Reality

(I thought I would throw a map of Europe on here for those who don't know exactly where the Czech Republic is located. It wasn't until I discovered that I would be traveling there that I actually took the time to find it on a map. So for those of you who are a little like myself, I thought I would make it easy! It's the blue-ish country in the middle.)

Although it seems surreal that we are finally going after months of preparation, the reality is we leave for the Czech in less than 10 days. I can't stress enough how vital and important your prayers will be to the trip, for safety, for soft hearts, and for seeds to be planted. As I have learned a little about the Czech culture, I know that it will be extremely evident that any good thing that happens will be of the Holy Spirit's doing. The reality is there are too many walls which need to be broken down for it to even appear as if it is our own doing. Pray that hearts will be softened by the Spirit and that our lives will be led by Him as we make it our aim to show true LOVE. Also, be praying for safety. I'm sure most of you heard about the terrorist attempt on a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit on Delta. Well, in about a month, our team will be flying on that same flight. I know that airlines will take many more precautions, so I don't mean this to scare. But it served as a wake up call to myself that these are real people we will be coming into contact with. There will be real situations that will need serious prayer. As we are in the Czech Republic, we will be updating our blog as much as possible and sharing specific areas to be in prayer for. Although you might never receive the opportunity to travel to the Czech yourself, the reality is you can still play a HUGE role in our trip through interceding for us in prayer. Whether committing to pray daily, once or twice a week or whenever you remember us, Please Please Please... keep us in prayer over the month of January.


The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
James 5:16

I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.
Matt. 18:18-20


Let's pray and expect to see God move!

One Month Out...

Thanksgiving has come and gone. December is here already. Wow this semester has gone by fast. In one month our team will be making our final preparations and leaving for the Czech.

Things are coming along pretty well. Lessons and presentations are being tweaked and practiced. Our musical abilities are progressing, maybe a little bit slower than the rest of it but it is worship none the less. It has been an incredible experience seeing all of the different ways that God has provided for our trip. As of last week we have about 70% of the funds that we need. God is faithful and will provide. Prayer that Lighthouse would be laid on the hearts of people and that there would be a willingness to invest into the kingdom of God would be greatly appreciated.

More than all of the lessons, presenations and songs, our hearts are what need the biggest preperation. We were reminded again tonight of the spiritual battle that will be facing us the closer we get to the trip and as we are in the Czech. Satan is going to try so many different tactics to take our eyes off of Christ and all that He has in store and to buy his lies. Pray that our hearts would be focused and inclined towards the truth and towards seeing Christ glorified.

T Minus Two Months

Today is November 8, which means that our team has a little less than two months before we are on a plane to the Czech Republic!

Realizing this brings both excitement and a little bit of apprehension to how we are feeling. For the past couple weeks our team has been putting together ideas for English lessons, options for games to play in PE classes and topics for presentation nights in the village where we will be staying. Though this process is coming together, the chance to plan for January is where the apprehension comes in. Will we be able to prepare adequately in the next couple months? Would we be able to even if there was more time? At some point when we are in the Czech Republic something will come up (a question, an activity or event) for which most of us will probably not be fully prepared and somehow it'll have to be dealt with.

Jesus says that we are not to worry about what to say or how we are to say it. In Matthew 10:19-20 Jesus says "At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you."

There is assurance that covers our inadequacies, whether we are unsure of what to say, what lesson plan to follow or what type of game to play, again the Spirit gives evidence that we are not alone or on our own.

Presence.

“More and more the desire grows in me simply to walk around, greet people, enter their homes, sit on their doorsteps, play ball, throw water, and be known as someone who wants to live with them. It is a privilege to have the time to practice this simple ministry of presence. Still, it is not as simple as it seems. My own desire to be useful, to do something significant, or to be part of some impressive project is so strong that soon my time is taken up by meetings, conference, study groups, and workshops that prevent me from walking the streets. It is difficult not to have plans, not to organize people around and urgent cause, and not to feel that you are working directly for social progress. But I wonder more and more if the first thing shouldn’t have be to know people by name, to eat and drink with them, to listen to their stories and tell your won, and to let them know with words, handshakes and hugs that you do not simply like them, but you truly love them.” -Henry Nouwen

Our meeting this week had two parts: the hour long class that combines all of the Lighthouse group and then following that was the hour long individual team meeting. In the first hour we discussed how Americans are perceived in other countries and three people participated in a panel to give us their views on this topic. It was really interesting to hear their views and think about what ways we can break some of those misguided thoughts.

The second hour was filled with prayer, Lauren sharing her “Life Map” (testimony) and a discussion on Presence that was based off the Henry Nouwen quote. If presence is the goal, why do we need to do so much preparation for this trip? Why spend hours preparing lesson plans if our presence in the classroom is what really matters? Why? Because our presence will not have nearly the same impact if we are not prepared. Our preparation gives us the wonderful opportunity to have presence.

We had the opportunity to talk to Joanie (our host missionary) via Skype on Monday evening. As we all know can happen with technology, especially Skype, it doesn’t always work well. While we were able to ask questions and talk about some great things, apparently the connection wasn’t so great on the other end. Meaning Joanie couldn’t hear everything we were saying as it kept cutting out. Her constant laughter at whatever she thought we were trying to say was also keeping us laughing constantly.

We also found out this week that we have the opportunity to take up to 15 laptops over to the Czech Republic to be able to leave there with the ministry! What a wonderful opportunity to help them out! These computers come from the Ft. Wayne campus and will be phased out by new computers so we have been given permission to take them with us! As we were sharing this with Joanie on Skype, Ron was telling her that the computers have to be stripped first (as in cleaned, gutted, emptied…take your pick) and once again, Joanie erupted in laughter. She said, “I’m sorry….did you say they need to be stripped??” When Ron replied with a yes, even more laughter erupted.

So. Presence. We love to be in the presence of our Lord. We want the Czech people to feel that presence-to want to be in the presence of God. And so, we continue preparing our hearts, our presentations, our lessons, our lives.

“You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” Psalm 16:11

The Next Steps...

Vulnerability.

Admittedly, that doesn't always sound like a fun concept. No matter how much we care about someone, or are convinced they care for us, the thought of dropping our shields can be a little daunting.

So often, though, it's that very vulnerabilty--the confession of hard truths and difficult struggles--which brings us together.

As a team, we on the Czech trip seem to be entering a new stage in our joint journey. This past week, we shared several sobering prayer requests with one another. These included job concerns, health concerns, ministry concerns, emotional concerns, finanical concerns...yeah, well, just a lot of concerns.

Lest you think our meeting was full of wailing and mourning, it should be noted that one of Taylor's esteemed TESOL professors and several of the Lighthouse leaders visited our team and shared their hearts with us. We celebrated an engagement, learned more about teaching English, and shared a lot of laughs. We also stuffed ourselves silly with brownies and chocolate chip cookies. Yum....

But what was more beautiful still was the fact that we were able to fellowship in our sorrows as well as our joys. We shared brokenly with one another and lifted up one anothers concerns in group prayer. During the next months and our stay in the Czech Republic, we will doubtlessly face more challenges. Life is full of them. But the love, compassion, and yes, that scary word vulnerability, that we're sharing now will bring us through. I'm happy, and so grateful to God, that we're already fellowshiping in a John 13:35 kind of way:

"By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

Now that's a witness we can take world-wide.

Czech Republic, here we come!

It has been about a month since our team met for the first time, and I think it is safe to say that we all have been so encouraged by the way things are shaping. The team retreat last weekend was a big step in getting to know each other. Activities included a scavenger hunt, hearing from a sponser and student from the 2009 Czech trip and too many 'would you rather' questions. I think that the most exciting part about the retreat was the opportunity to meet our Czech host, Joanie, over Skype. She is already preparing for us to get there! Everyone from past years has said that Joanie's relationship with God is so intimate and her heart for people is full of love. What a privledge to get to partner with a ministry that is truly seeking to follow God!



For those of you who might not know exactly what we are doing in the Czech, we will be staying there for about 3 1/2 weeks. Our time there will be spent partnering with an organization called Caleb's Heart, which is run by Joanie and several Czech missionaries. Because most of the people are atheistic and closed off to anything church related, it is often hard to build relationships where Christianity is the first and only thing mentioned. Our job while we are in the Czech Republic is to be a light and a bridge between the Czech and Caleb's Heart. Americans have the ability to draw a crowd, so we are going to be hosting events at night where we will talk about American topics of interest to them. The event will just so happen to be in a location that warms them up to the idea of Christianity and will allow Joanie and the rest of the team to begin building relationships with them. After we leave, Joanie and the rest of the team will still be there to maintain the relationships and keep fertilizing the seeds.



Along with hosting these events, teaching English and Physical Education classes in the schools will be a big minsitry. Once again, our American background grants us the ability to teach the students while at the same time building relationships with them. There is a large Gypsie population in the Czech, so we will also get the opportunity to build relationships with them!


The team is currently in the fundraising stage! Any prayers that finances would come in would be greatly appreciated. Please be praying that our team would continue to be unified and that we would begin preparing our hearts even now for all that God is going to do!