Friday, 20 June 2014

Photo Friday - 20th June



In Tescos here there are vodka vending machines.. this is one of the two in this store.


This weekend was Svátek tří bratří - the celebration of the three brothers who founded our town. So there was a lot of programmes and festivities around town. And for church on Sunday all six churches in town came together and had church on the town square! It was wonderful to sing how great God is in the middle of my town.


On Monday I was walking home and noticed this little blue tent which had people offering Bibles in it. I didn't have time to stop and chat. Also this week I had Jehovah's Witnesses on my doorstep again. And I live opposite a place where Buddhists meet. It's clear that people are searching for something.


On Tuesday S-Team, Specialties Team, had lunch together. Between us we will go to every JV country except Albania this summer. We're excited to visit a lot of camps and support the teams in the different countries.


I still love sewing and sewed a little car mat. This is it in progress.


I rarely leave my house without seeing someone reading that black noticeboard which displays the death notices for the town.


The weather is a little greyer again this week.

Friday, 13 June 2014

Photo Friday 13th June



The wonderful Polish farmers' market that is a five minute walk from my house. I loved walking over here and buying fresh fruit and vegetables on a quiet Saturday morning.


We had some glorious weather this week!


The swings in my town are one of my favourite spots.


Being on the road for the Amazing Race and then being away at Intern Training meant I ate a lot of food on the run - lots of petrol station stops and a lot of McDonalds (easy to grab, you know what you're getting, tend to be close to the road, free toilets, free wifi...) so it felt good to be home and eating fresh food.


Although that also included a sausage sandwich. I can only get sausages in Prague so they're something I pick up at the Marks and Spencers there and ration out of my freezer. 


I've started a programme called Couch to 5k - it tells you when to walk and when to run and over eight weeks you gradually increase your running to 5km! Thankfully I live right by a really pretty river that is fun to walk/run along.


Friends over for dinner so fajitas for dinner. So thankful for my community here.

Tuesday, 10 June 2014

How JV Began


Josiah Venture is celebrating it's 20th birthday this year! I am so thankful to be a part of this organisation. If you would like to read an excellent post on the story behind the start of JV, and more about our vision and mission click over to the JV blog here.

And, while you're there, bookmark that page! Every week between now and the end of the year there will be a new blog post talking about what God has done, and what He is doing, in these nations.

Friday, 6 June 2014

Photo Friday 6th June



Saturday was the start of Intern Training!


It was a joy to talk about prayer with the interns. They rotated round six different talks in groups of twenty. I loved giving them 5-10 minutes to pray for their summers as part of my talk.


Each country had to count the t-shirts for their camps. Overseeing this feels stressful but I love what it symbolises - young people hearing about Jesus!


I love the conversations that happen in the beautiful Malenovice, over delicious cake, with wonderful people.

On Tuesday night, after a time of prayer and communion, we commissioned each countries' interns.

And on Wednesday morning they headed into these beautiful nations!

What my home looks like when I arrive home from such events - lots of stuff, lots of laundry.



I have an app that shows me what I posted on social media on this day every year. It was funny to see this - a year ago I was in Cesky Tesin exploring it as my home-to-be and now it is my home. Very grateful.

Thursday, 5 June 2014

Grace showing up

Yesterday I arrived home after nine days away at the Amazing Race and Intern Training. And I managed to sleep sixteen hours between arriving home and 9am this morning.

There is so much to say, and so much I will say in coming days, but for now know that God was incredibly gracious. He graciously answered your prayers. His grace showed up in so many things going right. His grace showed up in the incredible staff and interns we have. His grace showed up in allowing me to be a channel of His grace.

And I am so thankful. 

In these next couple of days I want to, and need to, rest well. It has been a crazy nine days and then there was the busy build-up too. I would so appreciate prayers for these couple of rest days, that I would use them well and that God's grace would again overwhelm them.

I'm so excited to share some of the stories from the last nine days, but for now here is a beautiful video that one of our very talented interns, Giselle, created showing some of the Amazing Race and Intern Training. Check it out!


Friday, 30 May 2014

Photo Friday 30th May



It was Caleb's birthday party!


Paul Bowman was in Wisla, Poland for a conference so I drove the thirty minutes so we could grab some coffee. 




On Monday night I had Kristy, a missionary in Ukraine, and her two children, and Yulia from Ukraine staying with me. Czech was the rest stop for many on their way to the Amazing Race.


Our leaders' meeting the night before the Amazing Race. Brooke was the person who organised the race this year and she did an amazing job!


Lake Bled is so beautiful!


So is Ljubljana! 


Interns reflecting on and praying for their summer at the top of a hill on the last day of the Amazing Race. 

Monday, 26 May 2014

The Amazing Race!

Tomorrow morning I'll be leaving home to head south to Slovenia for the start of the Amazing Race! The Amazing Race is an American reality TV show where teams compete challenges all over the world for prizes. We have taken the idea and use it as a three-day team building exercise for our interns as they arrive to serve for the summer.

So on Wednesday morning we'll have around ninety interns descending on Lake Bled in Slovenia where they'll meet the rest of their team and start the race! There will be nineteen teams in total!

The JV missionaries helping at or running the race, along with any European interns, are travelling to Slovenia tomorrow for a pre-race meeting. Then on Wednesday morning I'll be getting up super early along with two others to travel to Munich airport to meet all the international arrivals!

We'll arrive back at Malenovice, our training centre in the Czech Republic, on Friday evening to start Intern Training on Saturday morning.

This is my third Amazing Race - in my first I was a participant as we raced through Krakow in 2012, last year I was a helper in Ukraine, and this year I'm a helper and holder of details in Slovenia.

Please pray for us for these three days! Pray that everyone (by car or plane) will arrive safely, pray for continued safety across the three days (I think I'll have around 24 hours of driving across the four days but I'll also have help for some of it!), and pray that teams would get to know each other well. This experience is great for getting to know your team and bonding well so they can serve effectively all summer.