Courtney...

Survey Trip-Part 2

2010-07-15T05:12:00.000-07:00

Ok, so my camera is broken. It makes this really weird sound when I turn it off and on and it won't focus on anything close up. But for some reason the far away pics don't look to fuzzy.

Yesterday, I walked around the town center and then later in the day walked with the Sides to the south part of town and got to see where the hospitals are. Then after dinner the whole team spent some time singing, praying and talking about future plans.

This is the fountain in the center town square. It's the only clear picture I got from that day.

So far today, I walked with the Sides to Stromovka, a really big park in the city. It was really beautiful and the neighborhood next to the park was really awesome, but it was all really big houses, not something we would be able to afford. It started to rain on us so it makes it a little cooler, but still pretty hot.

This is a picture from the edge of the park, looking back into the city center. The blue building on the left is actually a city pool. But right out the picture is a big waterslide coming out of the building and going back in, like a Great Wolf Lodge. Too bad I didn't get a picture of it, but it was pretty cool. They also had a big slide and pool outside. It only cost 50 crowns for an hour and 90 for the whole day. So that's like $2.50 for the hour and $4.50 for the whole day, pretty cheap.

As you can see, my camera won't focus, otherwise you'd be able to see how cute Luke is.

Here's the park

And you can see they have soccer goals, so it will be great to get out and play sports out here

This is the neighborhood by the park

That's all for now. Today is the last full day I'll be in CB, and tomorrow I'll leave for Prague about 4 or 5.

Survey Trip-Part 1

2010-07-14T02:47:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm here in Ceske Budejovice this week for a survey trip. It felt like I was traveling forever just to get here, but I finally made it. Here are some pics I've taken so far:

This is my first plane, that took me to London then I switched planes and headed to Prague

These birds sit right outside my window and chirp from sunup to sundown, so like 4AM to 10PM, it makes it really hard to sleep, since you have to sleep with the window open cause there's no A/C

This is in Ctyri Dvory, as you can see on the sign, kinda, it's the neighborhood we'd like to live in

These are apartments in Ctyri Dvory

So are these!

My hotel/apartment, is great, like really I wish I could just live here! So this is the bathroom

This is the entryway

The main room, which has kitchen, desk and a bed

View of the kitchen. One really awesome thing about the kitchen is the fridge. You can't tell, but it is the first bottom cabinet on the right, right under the microwave.

View of the bed and desk

Well, that's all I've taken pictures of so far. Yesterday we walked around Ctyri Dvory and today I'm going to walk around the town center which is right by my apartment, so more pictures tomorrow!

Newsletter #1

2010-06-23T18:36:00.001-07:00

Frustrations

I'm really sad because I can't figure out how to upload a pdf file to the internet. It may not be possible, but it should be. If you know how to do this please let me know. Anyway, I made this really cute newsletter in Pages and I can't let you all see it unless you give me your email address and I can email it to you. But I still want to share all the information in it with you so here it is!

What's been happening...

Saying Goodbye to the Sides: I'm really excited to announce that my teammates, Ashley and Jamie Sides and their son Luke, will be moving to Ceske Budejovice July 7th. I'm disappointed that I won't be leaving with them, so please keep me in your prayers that I'll be there soon.

Survey Trip: However, I will be able to join the Sides along with the rest of the team in CB for one week. I'll be taking a survey trip July 11-17. There are so many things we can get done that week and I'm grateful for the opportunity to go. I plan on doing more exploring of the city, especially in Ctyri Dvory, the neighborhood we'd like to focus on and live in. I'm also looking forward to brainstorming plans to fulfill our goals, finding out more about apartment opportunities, meeting new people, and coming back and telling you all about it!

Sponsoring Church: After 2 1/2 years of searching for an overseeing congregation I've finally found one! North Pointe Church of Christ will be overseeing my work and I'm so grateful for all their support and excitement for the future work!

The Pictures: I've started this project where I take a picture everyday for a year. At the end I'll be able to look back on that year and learn a lot about what's important to me! So I took 3 pictures from this past week to show what's been happening with me.

This is my beautiful niece, Charlotte, she's just so cute I have to show her off!

This is one of the most important men in my life, my dog Toby. Isn't he cute?

This is from this year's VBS at North Pointe. I was blessed to be able to work with the preschoolers and they were so adorable!

Raising Funds...the Ups and Downs

I'm about half way to having 100% of all my monthly support raised! I only need 11.8 more partners (churches or individuals) at $150/month each, or some other combination. I feel like God has been blessing me so much lately and I can't wait for Him to show me where the rest of it will come from!

Not as easy as you might think: I've heard it said that the hardest part of doing mission work is raising the funds. I never expected to still be living in the U.S. and still trying to raise funds. It's definitely harder than I anticipated. But I'm confident that God will provide and I will make it there in His timing. It's so awesome to look back and think that if my team left when I had planned we wouldn't have the Hurleys as part of our team and I wouldn't have been able to be a part of an amazing church. Even though it was discouraging at the time I'm thankful that God knows a lot more than I do and he kept me here a little longer for a reason.

There's still work to do, but it's SO possible: I still have a ways to go before I can leave for CB, but I know I will get there soon with all of your help!

What Can YOU do Now?

1. Pray: I need as many prayer partners as I can get. I hope that you will pray for my team, the Czechs, and me-to get the rest of my support. Prayer is so powerful so why not use it.

2. Become a Partner: I need more financial partners, both churches and individuals. If you would like to become a partner or feel your church would, please let me know. I would love to talk to you more about the needs of the Czechs and how my team wants to help them.

3. Refer a Partner: If you know an individual or church that you think might be interest in hearing what I've got to say, please let me know. I'd love to talk to as many people about the needs of the Czechs as I can.

If you'd like to become a partner with me you can send your support to:

North Pointe Church of Christ

4405 Williford Rd.

Sachse, TX 75048

Also, please contact me with any questions you have about me, this work, or the Czech Republic in general. I'd LOVE to talk with you!

Toby

2009-12-01T16:52:00.001-08:00

Cakes, Cameras and Good Causes

2009-08-10T20:33:00.000-07:00

If you don't know, I'm on a mission team that is going to the Czech Republic, to the town called Ceske Budejovice. It's in the South Western part about half way between Prague and Vienna. This is a long term mission. We plan on being there for 10 years. We plan on leaving in 2010 so we are suggesting a 2020 Vision. In 10 years it will be 2020 and hopefully with God's perfect 2020 Vision he will guide us to build a strong, self-supporting, self-sustaining church in Ceske Budejovice.

So, that's just a little about my plans. If you wanna know more about what we will do ask me, I love to talk about it!!! Now the sad part. We have planned to go at the worst possible time, a recession. So I've spent the last year and a half trying to find a sponsoring church with no luck and trying to raise funds with very little luck. So I'm willing to use the talents that God has given to me to raise the money. I have lots of one-time funds to raise(and need lots of people to be willing to stay with me for the long haul and donate each month). For the one-time funds I'm going to make cakes and take pictures. What else is more fun? All I ask is a donation to my cause. The Czechs desperately need Christians to bring them God's word. They are over 60% atheistic and they don't have anyone to tell them the wonderful news of Christ. And they need workers who are willing to stay and work with them for a long time. But I need help from those here!

So, if you are in need of some family pictures or some cute pics of the kids, call on me! I am not a professional by any means, but I have a semi-fancy camera and I love taking pictures. And I take a lot. Just ask my family! What I plan on doing is taking any pics you want, posing you if you need it and then I'll give you a cd of the pics and you can print them out. Then you can give a donation toward my mission for my time and editing. Any donation amount, pray about it and give what God urges you to give. Here are some of my favorite pics.

This picture above is in Ceske Budejovice

If you are in need of a cake for your next event, let me help. I specialize in kids character cakes. It's really easy to rent out a cake pan, so pretty much any character will do. But I can do any other cake too (mind you I'm not a professional). It will work like the pictures, I'll make the cake and deliver it to you and then you can make a donation to my mission for the cake. I only ask that the donation be at least $12. I really hate to do that, but I have to buy the supplies, and I guarantee you are not going to find a cake for less. Here are some examples of my work.

I really hope that this works. I feel like God has called me to be with Czech people and work there. I desperately need help and I'm willing to work for it. If I can help you and then you can help me out it's perfect! Plus think about all the Czech who will be introduced to Christ. Email me at cec0411@yahoo.com if you are interested in any of this!

ZOO!

2009-07-22T17:12:00.000-07:00

So all the pictures wont load so I'm doing it in two installments. If you read this before I do the other ones, this is the second set and they are in backward order.

Hunter loved the gorilla and just laughed his head off at him

You can tell we had been at the zoo for a while

Here's a penguin

This was a really cool tunnel thing to show the kids what is like to be a rat or mole and the look on Zack's face is hilarious!

Vanesa is so pretty!

DISNEY WORLD!!!

2009-06-18T17:18:00.000-07:00

So, I got to go to Disney World last week and it was awesome, tiring but awesome!

This is on the way down. The kids did this most of the way.

This is the entrance to the Magic Kingdom

Here's Cinderella's Castle

The kids with Mickey and Minnie

The end of the day fireworks

Lots of stuff!

2009-02-23T15:47:00.000-08:00

So a lot has happened since October (the last time I really posted) and I thought you might like to see what's been going on with a series of pictures.

Back in October, Hunter, Carole and I went to take pumpkin pictures. Hunter went through varying moods while we were there.

Here he's very curious about the pumpkins

He also got really excited over the pumpkins

But ultimately the pumpkins didn't impress him

Also last fall, Zack started playing soccer (he's also playing it again now!) His games were a lot of fun and I look forward to going to many more.

Don't Zack's legs look strong

And here is evidence that even little kids don't play fair

I don't know how it is where you live, but in the Anson house they put up the tree way before Thanksgiving (actually I think it was just a couple of days before)

Here are the kids fixing up the tree

And Vanesa was her adorable self as usual

And of course Zack turned into a zombie

Then we had Thanksgiving at Carole and James's. While we were there, most of us took a walk to the park to look at the duck and her babies.

We also found out Hunter was going to be a brother. Yah!

In December we added to our family by adopting Toby!

Then came Christmas at Nanny and Grandad's

The cups show that our family is BIG!

In January Zack had his 7th birthday at Chuck-E-Cheese (I advise you to say no if your child ever asks to go there).

Here is Zack with the big-man himself

And of course I made the cake

Also in January, Vanesa started Cheering.

Here she is with her team at there cheer expo (she looks a little nervous!)

And that's it. Hopefully I can be more on top of things and share my pics sooner in the future!

Funny

2009-02-05T07:30:00.000-08:00

Wow, I haven't written on this in forever! But I found a funny video today that I thought I'd share.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCJ3Oz5JVKs&eurl=http://failblog.org/&feature=player_embedded

Birthday Parties

2008-10-07T07:36:00.001-07:00

Over the past couple of weeks, I've had a couple of birthdays that I baked cakes for and took pictures. It's great that I got to do two of my favorite things at both parties.

Here is Vanesa's 10th birthday cake

Vanesa with her beautiful cake

Nanny's 80th birthday cake (and there are 80 candles)

Lighting the candles (sadly we couldn't light them all, but you can't really tell)

Nanny opening presents

Awesome Computer

2008-09-18T12:45:00.000-07:00

So, I have an awesome computer. I know you are all jealous because of the awesomeness that is my mac. Well, because my mac is SO awesome it has this application called photobooth, where you can take pictures of yourself. Then it will distort them so that they look weird. Here are a few good ones.

Two Zackarys!

Shrunken Head Katie

Alien Zackary

A normal one: Me, Hunter and Confused Vanesa

Normal again: I wanted to see what I looked like laughing!

No Cake

2008-09-10T17:15:00.000-07:00

No cake this week, cause I'm sick. Plus my cake fell apart yesterday and I didn't make another one. But I already have ideas for Vanesa's cake!

Cake Decorating-Class 3

2008-09-04T16:48:00.000-07:00

This week we learned different techniques, so the cake is kinda weird looking

On this side I did triple dots, rosettes with leaves, and shells with leaves

On this side I did running e's, drapping, and puffs

On this side I did dots, flowers, and decorative shells

On this side(which got flattened by the cake cover) I did a rope braid, more drapping, and beads

So now I am equipped to do many techniques. Let me know if you want me to make you a beautiful cake!

Cake Decorating-Class 2

2008-08-27T19:06:00.000-07:00

Today we did a character cake-this is my cake before. I had to do 2 because my first one broke almost in half. And still the 2nd one wasn't perfect.

Here is the after. You can't tell, but there are little stars that cover the whole thing. It took like 2 hours to do it all.

Playing with Hunter

2008-08-26T19:10:00.001-07:00

Today I babysat Hunter and I noticed that Hunter ignored most of his toys and was more interested in random things (something to think about before you go and buy him another expensive toy!)

Ok, this goes against what I just said, but he didn't play with his wagon for very long

Playing with my keys (which he never put down the whole day) and my camera case

Playing with the lid to his toy box

The abandoned toys (don't they look lonely)

I had to include a smile pic

Cake Decorating

2008-08-21T07:48:00.001-07:00

If you didn't already know, I am taking a cake decorating class on wednesdays. It's fun and a lot easier than I thought it would be. Actually the hardest part is baking and icing the cake before class. Anyway, here are some pictures of my first cake (a clown cake).

Bowling

2008-08-19T17:52:00.000-07:00

We went bowling for Katie's birthday, here's some pics I took:

Zack

Zack andKatie

Katie

Vanesa

Zack Lounging

James 1:27

2008-08-04T13:03:00.001-07:00

James 1:27 "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

Makes it sound pretty simple huh?

Matthew 21

2008-07-28T09:27:00.000-07:00

Matthew 21:22 "If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."

Matthew 18

2008-07-21T07:03:00.000-07:00

Matthew 18:7 "Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to sin! Such things must come, but woe to the man through whom they come!"

Vacation

2008-07-16T16:14:00.000-07:00

So I finally put my pictures on the computer, so here are some of them, MOM!

Matthew 14

2008-07-14T08:42:00.000-07:00

Matthew 14:13-14 "When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. When Jesus landed and saw the large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick."

*This happened right after Jesus learned of John the Baptists death. He was deeply hurt by this news and went to his Father right away. Who do we turn to when we are hurting, our friends or family? But we should be like Jesus and tell God first, because he cares the most. Also, even though Jesus was hurting over the loss of a friend, he didn't dismiss the people who needed him. How many times do we bark at someone because we are troubled inside? We need to hear people out and really listen, because they too may really need our help.

This is just what I got out of these few verses, but you could have another opinion.

Lights

2008-06-30T11:10:00.000-07:00

Matthew 5:14-16 "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on a stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."

Matthew 3

2008-06-24T07:19:00.000-07:00

Matthew 3:16-17 "As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, 'This is my son, whom I love, with him I am well pleased.'"

I've been Tagged

2008-06-16T19:51:00.000-07:00

2 posts in one day, whoa!

What was I doing 10 years ago?

Let's see I was 13 and getting ready to enter 8th grade. Wow, that's seems like forever ago. It's interesting to think that I didn't know Jesus, in an intimate sense, then and never knew of the wonderful things that he brings to my life. Actually, in eighth grade I was pretty depressed, it's ok, I got over it.

What are five things on my list to do today?

1. Get up (which is pretty hard to do on most mornings)

2. Go to work (BORING!)

3. Write my blog post for this week

4. Watch the bachlorette and the mole (I know I spelled that wrong)

5. Go to bed

Yeah, my life is pretty boring

What snacks to I enjoy?

1. milk duds (YUM)

2. pickles (I don't know what is it about our family, but we love pickles, too bad I'm allergic)

3. ice cream (YUM again!)

4. cheesecake

5. salty things (can't think of anything in particular)

Where are some of the places that I lived?

Sachse, TX; Garland, TX; Searcy, AR; Porto Rafti, Greece; Richardson, TX (I guess I haven't really lived in the Czech Republic yet, but soon!)

What things would I do if I were a billionaire?

I would give most of it to various missions and students who want to be missionaries (cause it's hard to pay off those loans on a missionaries salary!) I would buy myself a mini cooper (not very luxurious, but I love them). And spend the rest of my life traveling and helping various churches around the world.

People I tag.

Hmmm, well all the people I know have already been tagged, so no one.

On Weakness

2008-06-16T19:42:00.000-07:00

2 Corinthians 12:9, 10 "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weakness, in insult, in hardship, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

*We shouldn't stress over our weaknesses, because they are used by God.

Something I thought you might like!

2008-06-11T07:41:00.001-07:00

Look at this quote from The Life You've Always Wanted, by John Ortberg, it's pretty gross to think that we might be eating this stuff.

"Here are the federal guidelines of purity for a few familiar products: Apple butter: If the mold count is 12 percent or more, if it averages 4 rodent hairs per 100 grams or more, if it averages 5 or more whole insects (not counting mites, aphids, or scale insects) per 100 grams, the FDA will pull it from the shelves. Otherwise, it will go right onto your English muffins.

"Coffee beans: (Caffine addicts beware!) Coffee beans will get withdrawn from the market if an average of 10 percent or more are insect-infested or if there is one live insect in each of 2 or more immediate containers. (The FDA says people just don't like getting too many live insects with their coffee beans-one container is okay, but with more than that we draw the line.)

"Mushrooms: Mushrooms can't be sold if there is an average of 20 or more maggots of any size per 15 grams of dried mushrooms.

"Fig paste: If there are more than 13 insect heads per 100 grams of fig paste in each of 2 or more subsamples, the FDA ruthlessly tosses the whole batch. (Apparently other insect body parts are tolerable, but we don't want to be staring at too many insect heads.)"

On Stumbling

2008-06-10T20:04:00.000-07:00

2 Corinthians 6:3 "We put no stumbling block in anyone's path, so that our ministry will not be discredited."

*Remember that everything we do is being watched by others, so don't let you actions or words pull others further from Christ. Don't give God a bad name by associated yourself with him and then acting like a fool!

2 Corinthians 5

2008-06-03T19:19:00.000-07:00

Sorry I forgot to post yesterday, but who knows if anyone is reading this anyway!

2 Corinthians 5:16-17 "So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"

2 Corinthians 4

2008-05-26T20:31:00.000-07:00

2 Corinthians 4 is probably my favorite chapter in the Bible. There are so many great things that I find in this little chapter, so you should take the time to read the whole thing!

2 Cor. 4:7-10 "But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God & not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body."

*God gave us the ultimate gift-Jesus. And now he wants us to tell the world about his gift, but who are we to tell such an incredible thing. We are only like jars of clay, seemingly useless beings that have no purpose. But our incredible God uses us, because he knows that even though we may appear to be useless compared to him, we hold something very valuable within us. These verses tell us that it won't be easy, living the life God wants us to live, but he will always watch out for us and protect us. Verse 10 is particularly important, because it says that we won't be living like Jesus unless we remember what he did for us.

This is one of my favorites passages and has been for awhile. It talks about what I long to do-share Jesus with the world. But it also reminds me that God will always be there to protect me.

On Comforting

2008-05-19T20:53:00.000-07:00

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 "Praise be to the God & Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion & the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God."

How great is it that God is the ultimate comfortor & if we let him he will come into our lives & bring us unimaginable joy. We just can't build up walls to block out the "comfort" he longs to bestow on us. Also, we have to remember that it is our job to be great comfortors to others that are hurting, because people need all of the love and compassion they can get.

Pics with New Camera

2008-05-16T21:10:00.000-07:00

I've taken lots of pictures with my new camera, mostly just of my beautiful neice and nephews. So here are some of the best ones.

Start of Verse/Thought of the Day or Week

2008-05-12T11:21:00.000-07:00

Dad mentioned to me awhile ago that I should start up my Verse of the Week thing again. I haven't decided if I want it to be a weekly thing or a daily thing. I guess you'll find out tomorrow what my decision was!

I've been reading through Corinthians so right now that's were all the verses will come from!

*On Being Tempted*

1 Corinthians 10:13 "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."

We have an amazing God who loves us and wants us to be the best we can be. And when we are tempted (sometimes with the same thing over and over again) it is refreshing to know that God believes in us and knows we can overcome whatever it is that drawing us away from him.

I Hate Corporate America

2008-05-05T13:17:00.000-07:00

So this was about 30 minitues of my day today...

Dad: I need you call up that insurance company and ask them to send those people that thing.

Me: What?

(I figure out what he's talking about, and here's where the fun begins)

The Hartford Person #1: This is Chris how can I help you?

Me: I need an insurance certificate sent to our bank.

The Hartford Person #1: ok, what is your policy number, address, phone and fax numbers

Me: (I give them all)

The Hartford Person #1: ok, why do you need the certificate sent to the bank?

Me: I don't know

The H. P. #1: Well, do you have a loan with them?

Me: Yes, we have a loan

The H.P. #1: Well, what is the loan for, equipment, a building, what?

Me: I don't know

The H. P. #1: Well, I can't get you a certificate until you know, put me on hold and find out.

Me: I can't do that because he's not here

*So that concludes the first conversation I call Dad and find out the info.

The H.P. #2: What is your policy number, address, phone, and fax numbers

Me: (I give them)

The H.P. #2: How can I help you?

Me: I need a insurance certificate sent to our bank.

The H.P. #2: Ok, what's the address for the building for the loan?

Me: I don't know

The H.P. #2: Well, that's important, I have to put it on the certificate, you can put me on hold to find out.

Me: I can't do that, he's not here. But before I call back what else do I need to know?

The H.P. #2: That's it, just the address.

*I call Dad and find out the info.

The H.P. #3: How can I help you?

Me: I need an insurance certificate sent to our bank?

The H.P. #3:ok, are they the mortgager (I don't remember if this was the word she used or not)?

Me: I don't know (by now I'm really hating The Hartford)

The H.P. #3: Well, that is important, I have to put that on the certificate, put me on hold and find out.

Me: I can't! (But I have an idea, I will put her on hold and call Dad from my cell phone, but guess what, I find that my cell phone is missing, oh well)

Me: Yes, they are the mortgager.

The H.P. #3: Ok, we'll send it right out.

Me: whew!

*So, I've decided that companies like that should make it so that you can talk to the same person when you call back! It would have been much more helpful.

Being Idle

2008-03-12T07:47:00.000-07:00

Proverbs 13:4
"The sluggard craves and gets nothing,
but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied."

Proverbs 15:19
"The way of the sluggard is blocked with thorns,
but the path of the upright is a highway."

Proverbs 18:9
"One who is slack in his work
is brother to one who destorys."

Birthday Present

2008-03-05T13:49:00.000-08:00

I know that my birthday is still a long way off, but today a I found my camera was broken, so I went to research a new camera and I saw how expensive they are. So for my birthday I want this camera:
Nikon - 6.1MP Digital SLR Camera - D40

So everyone can just give me money and hopefully I will then be able to buy it! So start saving now!

The Shortage of Mail Continues

2007-12-04T13:20:00.000-08:00

Apparently nobody got the obvious hint from the last post. Because I never got any mail. I never got a precious golden ticket that told me my family loved me and sent me a package. But that's ok, I guess, because I will see you all in 10 days!!! But there's still time for you to send that package and I would love to get it!

The Joys of Mail at Harding

2007-10-29T20:17:00.000-07:00

Ok, so everyday I go to the Student Center and walk up the stairs, past the usual Chi Sig/Regina Table, past the post office and finally come to the mail boxes. When I find mine I discover that someone has turned the knob (now this is a problem because I usually just close it and walk away without turning it, so that when I return I can just open it without putting in the combination, but if someone turns it then I am forced to remember my combination... see the delimma). So after I have found a computer and looked up my combination for the hundreth time, I finally open my box and discover that there is nothing in it. I know how sad is this picture. Well, it's about to get sadder, because this usually happens several times a day. I know you are asking why do you keep checking your box if you know nothing is going to be in there. But I think to myself that maybe, just maybe there might be a wonderful person out there who loves me enough to send me some mail to bright up my day. So I will continue to check! And if not I know that I will to continue to get junk mail and that needs to be thrown away anyway.

Well, on friday I thought my day had come. I opened my box and I had received a golded ticket (students receive a yellow sheet of paper telling them that they have a package that was too big to fit in the box). I just knew that my wonderful family sent me a huge package with lots of goodies inside because they loved and missed me so much (like they used to do when I was a freshman) So I take the ticket up to the counter, waiting with anticipation for my HUGE package. And what do I receive...a small yellow envolope about DTS. Well, I now know that DTS loves me because this is the second time this has happened. They sure do want me at that school of theirs, they are bribing me with one of the precious joys in life: MAIL!

Well, I think you can figure out the moral of the story. I love you!

Club Week

2007-10-27T12:46:00.000-07:00

This week was club week. And I learned that being in charge is really difficult. Lots of things can go wrong that are out of your control, like the weather. And you have to change your entire schedule or events just to make everyone happy. Also, working with other leaders of other groups is a major pain. Let's just say that I'm happy that it is all over and that we have all of our new girls in the club now. Here are some pictures from throughout the week.

Andrea, Alicia(our princess), and Me on Bid Day

All of the princess on Bid Day waiting for the activities to begin

After the Rough Night activites on Friday we take class pictures and this is everyone that's left from my pledge class in '03 (Holly, Andrea, Me, and Heather)

Alicia (my princess, who is now a queen) and Me

All of the new Queens after the Rough Night activities

For Katie

2007-10-03T11:40:00.000-07:00

Here you go Katie, this is the youngest picture of Vanesa that I had in my computer. So that we can compare Vanesa with how she looks now. I can't believe that she's already 9 either. It's really weird. Where does the time go?

Oh How We've Changed

2007-09-06T20:09:00.000-07:00

So instead of doing homework, like a good college student, tonight I was looking at the pictures on my computer. And I was amazed at how different we all look. Well, really how different the kids look. So I thought I'd share some before and after pic's with you.

Here's us in November of 2002, taking our Christmas card picture

Vanesa and Zack in November 2003, they grew a lot for just one year!

Yep, even Orlando has changed, this is right when we got him in May 2005, he sure is little!

And here he is now on the way to San Antonio this summer

And here is Vanesa and Zack now, I took this right before I left for school this year

So, oh how we've changed and I'm sure we will change a lot more in the years to come. I just thought you'd enjoy a blast from the past!

Sick

2007-08-30T20:04:00.000-07:00

So, I've been sick for 2 weeks and it's getting really old. And it doesn't seem to be going away. It's also getting in the way of my schoolwork, I'm already way behind. It's ridiculous. Anyway, I just wanted to vent my frustration for the tons of mucus that I can't seem to get rid of.

Queen Quiz

2007-08-28T10:29:00.000-07:00

Ok, I'm not going to be like Carole, I'm going to listen to your advise and chose number 3 for the Slovakia picture and number 8 for the Czech picture. Thanks for the impute. I need some more help. During pledge week we have pledge books that the pledges have to fill out. And one of the things in them is the Queen Quiz where we make up questions about ourselves and they have to find out who the question is about and go get that persons signature. Well last year I wasn't in the Queen Quiz because I couldn't think of a question about myself. And I'm having trouble thinking of one for this year too. The questions are usually something unique about that person, or something unusual, sometimes it's something stupid that they've done, or something really cool. One year I used Which Queen climbed Mt. Sinai? but I think other people have done that now. So it's not unique anymore. Anyway, since you know me best, help me come up with a really cool question!

Help 3

2007-08-24T17:02:00.000-07:00

(Go straight down to the first post of today)

Here are the pics for Slovakia, choose your favorite (these are all from the hike we took)

Choice One

Choice Two

Choice Three

Choice Four

Help 2

2007-08-24T16:51:00.000-07:00

Here are the rest of the Prague pictures

Choice Six: Cathedral at Vysehrad Castle

Choice Seven: Cathedral at Vysehrad Castle

Choice Eight: Vltava River

Choice Nine: St. Vitus Cathedral in the Castle Gardens

Ok, now that you've seen all the Prague pictures pick your favorite!

Help

2007-08-24T16:36:00.000-07:00

I need you to pick your favorite picture and then let me know. I'm going to choose one for the Czech Republic and one for Slovakia to put in my frames that Rebecca got me last year. So here is the first batch of the Czech picture

Choice One: Church of St. Nicholas

Choice Two: Old Town Hall Tower

Choice Three: St. Vitus Cathedral (front)

Choice Four: St. Vitus Cathedral (side)

Choice Five: Astronomical Clock

Grades

2007-08-21T15:00:00.001-07:00

I thought you might be interested to know that I got a 4.0 this summer. Yes I know, I'm super smart. Sure I only had one class, and getting an A in one class isn't that difficult, especially considering what it was, but that doesn't take away from my smartness!

First Day Back

2007-08-20T20:17:00.000-07:00

Today was my first day back and it was busy. First I had Greek, then Advanced Old Testament, which is going to be difficult. Then I worked at the desk for an hour. Then I came back to the room and worked really fast to get the stuff ready for the ring ceremony that I found out about that morning. A ring ceremony is when a girl gets engaged and she will tell the president of the club and give her the ring and then the president makes flyers and puts them up in the girls dorms telling them about the ring ceremony and then buys a candle. Then at the ceremony everyone in the club stands in a circle and sings and passes the ring on the candle around so all can see it and when it gets to the girl who's ring it is she blows the candle out. And everyone screams and claps and gets excited. It's a lot of fun. So, me being president I had to get everything ready for that. Then at 2 I had Geology and some freshman girl thought I was a freshman, guess I look young. Then I had Seminar in Doctrine:Calvinism and Arminianism. Doesn't that sound hard. Well it should cause it's going to be. I'm the only girl of 14 people. And the class is based on discussion. It's going to be really intimidating. We have to write like 3 papers and present each one to the class. Plus we have class discussions each day and we have discussions on Facebook that we are required to post on once a week. I have a feeling that I'm not going to do very well in this class. After class I had to run to walmart to buy the candle for the ring ceremony but they didn't have one. So I went to like 4 stores to find one, but nobody had what I wanted, so I ended up buying a silver one, instead of a white one. Then I had a little time to do some Greek homework that I'm still not done with (but I found out that nobody else had done their summer homework either, some hadn't even started on it yet). Then I had the Regina meeting and the Ring ceremony. I was nervous to get up and be the leader at the meeting. But I guess I did alright. Not as good as the past president, that's for sure, but as good as I can do.

After writing all of this I realize that you probably don't care what I did today, but I don't care, I wrote it anyway!

Church Pics

2007-07-24T11:16:00.000-07:00

On Sunday we had a potluck at church, here are some pictures:

Everyone talking and eating

Shara, Angela(being silly) and Jenifer, Luke and Tony not looking at the camera

Karel and Sveta

Bruno, Petr, and Lebos(turned away) in the background in Mrs. Diles talking with some guests from Houston

Matus, ok here's the story with this picture: Matus was taking pictures the whole time, mostly of people eating, so when he finally sat down to eat Andrew told me to zoom in real close and get one of him. He looks pretty scary though!

Coming up with Titles is Hard!

2007-07-24T03:11:00.000-07:00

I should be writing my paper right now, but instead I'm updating this wonderful thing! On saturday Danielle, Lindsay, Shara and I went to Ceske Budejovice. It's in the southern part of the Czech Republic and it's the city that the Sides want to go. So if I join their team, and it looks like I'm going to, that's where I'll be living. It was a nice city, I guess, not like Prague at all. It just didn't have a very old feel to me. But I'll be happy anywhere, I guess, as long as I'm out there spreading God's word. I just don't want to put all my hope and energy into this team and city and then not have it work out because we can't get anymore people to join. I've been praying a lot about my future and I ask that you do also. Just that others will be interested in coming to the Czech Republic.

In other news, we have been continuing with classes this week and they have been ok I guess. Sometimes I feel like I really don't know the Bible well enough to be a missionary, but nobody will ever no it perfectly. And I just need to study more.

I'm really excited about Dad coming, I've been thinking about everything that he needs to see and planning when we will go see it all. It's going to be a lot of fun! I can't believe that I only have one week left. The girls have been asking me if I'm ready to come home and I definitely miss ya'll, but I feel like I'm supposed to stay here longer, like I'm not supposed to leave yet. I guess that's a good sign. If I was desperately in need of home I would need to rethink the whole missions thing altogether.

English Classes

2007-07-19T13:07:00.000-07:00

The english classes started yesterday. They are pretty scary! Well, scary maybe is not the word for them. There are six Harding students teaching the classes and we are doing two Harding students for every one czech student. It works better this way, so if one of us gets stuck we have someone there to back us up. My first classes I worked with Shara and we taught Bruno. He's from Russia and he's my age. This was probably my favorite class. We basically just talk for a while, so we can get to know them and then we go into the lesson that has been planned out for us. The lesson consists of a story for the Bible (we are going through important stories in Luke and Acts). First there are vocab words from the story then questions about the story. Bruno was a good first class because he wasn't intimating at all and Shara and I worked good together.

Then Tony and I worked together and we taught Jiri. This was more difficult. Jiri is a man in his late 40s (I'm guessing) and he already knows pretty good english. This class was just more difficult because I'm not really sure what Jiri believes and I don't really like Tony's style of teaching.

Then today, Tony and I met with Jiri again, and after that Lindsay and I met with Vaslav. This class was very frustrating. We didn't even get to the lesson. Some how after going over the getting to know you stuff and got into the "Do you believe in God" question. And he started tell us his theory of God which lasted the rest of the hour. It was very intersting to hear, but it was a warped view of God and he didn't give us any option to jump in and state our own views on God. He basically said that God is everywhere and all religions believe in the same God and no matter what you believe it doesn't matter, because it is the same God and it is all the same and is all good. At least that's what I got from it. But at one point he did say that the Bible was the truth, so I don't understand how the other claim can be true. You can see my frustration. Anyway, I will get to talk to him again, so hopefully Lindsay and I can get to discuss our own views on God and what truth really is.

Other news, I get to see Harry Potter tomorrow and I'm supper excited! Also, I took the campaigners on a tour of the castle and on our way down the hill back to town I was kind of jogging to make it down the steps faster and note the steps are cobble stones so they are slippery, and I had flip flops on. So I fell on my knees then onto my bottom. And ultimately I scraped my knee and tore a hole in my good black slacks. I was very upset at myself.

Other news, I'm going to Ceske Budejovice on Saturday. This is the town in Southern Czech Republic that the Sides are wanting to go to, so I'm excited that I get to see it and see the place that I might one day be living!

Anyway here are some pictures from Olomouc from Monday and Tuesday

This is a cathedral

This is the monument in the town square

This is me and Shara in an alley

Camp and Olomouc part 2

2007-07-17T10:38:00.000-07:00

Last week I was at Camp in Huty, Slovakia. It's a really small town in the mountains. It was wonderful there, so beautiful and very cool. It was very uplifting to be with the slovak Christians. They were very friendly and I'm really glad I got to be there. I don't know what else to say about it. Then on monday we went to Olomouc. It was good to be with the team again. Well, here are some pictures. Sorry, I don't have much to say.

This is where we stayed in Slovakia, it was a really great place, not what I was expecting at all.

This is the village of Huty in Slovakia

This is the view from the mountain that we climbed.

This is the cross that was on top of the mountain.

This is us in the window of the hotel: Shara, Lindsay, Tony, Me, Petr (not on the campaign, a member of the Prague church), and Jenifer

It wouldn't let me put more pictures on here, so I'll put the ones from Olomouc on here later.

I'm Back

2007-07-14T11:01:00.000-07:00

I'm not gonna write much now, cause I'm pretty tired. But I had a really great week in Slovakia. It was a really uplifting week and there were some really amazing people there. Plus it was beautiful (I upload pictures later). I got to think a lot about stuff while I was there and the whole experience was a really blessing. Plus having the campaigners and the Diles come has been great. It's been wonderful to have Americans to talk to again. Anyway, it was great to come back and have tons emails and messages from ya'll. Plus Happy Late Birthday Mom. Hopefully, I'll write later!

kniha

2007-07-07T00:33:00.000-07:00

Kniha means book, I just really like it, I think it's a cool word! Anyway we are going to pick up the Diles and the campaigners today, then tomorrow we are leaving for Slovakia, so you wont here from me for a week. (and sorry mom, but I won't be able to call you or send you an email on your birthday, but I will try to when I get back). You also might not here from me very often because we never found a place for the other two girls so all four girls are staying here, so that means 6 people to one computer, and 6 girls to one bathroom! Anyway, the Harrills left on thursday after 6 nights with us. Their girls were really cute and I've think I've come to the realization that I may be good with kids. I used to think that I would never do a kids ministry because I thought I could never teach kids, but I don't necessarially think that having a ministry for kids involving teaching them like in a classroom setting-cause I could never do anything like that-I don't have the patience. But I do love playing with kids and they seem to like me! I don't know if any of that made sense or not! Anyway here are some pictures.

These are the Harrills daughters Shiloh and Isabella

We went to a czech resturant and I got goulash and dumplings and brombrachky-heres a pictures (it didn't turn out very well)

This is a picture of the tiny glass that my ice tea came in. I put it next to the big mug on our table to show the difference, but it also didn't turn out very good, you can't tell that it's tiny. The beers at this resturant were huge and they probably cost less. Also, there is no such thing as a free refill.

Waiting

2007-07-05T09:14:00.001-07:00

Since my time in the Czech Republic I've discovered that a lot of the day is spent waiting around. Americans have been spoiled because they are used to having everything right when they want it and waiting is out of the question. But in Prague you have to wait for everything. You wait for the metro to come, then when you get on the metro you wait for your stop, then you get off the metro and you wait on the escalator to get back on the street (and some of the escalator look like they are never-ending). Then you wait for you tram to come then you get on and wait for you stop. You get the picture. It's know wonder that people walk instead of waiting for waiting all the time.

But I had my ultimate waiting experience on over the past few days. Danielle had to renew her visa and so she had to go to the foreign police. She had go two days before and was unsuccessful. So I went with her to try and help her out. Let me just try and explain why it was so difficult. When you get there you have to get a number. Then when you number is called you get to go in and they will help you (like at the DMV). But they only give out a certain amount of numbers and only so often. At the machine that gives out numbers are crowds of people waiting for numbers to be given out again. And it can take hours for the numbers to start coming out again. So they are just standing around for hours, crowded around the machine, very close to each other waiting. So the first day I went with her, we got there about 10 and there were people crowded around the machine so we waited with them. It was hours before they started giving numbers again. Finally around 12, some of the people had gotten what they needed and left and it was me and Danielle and these 4 very mean girls waiting. Everytime we or someone else would come up to press the button to check to see if the numbers would come out the mean girls would swat our hands and say they were first. It was very stressful. We finally gave up and left because they closed at 2. So the next day we decided to get there about an hour before the place opened and we just knew we would get a number. So we got there around 6:20 and they opened at 7:30 when we got there there was already a line that stretched the length of the building. But some people would come up and clump around the door, which was unfair. But when the door did open there was a mad rush for the door and all sense of a line went out the window. People were screaming because of all the pushing and shoving. I hope nobody got hurt. Anyway we waiting on the stairs as they let people in the room little by little and by the time we got in the room all the numbers were gone. All in all we stayed there for 7 hours before we gave up and they never gave out numbers again the whole time we were there, apart from the first time they gave them out. So another day wasted. So yeah waiting. And, let me tell you, I'm really looking forward to applying for my visa when I move here!

Not much to say

2007-07-02T11:22:00.001-07:00

I don't really have much to say. I feel like I haven't heard from anybody in such a long time and that makes me sad. The missionary family, the Harrills that stayed with us a couple of weeks ago is back. They came on Saturday and they are staying till Thursday night. Then on Saturday the campaigners come and on Sunday we leave for camp in Slovakia. So it's gonna be a crazy busy week and weekend. We found out some bad news today. There are four girl campaigners coming and two were staying with us and two were staying with another couple in the church. But that couple told us today that they just remembered that they can't house them because they are having another guest during that time. So we don't know were the other two girls are going to stay. They might end up staying with us too, which will make us really cramped!

Anyway not much is happening, and I'm really excited about next week and having the campainers come. I wish that ya'll would email me or something, because I feel left out!

Class

2007-06-26T11:58:00.000-07:00

Well, Danielle didn't get better and I had to go to the class by myself. So first I went to the store to get supplies. She had decided to make a taco salad and have people sign up to bring things cause it's easy to make and she doesn't have to do everything. So I had to go get the meat, chips, and some cookies for desert. I went to the store and I couldn't find any ground beef, at least not any that looked like the kind I know. So, she said if I could find any just to skip the meat part. So I did. I got chips and then off to the cookies, now let me tell you that here there are not tons of varieties of cookies like there are in America. I didn't know what to choose. I stood there forever because all the cookies looked the same just different flavors. I finally picked a vanila kind and a chocolate kind. But turns out nobody even ate them. Anyway off to the class. I got there and I really didn't know what to do. I turned on the lights and started to get out plates and somebody arrived. So I went to the gate to let them in and told them that Danielle wasn't coming and she said she would help me. I felt kinda relieved, but I couldn't really communicate what needed to be done to her very well. Finally things got going and more people started showing up and they just started making a salad and cutting up tomatoes, I really didn't have to do anything. I had to explain to them the concept of a taco salad with the chips and cheese, because they really didn't understand. Now this is suppose to be an English class, so while we ate they would be talking to each other and Karel, on of the leader in the church, would say "English only!" Even though he doesn't speak very much at all and it's really hard to understand him. During the meal they asked me questions about my life, like school and family and where else I had traveled and of course if I liked Prague (I get that question most). Then when everyone was finished we went over the lesson that Danielle had prepared. This class had been over Hospitality and different aspects of that. So today's lesson was over comfort and companionship. They had this page to read and then we talked about it, kinda. After we read through it they asked questions on any of the words they didn't know or understand. They asked me about dignity and I couldn't really explain what it meant. I know what it means, but I can't describe it. Thankfully, one of the guys knew what it was in Czech. Then we kinda talked about the reading and that was it. I don't know if I'm up for teaching classes like that, but I'm glad I am glad I got to do it. I didn't want to think of myself as the teacher tonight though because it was the dinner and it was really laid back. However, right when Karel got there he kept telling me that I was the new teacher and not to be shy. I guess he's right I don't need to be shy. Mom would agree with that. Anyway, I thought you'd like to know that I kinda taught my first class.

Continue to pray for Danielle, she already had a doctor's appointment scheduled for tomorrow to check to see how she was doing so I hope that they can tell her what is wrong with her and I really hope she doesn't have to go back into the hospital. Just keep her health in your prayer, I know she's in a lot of pain.

Faith

2007-06-26T04:03:00.000-07:00

I don't really have an update, but I was reading in Daniel and I have a good verse to share with you. I know you all know the story of the burning furnace with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Here's what they said to the King. "If we are throne into the burning furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up." -Daniel 3:17-18. I think this is a great example of the faith these men had in God, that he would save them. Not only that but their devotion to him was beyond measure that even if they did die in the furnace they didn't care, because they knew he was the one true God. Anyway, just something to think about.

Also, Danielle is not feeling well again today, and we have a dinner for her students tonight. So she needs to get better. So say a prayer for her that she gets well and is able to make it to the dinner. Otherwise, I will have to do it on my own, and I can't even brown meat, so that's a problem!

Podlaha je dole

2007-06-22T13:42:00.000-07:00

As the title suggests, I am learning some Czech. It means the floor is down. A lot has happened since I last wrote. After church on Wedenesday Danielle, Alanka and I went to a concert. It was a concert for high schoolers of a music school. In the Czech Republic school is different. After a certain grade the students choose what kind of field they would like to study. Either arts, languages, or technology. And then they go to a different school for those things. They also learn their basics like math and such, but they choose at a early age what they would like to study. So this concert was a bunch of music schools combined into one. It was held at a really grand theater and they got to play with a professional orchestra. It was really neat. Basically they professionally orchestra would play and then there would be solos from the students. But the students were amazing, most had their pieces memorized and they were all at least 15 minutes long and very complicated. Plus the acoustic of the theater were amazing and it made the music all the better! We got the tickets from Danielles neighbor/student who is a music teacher and who is partially blind. Her husband is a music teacher also and is completely blind. The husband also works or help start this coffee shop that is completely in the dark where blind people work, so it's made to give people the experience of being blind. We've yet to go there. I thought it sounded interesting though.

Anyway on Thursday I had my second Czech lesson, then Danielle and I went to Olomouc, which is in the western part of the Czech Republic. It's about 2 hours away by train. There is a missions team there that has been there only 7 months and we got to visit with them and I got to ask them a bunch of questions. On the team are two married couples and 3 singles (2 guys and a girl) so they have a pretty good mix. One of the single guys wasn't there, but we ate lunch with him in Prague before we left for Olomouc, so I still got to meet him. Being in Olomouc was really great, because they have a completely different view on how they are going to go about their work in Olomouc, than how the work was down here in Prague. So it was nice to talk with them and hear their plans. Right now they are just doing a year of language school, so they really haven't started much yet. But it was also really great to see how a team looks just starting out. We spent then night there and came back today. That's pretty much it, sorry this is so long. Here are some pictures, finally some of me, even though they are really bad pictures, because I didn't take a shower and so I look pretty bad, I promise that I usually don't look that bad!

Me, Cory, his wife Sarah, Graham, Danielle, Christy, and Josh (Josh's wife, Sarah was taking the picture, and Mitch the other guy on the Team was in Prague, so they are the one's missing from the picture)Me and Danielle-about to get on the train to go back to Prague

Cigarettes and Ice Cream

2007-06-18T14:06:00.000-07:00

So I've observed in my two weeks of being here that people in Prague carry different things than people in America. People in America carry their cell phones like it's their one and only possession and if they lose it their life will be over. They also talk on their cell phone constantly. You can't go two feet without seeing some on the street or in their car on the phone, in America. I hate it when you see two people walking together and they are both talking on the phone, I wouldn't be surprised if they were talking to each other.

But in Prague, and I'm assuming throughout Europe, it's different. Don't get me wrong cell phones are everywhere and everyone has them. They just don't feel the need to parade them around for all the world to see. Or maybe it's that Europeans have something better to enjoy...Cigarettes and Ice Cream. You see them everywhere. Not together don't worry. Almost everyone here smokes and you will probably have someone ask you for a light if you come here. One fun sign I saw in a coffee house read Keep the Coffee Aroma and then it had the little no smoking sign under it. It was a cute sign. Anyway cigarettes aren't the only thing Europeans love, Ice Cream is also in abundance. Everywhere there are ice cream shops and you see people with ice cream walking the streets all over town. However, this may just be a summer thing. A sad thing is their scoops aren't very big and their cones are long and pointy. I'd rather a small cone and lots of ice cream. There are other things that people carry in Prague, you're bound to see at least a dozen camera bags drapped around the neck, and there are lots of people with books on the Metro.

Anyway, I just thought that you might like to know some of the interesting things that I've observed!

Kids

2007-06-16T01:44:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we went to the airport to pick up a family that used to be missionaries here. They are here to visit. The man came as a missionary and met his wife here and then about 2 years ago they moved to America. They have 2 little girls, Shiloh-5 and Isabella-3, and they are so precious. It really makes me miss the kids. They took to me really fast too. I instantly became their new friend! However, they are all of course very tired because of the long flight and today they are leaving to visit their grandmother. Well, anyway, now I miss everyone a lot!

Danielle's Back

2007-06-14T12:09:00.000-07:00

Danielle came home today. She is ok and it's good to have her back. She found out that she is anemic (spelling?). Anyway I just wanted ya'll to know that she is back and feels better!

Alone Again

2007-06-13T10:50:00.000-07:00

Danielle has to stay another night in the hospital. They said her red blood cells count is low, so they are giving her some iron and they are going to check it again in the morning. I hope she gets better and doesn't have to stay another night, because on Friday we are expecting guests. I'm not really sure who they are, but we pick them up from the airport Friday night and they are staying with us for the weekend. Just continue to pray for her and her recovery.

I survived my first trip to the store by myself! I went to the grocery store right next door and I found that it can be kinda difficult choosing meat and cheese when you can't read the packaging. So I just picked something that looked good! I don't eat much else but sandwitches, but their bread is really good so I don't mind.

Here are some pictures that I had on my camera from a while ago, they aren't from Prague but I know you'll enjoy them!

Hunter smiling when we were in San Antonio

Again, kinda smiling

Vanesa and me at Zack's T-Ball game (I left out the funny pictures we took after this one!)

GROSS!!!

2007-06-12T11:11:00.001-07:00

The grosses thing happened today. I found some chocolates, some of those little individually wrapped hersey's, and so I took out a handful and started eating some. I had eaten about 5 of them, then I unwrapped a Mr. Goodbar and there was a little, LIVE, white worm or something, crawing inside the chocolate. I was so discusted, I almost threw up. To think I had already eaten so many of them too. It makes me sick just thinking about it.

Anyway, mom called me and I got to talk to her, which was nice. It's nice just to hear familiar voices again and hear what's been going on at home.

Danielle

2007-06-12T05:34:00.000-07:00

Danielle has been really sick the past couple of days and today we went to the doctor. The doctor told her that she needed to go to the hospital and an ambulance would take her there. So she is at the hospital and I came back to the apartment to wait for her to call me with news of how she is. Pray that she is all right and will feel better again.

First Sunday

2007-06-10T06:35:00.000-07:00

Today was my first Sunday and therefore first Church service in Prague. The Prague church is a lot different from my church back home. For one, today there were only 8 people there. I didn't understand anything, of course because it was all in Czech. But they did everything that we do at church. In communion they use this piece of bread, not crackers, and they use one cup and they passed a napkin around with it to wipe the cup off after you had drank from it. They also used wine, not grape juice. After the service everyone was talking to each other and it is just very hard for me to talk to them because I speak NO Czech, and my classes don't start for another week, i don't think. So I've decided to start to try to learn some on my own, so I can interact more with the church members at least. After church I did some more exploring for a couple of hours by myself of the Prague Castle, pictures below.

On friday, Danielle, Alanka, and I went to see a movie, before that we were in the downtown area, looking in stores and we got an icecream and I noticed how many homeless people there were. It was really sad, because every few minutes anyother homeless person, usually occumpained by a dog, would go to a trash can that had already been picked over countless of times. I saw at least 5 people pick up a McDonalds drink and drink out of it. It just made me sad.

This is the view from the top of the Cathedral at Prague Castle

The Cathedral in Prague Castle

This is another view from on top of the Cathedral in Prague Castle

This is the Dancing House-it's a very modern buillding right off the river, in between all the old ones

I guess that's enough pictures. Regretfully, I don't have any pictures of myself or of people, because I've only gone out by myself, but maybe later.

Around the Town

2007-06-07T11:33:00.000-07:00

So today Danielle took me to eat some real Czech food. I had beef with this creme, which tasted like whipped creme, and cranberry sauce, and then dumplings. It was alright. I didn't care for the cranberry sauce and the dumplings weren't as great as I had expected. Then after lunch we parted ways and I walked around the city for almost 5 hours. I saw a lot. A lot of stuff that I didn't know what it was. And now my feet hurt real bad. Here are some pictures from my day.

This is the view from Charles Bridge, the most famous bridge in Prague.

This is the view from the bridge that we take to get to the church building. That's the Prague Castle in the background.

I have more pictures but putting pictures on this blogger-thing is very frusturating and I guess I can't figure it out, so I'm stopping.

1st Two Days in Prague

2007-06-06T12:43:00.000-07:00

So I've been here for two days now and things are going ok. It's good to here that my family misses me so much! I miss them too. Prague is just like everyone told me...beautiful. And the church is right off the river and that's the prettiest part of the city. Of course there are some not so pretty parts, just like every city, but I love it here. There just something about riding a tram that I find fascinating. There are a lot of parks here too. I'm going exploring tomorrow, I think. I've sat in on some of Danielles classes and it's amazing the variety of people who come. Some come to the "English" class strictly to learn English and they only have questions of grammar and spelling. Others want to know about the text (Scripture) and it was amazing to watch them learn about the Bible and see what questions they had about it. I know that I'll learn a lot from Danielle and I'm excited about this experience. I'll try to take some pictures and put them on here asap. Love you and miss you.

My New Blog

2007-05-29T20:54:00.000-07:00

I decided to join in on the fun! I've made this so that you can know what's going on with me in Prague. Hope you enjoy!