I apologize for the delay in updates. The last two days have flown by.
On Friday, we continued band rehearsals, but this time combining the choir with the band. Everything was sounding great and we were making great progress on all of the songs.
Friday night was the talent show. It gave a number of students and leaders a chance to show off their talents and skills separately from the concert. There were songs, skits, dance, and comedy. A few members of our team participated with students in the talent show, and a portion of our team did a song with some of the members of the team from Christ Community Church in Chicago. It was a great night, even though it finished about an hour later than it should have. :)
Saturday morning included packing our bags, and moving out of our rooms. We also packed all of the instruments and sound equipment to move it to the outdoor concert area near the cottages. Lunch was our final camp meal together, and then we walked to the cottages to prepare for the concert.
The concert was well-attended and went very well, with no major issues. Hopefully some videos of the concert will be available on YouTube in the coming week. After the concert, it was nice meeting the students' families. We started the process of saying goodbye to the students who live in other cities and would not be able to join us for church on Sunday. We then left to go to the homes of some of the students and leaders for home stays.
On Sunday morning, we met at ESK church in Havířov. We had time for worship, two Fusion band and choir songs, and a message from Ondřej (our amazing camp leader). The church was the fullest I have even seen it, and there were a number of students' families who do not normally attend church at ESK (or for some, anywhere). It was a great morning.
We then had pizza together with the students, and a few more goodbyes. Then a group of us went to help unload equipment at Kevin and Daniela Dickson's family home near Třinec. They live in a beautiful country area about 30 minutes from the city. Kevin gave us a tour of their amazing property that has been in Daniela's family for 4 generations. He told us some of the history of the home, including how the large rock for the foundation was quarried by Daniela's grandfather and carried via wheelbarrow 3/4 of a mile to the home site.
In the afternoon and evening, our team went with about 20 of the students to a reservoir near town, where we swam, ate, and visited with each other. It was a great afternoon, and it was nice to cool off in the water because the temperature outside was about 90 degrees.
More goodbyes, and final dinner with our host families followed in the late evening.
On Monday morning, we met at the train station for our train ride to Prague. The final set of goodbyes with Czech students and leaders was prolonged by a train delay of about 15 minutes.
We now sit on the train, processing and thinking about the whirlwind of events over the last week. We look forward to being back at home with our families, but find ourselves missing the Czechs with whom we had established (and renewed) strong bonds over our time here. I have no doubt that at least a few members of our team (myself included) will find themselves back here at some point in the future, continuing relationships that were started or strengthened this week.
Monday, July 21, 2014
Friday, July 18, 2014
Thursday Update - Angel Parties in Heaven
Thursday was a great day at camp (actually, they all are). :) We had more band rehearsals, along with continued improvement. The food at all three meals was great. The choir is really starting to learn and memorize the songs.
In the evening, after the program, we had the Labyrinth (for more details about the Labyrinth, please see my Wednesday post). It was a great environment, and the night outside was the perfect temperature. At the end of the Labyrinth, the students had the opportunity to write their sins on a piece of paper and throw it into a campfire we had built, symbolizing the destruction of our captivity to sin made possible through faith in Jesus.
Many students took great steps forward in their spiritual relationship and had prayer and great conversations, while other students renewed their dedication to living their lives for Christ. Although we do our best not to measure our effectiveness through numbers because we know that God is working in many of the students in ways that we do not directly see, we can count at least two (and maybe three) new believers after Thursday evening! Thank you all for your intense prayer over the last 24 hours.
One of the new believers is a young student from a strong Christian family, and another is an adult who attends many gatherings and helps in the church, but was not previously a Christian. Please join us in rejoicing as in Luke 15:10 - "In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents!” Or, as one of our Czech camp leaders succinctly communicates the same idea, "New Christians cause angel parties in heaven." :)
In the evening, after the program, we had the Labyrinth (for more details about the Labyrinth, please see my Wednesday post). It was a great environment, and the night outside was the perfect temperature. At the end of the Labyrinth, the students had the opportunity to write their sins on a piece of paper and throw it into a campfire we had built, symbolizing the destruction of our captivity to sin made possible through faith in Jesus.
Many students took great steps forward in their spiritual relationship and had prayer and great conversations, while other students renewed their dedication to living their lives for Christ. Although we do our best not to measure our effectiveness through numbers because we know that God is working in many of the students in ways that we do not directly see, we can count at least two (and maybe three) new believers after Thursday evening! Thank you all for your intense prayer over the last 24 hours.
One of the new believers is a young student from a strong Christian family, and another is an adult who attends many gatherings and helps in the church, but was not previously a Christian. Please join us in rejoicing as in Luke 15:10 - "In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents!” Or, as one of our Czech camp leaders succinctly communicates the same idea, "New Christians cause angel parties in heaven." :)
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| A memorial along the trail to the top of Lysa Hora. |
Thursday, July 17, 2014
Wednesday Choir and Rehearsal Update
Wednesday followed a similar schedule to previous days. We started the day with devotions, breakfast, morning program, choir, morning workshops, and then lunch.
In the afternoon, however, things were a little different due to the fact that we started rehearsals for the concert. Each song is played by a band made up of students from the workshops. The Wednesday rehearsals were the first time that the bands were able to meet and play with their bandmates. It is also the first time that we get to hear the songs played by all the different workshop students together. Even after just a few days of learning in the workshops, it is really cool to watch the students work together to make the song sound great.
I watched the rehearsal of three of the songs, and even though nervousness was pervasive in the rehearsal space, there was also an air of excitement, especially for the first-time students (or first-time performers.) The songs that I watched were great, and I have no doubt that after a few more rehearsals, they will be spot on.
The current concert challenge for most of the American team is learning the two songs that we sing in a different language. One is a Czech song called "Píseň O Lásce", and is a cool song. Here is a link to a YouTube video of the original version by a band called Nightwork - YouTube Video for Pisen O Lasce.
The other non-English song is called Baba Yetu. It won the 2011 Grammy Award for "Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalists", and is a direct Swahili translation of The Lord's Prayer (baba yetu means "Our Father"). It is a very dramatic song, and quite aspirational for our choir, but it is coming together very well, due in large part to our friend and wonderful leader for the song, Peťula Poludová. Peťula also selected the song, so you can the excitement in her eyes when we sing it well. The original music video can be seen here - YouTube Video for Baba Yetu. There is also a strong possibility that a member of our team (not me) will sing a solo for this song! I will keep you posted. :)
I hope to have a few videos of rehearsals to post in the next few days, and after the concert is complete, videos of us performing most of the songs are posted to YouTube.
Wednesday ended with a viewing of "God's Not Dead" in English with Czech subtitles. The story was quite moving, even for some of the students who are not yet believers, so please continue to pray for them.
On Thursday night, the students will participate in the Labyrinth, which is a set of six personal reflection activity stations designed to encourage introspection about the events and messages of the camp week. It is also a chance for some of the students to pray with the leaders for the first time, if they so choose. More than any other activity this week, please keep this event in your prayers. It will be happening between the hours of 12:45pm and 2:45pm, Colorado time.
In the afternoon, however, things were a little different due to the fact that we started rehearsals for the concert. Each song is played by a band made up of students from the workshops. The Wednesday rehearsals were the first time that the bands were able to meet and play with their bandmates. It is also the first time that we get to hear the songs played by all the different workshop students together. Even after just a few days of learning in the workshops, it is really cool to watch the students work together to make the song sound great.
I watched the rehearsal of three of the songs, and even though nervousness was pervasive in the rehearsal space, there was also an air of excitement, especially for the first-time students (or first-time performers.) The songs that I watched were great, and I have no doubt that after a few more rehearsals, they will be spot on.
The current concert challenge for most of the American team is learning the two songs that we sing in a different language. One is a Czech song called "Píseň O Lásce", and is a cool song. Here is a link to a YouTube video of the original version by a band called Nightwork - YouTube Video for Pisen O Lasce.
The other non-English song is called Baba Yetu. It won the 2011 Grammy Award for "Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalists", and is a direct Swahili translation of The Lord's Prayer (baba yetu means "Our Father"). It is a very dramatic song, and quite aspirational for our choir, but it is coming together very well, due in large part to our friend and wonderful leader for the song, Peťula Poludová. Peťula also selected the song, so you can the excitement in her eyes when we sing it well. The original music video can be seen here - YouTube Video for Baba Yetu. There is also a strong possibility that a member of our team (not me) will sing a solo for this song! I will keep you posted. :)
I hope to have a few videos of rehearsals to post in the next few days, and after the concert is complete, videos of us performing most of the songs are posted to YouTube.
Wednesday ended with a viewing of "God's Not Dead" in English with Czech subtitles. The story was quite moving, even for some of the students who are not yet believers, so please continue to pray for them.
On Thursday night, the students will participate in the Labyrinth, which is a set of six personal reflection activity stations designed to encourage introspection about the events and messages of the camp week. It is also a chance for some of the students to pray with the leaders for the first time, if they so choose. More than any other activity this week, please keep this event in your prayers. It will be happening between the hours of 12:45pm and 2:45pm, Colorado time.
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
Tuesday Update
The morning schedule was delayed by one hour to allow everyone to recover from Survival that ended late Monday night. It was a very welcome hour for the entire camp, because even the people who held down the fort while most of us were at Survival stayed awake to welcome us home.
On Tuesday, we had a slightly different schedule where our afternoon workshop was held in the morning because we did not have an afternoon workshop on the day of survival.
In the afternoon time slot, there were "one-time workshops". These workshops allowed students to do something different from what they normally do. A few of the options included jewelry making, a Stomp-inspired drum workshop, Frisbee technique, and the History of Jazz. Summer, one of our team members, and I led a doodling/drawing workshop based on Zentangle techniques.
We brought pens, pencils, paper, and pencil blending tools and idea sheets. We both learned Zentangle from a member of our church, Vickey Wood, specifically in preparation for our trip. As time came to sign up for the workshop, we had no idea how many students to expect. We were hoping for at least 5 students, and thought that 10 would be great. By the time sign-ups were complete, we had 19 students! It was a great afternoon. Summer did a great job teaching and the students made their first amazing pieces of artwork in just over an hour.
The evening was fun, and the late-night activity included a game based on the Hunger Games series. It included a lot of running, hiding, and glow-sticks. The students really enjoyed it, and for the second night in a row, everyone went to bed very tired.
On Tuesday, we had a slightly different schedule where our afternoon workshop was held in the morning because we did not have an afternoon workshop on the day of survival.
In the afternoon time slot, there were "one-time workshops". These workshops allowed students to do something different from what they normally do. A few of the options included jewelry making, a Stomp-inspired drum workshop, Frisbee technique, and the History of Jazz. Summer, one of our team members, and I led a doodling/drawing workshop based on Zentangle techniques.
We brought pens, pencils, paper, and pencil blending tools and idea sheets. We both learned Zentangle from a member of our church, Vickey Wood, specifically in preparation for our trip. As time came to sign up for the workshop, we had no idea how many students to expect. We were hoping for at least 5 students, and thought that 10 would be great. By the time sign-ups were complete, we had 19 students! It was a great afternoon. Summer did a great job teaching and the students made their first amazing pieces of artwork in just over an hour.
The evening was fun, and the late-night activity included a game based on the Hunger Games series. It included a lot of running, hiding, and glow-sticks. The students really enjoyed it, and for the second night in a row, everyone went to bed very tired.
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| Braden and Jake's "Stomp" one-time workshop |
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| Bradley and Summer's Zentangle workshop |
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| A Zentangle created by one of our workshop students |
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
Monday Update
Monday was Survival. Survival is a team-based outdoor competition that includes hiking, physical challenges, brain teasers, general knowledge quizzes, and map navigation. This year also included a hike to the top of the highest mountain in the Beskydy mountain range. It is a time to walk and talk with the students without some of the other distractions that we might encounter if we were at the hotel. Even thought I am getting older, it is still one of my favorite experiences of the week. This year was my third Survival at Malenovice, so I had an idea what to expect, or so I thought.
It is usually a very physical experience, with 10 or 15 miles of walking and hiking over the course of about 9 hours. This year's intensity was increased due to a large, very intense, rain/hail/thunder storm during the middle of the hike.
At the peak of the storm, the trail we were hiking became a flowing river of muddy water. The newly-created (but temporary) river was 5-6 inches deep in some places. Fortunately (or not?), my team was descending the mountain, while other teams were ascending it via a different route. There were no good options for shelter, so we continued our descent while being pelted by pea-sized hail, and frequent lighting within 500 feet of us.
By the time we reached the bottom, we were all very wet and cold, but the rain finally stopped as we encountered the first paved road in hours. We completed 7 of the 8 "stations" without any other major issues, and returned to the hotel at 11:48PM. According to my pedometer, over the course of the day, we took 33,000 steps.
We were able to take some great pictures, and I have posted one below. I will hopefully post more either later this week or after our return. Our internet has still been slightly intermittent.
It is usually a very physical experience, with 10 or 15 miles of walking and hiking over the course of about 9 hours. This year's intensity was increased due to a large, very intense, rain/hail/thunder storm during the middle of the hike.
At the peak of the storm, the trail we were hiking became a flowing river of muddy water. The newly-created (but temporary) river was 5-6 inches deep in some places. Fortunately (or not?), my team was descending the mountain, while other teams were ascending it via a different route. There were no good options for shelter, so we continued our descent while being pelted by pea-sized hail, and frequent lighting within 500 feet of us.
By the time we reached the bottom, we were all very wet and cold, but the rain finally stopped as we encountered the first paved road in hours. We completed 7 of the 8 "stations" without any other major issues, and returned to the hotel at 11:48PM. According to my pedometer, over the course of the day, we took 33,000 steps.
We were able to take some great pictures, and I have posted one below. I will hopefully post more either later this week or after our return. Our internet has still been slightly intermittent.
Monday, July 14, 2014
Sunday Update
Sunday was a great day with the students. It was the first full day of camp, so everyone was able to get a taste of what the rest of the week will be like.
Before the students wake in the morning each day, the American teams, the interns, and all of the Czech leaders have a time for worship and devotions. Even though it is early, it is a good time to be able to talk and prepare for the day ahead. It is led by Marek and Tereza Goitkovi, and they do an amazing job (Marek also leads the evening camp band.) Side note - on our mission trip to Czech in 2011, I stayed with Marek and Tereza for 2 days after camp, in my first wonderful experience with "home stays".
We ate breakfast with the students, and then we had the morning program. Each morning, we have three worship songs led by an amazingly talented band comprised of Czech leaders. Then we have the morning talk, which usually includes a personally-relatable story from one of the Czech or American leaders. The speaker on Sunday was Carissa, an American intern who has been in the Czech all summer. Her talk especially touched one of my English Conversation students, which helped us to have a great discussion in the afternoon.
Then we had camp-wide choir rehearsal. All of the songs are learned by hearing and repeating with no sheet music, and even after four years of seeing it, I am still amazed how quickly the students are able to learn songs, even with multiple vocal parts.
We then had our morning workshops, and they seemed to go quite well. It takes a few days before some of the students begin talking and interacting in the workshops, but it started quite well.
We then had lunch, followed by a little bit of free time. In the afternoon, we played group games on the soccer field, and then came back to the hotel for afternoon workshops.
I lead an English Conversation workshop in the afternoon time slot. Sunday's workshop started quite slowly, with only one of the students talking very much. Then we split up to talk with students one-on-one, as we have 4 students and 4 American leaders. This was much more successful. Even though we were only going to talk with each student for 15 minutes before rotating, we all stayed with the first student we each talked to for over an hour! :)
We then ate dinner together and had the evening program, similar to Saturday night, but with different songs and a different talk. On Sunday evening, Leah Ross, my team co-leader spoke. he talked about happiness and the different sources of it. She had some great examples, and did a great job! I think the talk really resonated with some of the students.
For "alternative" program, some students watched the World Cup game, and some students met to have tea and eat amazing cakes and pies made in the baking and cooking workshop. I have a few photos that I will try to post later.
Thank you for your continued prayers. Please also include additional prayers for three of the American interns who will be leaving to go to the Ukraine on Tuesday. They will be covering for American teams who were scheduled to come help at a new Fusion camp, but cancelled due to the current tensions, despite being located in a different part of the country. After talking with one of the interns about it, it was very encouraging to hear that she has no fear about going there because she knows that they will accompanied by the most capable bodyguard ever in existence. :)
A busy day and a late night meant that a few of us were quite tired on Monday morning, but there is no time for rest, because Monday is Survival day. I'll post tomorrow (as I am optimistic that we will survive). :)
Before the students wake in the morning each day, the American teams, the interns, and all of the Czech leaders have a time for worship and devotions. Even though it is early, it is a good time to be able to talk and prepare for the day ahead. It is led by Marek and Tereza Goitkovi, and they do an amazing job (Marek also leads the evening camp band.) Side note - on our mission trip to Czech in 2011, I stayed with Marek and Tereza for 2 days after camp, in my first wonderful experience with "home stays".
We ate breakfast with the students, and then we had the morning program. Each morning, we have three worship songs led by an amazingly talented band comprised of Czech leaders. Then we have the morning talk, which usually includes a personally-relatable story from one of the Czech or American leaders. The speaker on Sunday was Carissa, an American intern who has been in the Czech all summer. Her talk especially touched one of my English Conversation students, which helped us to have a great discussion in the afternoon.
Then we had camp-wide choir rehearsal. All of the songs are learned by hearing and repeating with no sheet music, and even after four years of seeing it, I am still amazed how quickly the students are able to learn songs, even with multiple vocal parts.
We then had our morning workshops, and they seemed to go quite well. It takes a few days before some of the students begin talking and interacting in the workshops, but it started quite well.
We then had lunch, followed by a little bit of free time. In the afternoon, we played group games on the soccer field, and then came back to the hotel for afternoon workshops.
I lead an English Conversation workshop in the afternoon time slot. Sunday's workshop started quite slowly, with only one of the students talking very much. Then we split up to talk with students one-on-one, as we have 4 students and 4 American leaders. This was much more successful. Even though we were only going to talk with each student for 15 minutes before rotating, we all stayed with the first student we each talked to for over an hour! :)
We then ate dinner together and had the evening program, similar to Saturday night, but with different songs and a different talk. On Sunday evening, Leah Ross, my team co-leader spoke. he talked about happiness and the different sources of it. She had some great examples, and did a great job! I think the talk really resonated with some of the students.
For "alternative" program, some students watched the World Cup game, and some students met to have tea and eat amazing cakes and pies made in the baking and cooking workshop. I have a few photos that I will try to post later.
Thank you for your continued prayers. Please also include additional prayers for three of the American interns who will be leaving to go to the Ukraine on Tuesday. They will be covering for American teams who were scheduled to come help at a new Fusion camp, but cancelled due to the current tensions, despite being located in a different part of the country. After talking with one of the interns about it, it was very encouraging to hear that she has no fear about going there because she knows that they will accompanied by the most capable bodyguard ever in existence. :)
A busy day and a late night meant that a few of us were quite tired on Monday morning, but there is no time for rest, because Monday is Survival day. I'll post tomorrow (as I am optimistic that we will survive). :)
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