tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-247396582012-02-16T17:12:04.082-06:00Life is a journey. This is the travel blog of my encounters. You can read back about my cultural experiences in Europe(mostly CZ), my theological blunderings through seminary, and the most recent posts in my preparations for service as a pastor in the Presbyterian Church (USA).Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.comBlogger1321100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-4649265680874207422011-10-24T07:49:00.000-05:002011-10-24T07:49:55.258-05:00

To my friends and supporters around the world, I would like to share the joyous news that I have accepted a call to be the Pastor of First Presbyterian Church in St. Paul, Nebraska! Over the past few months I have enjoyed getting to know them through their Pastor Nominating Committee, their references and their joyful newsletters. Recently I have had the privilege to preach for them and visit

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-89438080399604543282011-09-15T15:23:00.000-05:002011-09-15T15:23:15.903-05:00

Today another friend shared some more great resources with me from "The Skit Guys".  Click on their picture above to follow a link to a brilliant parody of The Office called "The Workplace".  I've never been very comfortable watching The Office because it is full of all of those awkward and alienating moments in life which we generally try to forget about.  The boss-like guy and his assistant

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-65848616705390252862011-08-24T16:03:00.000-05:002011-08-24T16:03:21.598-05:00

A dear friend shared this great new resource with me which is changing the face of presentations across the world.  It's called Prezi, and it's a fun way of making power point more participatory.  Since this follows along with my yearnings for worship reform which encourages more participation and active thought, I've been playing around with reading scripture in Prezi.  Try this out and let me

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-52213994461156955332011-08-23T23:09:00.001-05:002011-08-23T23:25:07.666-05:00

Have you ever found something that your parents saved from your childhood that you're both embarrassed and excited to rediscover? Today my mom was cleaning out her office at work and found a short skit I had written back in college (ten years ago;) for use with explaining faith to kids. I think I wrote it originally for her puppet ministry…which uses a lot of puns, so brace yourself. I was

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-55931363244321241472011-08-10T22:56:00.003-05:002011-08-12T10:23:36.506-05:00

English Camp has always been more than just about teaching English. It's about building relationships across barriers. This happens so quickly in this cross cultural experience, because all are invited to live in that free space of acting outside of your comfort zone. I like to call this "active humility", because you have to be confident in looking ridiculous in front of 150 people. Once you

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-46682221078745265622011-07-26T17:41:00.001-05:002011-07-28T18:44:07.599-05:00

It's one thing to speak about mission theoretically as empowering others for action, and it is another to read it back from one of your partners in mission. Enjoy this letter from one of the volunteers which helped plan this year's camp. Keep in mind that this young adult was once a student, became a volunteer and now volunteered to be part of the planning team which encouraged and implemented

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-8033092784986003562011-07-24T16:54:00.000-05:002011-07-24T16:54:13.359-05:00

Curious about how the week ended? Here is a video of our final skit. Plus over the next week I will be featuring different films from our Film Laboratory. This film won the award for best groovy moves. This age group was encouraged to make a musical and this is what they came up with. You should meet this Lukas, he's just as adorable and heartwarming in real-life;) And so is Jana who plays

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-69802138218278316942011-07-23T17:42:00.001-05:002011-07-23T17:44:07.165-05:00

Are you ready to see our films? You can begin by enjoying the film of our youngest kids. They were making fairy tales. Enjoy!

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-91552775879820366342011-07-22T23:57:00.000-05:002011-07-22T23:57:53.828-05:00

Today we watched our final movies and they are amazing! Many of our volunteers stayed up most of the night to edit the films and add sound, subtitles and special effects. I think my favorite part of this years camp is that there are so many fingerprints throughout everything we have done! The Films accent the gifts of the children as well as the adult/youth volunteers--Czech and American. In

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-62531609988021481762011-07-21T07:51:00.001-05:002011-07-21T07:52:11.800-05:00

  I give thanks for every moment we have had here. Wednesday was so amazing, I will write about it more in retrospect. There are somethings I would like to put to words and more videos that I would like to upload. Until then, please enjoy our facebook posts if you are able and continue to hold us in your prayers. I am completely in awe of the time we have had here...sorry to leave you with a

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-21729108709599093982011-07-19T14:41:00.000-05:002011-07-19T14:41:28.194-05:00

Just in case you hadn't seen enough today, here are the pictures taken by one of our volunteers assigned to take pictures;) Monday and Tuesday

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-25972469825178024882011-07-19T07:55:00.000-05:002011-07-19T07:55:44.758-05:00

The Skits for our opening program are following a fun interpretation of the parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15). We are telling the story as a reality tv show called “One Big Happy Family”. The main story is like the parable, but with a few present day imaginations. Yesterday the younger son (Lil’ Brother - Caleb) requested his inheritance in order to go to Hollywood and become a movie

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-78333064596250244222011-07-18T13:29:00.000-05:002011-07-18T13:29:09.833-05:00

English Camp 2011: Sunday Preperations Monday We have been bustling around as we carry the weight of beginning a camp with many new team players and many new responsibilities for many of us. One of my new responsibilities is being a pastor for our team and here with our group. I feel it as I care for making sure all of the volunteers are included and responsible. And most importantly, I

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-24023046810675333502011-07-16T19:21:00.000-05:002011-07-16T19:21:45.873-05:00

Arrival of Americans Wow! Our entire American team has arrived in Policka along with their luggage. There have been a few bumps along the way, however, God continues to bring us through to the start of our camp! I won't talk too much, because I would rather you watch the video where several of our volunteers say hello to those of you who were not able to be with us. We miss you, and we thank

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-60004580243503129492011-07-08T18:01:00.000-05:002011-07-08T18:01:26.268-05:00

Week One: Journey to and around Policka More pictures from my travels with friends in the Czech Republic! Streets new and old, friends new and old, my summer of memories continues to remind me of where I've been and those who have accompanied me along the way. My friends have been helping me practice my Czech language and Czech ways of life, first and foremost walking a "bit further" than I was

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-67378302245998650092011-07-05T18:41:00.000-05:002011-07-05T18:41:33.103-05:00

Terezin Here's my travels from last week. I'm still compiling pictures from this week, but they will also appear about a week late I think. I've been having a fabulous time reconnecting with friends and beautiful places in the Czech Republic. You will see in the pictures some of my interesting experiences at Terezin, which served as a prison for many different oppressive rulers but most

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-89889636976479907842011-06-27T11:05:00.000-05:002011-06-27T11:05:22.429-05:00

The day has arrived! Today I am flying to Prague where I will meet with some friends and end up in Policka by Friday night! I'm so excited about all of our preparations for this year's English Camp! This year we are receiving back the ripples of the relationships we have been enjoying in Policka. When there was no longer an American available to write the curriculum for the English Camp,

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-5422122974833068612011-06-16T17:50:00.000-05:002011-06-16T17:50:00.455-05:00

We are bustling with plans for the camp! Yes, if you haven't heard at this point, we are doing our 8th English Camp in Policka this year! Can you believe it? Even more amazing is that some of our Czech volunteers have volunteered to plan the curriculum for the camp and they are doing a marvelous job! They have developed a Movie Star Theme where we will talk about some misconceptions of the

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-30544751983124307872011-06-05T14:20:00.001-05:002011-06-08T21:19:33.471-05:00

 For the last week I've been reconnecting with my friends in Madison, WI. I walked down familiar streets and sat in familiar places. I talked and laughed with many of those who were a strong support for me while I was living here and abroad, and I also made a lot of new friends in the process. I got to preach last Sunday at Christ Presbyterian Church (my Madison church family) and today I got

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-2591710994933662192011-05-18T07:58:00.000-05:002011-05-18T07:58:39.425-05:00

I'm writing on the way towards new things. Last Saturday I graduated from Columbia Theological Seminary, and Monday we set off towards Oklahoma for a summer of reconnecting with old friends and continuing in the process of connecting with churches in the search for God's calling in the Presbyterian Church USA. Friends, you will be glad to know that I've had several interviews, and as some

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-42880589113596219672011-04-07T15:55:00.000-05:002011-04-07T15:55:52.300-05:00

This week I had the pleasure of enjoying my last spring break in Washington DC and Philadelphia visiting some college friends. Traveling always makes me think about being in Europe and it was fun to compare DC with a European city--centuries of history on the streets and in the buildings. Not only was I wearing my Czech Backpack and Czech Shoes, but I also had to find my Czech legs as we walked

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-22939138402044583632011-03-17T13:06:00.000-05:002011-03-17T13:06:04.665-05:00

One of my favorite things to do these days is check out TedTalks on Hulu or YouTube.  Scientists and Artists from all over the world give powerful lectures with interactive powerpoint presentations telling of innovative ways to change the world.  This last week I watched a fantastic speech about Creativity by Amy Tan, Chinese-American author, business consultant and historian. She began by

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-71706088218790127702011-02-18T07:53:00.000-06:002011-02-18T07:53:05.525-06:00

I am taking this amazing class with Rodger Nishioka called "Teaching the Bible through Liberative Pedagogy".  In a nutshell, we're focusing on non-oppressive forms of teaching, ways to create dialogue and empower others.  First and foremost, we recognize as Parker Palmer says, that we teach ourselves, or we teach what we love and how we see the world.  So, a good teacher must be aware of that and

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-82465473044545386172011-02-12T09:50:00.000-06:002011-02-12T09:50:33.671-06:00

Tuesday I had my final examination before my own presbytery.  We had a beautiful worship service, everyone seemed receptive of my sermon, and they questioned me over the Bible, Polity, Worship and Theology. They voted to approve me for ordination pending my receipt of a call(in other words: offered a position as a pastor of a church)! I've made a video of moments from the worship service and

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-37328902145678788092011-01-30T20:42:00.000-06:002011-01-30T20:42:28.466-06:00

Friday morning a blind man opened my eyes to see the Lord.  Ken Medema, jazz musician and composer(remember "Our God is an Awesome God"?), led the worship team for the morning service and there was so much love in the room that I felt like he gave us all this huge embrace!  The whole service seemed to be like a musical as he sung narrative lines to move us through the different "spaces" of

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-14505268190878278962011-01-27T22:18:00.000-06:002011-01-27T22:18:32.720-06:00

Everyone goes to conferences looking for new ideas.  Here's what I learned today: leaders provide the space and the people bring the ideas.  We spent most of the day in a seminar on worship renewal.  Several churches requested grants which would essentially motivate a congregation to focus on some aspect of worship for one year.  They all said, "We didn't really need the grant, but the grant gave

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-19518234675264380972011-01-26T20:54:00.000-06:002011-01-26T20:54:41.739-06:00

This weekend I'll be attending the Calvin Institute for Worship Symposium in Grand Rapids, MI with my mom, a fellow worship renewal enthusiast.  If you are interested, I'll be posting some daily highlights and pictures as a way of journaling for myself and the Columbia Theological Seminary community.    You can also experience the worship first hand by watching some of the services on live

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-77589293043806230292011-01-24T07:54:00.000-06:002011-01-24T07:54:56.861-06:00

Disclaimer: This blog has never been overtly religious, with a point to include my friends who are not Christians.  Although, I've taken a more religious front lately, I still feel like I'm simply commenting on culture in general and I hope that you will continue to enjoy this blog with reflection on your own religious affiliation. This morning I read an incredibly intriguing article which

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-65004755908362087392011-01-21T15:36:00.000-06:002011-01-21T15:36:51.445-06:00

I love sci-fi and today as I was reading a book for class, I began to realize why I like some sci-fi films and abhor others.  Parker Palmer referred to one of humanities deepest fears as "having a live encounter with alien 'otherness'."  The other authors reflected on how some films encourage this fear of otherness, like Alien and Independence Day, while other films encourage playful and

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-72602284517171600652011-01-15T09:59:00.002-06:002011-01-15T09:59:19.056-06:00

Read this paragraph this morning in a book of Prayers for the Common Good, ed. By A Jean Lesher.  THIS is why I love Jesus, put to prose.  The passage focuses on gender, but I think it applies to all of humanity.  Jesus treats us like no other and helps us to find who we are without making us become someone else.  We don't forget ourselves as we follow Jesus, we remember our true selves, who we

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-2569895582796907212011-01-12T21:23:00.000-06:002011-01-12T21:23:46.139-06:00

Tonight I saw justice in the flesh and felt the streams of mercy flowing over and rushing up inside of me.  I went to visit Mercy Church in downtown Atlanta.  It's a community church of people varied in culture, social status and even faith.  They come together as family at this church.  For them being together is worship.  I spoke with a blind Jewish man about justice and faith, and he told me

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-41076137868215609802011-01-03T22:53:00.000-06:002011-01-03T22:53:14.929-06:00

Over the last few years, I've tried different formats and attempted to start other blogs. Lately I've been looking back over this blog and wanting to get back to my favorite time in blogging. It occurred to me that I still feel like I'm constantly encountering other cultures and new places, just like when I was traveling in Europe. So, the Blog has gone from Expedition English Camp, to

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-25605020226362992302009-05-08T12:48:00.001-05:002009-05-08T12:50:24.602-05:00

 One more week to go for my first year of Seminary! It's been so exciting, full of inspiration, confusion, joy, disappointment, but most of all exegesis, the study of scripture. I spent a lot of time wrestling with scripture for each class and out-side of class,writing sermons and doing research. Each class has called us to look at te Bible in a new way, whether it means to look at the effect

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-22603735500824663012009-03-13T14:59:00.002-05:002009-03-16T20:52:23.775-05:00

 Whew! I've made it half way through the semester, and I'm still alive(unlike these snowmen, who have now disappeared after our snow storm two weeks ago). I've been so busy in the last few weeks, but God has placed so many opportunities in my path, and I gratefully took advantage of them. After visiting several churches in Atlanta, I've finally found a congregation where I feel at home, North

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-12862866165996216302009-03-01T20:32:00.001-06:002009-03-01T20:36:52.865-06:00

 Life sure does keep you busy, when you let it. Translating Hebrew, diving into scripture for exegesis(the big seminary word for research like bible study/devotionals), and writing papers and sermons, these activities crowd my mind when I'm not sitting in worship, in class or at meals. I'm so lucky to have friends good enough to make me stop and enjoy life and put down my books. Today my friend

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-56769925073535819612009-02-13T06:59:00.004-06:002009-02-13T09:03:54.802-06:00

 Well, I'm finished with my second week of classes for the semester, and as the load begins to pick up, so do my spirits. January was an intense month. Tim and I went for a wonderful weekend on the Outer Banks of North Carolina before I brought him back to seminary. This picture was from Ocracoke, the most peaceful and beautiful (and full of mysteries) island of them all. I bought a nice book of

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-20098088901973342942009-01-01T14:07:00.001-06:002009-01-01T14:18:02.681-06:00

At the end of a long break, I’ve finally found the time to reflect on my first semester in Seminary, my first six months of re-acclimating myself to the American Lifestyle, and my first Christmas in Ponca in three years (plus my first Christmas Break in 6). So here goes, I’ll work backwards, starting with Christmas. (Me sharing the Czech tradition of lighting Sparklers with the kids at FPC Ponca

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-32012578721391546542008-11-06T09:10:00.005-06:002008-11-06T13:35:31.909-06:00

Dear friends, I know it's been a while since my last post, and I apologize. It seems like I feel like I have so many things I haven't shared with you while I've been here, and everything keeps piling up in my head. So, I'll go backwards a bit, most recent first. I stand in awe of the recent election. I didn't really know if we were ready for this, if Americans would actually vote for Obama,

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-73805325710871129302008-10-16T09:13:00.002-05:002008-10-16T09:27:56.190-05:00

OH! MY! I'm speechless! this is amazing! You HAVE to read Jeremy's post about the Movie Night they just had with 20 people and an amazing response! Click here to read his post Movie Night!I just have to say way to go! He showed a movie that most churches would never show because of the sex, violence, language, and dark content. In the US most churches would never take the chance of showing a

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-56079908489823628732008-09-22T16:51:00.008-05:002008-10-01T10:58:01.792-05:00

 Culture, Culture, culture surrounds me and my mind has been running like crazy. I wrote this post on Sunday, but it didn't get posted, so pretend that the date says September and not already October:)Last weekend I enjoyed some fun times with many new friends. Friday night we took a trip to Jazz Night at the High Art Museum. It took me a while to become acclimatized to the very modern jazz

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-18091573873512906442008-09-14T08:51:00.004-05:002008-09-15T18:28:22.938-05:00

 I just survived my first week of classes at Columbia Theological Seminary and I'm heading into another one. We've already had two quizzes in Hebrew, plus for my Wednesday class we're preparing a group presentation. I'm so excited about all of my classes. Old Testament has turned out to be more than a bible study, more than a history class, something more like Bible enrichment and history of

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-2864722744377697892008-08-26T21:52:00.002-05:002008-08-27T23:45:13.096-05:00

  Today I left with my parents and all of my things, heading to Decatur, GA. For the last month I’ve been preparing for seminary, unpacking and repacking all of my things, and visiting with friends. First I spent a little over a week in Madison, celebrating with my friends Jason and Joanna Cree during their week of wedding activities and the final big day. While there, I got to visit my Madison

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-25165487421475357632008-07-30T04:38:00.001-05:002008-12-11T23:36:19.459-06:00

So today I’m heading to Madison to see my friends Jason and Joanna get married, the Oklahomans are heading out towards Wichita, KS, and Jamie and Jeremy are heading through Germany on their mini tour of Europe before classes start(just like I did with Jacque and our friend Sarah Holstedt). This morning as I rode in my taxi, it took me past the Prague Castle and Charles Bridge, one last time,

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-28548498030880895522008-07-28T14:28:00.003-05:002008-12-11T23:36:20.766-06:00

I apologize for the lack of posting in the last few days. I have been emotionally and physically exhausted. Leaving Polička turned out to be every bit as difficult as I imagined it to be, but I survived and I know the friends I’m leaving behind will as well. During the camp on Friday, we talked about exits—leaving and what it is like to move on to another culture. We sang Pharaoh, Pharaoh, as

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-44868599289352756002008-07-24T17:28:00.001-05:002008-12-11T23:36:21.551-06:00

    So, yesterday I missed the daily blog post. Wednesday is always the most stressful, but once it’s over, it’s all down hill from there. Our morning scripture focused on the story of Mary and Martha, reminding us that as we go through this day full of tasks and activities, we should take the time to sit and listen to our friends. In the evening, Cerna Ovce, our band from the church, presented

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-33829777714595668022008-07-22T16:41:00.000-05:002008-12-11T23:36:22.987-06:00

    Today we were full on into the stream of class time and work. Again, most of the same people from yesterday showed up for our reflection time and we even had a few new people. We’ve been singing in Czech and in English and I think it helps us all feel on the same page, a bit awkward but together in front of our grace giving God. We opened with the story of Zacchaeus, the outsider which

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-42743936307706683722008-07-21T10:48:00.001-05:002008-12-11T23:36:24.433-06:00

    OH, was today exciting! We started today with our first "Daily Reflection," which we have opened up to the helpers and students. We didn't really know who would show up for the devotional time. I was counting on the Americans, but the funny thing is that when it was time to start, there were more Czechs than Americans. We began with a song in Czech and English and then read from the book

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-62615689341458997402008-07-20T16:16:00.001-05:002008-12-11T23:36:25.719-06:00

Camp 2008; The first Sundayclick here to see picturesThis morning we began with an amazing worship, filled with music and involvement of so many people! The handbells played, Cerna Ovce played, our church choir sang, Jacque and I sang during communion, and all of the songs were in English and Czech. Then we sort of partied all day, with a bit of hard work inbetween. Looking at these photos, you

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-47724715892088520682008-07-19T16:08:00.003-05:002008-12-11T23:36:26.474-06:00

This morning most of the team slept in to at least 10am and the others were too filled with excitement(like me) and woke up at 6am ready to get to work and start having fun. It was a long day for me and several others who helped to Černa Ovce(our church band) get set up. Jeremy has started to help us with sound and is doing a great job filling the gap, mixing it just like we needed. Jirka Švec

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-83297449603804293722008-07-19T02:05:00.000-05:002008-12-11T23:36:27.458-06:00

 Believe it or not, yesterday we met the crew from Oklahoma and Everyone has arrived, On time and with ALL OF THEIR LUGGAGE! Considering we had one group yesterday and four other people arriving from different places or with different circumstances at other times this week, this is an amazing fact. Several Czechs traveled from Policka to welcome them and as you can see from the picture above,

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-47581779727662296692008-07-18T02:20:00.002-05:002008-12-11T23:36:28.809-06:00

 Jacque and I met Jamie and Jeremy at the airport as they arrived on time with all of their suitcases! We had a great time last night as we shared dinner with Anna and Jan. We've been getting to know each other and sharing lots of laughs! After dinner we went down to the cellar of our hostel where they have a nice pub and Jeremy and I had some good Czech beer: Kozel. This morning we're all a

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-24537844713459544292008-07-15T17:12:00.001-05:002008-12-11T23:36:29.865-06:00

 For the last two weeks I have been traveling and visiting friends, preparing for the camp and preparing for leaving as I take a last good look at this countryside and share the final cups of coffee before heading home.My friend Debbie Fields came to visit me for a week and we ended up spending most of the time talking with my friends about Czech culture. As we visited museums and I translated

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-62727543155409879972008-06-28T03:42:00.001-05:002008-12-11T23:36:30.967-06:00

 We finished this year with a bang! Several kids, youth, and parents came for the end of the year Ice Cream Party. We had several activities, card games and football upstairs, jump-rope and chalk outside, plus Ice-Cream and Frisbee Baseball to finish it off. Another fun activity was the bobbing for apples. The kids loved putting their head all the way into the water. What a great way to end

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-88210029651474373802008-06-20T01:33:00.003-05:002008-06-20T03:48:55.285-05:00

This week I had my last official classes. Next week we will have some parties, but I found out some of the kids will already be on vacation, so this was our last time together. Yesterday one of them gave me a very sweet note and another told me personally how much they loved coming to my classes. I can't tell you how valuable this was for me, because this was from my class of 1st-3rd grade

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-60887872285132795622008-06-12T05:04:00.002-05:002008-12-11T23:36:31.399-06:00

Our second Pokec/Chat Show was a hit. We had a another small, but good audience(10 people, if the host counts) with several new and some returning. Everyone had a good time and we learned a lot about our guest, Jana Galgociova, who some of you might have met at the summer English Camp. She teaches history and Czech language at the high school and most of the audience knows her quite well. We

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-38730700289855934902008-06-09T14:26:00.013-05:002008-12-11T23:36:33.174-06:00

This weekend some of the families from our church went for a retreat down in Southern Bohemia. The nature just jumped out all around us. We saw the most beautiful beetles on our walk and Bara swears she saw a wild pig running through the forest. I just saw the grass moving and heard it's footsteps. All of the Czechs were like, "Kati don't worry, they're incredibly afraid of people and they

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-47772003679351753312008-05-28T01:10:00.003-05:002008-12-11T23:36:34.022-06:00

Our talk show/worship led by the rock group from our church,Black Sheep(Černa ovce)We have about 6 standard songs we can play and we spread them throughout the show. We invited the audience to sing with us and most of them did.Pastor Jan was our first guest and it was a nice time for the youth to get to know him on a different level.At the end we had a fun task for our guest and two audience

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-81321734012212864972008-05-12T12:55:00.003-05:002008-05-12T13:10:30.795-05:00

First installment of video clips from our April Fool's Night.First a video of our Band playing one of the Czech favorites. If you are Czech, you know this one:) If not, you can enjoy watching us play and seeing the people in the audience.Introduction and first joke.Part of my introduction is in English, but most of it is in Czech. This video is especially for those of you who have said that

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-88628585546949909252008-05-08T03:35:00.005-05:002008-12-11T23:36:34.457-06:00

Finally, our band has a name! Černa ovce as in the Black Sheep(singular). I think it works so well. We're a Christian band, with Jesus as our shepherd, so the sheep image fits. Plus the whole concept of the black sheep carries through this culture and perfectly describes the life of a Christian in an atheist world. The youth had this idea and they all like it. We're Černa ovce. Here's an

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-15271046586531846112008-05-05T09:07:00.003-05:002008-12-11T23:36:35.056-06:00

Just when you think it's all smooth sailing ahead, a strong wind is sure to blow. This picture you see shows our recently finished church building from the 1930's. The country was flourishing and no one quite foresaw the inevitable occupation by the Germans and then the Russians. Not that our situation can in anyway compare to the totality and devastation those strong winds brought, but our

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-77636971596345123462008-04-25T03:18:00.002-05:002008-04-25T03:30:58.567-05:00

Here's a little teaser for you to enjoy while I'm still trying to get the film from the camera onto my computer. Some of our pictures also didn't turn out so well, because of lighting, so I'm waiting for some others from our friends who have more advanced cameras. This video shows some of our practice with the 4th and 5th grade class as we were preparing for the April Fool's Night. We were

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-55207001977539194892008-04-18T07:05:00.002-05:002008-12-11T23:36:37.184-06:00

    What an exciting night! In these pictures you see the preparations for our big talent show, the April Fool's Night. The band played, the choir sang, and all of the English classes participated. We all had a good time and laughed a lot. I'm still editing the video and other pictures so you'll see them sometime next week. I'm so sorry that I've been pretty bad at posting in the last month.

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-87486965555839131982008-03-21T04:50:00.001-05:002008-12-11T23:36:38.170-06:00

Seder Mealclick here to see whole albumYesterday went smoothly for our Czech-American-Jewish Seder. If you click on the photo album you can read my comments and follow along with the events of the night.  All in all I think everything turned out nicely as we drank wine, took time to think on God's faithfulness and mercy, and enjoyed the food which all had meaning(and tasted fantastic--even the

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-50631202138101466872008-03-12T02:47:00.007-05:002008-12-11T23:36:39.099-06:00

Holidays always seem to be an interesting time in another culture. I’m expecting one thing, but something else always happens. This Easter Season we’ve been planning a Seder dinner for people in the community and our church. I’ve been to three of these meals in the US, two in Ponca City at First Presbyterian and then one in Madison with a congregation of Messianic Jews. Although each one was

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-3743148709418804572008-03-04T02:47:00.002-06:002008-03-04T03:01:27.923-06:00

Game night and Family Sundayclick here for picturesWhile the Semi-hurricane Emma was blasting through Europe, we were partying at the Church, for what seemed like a whirlwind of a weekend. It all started with a Game Night on Saturday, where we took a trip to the school gym and played some fun big group games. Just before we were about to finish the power went out!! Imagine a room full of 20

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-89633938492603501092008-02-11T12:12:00.000-06:002008-12-11T23:36:43.667-06:00

Wow, when I think about how far I’ve come in a year, in two years since I committed to this ministry, I stand in awe of God’s masterful plan. I looked back at my posts from last year, and I found that I didn't write about my experiences during the ski trip I went on last year. Maybe I thought it was too humiliating to put on the website. I went to this ski course for youth 24 years and older,

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-99393473583957832008-01-25T02:11:00.000-06:002008-01-25T02:44:46.905-06:00

As I mentioned in the last post, we made some campaign videos in our English classes to help us choose a President of English Classes. We did different activities to discuss what we value in life and each class choose different values to represent their class and candidate for office. Some of our classes chose to say that Mobile phones, computers, and sports are important in their life, and

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-69303394711474889552008-01-11T04:00:00.000-06:002008-12-11T23:36:44.900-06:00

It's a very special year in the US and the Czech Republic as we both choose a new president. In the Czech system, the Parliment elects the president, and the process is completely different than in the USA. So I thought it would be fun for the kids to learn about our process while they're hearing and reading about it in the news. This week we had our own round of Primaries where we selected

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-10565539675307167812007-12-24T03:08:00.000-06:002008-12-11T23:36:46.113-06:00

  It's like living in a winter wonderland; it's been so cold and moist that the snow seems to just form out of thin air and attach to the trees. The top picture was taken in the morning on my way to work on Friday, and the next picture shows the long line of people waiting to buy their carp for the Christmas Dinner. Yesterday we had a full day, the our Christmas pageant in the morning and Live

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-82254257950233406072007-12-19T06:46:00.000-06:002008-12-11T23:36:46.381-06:00

The spirit of Christmas has been buzzing around our church all through the month of December. We started off by making some things for our Christmas Bazaar led by the women of the Church and the Sunday School Classes. The profits from our sales will go to help a teenage boy in India. The biggest hit was our Snowman Soup, made with hot chocolate and marshmallows(quite a novelty here).This month

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-49727902003338839512007-11-29T04:50:00.000-06:002007-11-29T05:31:09.278-06:00

Best Thanksgiving Everclick here to viewWho would believe that you could convince a bunch of families, where both parents work, to fix a hot dish and bring it to the church on a Thursday night along with their whole family, not knowing what to expect except this American Thanksgiving Feast, which they've only heard about in movies. I think the final count of people turned out to be over 70 with

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-39128306518367990852007-11-19T08:13:00.000-06:002008-12-11T23:36:46.923-06:00

It's hard to believe Thanksgiving is around the corner when everything looks like Christmas. Last week it snowed everyday and the stores started putting up decorations as people started their Christmas shopping. In the Czech Republic, Thanksgiving falls around the same time as Halloween and All Saints day. They celebrate by decorating the graves of their loved ones and both Catholic and

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-38256676572066580092007-11-04T07:11:00.000-06:002007-11-05T04:49:35.171-06:00

I'm so excited! Yesterday our new band played in the worship service for the first time. They sounded fantastic and everyone loved it. Even the old ladies were smiling, and one of them came up to me afterwards to say how much she liked it. AMAZING! The song turned out really well, and I'm just so proud of them! I can't wait for us to play again, and neither can anyone else. We've already

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-65821133438611211962007-10-31T16:04:00.000-05:002008-12-11T23:36:47.143-06:00

Halloween Party of 2007; night of the mummyclick here to view picturesWhat a night! We had such a great time that I wanted to post these pictures IMMEDIATELY for you all to enjoy while you're in the "Halloween Spirit," so to say. This year I planned the party with several goals in mind: include a variety of ages, include the parents, give them lots of candy, encourage them to watch out for each

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-58570123267466364642007-10-12T04:06:00.000-05:002008-12-11T23:36:47.717-06:00

This Sunday we celebrated 70 years since the dedication of this church building. We had a special service with guest speakers and special music featuring the new organ bought after several years of fundraising in this church and investments made by many individuals in the US. I think there are many times that I take this building for granted. We have a beautiful church which reflects the hard

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-28728586270532378162007-10-09T06:50:00.000-05:002008-12-11T23:36:47.891-06:00

Two weekends ago I dove into language immersion as I attended the annual National Youth Conference for our church. I’ve been to many youth gatherings in the US, so I thought I would know what to expect, especially looking at the program. But of course, many things about the weekend struck me as strange. It must be understood that the great number of people attending were 17-24 years old and

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-8158242474740070412007-09-27T13:18:00.001-05:002007-09-27T13:26:09.009-05:00

Ice Cream Partyclick here to viewRain, rain, go away, come again another day. It’s been raining so much lately that it’s easy to forget the amazing weather we had last weekend for the Ice Cream Party. Amazingly enough the temperature was just warm enough for us to enjoy the delicious ice cream. Fifty parents and children came to our kick-off Party to find out the results of my scheduling

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-59133237459771462122007-09-25T13:53:00.000-05:002008-12-11T23:36:48.216-06:00

 Today turned out to be quite a rainy day, but as far as my classes were concerned, it seemed pretty joyful to me. I packed my schedule pretty tightly for Tuesdays and Thursdays, with four classes on each day with only 15 minutes in between. On Wednesdays I'll have two classes, and on Fridays I'll have youth group and sometimes a special activity. I was pretty nervous about how this first day

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-1754412470277292412007-09-20T06:11:00.000-05:002008-12-11T23:36:48.494-06:00

It really has been fun starting in Policka again. I really like my new flat and I like living in the middle of town. I have to walk to and from the church at least twice a day if I go home for lunch and it’s good for my health and allows me to see people and feel like I’m a part of the community. I’m speaking Czech more easily and I think it’s all because I feel like I have more

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-19406633340985316612007-09-12T11:24:00.001-05:002008-12-11T23:36:50.405-06:00

I finished up my week in the US with many appointments. I visited with the people of the First Presbyterian Church in Tonkawa on my last Sunday. I've been corresponding with them and they've been supporting us as well. Again I felt this connection as I saw the smiling faces of people I had only known by name. I visited some friends and even talked to people in my church about my desire to go

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-12672717037074395472007-08-31T23:25:00.000-05:002008-12-11T23:36:51.277-06:00

Well, I’m home in Oklahoma for one more week before I take a flight back to the Czech Republic. It’s been great catching up on old times with friends and sharing with people about our activities in Polička.I realized that I’ve left off the details about my whole itinerary here on the blog. I’ve been just giving you the jist of my experiences. I’ve visited five churches while I’ve been here and

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-66857698659556477762007-08-15T08:44:00.000-05:002008-12-11T23:37:04.020-06:00

The last Sunday of Camp came quickly for all of us, but what an amazing day it was. All week long we had talked about Random Acts of Kindness and everything was brought together in the worship service Sunday morning. Pastor Jan gave a Sermon based on the Parable of the Sower, and he asked us to consider what kind of seed we will be when someone does a random act of kindness for us. Will we

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-79404176086938658972007-07-27T16:41:00.000-05:002008-12-11T23:37:04.522-06:00

English Camp 2007; Friday!!!!click hereFriday came so quickly! Wow, I actually can't believe the camp is over, and now even the garden party is over! I've posted some pictures from today, so quickly, for all of you who couldn't be here. We missed you and lot of the kids say, "Ahoj! Hello!" I'm sorry that I don't have a lot of words at the moment, but hopefully I will have a chance to reflect

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-13270213673458904672007-07-26T09:04:00.000-05:002007-07-26T10:46:11.099-05:00

English Camp; Wednesdayclick hereThe Young King David told us his story about fighting the giant to protect his people and family, as we talked about kind acts that start small and turn out to be big. As the kids traveled around to the different classes they found very exciting activities on this not so normal Wednesday. Check out the Baseball games, the invisible bubbles, and the T-shirts!I

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-79992754282948716232007-07-25T06:58:00.001-05:002007-07-25T07:03:20.941-05:00

English Camp 2007; Tuesdayclick here to view-Day 2Well, Ester welcomed us into the second day of camp, as we learned about volunteers, who do things for others who can't. In Drama, the kids came up with commercials to tell other people how they could help. In Surprise, the kids went searching for little bits of information, in snack they started their crossword puzzle for the week, in

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-24203454509342008352007-07-24T01:26:00.000-05:002007-07-24T07:31:05.532-05:00

English Camp 2007; Mondayclick here to view--Day 1Monday morning we began bright and early with some of our favorite Engergizers: 500 miles and Star trekkin’. After a welcome and introduction, we had our first skit of the week that talked about the theme for the week, Random Acts of Kindness. Abigail’s story(1 Samuel 25) helped us to understand ordinary deeds of goodwill that can make a

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-11332016940420396432007-07-22T23:47:00.000-05:002008-12-11T23:37:04.769-06:00

English Camp 2007;Saturday and Sundayclick here to view picturesOn Saturday we spent the afternoon with our host families. Some went to play mini golf, some went to the forest and picked blueberries, and Jacque and I went to see Harry Potter 5...dubbed in Czech, believe it or not. I think we all had some fun experiences. That night we came together with all of the families and got to know each

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-13149456253210708242007-07-21T01:44:00.000-05:002007-07-21T14:49:11.906-05:00

English Camp 2007; welcoming the Americans(click here to view pictures)Well, believe it or not, the Americans arrived to Czech Republic on Friday afternoon, safe and sound, with hardly any problems on the way here. Several of the Czechs came to the airport to welcome them, and I was glad that I could be there as well to greet them and make them feel at home.

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-8361551332071387672007-06-28T14:57:00.000-05:002008-12-11T23:37:04.972-06:00

 Thursday was my last day of classes and it ended nicely with my high school conversation class at the bowling alley. I know you don’t need a lot of English to bowl, but we had a lot of nice conversation between frames. In fact the popular question this week was, “What will you do this summer?” Many of my students are looking forward to our upcoming English camp in July. I’m sure many of you

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-45233650427558689392007-06-03T09:02:00.000-05:002007-06-03T09:54:44.875-05:00

Čas pro neobyčejné zážitky(The picture above serves as a link to the photo album)Last night we provided activities for Policka's "Time for unusual experiences." During this festival, or exposition rather, people walk from place to place in Policka to get a sample of interesting activities. For instance the schools, the Gallery, Museum, and other places presented concerts or exhibitions that

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-59108885321913798532007-05-31T15:38:00.001-05:002007-05-31T16:16:58.563-05:00

I wanted to write a notice to let you know the next newsletter will be coming soon, but as a combination of May and June. The July and August newsletters will also be put together into one newsletter. Many factors brought me to this decision, but in the mean time I have posted some more pictures. I think it would be fun to make this an interactive post. With my High School class we had a

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-39814481576049045842007-05-30T01:50:00.000-05:002007-05-30T02:44:29.356-05:00

Disco NightI realize that I haven't said much on this website about how much I owe to my helpers. I have one to two helpers for each class(except my adult and High School classes), and each event requires lots of people to make it go smoothly. Sometimes I feel like I am scrambling for help and other times I end up with two much help. Events like this Disco Night, remind me that I couldn't be

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-88575336452745364372007-05-13T14:21:00.000-05:002008-12-11T23:37:05.691-06:00

Later Friday afternoon, I left for Havlíčkův Brod to visit some friends I made when I sang in the prison, oh, but I guess I didn't tell that story on my blog, so maybe I should give some more background. One of the ministers in our presbytery invited me to visit the Easter service in a women's prison. I thought it would be interesting, mostly because I was eager to spend some more time with his

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-91628776843105671092007-05-13T13:05:00.000-05:002008-12-11T23:37:07.157-06:00

On Friday morning I got up for the parade of the annual spring festival in Czech schools called Majáles(May festival). Each class from the High School creates a costume and there's a competition for the best one. I dressed up with one of my English classes and they ended up winning for their "mask" of trash. The Mayor, our judge, said that it was very ecological, however, we seemed to be

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-35533395078296939522007-04-25T03:46:00.000-05:002007-04-29T08:19:10.692-05:00

I sang with a great Early Music choir last weekend. All of the people are from villages or cities within our region of CZ and they belong to our denomination. I knew a few of them before hand, but there were many new people who I didn't know and who don't speak English. Originally they asked me to sing some solos and said that I could sing with the choir too, if I wanted. Then when I said I

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-76032140880345499022007-04-23T12:44:00.000-05:002007-05-13T06:30:43.072-05:00

I've put together a short video with clips and pictures from our variety show in the church a week ago. Each of the classes contributed in some way and so did many of the families from the congregation. I had a blast, and I was so happy with the way things turned out. Lots of people came, and we had a lot of fun. Before the end of the show, we invited the students and parents upstairs for

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-30543260592741563672007-04-08T13:00:00.000-05:002007-04-08T13:02:11.858-05:00

If you are interested in more pictures of us decorating Easter Eggs, check out My Photos (password:policka)

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-26826819318893616302007-04-07T11:33:00.000-05:002008-12-11T23:37:08.939-06:00

I’m sorry I’ve had writers block lately. I’ve had some allergy problems with all of the new plants blooming around me, so I don’t quite feel like writing. I do want to make a quick note though. Easter is a little different here. Palm Sunday had no palms in church and Easter Sunday will have no trumpets, but I think trumpets would be really strange in this church. I’m now realizing how much

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-43202064028580365962007-03-25T07:38:00.000-05:002008-12-11T23:37:09.127-06:00

I’ve been reading this book, Ministering Cross Culturally, by Lingenfelter and Mayers. I already wrote about it in the post Direction, where he insists that a missionary must become a 150% person, loosing some habits and gaining new ones, never again being completely from one culture but 75% each of the home culture and the foreign one. In the next chapter he has you take a personality test to

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739658.post-89923843437058743392007-03-15T07:40:00.000-05:002008-12-11T23:37:09.251-06:00

Oh, wow! We had a great game night last week, and I've been bursting to share it with you, but I have been waiting to load the pictures. This was our second game night, and I planned ahead, asking many people to help. On Thursday, I was nervous that we might have more helpers than kids, and I wasn't quite sure what I would do to keep them all busy. Then on friday I had set up this simulation

Katihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16200793322563470256noreply@blogger.com0