Thursday, September 13, 2012
Czech Mission Trip # 10
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Volunteer Opportunities at Prairie Estates
Looking for a way to reach out in our community? There are two new opportunities to volunteer at Prairie Estates.
Summer Fingernail Painting - Thursdays from 1:30 - 3:30 in the salon
*We need enough volunteers to cover every Thursday in June, July and August
*Pick one day or come once / month whatever works best for your schedule
*Contact Sarah_E_Thompson@vfblp.com to get on the schedule
**We need to get our June volunteers scheduled as soon as possible
*We also need nail polish donations
Prairie Estates Gift Shop Volunteers
*Volunteers to work in the Gift Shop are needed on
M/W/F from 10:30 – 12:00
and
T/TH from 1:30 – 3:00.
*You can select one day to volunteer or volunteer on a regular basis (1 time / month or weekly)
*The gift shop allows residents who are not able to leave Prairie Estates, to still have the opportunity to "go shopping" for their loved ones and friends.
Contact Susan Smith if you would like to work in the Gift Shop smithranch@tx. rr.com
Summer Fingernail Painting - Thursdays from 1:30 - 3:30 in the salon
*We need enough volunteers to cover every Thursday in June, July and August
*Pick one day or come once / month whatever works best for your schedule
*Contact Sarah_E_Thompson@vfblp.com to get on the schedule
**We need to get our June volunteers scheduled as soon as possible
*We also need nail polish donations
Prairie Estates Gift Shop Volunteers
*Volunteers to work in the Gift Shop are needed on
M/W/F from 10:30 – 12:00
and
T/TH from 1:30 – 3:00.
*You can select one day to volunteer or volunteer on a regular basis (1 time / month or weekly)
*The gift shop allows residents who are not able to leave Prairie Estates, to still have the opportunity to "go shopping" for their loved ones and friends.
Contact Susan Smith if you would like to work in the Gift Shop smithranch@tx. rr.com
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Leaving on a jet plane
It is hard to believe that our time here is over. We will be leaving the hotel at 10pm Sunday night Dallas time and arriving home at 5pm Monday! Church service today was awesome! Billy preached and included a Czech lesson with Barbara, Pastors Petr and Ivana's 8 year old daughter who taught Billy his colors in Czech. Next, he presented the second baptismal blanket to Nina, the 5 month old daugher of Teen Challenge workers Jana and Karel (we call him Small Charles as Karel is Charles in English). Then he taught the teenagers of the church the UMYF benediction as they circled up in the front of the sanctuary with right over left hands. And last but not least he prayed an individual prayer for each of the nine Teen Challenge clients while the rest of the team members laid their hands on the guy's shoulder. It was a powerful and moving moment with not many dry eyes in the house.
I can't possibly express my admiration for this mission team and or convey how very proud I am to be a part of such a generous, caring, loving, hard working, sharing, 'we can walk 8 miles uphill in a day' group!
Sorry we missed Relay for Life, Rough Riders game, Men's Retreat and the Youth Musical and I can't wait to hear about all those events and see pictures and videos when we return.
Blessings galore!
I can't possibly express my admiration for this mission team and or convey how very proud I am to be a part of such a generous, caring, loving, hard working, sharing, 'we can walk 8 miles uphill in a day' group!
Sorry we missed Relay for Life, Rough Riders game, Men's Retreat and the Youth Musical and I can't wait to hear about all those events and see pictures and videos when we return.
Blessings galore!
Friday, May 15, 2009
Weekend is here
We finished the project at Holy Hill and had a great BBQ lunch with the clients today as we exchanged ideas, hopes and dreams. Then we had a delicious dinner at Vitek and Linda's house tonight. I know it sounds like all we do is eat and sometimes it feels that way but I guess it is ok since we are getting tons of exercise walking.
Tomorrow is our day at Charles Castle and a tour of Prague and then a farewell dinner with the clients. Sunday Billy is preaching and we are showing a short slide show presentation of our week's work and then having an old-fashioned pot luck lunch at the church. It is always awesome!
Thank you for your continued prayers. See you next week
Tomorrow is our day at Charles Castle and a tour of Prague and then a farewell dinner with the clients. Sunday Billy is preaching and we are showing a short slide show presentation of our week's work and then having an old-fashioned pot luck lunch at the church. It is always awesome!
Thank you for your continued prayers. See you next week
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Can't believe it is already Thursday...
Today we prepared a Tex-Mex meal for the group at Holy Hill. It is a tradition that Joyce started last year and it was such a hit it seemed like a good idea to do it again. We had tortilla soup, soft tacos, beans, spanish rice, chips with rotel and velveeta cheese dip, hot sauce, and jalepenos! I think it was enjoyed by all. Workers and some clients were having the meal for a second time, but for most it was the first time for tacos. All week the clients prepare lunch for us so it was really great to get to serve them lunch.
It has been such a wonderful week. The time is going by so quickly. Our projects are wrapping up and tomorrow we will have a bbq out at Holy Hill followed by visiting the teens at Friday Club. It will be a great day.
The weather has been more cold than the past two years, but the friendships, both new and old, have been just as warm as always! It is a real blessing to have the opportunity to work with and get to know such great people :)
P.S. - Joyce and Donna - Big Jon who was at Holy Hill last year is back and asked why you didn't come with us. He misses seeing you... as do we all :)
It has been such a wonderful week. The time is going by so quickly. Our projects are wrapping up and tomorrow we will have a bbq out at Holy Hill followed by visiting the teens at Friday Club. It will be a great day.
The weather has been more cold than the past two years, but the friendships, both new and old, have been just as warm as always! It is a real blessing to have the opportunity to work with and get to know such great people :)
P.S. - Joyce and Donna - Big Jon who was at Holy Hill last year is back and asked why you didn't come with us. He misses seeing you... as do we all :)
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Why we are here
Many times friends at church have asked me, 'why do you have to go to The Czech Republic to do mission work when we need to be doing it in our own backyard?' I usually respond with something like, 'I agree, we do need to be doing it in our community but I also don't think that God sets boundaries for us and we go where He calls us to serve.' After today, I have a new answer for anyone who asks as I saw the hands and feet of Christ in action as well as God's grace being spread to those who have never experienced it before.
I watched Billy and Lukas build a wall with homemade mortar and pieces of brick and as I was painted a door outside their cave-like room I could hear Lukas asking about Billy being a 'child of God' and I beamed when Billy explained that Lukas was also a child of God. I then moved to the next doorway where Julie, Stephanie and Alison worked alongside Joseph and Paul and I laughed outloud as they sang church songs, silly songs and show tunes while rolling paint on the walls and ceilings. Outside in the courtyard, Trish sanded and stained the old doors which appeared to have been repaired many, many times and I observed her smile as she commented about how blessed we were to have high school and college students on our team to not only entertain us but also share the joy! Out in the front yard, Freda, Steve, Jessica and Tracy cleared brush and put up a new fence with several other clients and I beamed when Petr, a client of Teen Challenge said 'Texas women are very strong!' Steve told me at dinner tonight how easy it was to communicate with the men he worked even though he doesn't speak a word of Czech because God's love is a universal language. And not to be left out, Charles went to English class with Pastor Petr today and was the best show and tell of the year!
Tonight, we had dinner with several of the clients we worked with last year who have graduated from the program and it was so uplifting to see how much progress they have made. And the guest of honor was Zdenik, a client we worked with 5 years ago who now works for Teen Challenge, and his wife Susan as they prepare for the birth of their first child later this month.
And that's why I'm keep on coming back!
I watched Billy and Lukas build a wall with homemade mortar and pieces of brick and as I was painted a door outside their cave-like room I could hear Lukas asking about Billy being a 'child of God' and I beamed when Billy explained that Lukas was also a child of God. I then moved to the next doorway where Julie, Stephanie and Alison worked alongside Joseph and Paul and I laughed outloud as they sang church songs, silly songs and show tunes while rolling paint on the walls and ceilings. Outside in the courtyard, Trish sanded and stained the old doors which appeared to have been repaired many, many times and I observed her smile as she commented about how blessed we were to have high school and college students on our team to not only entertain us but also share the joy! Out in the front yard, Freda, Steve, Jessica and Tracy cleared brush and put up a new fence with several other clients and I beamed when Petr, a client of Teen Challenge said 'Texas women are very strong!' Steve told me at dinner tonight how easy it was to communicate with the men he worked even though he doesn't speak a word of Czech because God's love is a universal language. And not to be left out, Charles went to English class with Pastor Petr today and was the best show and tell of the year!
Tonight, we had dinner with several of the clients we worked with last year who have graduated from the program and it was so uplifting to see how much progress they have made. And the guest of honor was Zdenik, a client we worked with 5 years ago who now works for Teen Challenge, and his wife Susan as they prepare for the birth of their first child later this month.
And that's why I'm keep on coming back!
Perfection
Lucas is a 19 year old client/student at Teen Challenge's Holy Hill Rehab. Center. He has had a pretty rough time growing up, and like all the men there, he is working to overcome some kind of addiction.
Today Lucas and I worked on repairing a rock wall inside a building which is very old. It took us awhile to work out a system. We don't speak each other's language and I guess it is no surprise that I have never had any masonary experience. Repairing the wall is a bit like putting a jigsaw puzzel together with odd shaped bricks, rocks and motar. After a bit of a struggle Lucas and I worked out a system. I spread the motar and he laid the bricks/stones. After a couple of cautious attempts a brick set in the motar awkardly but correctly. A huge smile came across Lucas' face and in his broken english he said; "Perfect!" I thought there must have been another breakdown in communication. It did not look like we had achieved perfection. The brick was crooked and the motar had spilled all over the wall and the floor. Then I realized he was talking about something different. The look on the face of this kid who has time and time again experienced brokeness in his life told me what I needed to know.
In the 1700's the father of Methodism John Wesley espoused what is called the doctrine of Christian Perfection. It is a bit confusing and controversial for us today after all, "Nobody's perfect." What we fail to realize is that Wesley (and the Bible) was not talking about achievement but relationships. The question he asked the eary Methodists was, "Are you being made perfect in love?" Today my new friend Lucas got it right - "Perfect!"
Today Lucas and I worked on repairing a rock wall inside a building which is very old. It took us awhile to work out a system. We don't speak each other's language and I guess it is no surprise that I have never had any masonary experience. Repairing the wall is a bit like putting a jigsaw puzzel together with odd shaped bricks, rocks and motar. After a bit of a struggle Lucas and I worked out a system. I spread the motar and he laid the bricks/stones. After a couple of cautious attempts a brick set in the motar awkardly but correctly. A huge smile came across Lucas' face and in his broken english he said; "Perfect!" I thought there must have been another breakdown in communication. It did not look like we had achieved perfection. The brick was crooked and the motar had spilled all over the wall and the floor. Then I realized he was talking about something different. The look on the face of this kid who has time and time again experienced brokeness in his life told me what I needed to know.
In the 1700's the father of Methodism John Wesley espoused what is called the doctrine of Christian Perfection. It is a bit confusing and controversial for us today after all, "Nobody's perfect." What we fail to realize is that Wesley (and the Bible) was not talking about achievement but relationships. The question he asked the eary Methodists was, "Are you being made perfect in love?" Today my new friend Lucas got it right - "Perfect!"
Tuesday
Hello just noticed the pictures from Monday. They look great!!!! Need some more stories from the rest of the team. Are they having fun???? Are they working so hard they can not write???? Just joking... Miss you all and praying for you. How was my pizza place??? Yummy????
Joyce
Joyce
Monday, May 11, 2009
Greetings from Frisco
Hi everyone,
Jason was nice enough to set me up an account so I could "talk" with you all.
Sounds like you are having a typical Czech experience (with the added thrill of a "real" football game!). I loved looking at the photos of the church, the soccer game, all of you, Gustav and his grown-up daughter, Valentina.
I look forward to reading your blogs of your time there. Will try to comment occasionally on individual messages, but look for my posts to all of you, too.
Thinking of you and sending you big hugs.
Carol
(Tracy, we played with Play Dough in jr. high Sunday School--all 18 of them! They weren't supposed to talk as they worked in teams of two. It was the quietest they had ever been.)
Jason was nice enough to set me up an account so I could "talk" with you all.
Sounds like you are having a typical Czech experience (with the added thrill of a "real" football game!). I loved looking at the photos of the church, the soccer game, all of you, Gustav and his grown-up daughter, Valentina.
I look forward to reading your blogs of your time there. Will try to comment occasionally on individual messages, but look for my posts to all of you, too.
Thinking of you and sending you big hugs.
Carol
(Tracy, we played with Play Dough in jr. high Sunday School--all 18 of them! They weren't supposed to talk as they worked in teams of two. It was the quietest they had ever been.)
Two Churches
ajoi
We're having a great time and can feel your prayers. Sunday began with a wonderful worship experience at Maranatha UMC. Wonderful fellowsip, great music and a great sermon from Pastor Peter on living in God's Vineyard. Sunday afternoon was also amazing. We went to Prague to see a professional Fotbal (Soccer) match. The team we went see was Slavia Praha who are like the NY Yankees or Dallas Cowboys of the Czech Professional Liga (league). At one end of the stadium were the most incredible fans from the Slavia team. They stood, sang, cheered and chanted the whole game. The whole stadium shook and sounded and like a great choir. All of it choregraphed and planned to the nth degree. Every chant and cheer was different and related to a specific player or specific moment in the game. I'm quite sure my Czech friends got tired of me asking: "What are they saying? What are they singing?" Sorry Aggies; I love you but you have nothing on these folks. At the end of the game Steve Brim looks at me and says; "Wouldn't it be great if everyone at church had that kind of enthusiam and spirit?" It was then I realized I had attended church twice that day.
We're having a great time and can feel your prayers. Sunday began with a wonderful worship experience at Maranatha UMC. Wonderful fellowsip, great music and a great sermon from Pastor Peter on living in God's Vineyard. Sunday afternoon was also amazing. We went to Prague to see a professional Fotbal (Soccer) match. The team we went see was Slavia Praha who are like the NY Yankees or Dallas Cowboys of the Czech Professional Liga (league). At one end of the stadium were the most incredible fans from the Slavia team. They stood, sang, cheered and chanted the whole game. The whole stadium shook and sounded and like a great choir. All of it choregraphed and planned to the nth degree. Every chant and cheer was different and related to a specific player or specific moment in the game. I'm quite sure my Czech friends got tired of me asking: "What are they saying? What are they singing?" Sorry Aggies; I love you but you have nothing on these folks. At the end of the game Steve Brim looks at me and says; "Wouldn't it be great if everyone at church had that kind of enthusiam and spirit?" It was then I realized I had attended church twice that day.
Monday work day
It started off raining so we had share time and indoor time with the clients at Holy Hill this morning but the sun did appear and we got right to work. We worked on several projects including redoing a chain link fence, clearing a room in the barn which will get painted soon. There were also doors to be sanded for re-painting.
We had a delicious meal with the clients and an awesome session sharing about God's grace.
We had afternoon tea at Pastors Ivana and Petr, their three children and Ivana's dad. It was delightful.
Then it was off to dinner at a traditional Medival restaurant.
Devotion time and now off to bed.
We had a delicious meal with the clients and an awesome session sharing about God's grace.
We had afternoon tea at Pastors Ivana and Petr, their three children and Ivana's dad. It was delightful.
Then it was off to dinner at a traditional Medival restaurant.
Devotion time and now off to bed.
1st day of working
Today was our first day at Holy Hill. It was amazing.
The day started off rainy but ended very sunny and nice. We had a variety of projects such sanding for painting, re-doing a chain link fence, cutting back some trees and shrubs so we could get the the fence, repairing brick walls, and cleaning out a storage room to prepare for repairs/painting.
We met all the guys at Holy Hill and they are all very nice and many of them speak English. After lunch we even had some time to play "leg ball" (which is like soccer-tennis) and bocce ball.
It was a really great day.
The day started off rainy but ended very sunny and nice. We had a variety of projects such sanding for painting, re-doing a chain link fence, cutting back some trees and shrubs so we could get the the fence, repairing brick walls, and cleaning out a storage room to prepare for repairs/painting.
We met all the guys at Holy Hill and they are all very nice and many of them speak English. After lunch we even had some time to play "leg ball" (which is like soccer-tennis) and bocce ball.
It was a really great day.
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