing down things they are thankful for with the help of moms and dads! Thanks to Lauren for preparing that for the kids!

And of course a JV Thanksgiving is not complete without a stunning array of good food!

Each year the hotel provides the turkey and mashed potatoes, then we all fill in the rest. It's a pretty spectacular selection we get to indulge in!

What a wonderful time to share with dear friends!

JV Thanksgivings are also not complete without our annual JVK talent show! Aleisha Stephens and her daughter, Cece, taught a fun dance!

And the boys got to reconnect with some of their Dizmas friends who just finished up the Exit Tour a few days ago.

So thankful for our JV family, and the sweet fellowship we share at times like these!

1985

2011-11-23T10:05:00.000+01:00

When I wrote about Freedom and Democracy Day last week, it prompted me to ask my brother a question, which led to this longer post today.

I wanted to know if he still had photos from his trip to Czechoslovakia back in 1985, before Communism fell, and I wanted to hear more about that trip.

I was living in southern Spain that year, teaching school for some missionary families. Mike came to visit me, then went on a month long trip throughout Europe using a Eurail pass.

One of the places highest on his list for that trip was Czechoslovakia. In a recent email telling me some more details from that trip, he wrote:

"I wanted to go to Czechoslovakia because our relatives came from Bohemia and it just seemed so magical to think of Prague."

So off he went, into a country where he didn't speak the language, nor did many speak English back then! He wrote:

"My most vivid early memory is of the old woman on the train going from car to car selling drinks and snacks. I can't remember buying any snacks but I did buy a Budvar or two! I don't remember changing any money at the border, but I do remember going across the border and sitting there while the guards came through the train.

"It's difficult for us to remember now just how tense the Cold War was, but once you crossed the border it felt like you lost any of the rights that we enjoy in the Western world. It really felt like no-mans land."

"I met a man on the train ride and started talking to him sometime around Plzen. He didn't speak English, but somehow we communicated...amazing how beer brought us together! By the time we got into Prague the Cedok office (official tourist bureau) was closed so my friend took me to the Zlata Husa. It was probably the only hotel he knew of.

"The first night they put me up in a large room, really had an old world charm to it.

"I got back to my room that night and they told me my room had been moved. The room they put me in was a very small one, right next to the boiler room. All of my possessions in my suitcase had been gone through, but my Bible was still there!"

This is not the Zlata Husa hotel (which is still on Václavské náměstí in Prague!), but it's a church in Prague where Starbucks, McDonalds, Subway and the American Embassy are all just a few minutes away today! Who would've ever thought of that being possible all those years ago when Mike took this picture?

"I stayed in Prague for a couple of days and mostly just walked the city. I was there in late January or early February 1985 so of course it was cold. But what I really remember and often contrast with my later visits was the amount of people out and about.

"I recall being the only person on the Charles Bridge one morning, except for a few older women in their babushka's (head scarves...what my great grandma, who was from Czechoslovakia, called it). Every time I've visited later there were hoards of tourists on the bridge at any time, day or night! But everything seemed so grey and lifeless back then. However, to be fair, it was in the middle of a cold winter."

His first night in Prague was certainly memorable as well:

"After getting situated at my hotel for the night I was very hungry because I had not eaten all day and it was like 10 PM. At the front desk I inquired about a restaurant and was told there was a discotheque a few doors down. Hmmmm, not really what I had in mind, but it was the only suggestion, so I set out.

"I walked into a mostly empty large upstairs room and it took a while to catch the glimpse of someone working there. This was not American service! When I finally talked to someone we couldn't communicate, of course. I was asking for something to eat and for some reason the waiter said "orange". I thought OK, at least I'll eat an orange for dinner. But he brought me some weak orange drink instead! Needless to say I went to bed hungry that night."

" I figured out the tram system and took it to my train friends apartment the next day and his wife made a wonderful lunch for me. I think I was the first American they had ever met. I gave the little girl a dollar bill and they all exclaimed "George Washington" as they examined it. We took a tour of the Castle and then went to his favorite pub (Mike and the man's little girl in the picture above, taken up by the Prague Castle).

"Later in the evening I took off from the hotel and walked along Václavské náměstí and found this stand up food cafeteria. I pointed at what I wanted to order and paid for it. Now my eating problem was solved for the next few days. Every time I was hungry I would visit the stand up cafeteria with the stainless steel tables!"

"I remember leaving after a few days thinking, 'I will be back'. I did make it back, probably 5 or 6 times over the years. Much of the old town is the same, but somehow more like a Disney version of a romantic Central European Capitol than the gritty working city that I saw in 1985.

"Buildings now get cleaned more regularly and since they don't burn coal as much, the black soot is mostly gone. On a few occasions that I've visited, the city seems overrun with tourists, which is a good thing, mostly.

"Somehow Prague still has a magical appeal to it and I'm drawn there on most every trip I take to Europe. I know I'll keep coming back...even though I know my way up to the castle pretty well by now!"

Thanks Mike, for sharing about that first trip here! It was 8 years later that I visited Czech for the first time, and then just nine months later, moved here.

Who would've ever imagined that when Mike first came to visit? Or when we were little people growing up in Coburg, Oregon?!

When I Got Home...

2011-11-22T16:46:00.000+01:00

I had another blog post in mind today, but when I got home and saw this, I knew it'd be on the blog instead!

This is just part of what greeted me upstairs when I got home...

"Who...me??", innocent Kaylee seems to be saying.

It was strewn much farther than my camera lens shows!

She rushed up the stairs ahead of me when I got home, almost as if to proudly say, "Look at what I did Mom!"

"What? You're not happy about that???"

"Uhhh...sorry about that Mom! I didn't know I wasn't supposed to get into the bag of toilet paper." Ha! Famous last words!

When Dave Goes Speaking

2011-11-21T17:48:00.001+01:00

Dave was in Pisek, a city here in Czech, teaching through the book of Colossians this week-end.

Teaching from the Bible is one of Dave's most favorite things to do in the world!

He is often asked to teach throughout the region, and comes home with awesome stories about God working in peoples lives. I'm always excited for him to get home, of course to see him! But also to hear his stories.

But the other reason we get excited to see him is for the precious gifts that come home with him.

Through the years as he has taught across Central and Eastern Europe, people have blessed him, and us, with really special gifts after he has served in those places.

It just delights us to see what Dave comes home with, time after time!

Everything you see in the pictures (thanks for taking them Claire!) came from the people of Pisek this week-end! Their generosity was overwhelming! If any of you are reading this...THANK YOU!! You blessed us so much!

They gave such thoughtful gifts! Fresh nuts, homemade preserves, tea, chocolate, Christmas decorations, a chocolate advent calendar, other goodies...and the best sausage that we have ever tasted (we know because he's been blessed with it before! What you see in the picture won't last for long!). This was far more than usual, I must say...but greatly appreciated!

I love this tradition here in Czech, and across the region! The thoughtfulness that goes into these gifts blesses us so much.

And we've discovered so many tasty things through the years, things that have now become a part of our daily lives because someone was thoughtful enough to give it as a gift one time when Dave was speaking!

There are a lot of things that I love about living here. But the kindness and generosity of people here is definitely one of them that touches me the most!

Gifts

2011-11-19T16:02:00.000+01:00

The doorbell rang for the fourth time today...and this time I had the desired item my neighbor was looking for.

After giving the needlepoint to Pani Muchova a few days ago, I promised our neighbor I would give her photos of our visit, as well as of the needlepoint itself as she said she wanted to remember what it looked like.

Thankfully there is a drugstore in town that prints photos immediately, so this morning I hurried there to take care of the task...after she'd already been over three times asking if I had them!

I'm thankful Claire grabbed the camera to snap these precious moments with my neighbor, enjoying the photos of her work. Her hands were shaking as she looked at the needlepoint up close in the photo - you couldn't miss seeing her amazing gift for handwork.

When I told her that God had given her this gift, she replied selflessly, as usual, "Well, you have a gift too." When I asked her what it was she replied, "Raising children"!

That made my day. And I hope the photos made hers!

Freedom and Democracy Day

2011-11-18T23:19:00.067+01:00

Yesterday marked an anniversary here.

November 17, 1989 - the beginning of what became known as the "Velvet Revolution" here in Czech...the downfall of Communism.

Crowds began to gather in Wenceslas Square on that November day in a student led demonstration, calling for the resignation of the country's communist government. On November 28th, the government toppled, opening the way for a new era of freedom.

I happened to be in Prague yesterday, on this anniversary, standing on the same street where the demonstrations took place 22 years ago. It's hard to imagine that in this very spot stood thousands of people, putting themselves in harm's way in hopes of a better, freer future.

Their courage opened the way for us to come to the Czech Republic just four years later in 1993...with hopes for a better future for them too!

But as "Freedom and Democracy Day" is celebrated, it is a different sort to freedom that I hope for - a freedom that comes through Jesus Christ, which leads to true hope and a better future. This is my hope and prayer for this country that we now call "home".

Claire's Corner

2011-11-16T22:09:00.000+01:00

Claire's blog is more creative than anything I could come up with today!

Click over to Claire's Corner to read what she posted today!

Mystery of Pani Muchova

2011-11-15T15:39:00.002+01:00

Heading into the apartment building, and up to the 7th floor in an elevator this afternoon, Dave and I wondered what was ahead of us.

Today was the day we said we'd go visit Pani Muchova, the subject of much discussion with our neighbor over the past month.

A few days ago we finally heard a bit more of the story behind this woman from our neighbor, but still didn't understand the errand she was sending us on: to deliver her needlepoint gift.

The things she told us were: Pani (Mrs.) Muchova is 93 years old, lives with her niece in Frydlant, is a believer, and at some point in our neighbor's life, has prayed for her and her brother. This gift was to thank her for those prayers.

When we arrived at the door, Pani Muchova's niece greeted us there. As we explained who we were and why we had come, she recognized who we were talking about (our neighbor), but wondered why she had made this gift for her aunt. We smiled, and told her we didn't exactly know, but that she asked us to deliver it and so here we are to do that! She warmly welcomed us in (what a dear lady she was), and took us in to meet her aunt.

Pani Muchova, who turned out to be a very sweet woman, was in the middle of her afternoon snack when we walked into the kitchen. She apologized for not getting up, and then wanted to know who we were. Dave got down on his knees to talk to her as she said she couldn't hear well, and began to explain the errand we were on, as well as who we were and what we do here.

Sadly, she didn't remember our neighbor, nor anything about a time that she might have prayed for them. But she had such a sweet look on her face as she told us to thank Danka for the gift.

We asked if we could take some pictures, and then if we could pray for her. When Dave asked if she had any specific requests she said, "I used to have such a good memory, but now I can't remember things and it disturbs me and makes me sad. You can pray that I would remember."

So Dave did, as well as prayed a blessing over her for having lived a faithful life.

While we still don't know much of her story (her niece did tell us that she started going to a Lutheran church in 1986, before Communism fell, when she was nearly 70 years old), we know that she once blessed someone with her prayers, and that someone (our neighbor) never forgot her.

It wasn't the end to this story that we expected. I thought we'd understand why we'd been sent there by our neighbor, or get more of the story filled in by Pani Muchova.

But I know that sometimes God just asks us to be obedient and faithful without understanding. When we all get to heaven someday, maybe it will make sense then!

If nothing else, I hope Pani Muchova was blessed by our neighbor's gift of love today.

Best Gift Ever

2011-11-14T14:11:00.001+01:00

Last night a driver from the Ostrava airport showed up at our house with a much anticipated box.

My dad told me a month ago that he'd been working on a birthday gift to Dave and I for our 50th birthdays - I couldn't imagine at the time what it was! He finished it in time to mail (it weighed 20 pounds!) to Dave in California last week so he could bring it back home with him.

Unfortunately, somewhere between Los Angeles and Frankfurt, the box was misplaced by the airline. I was just sick when Dave told me he got to Prague and the box wasn't there. Though I didn't know specifically what was in the box, I knew it was going to be a treasure since my dad had lovingly handmade it...so I did some praying over that box for the next two days! Praise the Lord, they located it and that's the box that was delivered safely to our door last night.

At the top of the box were three letters written by my dad - one each for Dave and I, and another one written to the two of us. You can't imagine how precious those letters are!! They were words of blessing from my dad that I will honestly hold in my heart for the rest of my life.

After reading those precious letters, it was on to finding out what this special gift was!

It's an intricately crafted wooden treasure/jewelry/precious things box made completely by hand by my dad!

There were a few surprises...like a special note from my dad on the back of the drawer!

And a picture of my dad with the box at their house in Oregon (beside the matching lamp that I have here at our house!).

This gorgeous little chest is one that I will treasure forever! My dad told me on the phone last night that the special piece of wood he made it from was 20 years old! It's been through several moves, just waiting for the right project to use it for. I'm SO glad he thought we were worthy of its use!

Thank you DAD!!!! I love it...and even more, I love you!!

What Makes You Happy?

2011-11-12T19:18:00.000+01:00

I was out Christmas shopping with a friend today...that makes me happy!

But another thing that makes me happy is a random act of kindness...like this:

A handwritten note in English, by a Polish girl at a coffee shop in a mall! That makes me happy!

11-11-11 at 11:11

2011-11-11T23:11:00.052+01:00

How could I resist posting that as the title today?! And where was I on 11-11-11?

At one of the balls that we have come to know and love over these past few years!

It was Caleb's final ball after taking dance lessons again.

I'm glad we actually had a special event that fell on this "once in a lifetime" date!

Caleb's dance partner was Kristy, a girl from Claire's class at BMA.

Claire with Kristy, Hayley and Eva - BMA friends!

What a privilege to have my son lead me on the dance floor!

Amy was there too - fun to share this experience together again!

I love all the traditions of the ball - the guys lined up to give their dance partners a gift.

Dance competition - Caleb and Kristi were #11 tonight!

They did a great job!

An extra special gift of the evening - seeing our friend Katka, home from Scotland where she attends college!

Pavla and Katka are the sisters that we've known ever since we moved here 18 years ago. Katka, on the right, graduated from BMA, and Pavla, on the left, is in Caleb's class who graduates this year.

From every angle...a very special day and evening!

Eighteen and a Goodbye

2011-11-10T14:20:00.000+01:00

Yesterday was the anniversary of our eighteenth year here in the Czech Republic!

I didn't remember until I was sitting in Dan and Laura Hash's living room last night, in the midst of a good-bye to some of our JV teammates (more on that in a sec).

All of a sudden I realized it was November 9th - the day we drove into the Czech Republic in 1993, to begin Josiah Venture.

Dan and Laura were with us that night in '93 - we'd driven together from Germany that day, leaving behind our previous life and ministry to embark together on the calling God had given to us. They drove into Poland the next day - thus JV began in the first two countries!

Eighteen years and twelve JV countries later, we "happened" to be together on our anniversary!

The occasion was a goodbye to dear teammates, Jay and Cameron Hughes.

Jay and Cameron came in the same way we did all those years ago...as pioneers, to open up a new country for JV.

Six and a half years ago they began a JV ministry in the Ukraine, and have served faithfully there with much fruit for the Kingdom. As God called them here, He is now calling them elsewhere. They left for Alabama today, where Jay will begin a new work as youth pastor in a church there.

It was a joyful celebration of their ministry and lives last night, as a number of us gathered to honor them and rejoice in what God has done in the Ukraine through them.

We will miss the Hughes' tremendously, but bless them as they go, knowing that God will continue to use them in the next place, as he has in the Ukraine! And...the ministry there will continue with our other two JV families who are faithfully serving there, the Williams' and Chmiels'.

As a side note...the team there in Ukraine is expanding. Ben and Kristy Williams had a baby boy just yesterday, and Chmiel's are expecting their second child in just a few weeks!

Neighbor Thoughts

2011-11-09T11:11:00.000+01:00

About three weeks ago our neighbor started come over daily - the one I've written about before here and here.

Each time it was to say something about a woman she called "Pani [Mrs.] Muchova". I didn't fully understand what the context was, or why she was telling me about her, so just smiled and nodded as she talked.

When Dave got home from the States a week later, she came to talk with him about Pani Muchova too. And even he didn't quite understand who she was, or why our neighbor was telling us about her. All she kept saying to both of us was, "You know her...she knows you".

But neither of us know who she is talking about!

Last week she came over every day while Dave and Caleb were away...and most times wanted to tell me about something that she is making for Pani Muchova. Each time she asked if I thought she would like it, to which I replied, "I'm sure she will"...but thinking to myself, "I really don't know what to say since I don't even know this person!"

On Monday this week, she showed up at our door again with this in her hands:

I don't know how well you can see it, but it's a beautifully hand-crafted needlepoint.

She was giddy like a little girl, showing it to me. She repeatedly asked me if I thought it was ugly (all the while wanting me to tell her it was beautiful!), and if I thought it was okay to give to Pani Muchova. I assured her it was beautiful and that I thought Pani Muchova would appreciate it (though I honestly have no idea if she is religious and would enjoy a needlepoint of Mary and Jesus as a child).

As soon as I had given her my thoughts, she folded it up and put it into my hands saying, "Good...then you can take it to her!".

*GULP* I was literally speechless!

"Ummm...you want me to give it to Pani Muchova?? I...I...uh...think I will have to wait...until Dave gets home...is that okay?"

She assured me it was...and then walked away, smiling to herself.

So this mystery is not solved! I still have no idea who Pani Muchova is, where she lives, or how we will deliver this needlepoint to her!

Hopefully there will be an update to this story as soon as Dave gets home and we figure out who this mystery woman is.

Global Mission

2011-11-08T16:59:00.000+01:00

Dave called at 11:30 last night to check in...glad I was still up talking with Caleb!

He's at Master's College in California right now, speaking for their mission's conference. Yesterday morning he spoke on Matthew 28 and the Great Commission. It's a familiar passage - one that's probably been preached on at many mission's conferences!

But he took it a step further by challenging the student body...on the very first day of mission's conference! His question to them was: Will you decide to personally engage in God's global mission?

He then gave them practical ideas of how to do that right now, while they're still in college. He told them they can:

decide to give, even on a college student's budget
pray every morning during their quiet time for a missionary or place in the world
go on a short term trip in the summer
commit right now to the long haul of missions, even if they don't know where God will send them.

When he asked for them to stand if they were making some sort of commitment to God's global mission, over half of the students, at least 400, stood!

Throughout the rest of the day, the mission's booths were flooded with students. Mission reps said that students were coming to them saying, "I've decided to engage in God's global mission - what should I do next?" They said it's a totally different atmosphere than it was at last year's conference.

The difference? They said it was because the speaker gave a challenge! Way to go Dave!

There will very likely be people on the mission field for the long haul because of yesterday...that's awesome!

One side note. As Dave was standing at the Josiah Venture booth, an older couple walked by. They glanced at him as they passed, and then came back over to him just moments later. Their first words: "We've known you since you were a baby!"

The Grays, missionaries with New Tribe Missions, were in the Philippines when Dave's parents were there back in the 1960's. They were married there just three months after Dave's parents (in fact, they said they used the same ceremony as Dick and Margaret had, just changed the names!), and then spent years working among the tribes in the Philippines. Dave's mom and dad who were working with American GI's, would take their guys up into the jungle to visit this couple to see what they were doing!

And now, here they are in their 80's at Master's College mission's conference! Very cool small world - and very cool missionaries!

Dave has one more session tomorrow morning with the student body - I'm praying it will seal into their hearts the decisions that they've been led to make this week, and that they'll act on those decisions for the sake of God's Kingdom!

My Boy's Back

2011-11-07T22:52:00.000+01:00

I don't know if you can read anything on the sign in the picture below...

It's saying that every train coming into the Ostrava Svinov train station is late...which was a bummer since Caleb was on one of those trains!

He flew back from the States yesterday (arriving in Prague this afternoon), after a whirlwind trip with Dave, checking out colleges last week. They had a great time together and he's fairly certain which school he'd like to go to now...more on that in another post though!

Thankfully his train was only 30 minutes late (there was one on the board when I got there that was already 3 hours late...glad he wasn't on that one!). It was good to see him walk through the doors, safe and sound back in Czech. At least for now!

It won't be long before it's time for him to head off to college like Tyler did two years ago. This is one of those times when it just doesn't seem possible that my boys are all grown up!

Chinese in Poland

2011-11-05T23:15:00.002+01:00

Claire and I headed over to a mall in Poland this evening to celebrate the birthday of Kelsey, one of our JV kids who lives there.

As we came into the food court, we were surprised by a new option...take-out Chinese! For most of you that might be an every day, run of the mill, not so spectacular find.

But for us, it was noteworthy!

This little fast food Chinese place in a Polish mall, had some really tasty Chinese food. You even got to select your own amazing, fresh ingredients to go into your dish!

And, it came in this cute little take-out carton!

Oh, and there were chopsticks available for the adventurous. I'm impressed!

After fully relishing in the goodness of surprise take-out Chinese, we met up with Kelsey and friends at Coffee Heaven...okay, now we're really living it up! It's a new coffee place that's come into this mall - something similar to SB. Happy times!

Lauree, Emily and Hayley came over from Czech and picked up Kelsey and Jillian, who live in Poland, to meet up for this little birthday gathering...so fun!

After some yummy coffee and a little shopping, it was a happy group who posed at the fountain for me!

Happy Birthday to Kelsey...and thank you Lord for good surprises!

Girl Week

2011-11-03T21:54:00.000+01:00

With Dave and Caleb gone to the States, it's a girl week around our house. And that means some girl food!

Not to say guys don't or can't eat what we've been cooking! It's just not the regular fare we have around our house when they're here.

Last night I made risotto...the real deal! I made it with arborio, an Italian short grain rice, and stood at the stove cooking it "hands on" for the 17 minutes it took to completion...that's my kind of a meal!

Seriously, this was a taste of heaven in a bowl!

The recipe came from one of my new favorite cookbooks - everything I've made from here has been "benissimo"!

If you don't want to run out and buy the cookbook, but want the recipe, let me know!

One Hundred and Ten

2011-11-02T20:36:00.001+01:00

The Exit Tour finished up last week in Nitra, Slovakia.

But not before ONE HUNDRED AND TEN young people responded to the Gospel! This is unprecedented!

Please...take a moment to pray for these new believers: that they will stand firm in their decision, that they will be folded into a local church where they can be nurtured in their young faith, and that this will result in transformed lives to the glory of God!

The Exit tour is in Presov, another Slovak city, this week - pray for an outpouring of God's blessing there too!

Exceptionally Beautiful

2011-11-01T18:02:00.002+01:00

We are in the midst of a beautiful fall! I couldn't resist taking the camera out today to capture its beauty. Enjoy a little window into my world!

Giving of Life

2011-10-31T09:13:00.003+01:00

Every once in a while an opportunity comes along that is just really cool. This is one of them!

God gave three guys a passion and a vision for something they call "Giving of Life" - helping out people and ministry organizations who are "giving life" to others.

He also entrusted them with resources to pass on to those people. These guys want to hear how others are giving life and help them give more with no strings attached or hoops to jump through.

Josiah Venture is one of the organizations that are a part of their vision, and YOU have an opportunity to make a difference for us as we seek to give life to young people across Central and Eastern Europe.

If you click here, we have an opportunity to receive up at $50,000 from these guys!
http://givingoflife.com/browse/josiah_venture/

You can click it once, and it will register a vote for JV. If you sign in to their website, you can get an additional two votes. And if you have a Facebook or Twitter account, you can sign into those accounts and get one more vote. Cool huh?!

It doesn't take long...it's something you can do in a minute...and it might make a difference for eternity.

If you want to read more about this project, you can find their info and their hearts here.

Voting ends November 4th so if you're going to vote, do it now!

**Update on November 7, 2011 - Josiah Venture is in the Top 20! We'll find out in mid-December if we received anything. Thanks for voting!

Heading to the States

2011-10-30T22:54:00.000+01:00

Caleb and Dave are off to the States today.

It doesn't seem like too long ago that this was what they looked like!

Ah, but life moves on. Now he and his dad are off to check out colleges.

Caleb graduates from Czech high school this coming spring and plans to be somewhere in the States for college next fall.

We're praying for God's specific leading on this trip as he visits schools in Colorado, Michigan and Illinois.

It's an exciting time of life for Caleb!

Baby Shower Today

2011-10-28T23:14:00.001+02:00

One of our dear JV ladies here in Czech, Emily Hughes, is pregnant with her first child.

Using her amazing gifts and talents for hosting, Kim Johnson, another one of our JV ladies, had a baby shower for her today

What a gift she gave to all of us as we celebrated this new little life that's coming soon! Doesn't this look like something out a magazine? What a treat it all was!

After that very yummy food, it was oh so fun to be together with girlfriends, laughing and enjoying the time with each other.

Really, who doesn't love a baby shower?

Especially when there are fun gifts! Audrey, another one of our JV ladies, made baby bibs from past JV English camp t-shirts - what a brilliant idea! They were perfect as her husband, Nate, has been running the English camp team here in Czech for a number of years! He'll feel right at home putting those bibs on his boy!

Emily is due January 5th, so it won't be long before there will be a little guy in her arms to wear those bibs!

Back in the Saddle

2011-10-27T18:03:00.000+02:00

A week of no posting on my blog??!! Almost unheard of!

But I'm back in the saddle again...and couldn't resist posting this cute picture (complete with saddles...ha ha!) from Dave and Claire's dad-daughter date last week-end when they went horseback riding in the mountains.

It was such a beautiful fall day to go riding in the mountains - one of their favorite things to do together.

Dave and I were in Prague for two days before that - great time of catching up after he'd been gone for nearly a month.

But now he's leaving again! This time with Caleb as they do a college-search trip together. They leave on Sunday night (fly early Monday morning) to head for Colorado, Michigan and Illinois. I'm praying that God leads Caleb to just the right college He's already prepared for him!

While Caleb will be gone just a week, Dave will be gone two weeks altogether as he heads to speak at the mission's conference at Master's College in California after his time with Caleb.

So we're all in the saddle these days...riding along on the journey God has for us. It's definitely not boring!

The Scoop

2011-10-20T11:57:00.000+02:00

Caleb got back safely from Rome on Monday.

Dave got back safely from the States yesterday.

After three months away, Caleb got his repaired computer back - one of those months it was lost in a UPS office in Oregon!

Dave and I are off to Prague today: 1. to get some time together after being apart nearly a month, and 2. so he can be in some meetings tomorrow morning!

I'll be offline for a couple of days

If you want to read some fun updates from Claire, click here - she's always got fun posts on her blog!

Our "Almost" Daughter

2011-10-18T15:55:00.000+02:00

When Tyler first told me her name, I had one of those strange mom moments that is unexplainable.

In the space of the time he said "Lara", to the next moment's thought, it occurred to me: "This could be his wife".

I know, crazy! And I didn't know for sure...but I had a hunch. And that mom intuition turned out to be right! She's the one I've been praying for all these years for Tyler!

Tyler and Lara will be married on June 8, 2012 in Chattanooga, TN. We are SO excited about them joining their lives together!! See their wedding blog for more details about them and their wedding.

Before we went to the States this past summer, I had another thought - to ask Lara if she could come to meet us in Oregon. Again, I didn't know for sure but I had a hunch that if we didn't meet her then, Tyler could propose in the fall before we'd even had the chance to meet her (which turned out to be true as well...he proposed on September 18th!).

It was a very brave girl who got a plane in Tennessee to fly across the States to meet people she didn't know...all without Tyler by her side (he was already in Czech for his JV internship).

But she came! And honestly, from the moment she stepped into our arms at the airport, she stepped into our hearts. I had the sense that evening as we left the Portland airport that my other daughter was "home". Kind of a crazy thought since none of us were really home! We were staying with dear friends there who hosted us through our days with Lara.

It was a whirlwind three days, where she bravely came into our world with her whole heart. She graciously met lots of family and friends, went to the Oregon coast with us, and did all sorts of other things along the way.

And along that way...we all came to see why Tyler had fallen in love with her! She's perfect for him, and we adore her!

They are coming to spend three weeks with us at Christmas. I'm so happy to think of having my son and "almost" daughter here for those days to get to know them as a couple, and to enjoy more time being together with our newest family member!

We love you Lara! (And Tyler too!)

Sleep Help

2011-10-17T12:04:00.002+02:00

I had a friend over this morning who has not slept through the night in one and a half years.

That's because she has a daughter who is one and a half. And she also has not slept through the night since she was born a year and a half ago.

I'm sure there are a myriad of reasons for this, but today I thought to tell her about white noise makers. It's something that we got for Claire years ago because she was a very light sleeper.

It's made a huge difference for her to sleep with some white noise in the background, whether it was a fan or the actual little device we eventually bought for her.

I thought everyone knew about the benefits of white noise...and maybe you do too! But just in case you don't, it can be a huge blessing to those who struggle with sleep. I am praying it helps my friend's little girl so they can both get some much needed sleep.

**Claire's noisemaker beside her bed...been there for at least seven years now!

Our Tree

2011-10-16T23:20:00.002+02:00

Who knows how or when we found it.

But it's one of those things that has become a tradition for Claire and I.

Every year we drive up into the mountains to see a tree. Yes..."a" tree. But it's not just any tree! It's a tree that turns the prettiest shades of color each fall.

We have lots of gold, brown and orange around us in Frydlant...but not a lot of red.

This tree is unique in that it has branches with all the colors! I have no idea if it's a tree that was grafted or planted specifically by someone, or if God just made it that way. But it's so unusual that we go see it every year just to marvel at its beauty.

Claire and I were alone this week-end (Dave is still in the States, Caleb is in Rome) so it was the perfect way to spend part of a Sunday afternoon together, visiting our tree!

**Thanks to Claire for the photos of the tree.

First Fusion

2011-10-14T15:04:00.000+02:00

I wish I'd taken photos on the way to Fusion last night! It was so fun to watch groups of kids walking through Frydlant, heading towards the place where our church meets. I knew that they were all going because of the Fusion concert yesterday!

When we left the concert in the afternoon, I prayed that students would be drawn by the Lord to the first Fusion practice later that day.

Generally they say getting 10% of students who were at a preview concert is considered a good showing.

But, I prayed for 60 students, about 20% of those who were at the concert. Can't hurt to ask for that!

After dropping off Claire, I again prayed, all the way home, asking the Lord to send those students. I could hardly wait to go pick her up afterward to find out how many were there.

As I drove up two hours later, I saw our friend Petr, with his three little children, coming out of the building. He and his wife, Lauren, are on the team for our Frydlant Fusion. Seeing him with their three children reminded me of all our years of leading youth group when our children were small!

I rolled my window down and asked, "How many??" Petr's face lit up as he said, "59"!!

There were FIFTY NINE new students who came to the Fusion practice! There were 79 there altogether, which included some of the Havirov team, as well as the new Frydlant team.

I don't know where the 60th student was that I prayed for! :) But maybe he or she will show up next Thursday night for Fusion practice!

**Thanks for the photo Claire!

Fusion in Frydlant!

2011-10-13T15:49:00.000+02:00

This summer I wrote about Fusion camp here, a unique, exciting and fruitful ministry of music, drama and dance within JV.

After much prayer and preparation, today was a significant day here in Frydlant.

It was the beginning of the Fusion ministry here!

Over 300 junior high and high school students from Frydlant and neighboring towns came to a preview concert to hear what Fusion is all about. Thanks to the Fusion choir from Havirov, a city nearby, they put on a concert, along with the team here in Frydlant. This team will be starting Fusion TONIGHT!

Bogdan, the Fusion leader, and Maya, one of the student leaders (and a classmate of Claire's at BMA) invited the students to come at 5 PM to experience a Fusion practice, and see if they'd be interested in joining.

As all the students came for the concert this morning, I was praying that God would lead many of them to salvation through Christ. That is the point of the Fusion ministry!

Terry English, the creator, heart, soul and brains behind this ministry, was here to watch today. THANKS TERRY for all you and Hanka have done to start this amazingly fruitful ministry here in the Czech Republic!!

As students left the concert, Claire and others handed out flyers about tonight's Fusion in Frydlant.

I hope you'll join me in praying that some of those students you see here will come tonight...and that their lives will be changed forever!

Bus Ride to...

2011-10-12T20:34:00.001+02:00

I took Caleb to the train station in Ostrava this afternoon.

He rode 2 hours to Brno with his BMA classmates, then they got on a bus.

That bus ride will last 21 hours.

But then they'll be in Rome!

For three days. Then it's another 21 hour ride back. But all worth it!!

AHHH ROME!! It's been almost five years since I've been there and took these pictures.

I know Caleb and his classmates will love being there for their senior class trip!

Flying Apron

2011-10-11T23:34:00.000+02:00

In my never-ending quest for recipes that are good for our family's gluten free needs, I stumbled upon a cookbook last year that has been a great one.

It might look like it's all about dessert - and I gotta say, there are some good ones in there! But it also includes lots of other yummy things, like the lentil soup I put in the crock-pot today - totally different than other lentil soups I've made.

Back in July, Claire and I were in Seattle with Dave, waiting in the office of a church where he was in a meeting. On a whim, I asked the secretary if she could look up the Flying Apron Cafe to see where it was. I knew it was somewhere in Seattle, though it could've been anywhere given how big the greater Seattle area is.

As it turned out, we were right down the street from it! :) Claire and I drove just five minutes and were in the Fremont district of Seattle.

For Claire especially, it was a treat to go to a bakery where she could get absolutely anything! She loved what they had written on their sign behind the counter too:

"Obviously it's not about what you CAN'T eat." That's now one of our favorite sayings!

That day Claire got to have the very cupcake that is featured on the cookbook we have - a chocolate delicacy with peanut butter frosting...all "legal" for her!

This is the cookbook I made her pumpkin pie from, and the apple pie from her birthday last year. It's a good one if you are looking for something different in the gluten free, lactose free arena of cooking.

Morning Latte, Morning Prayer

2011-10-10T23:47:00.002+02:00

When Tyler left for college two years ago, I prayed about finding a way to be intentional and daily with my prayers for him.

Since he and I like our coffee, I decided to make my morning lattes a reminder to pray for him. Give or take an hour or so, I'm usually praying for him here at our house at 11 AM (4 AM Chicago time!) as I go through the latte making process. It's such a fun connection to him, and is a pretty sure guarantee that he'll get prayed for every day since I'm not likely to miss my latte!

As a side note...one of my all time favorite lattes is with pumpkin spice syrup, especially in the fall.

But last week I ran out of the last drips of syrup that had come from the States. While I have some other flavors around, I decided to make my own from a recipe by the girl at Elm Street Life (a very fun blog I like to read).

It turned out AMAZING!! Now I'm hooked on my own, homemade syrup!

Pumpkin Spice Syrup

2 cups water

2 cups sugar

2 TB cinnamon

1 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground nutmeg

Bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Add sugar until it dissolves, then turn heat down so it simmers. Next, add all spices and stir or whisk them into the sugary water mixture. Let this simmer for 5 minutes, then take off the heat and let cool. Once cool, strain the mixture through a cheesecloth (we used a nut bag, you could also just use a thin, cotton kitchen towel), then pour into a container, and keep in the frig.

I use 1 TB of syrup for my lattes - it's close to perfection!

Celebrating my Girl

2011-10-08T23:24:00.000+02:00

My sweet Claire turned 17 today!

I am so delighted by this joyful, caring, helpful, loving young woman who is truly a ray of sunshine in our lives every day.

We had such a great day celebrating her. Bless you Hayley and Ashley for joining us...and thanks Ash for the treat at Coffee Heaven!

In honor of Claire's love for baking, I celebrated her by baking a gluten free, lactose free pumpkin pie!

It was a wonderful day honoring, loving and celebrating our Claire.

And ended with a rousing game on the Wii between the brothers and sisters! :)

Time for a Ball

2011-10-07T11:53:00.000+02:00

For the past two years in October, we've gone to a special event here in Frydlant.

Claire had one last year and Caleb had it the year before.

It's the ball for high school students who are taking dance class here in Frydlant.

There were a record number of students at this year's class here in Frydlant. The dance floor was full!

It's such a fun event, being with friends like JV missionaries, Rob and Audrey Chestnut...

...and our dear Ashley Ross, the JV Kid care person...but mostly, a friend to all of us!

I loved seeing kids we've known for years...

...sharing smiles and laughs with my son...

...and seeing Caleb and Claire together...with Ash in the background! :)

Who doesn't love an event like this?! This happens across the Czech Republic, where high schoolers take dance lessons for ten weeks and have two balls where they get to show what they've learned to parents and friends.

Tonight was the "halfway" ball.

The next one will be in November.

I'm already looking forward to that one!

...because it's still one of my favorite cultural events here in Czech!

Cabin and Lodge Project

2011-10-06T22:51:00.004+02:00

It's been a while since I have written about progress on the cabins and lodge that are being built. They are part of our ongoing expansion at Malenovice, our JV hotel/ministry training center.

While it might look like the size of a normal house, this is actually a lodge that will have space for 60-80 in the meeting room down below, and space for 30 to sleep upstairs.

You can see the two completed cabins to the right, and the lodge to the left, as well as the foundation that's been poured for the third cabin. We are praying for finances to build this third one as we don't do anything that puts us in debt.

This is the meeting room downstairs in the lodge....what a great room it will be!

And this is upstairs where it will be divided into four rooms with beds for thirty people!

The old house on the left is the original house on the property - when the cabins and lodge are finished, we'll figure out what we're going to do with it!

This is taken from the soccer field, looking towards the cabins and lodge...such a beautiful spot!

Thanks to Caleb for the good pictures today!

And thank you Lord for the resources you continue to provide to expand your work here!

For Two Dads

2011-10-05T17:47:00.001+02:00

Do you ever have a project that somehow just takes a long time to finish, even though it's in front of you every day?

This is the story of one of those projects around our house...and a message to two dads (mine who lives in Oregon, and Caleb's who is away in the States right now!) to say that it's finally finished!

Five years ago, in May 2006, my dad came out to stay with us for a month. While he was here he noticed something missing at our house.

Through a really cool story (too long to tell...sorry!), while he was here he got word of some money that he had invested 40 years before, that was finally paying off. With much love for us, he offered to use part of it to buy something that would meet that need.

A garden storage house for our yard! After looking at various stores in the area, we found just the right one to fit our needs.

We built a foundation for it...(more work than it looks like in the photo!)

And one day in June, after my dad had already left, a crew delivered the wood...

And put it together on the spot, like a giant Lincoln Log project!

It looked so cute when it was done - like having a big playhouse in the yard.

Later that summer, we spent a Saturday staining it as a family.

What a project that was, getting two full coats on - though we did have some pretty awesome helpers to get it done!

It looked great when it was finished, except for one thing...

We didn't have roof tiles to put on it (those didn't come with the delivery!)

Years went by, and still no roof tiles - it was one of those things we kept meaning to do, but somehow it was never in the budget to actually purchase them. The garden house worked (it holds so much stuff that would otherwise be crowded into the garage), and didn't even leak too much as it had a tar paper roof. But we knew that some day we'd have to put some tiles on it.

I'm not even sure when the next part of the story happened...maybe two years ago? A friend of ours gave us some roof tiles from his parents house which Dave and Caleb put on. Unfortunately, there weren't enough, so only half the roof was done.

It sat for another year with a partial roof of tiles.

But finally this week...Caleb went and picked up the last tiles...more than five years after this project was started!

He headed up to the roof and I waited on the ladder for the last nail to go in!

Ta-dah!!! The roof is finally finished dad!

Glad to have that project finally checked off our "To Do" list!

Thanks SO much dad for making that investment in the garden house for us!! I think of you every day when I see it!

Exit Tour SK

2011-10-04T23:49:00.000+02:00

For those of you who have been following JV and/or my blog for a while, you know that one of the most special doors God has opened up in our ministry has been through the television program "Exit 316", a Christian program that we produced, which aired on national Czech TV for 82 weeks a few years ago.

This opened the door for Exit Tours, which brought Dizmas, a band from southern California into schools across the Czech Republic. In public high schools, they were given day long assemblies to promote the television show, build relationships, give concerts and lectures, and most importantly, share the Gospel.

Long after the television show ended, these school programs through the Exit Tour continued...in Czech, Poland and Slovakia. They have literally reached tens of thousands of young people with the good news of Christ over the past three years.

And it's happening again! The Exit Tour team arrived today in Slovakia where they will be based this tour. The tour will be in several cities across that country, as well as in at least one city here in Czech.

Because I know it's hard to imagine what these tours are all about, take a moment to read more about this very exciting opportunity on the Exit 316 blog for Slovakia.

And remember to pray for this amazing ministry that God has opened the doors for!

**Photos thanks to the Exit Tour SK Facebook page.

October Afternoon

2011-10-03T19:04:00.002+02:00

What a gorgeous fall afternoon!

The weather report says it's all going to change on Saturday (even predicts snow next Monday - yikes!) so Claire and I took advantage of the pretty weather and headed up to the cabins at Malenovice where there's an apple tree, just waiting and ready to be picked.

There is nothing like a fresh picked apple, that's for sure.

Kaylie was positive she liked apples too...

...was funny watching her try out a fresh apple. Licking turned out to be more her thing than eating. :)

Seriously, does it get any better than this? A warm fall day, fresh apples off the tree, three minutes from home...LOVE!

Oh yes...maybe it does get a little better...

Thanks to Claire, warm apple muffins are in the oven baking right now, along with homemade chicken soup. Perfect fall food!