Something Simple in RO...

This morning we went with Peter to a church in the mountains next to Beius.  The beauty of the landscape was amazing.  We drove up a small winding road, a stream of water, colorful homes and fields of crops lined the road as we traveled.  It was an amazing gift from Father!  The beauty of His creation was calming to me as we traveled this road. 

When we arrived in the village, we were exiting the van and looking around to take in all the surroundings.  Then we heard a drum beat, pounding out a rhythm followed by the bell of a church calling the town people to worship.  This call was coming from a church down the a small way from where we were going.  We were looking for the church and then Peter said it is here...we turned to see what looked like a home, it then we began to hear the voices from inside singing and praying.  Their voices were as sweet sounding as anything you could ever imagine. 

The service was a great blessing from the Lord.  Peter asked our team to share whatever God had laid on our hearts.  Elijah shared of a testimony of God's faithfulness and love for him, thankful that he has been able to return to Romania again this summer.  Nehemiah shared how he was thankful to meet other believers on the other side of the world that know and worship the same God as we do in America.  Preston shared a story from his life, reminding us that God is faithful and is always with us.   A couple from Tulsa, OK...Paul and Jeanette shared a great story of God's faithfulness and love.  They are an amazing couple!  Allison....from north of Chicago..shared testimony then played guitar and sang.  She is working with REMM for the summer, she too is an amazing young woman.  I shared about the destruction of the tornados in Ringgold and how God has shown that He is faithful and that we can always depend on Him even when we don't understand the things that are going on around us. Then shared in song...Jesus Loves Me.

More about this morning later....

Now we take a nap...then prepare for music camp to start in the morning....we have 32 registered to attend!  Pray for wisdom and unity among our team. Praying that the name of Jesus would be proclaimed above all else. 

Romania...June Mission team 2011

Did you know that in the summer the sun rises at 4:45 am in the Czech Republic and Romania?  We woke up and thought it was time to get ready for the day.  It was crazy!  We did okay though...we just went back to sleep.  The sun does not go down until almost 10:15pm.  Makes for some very long days! 

It is great here in Romania.  We have been preparing our supplies for the music camp.  Excited to get it started on Monday! 

Below are some pictures of things we have been doing.  God is working in each of our hearts during our time here.  Keep us in your prayers. 

Hello from Europe! Reunion....

Dear family and friends!  We started out on the first leg of our journey landing safely in the Czech Republic on Friday a little after lunch time.  Our flights were good, only a slight delay of three and a half hours at JFK due to a storm.  When landing in Prague(known as Praha in Czech) we were greeted at the airport by my precious friend Gaby!  It was an amazing blessing to see her in person for the first time since we met in Oct. of 2009 when I was here for my first foreign mission trip.  God has been so gracious to give me true friends here in  the Czech Republic.  Gaby took us to her apartment, provided a meal for us... such wonderful hospitality!  We then packed a backpack for a short two night trip to the city of Brno, Czech Republic, where we would attend the KVZ Students for Christ 20 Year Celebration!

We traveled with Gaby by bus to Brno.  It was fun to watch the boys get to know her and talk with her.  It was hilarious at times on the bus.. we got the last seats on the bus...the back 5 seats of the bus!  I forgot to tell the boys that Czech's don't talk as loud as we American's.  It was so funny, the bus was so quiet and I said they are probably saying "those loud American's!"...LOL   It was a great time of fellowship.

When we arrived we were greeted at the bus station by another dear friend...Rosta!  I have kept in contact with his wife,  Draha as well.  It was beginning to feel like a family reunion...a reunion with God's family!  Rosta took us to our hotel, got us checked in and said good night.  We then made our first adventure to a resturant on our own.  It was great...I had an original Czech meal like I had experienced when here before.  Preston ordered a trout (fish...for those who don't know...LOL), when they sat the plate down in front of him I said, "oh my word, I am glad I that is not my plate!"  the head, fins and skin were all still attached....GROSS!  He said it tasted good...LOL.  Elijah ate something like pasta and a white sauce, kinda like alfredo sauce..but not.  And, good ole Nehemiah had chocolate and vanilla ice cream!!!

Saturday was the beginning of a reunion with my friends here in Czech!  The celebration event was like that of a well orchestrated conference with the beautiful sounds of worship in the Czech language and testimonies of those whose lives God has changed through this ministry.  It was a great time to hear the Word given by some other ministries that have come along side KVZ to work to spread the Gospel to the Czech Republic, Poland and Solvakia.  Beautiful friends...I love you all so much!  I am still can not get over the fact that God opened the door for me to return to Czech if even for a few days!

Saturday after the conference we went to downtown Brno with some KVZ friends and fellow Believers in Christ.  We had a wonderful time....taking crazy photos, sharing our stories of God's work in our lives, building friendships, being challenged in our own walk with the Savior, making eternal memories.  Thanks so much Andrea, Sonya, Katka and Filip!!!!  We love you all!!