Mid-week update!

Hey everyone!

Sorry for the lack of blog posts, but it has been a crazy few days here!

From the past few days:

English Classes and Evening Programs
So far, we have had 4 full days of English class. We have been learning a lot of vocabulary and grammar with the students. During the evening programs, we have heard testimonies from Lanae and Colson. After, we've played some awesome games (you can see Emma and Martina teaching the game in the picture below).

Hike Day
Yesterday was Hike Day, which meant that the camp climbed the mountain, Lysá Hora. It was an awesome time where our team could have long, intentional conversations with the Czech students. Many Americans and Czechs shared their life stories with each other. Not only that, but we all shared memories of the beautiful nature that we saw! Although many of us are sore and tired, it really brings the camp closer together!

Gospel Night
Tonight, Justin will share the Gospel in his talk. He will share about Jesus' death on the cross and how God's wrath was poured out on Him and our sins were paid, then three days later Jesus was raised to life. This might be the first time for many students that they have ever heard the Gospel! Please pray that Justin would be able to effectively communicate the Gospel and that the Holy Spirit would give be working on the hearts of the Czech students. After his talk, we will split up into our english classes to discuss what we heard.

PRAY:
-for energy and strength to keep pushing forward as a team
-for that the Gospel would be communicated well to the students
-for the Holy Spirit to change the hearts of the students
-for relationships to continue growing with the team and Czechs, so that Christ would be evident in the Czechs' eyes

We are so thankful for your prayers and support. We'll try to give you another update in the next couple of days :)

Love you all,

Nathan (for the team!)

Jess is doing great!

P.S. You can see more pictures from our trip by searching the hashtag #ecczgram on instagram!

Travel, Training & Team Time

Hi everyone!

Finally... an update :)

From the past few days:

TRAVEL: We are praising God for smooth travel days! Flights were on time, all our bags arrived, Delta representatives were kind, airplane food was decent and there were even a couple hours of sleep!

TRAINING: We just finished two days of training at a beautiful hotel called Malenovice. Along with around 100 others who are heading to other parts of Czech to do English camps, we learned about Czech culture, history, leading small groups, teaching English, etc. Aaaaand recovering from jet lag!

TEAM TIME: The past few days have also been full of team time. We've had time to prep for English camp, but also time to take a quick hike to a nearby waterfall and drink lots of Kofola (a Czech pop!). It's been a sweet time to connect as a team and refocus on why we are here, especially during times of communion and prayer together.

In just a few hours, the team from Kostel Jinak (who we are leading English camp with) will arrive. We can't wait to see (and for some of us to meet) these brothers and sisters who we get the joy of doing ministry with.

Tomorrow, Czech students arrive and camp officially begins!

PRAY:
-for a spirit of deep unity within our team, for kindness in our interactions with each other, for us to move towards each other in love.
-for the final camp preparation details to come together today and tomorrow before students come!
-for Czech students to clearly see something different at English camp -- that Christ would be so evident in the ways we treat each other, have fun, etc.

We are so thankful for your prayers and support. We'll try to give you another update in the next couple of days :)

Love you all,

Jess (for the team!)

Less than ONE Week!

Hi everyone,

It's that time of the year again... our NHC Student Ministries is sending a team of 19 to Sumperk, Czech Republic for English Camp!

We are excited to see dear friends, meet new friends, eat delicious food, experience Czech culture, sings songs and play crazy games.... but mostly, to share who God is, what He has done for us, and how He is changing us.

This trip is going to be tiring in many ways - physically, spiritually, emotionally, relationally. We so desire your prayers for us -- in these days leading up to the trip, during the 17 days we are there, and as we return. Even more so... would you pray for the Czech students we will be spending time with? We so want them to know God in a personal way. Pray for all of our hearts - that God would be preparing them now for what He is going to do.

Thankful for each of you! We wouldn't be going without you.

Much love,

Jess (for the team!)

Follow Up!

Hey everyone, 

We just finished our weekend of follow-up!

After camp was done yesterday, we took a bus back to Šumperk and students went to stay with their Czech friends. Some took naps, others had feasts of homemade food... But after a few hours we all met up again to go for a walk around Šumperk and have a picnic in the park. 

Today we went to church at Kostel Jinak- it was (and always is) such a joy to worship with these brothers and sisters. It is fun to see our team experience "church done differently" (translation of Koste Jinak) and love this family. After church, we went to our host homes for delicious lunches and then met back for a walk to a nearby village for a BBQ. 

We were so glad to have students from camp join us for these follow-up activities! It's an opportunity to not only continue our relationships with them, but also to further connect them with Koste Jinak. When we leave tomorrow morning, we want them to also have deep relationships with the believers here in Šumperk. 

And so our goodbyes tomorrow will be bittersweet. Many are already tearful thinking of saying goodbye to the friends they poured everything into this week. 

And yet, we leave with joy knowing this partnership we (New Hope Church) have with Kostel Jinak continues. We leave feeling mutually encouraged and built up, as we have been co-laborers this week together. We leave with hope and anticipation for what God will continue to do in the coming weeks, months, and years. 

Will you pray?

--That the Lord would continue to grow the seeds that were planted this week. That students who heard the gospel would not be able to forget it. That as students visit Kostel Jinak- they would not be able to ignore this community who accepts, loves and cares for one another.

That through this local church, many would come to know Jesus.

--That our teams would say goodbye well tomorrow. 

--For safety as we travel to Prague tomorrow morning.

--For the next two days of debrief in Prague. We are looking forward to debriefing with the team everything they experienced and what the Lord was doing in their own hearts too.

--And finally, would you pray that in the next ten years, there would be more who come to know Christ. More church planters, more young Josiahs, more pastors and leaders that the Lord would raise up in Šumperk.

Thank you for your support, prayers and love. We will see you all in a few days!

Jess  

 

Last Day of Camp!

Today was the last day of camp. It always goes by so quick! We are all tired, but our hearts are full after a week of growing closer to our new Czech friends and seeing the Lord at work.

Tomorrow we start "follow up"! We will be in Šumperk for two days staying with students and their families and getting to experience more Czech culture. We will attend Kostel Jinak (the local church we partner with in Šumperk) with students from camp along with other activities (picnic, tour of the city, BBQ, hike, etc). It will be a full next couple of days, so we appreciate your prayers!

-Pray for students from camp to attend follow up and to get connected in a deeper way to Kostel!

-Pray for strength, energy and health... Some of us are wearing thin due to little sleep and going hard during the day. 

-Pray for safety as we travel tomorrow by bus from Malenovice to Šumperk-- and then from Šumperk to Prague on Monday for debrief. 

Thanks for standing with us!

Day FIVE!

Hello from the Czech! We just wrapped up Day 5 of English camp and things are going well. It's incredible to see the many strong relationships that have formed in such a short period of time.

Here are some highlights:

⁃We hiked a mountain!

⁃Man night (throwing rocks and eating meat) and girls night (fingernail painting and cookies) were a huge hit

⁃Talent night! Daniel and Lanae's group won (and Daniel and Jen kissed 😳😳 in front of everyone!)

⁃Ben Reis and Michaela Bunke have continued to share the need for Jesus during the evening talks

⁃We built a giant slip-n-slide and no one got hurt!

Tomorrow is a big day. Michaela will be sharing about Jesus death and resurrection. Pray for the Spirit to be at work powerfully in students lives. 

Also, we are going to a waterfall to swim for a bit. Pray that I don't freeze to death. It's colder than a Minnesota winter. 

We miss you all, and we're pushing through. Continue to lift up the students who pour out 14-16 hours a day in hopes that some will come to know Jesus! Pray for strength and energy. We have two more full days of camp left and we are excited to see what the Lord will continue to do.

-Justin

Camp starts today!

Hi everyone!

We have just finished up our preparations and training for english camp. The students have done so well - Jess and I are very proud of their diligent work and prayer heading into camp. The team is excited for the Czech students to get here. We've had a sweet time together in training. 

A few updates  - 

We've gotten to experience two of my favorite Czech meals: schnitzel and sausages. God has blessed our stomachs richly, indeed. Josh learned how to say "holy" in Czech ("svaty") and has been repeating it over and over again. Emma has been trying (and failing) to teach me about instagram filters. 

Camp will be starting in just a few hours now, when new students arrive. We'll be trying to start great relationships with them from the very start with games and a meal together. Then we'll have our evening program where we share a testimony and a message. The theme of this year's camp is "Did you get my message?" Ben Reis and I have worked on talks for the week that describe the story of God and how he is redeeming a people for himself.

You can be in prayer today for a few specific things.

- Emma will be giving her testimony tonight. Pray God to use her incredible story to get students thinking about their own stories and struggles. 

- I'll be sharing about our own stories and how we want to be remembered. Pray that God's Spirit begins to work as we share the story of creation.

- Pray for Alena, she'll be our main translator this week. It's an important job as she translates our words and testimonies into the heart language of students at camp. She's so gifted, but it can be a tiring and time-consuming task to prepare translations.

- Pray for the first hours of camp - that we would be so intentional in loving the Czech students well, that friendships would form quickly, that discussion groups would feel like a safe place for all students to share.

Thank you all for your prayers!

- Justin