Malibu...Zuma Beach

This past weekend was our weekend off, thus all the stories. Here's the last one, I promise. A group of 10 of us headed up the coast to go to the beach in Malibu. We ended up at Zuma Beach. I it was a fantastic day of enjoying the beauty of the Pacific and relaxing, honestly I spent most of the time napping on the blanket trying to get over my cold. I was really nice to get out and spend time with some of my teammates and new friends.

Hollywood

On Saturday, after the excitement from the morning, I ventured into Hollywood with a friend, Beth, who is going to school in California. Once again, thanks Beth for driving down from Fresno to see me. Here's some pictures from Hollywood Boulevard and the Hollywood Hills.

"...or you will be shot!"

On Saturday, Kassidee and I decided to make a quick run to downtown Pasadena to run a few errands. Should be relatively uneventful, right? WRONG! As we were driving down Colorado, all the cars in front of us started pulling over to park at a restaurant or so we thought. In frustration, we drove around them, as we got to the front of all the cars, we saw a bunch of police cars and upon closer inspection I realized that they had their guns drawn! Kassidee quickly pulled over and we found ourselves directly across the street from a car full of guys with their hands up, with the police about 20 feet behind them, all guns drawn!
Kassidee and I proceeded to duck down in our seats...and to get out her camera to video tape the entire thing. All three guys had to get out of the car, one at a time, pull their shirts up and turn around to check for weapons, then back up to the police, where they were then cuffed and put in the car. After all three were arrested, the police continued to point their guns at the car and yelled, "We know you're in there...come out, this is your last warning, or you WILL BE SHOT!" No one came out so the police approached the car and there was not another person in the card. What happened to him, I don't know.
So needless, to say, there is some excitement brewing in Pasadena, we have proof on tape. Hopefully, I can get it from Kassidee to post.

Roscoe's

So apparently Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles is a cultural must during a visit to Southern California. We thus just couldn't resist it and had our first foray into the chicken and waffles experience. Oddly enough it was pretty good, strange combination, but good.

San Gabriel

Last Sunday, the 30th, a group of 9 Central Europe teachers went on a hike in the San Gabriel Mountains. We set out looking for a waterfall, that other teachers had supposedly been to. After over 2 hours of hiking in a mostly dried out river bed, we still had not found the waterfall and we turned around to head back before the park closed. Much to our surprise we found that we had started above the waterfall and actually found it on our way back. For those of you who may say I am extremely undurable, you will happy, or amazed to know that I handled the hike like a champ, with zero whining. SO THERE!

Sunset Beach

On Sunday, after our worship service, we had time for rest and relaxation...so we hit the beach. Most of the Central Europe team made it to Sunset Beach at some point during the day. It was a great time, really, really hot, but a lot of fun.
(Pictures: Sunset, Group Campfire, Becky and Me)

Team Picture...Finally

We had team unity day on Tuesday, so we finally were able to get a good team picture. Here we are...Elanor, Kassidee, Me and Amy.

Scavenger Hunt Champions!

On Saturday, we braved the extreme heat to take part in the ESI Scavenger Hunt! We were given a clue and had to get to downtown Pasadena to find the answer to our clue/question and call it in to get our next clue. Our team worked together very well and we ended up winning the competition. It really was a blast and props to our alum who refrained from cheating to help us win, we did it all by ourselves!
Here is the winning team: Taunya, Me, Christie, Kassidee, Elanor and Amy.

Let training begin!

I'm here! I made it to ESI training in Pasadena, CA. We checked in yesterday and our first meeting started at 6pm Saturday. We have been doing a lot of team building activites to get us acquainted with each other. Today the entire Central Europe team (Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary) went to a ESI staff members house for a pool party. It was great, so fun a relaxing and a fantastic time to get to know the people we will be spending the next year with. I'm off to another meeting this evening and tomorrow starts the full days (8am-9pm) of training.

On My Way!

The time has finally arrived for me to start my voyage towards Prague. As I am writing this, I am sitting in the Phoenix, AZ airport waiting to catch my connecting flight to Los Angeles. Let me tell you it's 7:20 in the morning and I have not had more than about 4 hours of sleep since 7:00 Friday morning. I am dragging, but really excited to get to California and meet my roommates at the airport and start training...after I get a nap.

I want to send out a sincere thank you to everyone who has and is supporting me in this new season of my life. It is hard to think that I will be spending almost a year of my life striving to see the Gospel spread through Prague and the Czech Republic. Praise God for His faithfullness in this whole thing...Bringing me this opportunity, preparing my heart and the people I care about for this new adventure and helping me raise a ministry team to support me in seeing the Czech Republic reached for Jesus.

Here's the plan for the next 5 weeks. I will be living on the campus of William Carey International University in Pasadena. While there we will be training to prepare for our roles as English teachers and Christ's ambassadors. I will fly out for Prague on August 22nd.

Once again, thanks to everyone who has helped me get to this point. I will try hard to keep this blog updated and in touch with everyone. God Bless!

She's finally here!

The much anticipated birth of my best friend Jenny's baby has finally arrived. Cailyn Rose was born June 23rd, she weighed 6 pounds 6 ounces and was 19 3/4 inches long! I am a very proud "aunt" She is perfect and I am looking forward to spending a lot of time with this precious little girl (and Jenny & Ryan) before I leave in July.

Cali here I come!

It's official, at 5am on July 15th I will be setting out for Pasadena, California to begin my training with ESI. I will be in Pasadena for about 5 weeks doing TEFL(teaching english as a foreign language) training and team building before heading over to Prague. We will be staying on the campus of William Carey International University.
I am so excited that it is getting so close to the time for me to leave. Of course I will miss everyone I am leaving in Wisconsin, but I can't wait to see how the LORD is working in the Czech Republic.

Czech Wins!

Czech Republic 3, United States 0! Way to go Czech!

World Cup

If you get a chance, check out the United States first world cup match up tomorrow at 11am. I am pretty sure the game is on ESPN 2. The US is playing the CZECH REPUBLIC! I am torn as to who to root for, my homeland, or the country that will be my "homeland" for the next year. Hmmm! We'll see.

Touch a Teat Tour

Last night, our Bible study took a field trip to find out what it is like to milk cows in this day and age. How did we come up with this idea? I am not sure how it even started, but a few weeks ago the question came up of whether we grew up in the city, the country or somewhere in between and whether or not we had ever milked a cow. The desire to milk a cow quickly became the mantra of our group. So as a conclusion to our current study, we were invited to go to milk some cows.
I will admit, I was pretty confident of my ability to touch a cow and even milk it, considering I grew up in the country. Unfortunately when the time came, I couldn't step up to the plate. Maybe it had something to do with the cow behind me deciding it need to urinate and it splashed on my back. I was only able to touch the cow once, I did get some milk out of it, but it definately grossed me out and Jenny had to finish. I guess I am not a true country girl. All in all, it was a great time and most of us can say that we have milked a cow. Thanks to Bruce for letting us come out and interuppting the evening.

Road Trip

This past weekend, a good friend Jeremy and I took a road trip to visit another good friend Zach in Xenia, OH. Zach is there training at the Athletes in Action World Headquarters for about a year before he heads back to the Czech Republic with AIA. We were not able to leave Oshkosh until after work on Friday at 5pm and due to different time zones and a little bit of confusion on directions around Dayton(my bad), we did not arrive in Xenia until about 2:30am.
Anyways, it was a great weekend. It was so good to get out of Oshkosh and to connect and share laughs with friends. It is funny to realize that we are starting to sit around and reminisce about the "old college days" and to laugh about all the crazy and sometime not so smart things that we have done. It makes you realize how special those times were and to really appreciate the lasting friendships that the Lord has blessed us with through those times. Okay, I'm starting to get a little emotional here, I'm a girl, give me a break! Thanks guys for the laughs and memories!

Check out Zach's website and journal at www.pushtheenvelope.org


Jeremy, Zach, Me

It has begun!

So the support raising has begun. As I write this, I am in the midst of raising support to make my adventure to the Czech Republic a reality. I am looking for people to join my ministry team to most importantly pray for me and the Czech Republic and also to financially support me. The money I am raising is going to towards my training, travel and administrative expenses necessary for me to spend the year overseas.
God has been revealing Himself to me more and more each day, as I trust Him for the provisions needed to make this happen.
"You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock." Isaiah 26:3-4

It's Been A Long Time

So, it's been over 2 months since I had a post. Oops! Posting routine blogs has not become part of my life yet. What can I say, I'm trying. So anyways, a lot has gone on in the last few months. I plan to write about it soon. But right now, my pillow is calling my name. So stay tuned!

Pray for Turkey

"Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name." 1 Peter 4:16
In the summer of 2004 I spent 8 weeks in Turkey. Turkey is a predominately mulim nation. The Turkish government grants religions freedom, but Christians still experience persecution. While we were there, we did not have many problems. However, a few weeks ago a Christian was attacked by 5 men, outside of his church. This attack pulls on my heart on a personal level. The man who was attacked was our Turkish teacher while we were in the country. I cry when I think about what K endured, but rejoice in his solid faith, and refusal to deny Christ when threatened with fists and knives. The link to the article on Voice of the Marytrs is http://www.persecution.com/news/index.cfm?action=fullstory&newsID=353
Please read this article and take some time today and everyday to pray for Christians in Turkey and persecuted churchs around the world.

Quarter of a Century

Well, I have to say that 25 doesn't feel much different than 24, except for increasing reminders(thanks Jeremy) that I am inching closer and closer to 30. Yikes! Anyways, a special thank you is in order for Jenny and Maggie for organizing last nights festivities, Thank You! Also, thanks to everyone who helped celebrate with me.