I did 5 camps in 6 weeks - I met lots of people (so many that I don't remember everyone, which I hate). Here's a bit about each camp:
English Camp
English camp, always the highlight of my summer. I've been doing these camps since I was a teenager! Not only do I enjoy the week of being with my youth group and meeting new kids from Pardubice, but I also enjoy the week of being with the team from Arkansas. They are always good to me in many ways, and this year they brought me a lifetime supply of peanut butter :)
The atmosphere at camp this year was overwhelmingly like family - I don't know why or how, but this was such a good camp for relationships. Every year we have kids who say they want to be involved with our youth group in some way, and then they drop off the face of the planet. I don't think this will be the case this year. Unfortunately since that time I've been so busy that i haven't attended any youth group events, but I hope follow up is going well, and I'm glad to be a part of the long-term follow up.
Family English Camp
Straight after English camp, I headed to my church's first ever family English camp. We partnered with a church from Indiana, and the two groups connected really well. I'm excited for the future of this camp, and I hope and pray that more families from outside the church will come.
I had no responsibilities at this camp - none. I helped with the little kid English group (below), so I chased toddlers around in the mornings, and that was it. I loved having the extra time and lack of responsibility to connect with families, some that I already knew, and some that I didn't know so well.
Irish Team #1: Chrudim Home Visit
We had a team from Ireland here for two weeks, and because of a mixup in the second week, we had to do things a bit differently, but it worked out really well. We stayed in the nearby town of Chrudim and went to visit a juvenile detention center/orphanage every afternoon. We played games, sports, did crafts, and shared our stories. I got to connect really well with their English/gym teacher who also lives in Pardubice, and we've kept in touch since then. Pray for opportunities with Nela, and that we'd be able to build a relationship.
A week "off"
During my week "off," I got to visit my good friends, Svatia and Jeremy across the country. I was in their wedding a year-and-a-half ago, and they had a wedding celebration in Czech since it was their first time being there together. It was refreshing to reconnect and to help with another wedding!
Another first for our camps and visiting teams was that they stayed in Prague for the first couple days of their visit. I stayed with them and showed them the sites, and they were a really fun group, especially to show around Prague.
The camp itself was also really good as the team was well-organized, and the children had really good leaders from their homes. This was the week where my exhaustion started to fully set in, but thankfully my coworker, Patrick was leading that week, and I could even take a day off.
Patrick is also planning to visit these homes regularly throughout the year, so I'm grateful that these kids will have long-term relationships built.
No team: Camp with Klanovice Children's Home
My last week of camp, which I was leading solo and without an international team, far exceeded my expectations. This home has a lot of older kids who in the past have participated very little. This year, we tailor-made the camp just for them, and the kids were great. I also had help from my Pardubice youth group which I'm so thankful for (Lydie and Petrunda above, and Petrunda and Andrea below).
I'll be visiting this home regularly throughout the year as it's only 45 minutes away. Their leaders and I connected well, and they're excited for me to come visit them. You can pray for this, since I'm not sure what my time there will look like.
I enjoyed the kids a lot more this year too, and they all seemed really happy to be there and get to know us too.
Since the last camp...
I very thankfully had a few days of straight rest, though problems with my visa ate into my time a bit.
Last week I went on "holiday" with my good friend Monika and her two kids. We had a great time staying active in the mountains, but I admit it was hard playing dad to two active kids!
I'm thankful for these weeks of rest. Keep praying for future ministry as I figure out what the fall will look like!
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