Thanksgiving

This year, I got to celebrate Thanksgiving twice! :)

On Thursday, as usual, we celebrated Thanksgiving with our Josiah Venture family. JV Thanksgiving conference is always one of the highlights of my year... what with all that food (the best food I've ever tasted!), lovely people, hangout time, and the annual talent show! Talent shows are so much fun, because (mainly) JV Kids are so talented! I love watching everyone show what they can do, and how God has gifted them.

My second celebration of Thanksgiving happened today! Our youth group organized an evening and brought all the food, and Caleb and I hosted the party at our house. I loved hosting it! It was fun being in an environment where I was really comfortable, and where I could help out. We had a great time chatting and enjoying each others company. :) Those are the bonding moments I love!

I am thankful for SO many things! First of all, I am thankful that I get to have a relationship with Christ, that he loves me, and that He gave His life for me! That's the greatest blessing of all! God has given me so many other blessings too-- My family, friends, my home, my food, a comfy bed, a fireplace with a crackling fire. :) I'm also thankful for prayer, love, peace, the Bible in my own language, a church and a community of Christians around me.

And those are only a few of the things that God has blessed me with! THANK you, Jesus... for EVERYTHING you've given me, and for who YOU are!!!
*The table of food at JV Thanksgiving :)

15th Birthday

The celebration of my 15th birthday this year was very sweet and enjoyable. Since we were flying to the States the day after, it was a more low-key birthday, which I really enjoyed!

The highlights:
* Started off my day with a beautiful sunrise! I took that as God's birthday present to me :)

* Went to school and got a surprise birthday song and birthday cake baked by one of my friends. It was awesome!

* Went for tea and then took pictures with Hayley

* Yummy black bean soup (Mom made it in the crock pot, and I could smell it all day - it was so tantalizing!

* A "Caleb-friendly" German chocolate cake that my mom made...it was absolutely amazing!

* Lots of birthday wishes throughout the day on Facebook :)

* Went to Frydek Mistek to find a special piece of jewelry

I thank God for all of these 15 years that I have had! I hope this year I can glorify His name even more, and that I can learn more about Him.

Windswept

My newest artwork (which I actually did over the Summer, but forgot about it until now!) It's done with Copic markers and a drawing pen. Is that what you call them? Or are they black liners? Hmmm... not exactly sure.


Tyler helped me a bit and taught me how to use Copic markers, so thank you Tyler! It was really fun! We made an "art day" out of it. We both had pictures we wanted to do, so we sat outside, put on some music and drew! I loved it! A perfect Summer afternoon spent with my brother. Those are the kind of memories that I like to look back on. I will definitely have to do another one of those art days with Tyler some day! :)

A quick reminder...

Here's something that I've been reminded of today!

Trust God in everything because, you know what? HE PROVIDES and GIVES HELP to his Children! I know, amazing, huh? I sure think so! He really has shown me in the past couple of months how much he gives to me and people around me. I have just seen blessing after blessing come from God! And he never disappoints! EVER! How Awesome is that?!

In Church today, we talked about God being the perfect father... he is close to us, he communicates, he cares, protects, he is all-knowing, mighty, everlasting, loving, he listens, and helps, he's kindhearted, merciful and just! And there are so many other amazing words that God is! The list goes on and on and on. But what comforts me, is that I get to have the privilege of being God's child and having him as my Father in heaven... because he's the best I could get!

So today was just a good reminder (in a lot of ways!) how great our God is!
"How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!" -1 John 3:1

My Summer

It's not an understatement, when I say that I had an eventful August. Here are just a few highlights of what I did!
- Vacation: Of course, vacationing in Hvar, Croatia is one of the pinnacles of my year. It is a time of relaxation, swimming, spending time with three awesome families, yummy dinners (yes, even while camping we have excellent food! The moms do a good job!), movie nights, and great talks with friends!
-Tyler leaving for college: wow...weird. I can't believe he already left and is already there, at Moody. It was a sweet good bye and very memorable as we went by boat to Split and then he flew out of there! He is missed greatly, but I am really happy that he is doing well there and that he's adjusting well. :) Miss you though, Tyler!
-JVK Camp: Awesome. I love it. I had some great talks with my counselor (Emily Hughes) and with Laurel during "application time"- where we applied the "Stories of God" (the theme of the teachings) to our life. Emily did a great job just knowing what us girls- me and laurel's needs were and she really invested in us. Which I really appreciated! It was very encouraging! Thank you, Emily!! ;)


Now it's September, and I've already got new highlights!
- The Elements Bible study material is being used in our youth group right now as a discipling material and we're doing this course for the new Christians where we go through all the lessons. We had our first youth group a little bit ago and it makes me excited for the next one! I love seeing how God works in our youth group and seeing the fruit of his work in the lives of those new Christians is totally a reward for everyone who worked hard not only at English Camp, but at follow-ups and in the lives of the Czechs. It's a reward for me too!!

-BMA- I love it! It's a great change from my old school and I am so excited for the next four years there! Our class is really good, and I've made many friends already. The teachers there are pretty good too... and the ones that aren't well, it's fun, because it brings the school together as we share experiences about each of the teachers and give advice on how to get through the classes. :) So in the end, it's fun. But really, there aren't any teachers that are outright MEAN, or horrible, so it's good. :)

-"Adaptak"- it's a two day trip up to Malenovice, to KAM hotel for a weekend with our new class. It's a bonding time, time to get to know each other. We played games, had a campfire, a movie night, discussion time about what we believed in and what our faith is. We had so much fun together! I actually enjoyed (for once) being with my class! :) Yay!

Things to come:
-My 15th birthday is on October 8th! :)

-On Friday I have a Bible study like thing/party with the Christian girls from BMA, Frydlant, and a couple of other random places. :) And it's gonna be a time for us (who give our time and energy to others) to get re energized and replenished spiritually and emotionally. So I'm excited for that!

-A trip to the States in October for our home church's (Grace church of DuPage) 25th anniversary. They're bringing back their missionaries for the celebration. We'll be gone for a little less than 2 weeks, so it's not a long trip!

I'm sure there is a lot more to come in these next couple of weeks, but those are just a few of the biggies! :)

English Camp

This year, for the first time, I went to English Camp! I was so glad that I went! It was a great experience seeing God's work being done in those kids' lives and how His presence was always felt there.

The theme of the evening programs was "Stories". Stories of God and His work from the Bible were told every night, and afterward we had discussion groups. The kids had some great questions and some of them were really interested in what was being told. I loved hearing their comments and answers to the questions that were being asked during those discussions.

My favorite night was the last night-- the night we shared the Gospel. It was amazing. The story of Jesus dying on the cross and being raised again was told just how it is in the Bible. Then after that, everything started. People were crying, praying, having discussions with people the rest of the evening in the main room.

I went over and sat by my roommate, Eliska, who was sitting off to the side crying, so I went to comfort her. I then asked if she believed the story that was just told and she said "yes". We sat for another half an hour, at least, and in that time, she trusted Christ! We prayed together and she was so happy! I could really see God opened up her heart and let her hear His call.

I wasn't the only one that night that witnessed God's work in the kids' lives. Altogether, eight people trusted Christ. Some that night, some earlier during camp. It was so cool!

I just couldn't get over the happy feeling I got every time I heard someone had trusted Christ. I am rejoicing for those people and praying that they continue now in their walk with the Lord and make Him a part of their lives!

I am so happy I got to be a part of God's work at these English Camps! I am definitely going back next year! :)


P.S. This was my English Class. They were awesome!

Last day of the last grade!

Today was the last day of ninth grade! Wow! And what a weird feeling it is to not be called a student at that school anymore. I have "graduated" from Zakladni skola (Basic school) with two 2's (B's) and the rest 1's (A's). I am really happy about that!

As I was walking around the school one last time before I left, memories came flooding into my mind of all the things that have happened there. That place is so familiar to me right now, I know every single hall way and stair case as if it were in my own home! And now I have to leave it and I will probably soon forget all of those places... sad.

I have been going to that school since second grade. I have memories from when I moved to that school on my birthday in second grade, how my friends changed through the years, when all three of us Americans (Lucy, Nicholas and me) got put into the same class in sixth grade. I remember learning about Greek history, how to count percentages, the differences between longitudes and latitudes, what the periodical table of elements is and so much more!

But through the years, I have not only learned facts and information. I have also learned how to be a better friend, how to respect my authorities, how to work as a team, my tricks to studying, how to not worry - or at least mostly (that was a big one). But the most important way I have grown in the past nine years of my schooling life is in my faith in God. I have learned so many things about Him, about the Bible and how I should live to glorify His name. For that, I am thankful! The challenges that I have faced through the years of school have made me question the kind of life I want to lead and the kind of friends I choose. It's these kinds of challenges that have made me the person I am. Without those trials and tests, I might not be prepared for the next leg of life in high school!

School has been one of the many places of learning in my life, not the only one. I have learned so many things and am grateful for the time I have gotten to spend in that school!

But, alas, that time doesn't last forever. So I am a little sad to say that that time is over... and the next chapter begins. Goodbye Zakladni Skola Komenskeho (My school)! And thank you for all you have taught me!!