They traveled there after leaving the Czech Republic and one of the things they did was build a house for a family. The program is called Homes of Hope.


Leslie building house in Mexico.


Cory building a house in Mexico.


In this photo Leslie is helping to lift a wall.


Special gifts from the team.


The house builders with the family they built the house for!


shingle girl


Cory hauling trusses


Brother and sister teamwork


Leslie nailing up drywall


Cory painting

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Not I at work, but God...

I can't wait to sit down and blog more when I get back. There is so much to share and so little time. Overall I'm awed by our team. And I am so impressed with our youth. They have been amazing and we've received compliments all around. Of course they are crazy, goofy, and having a ton of fun but they are so in tune to connecting with the people and touching their hearts. I totally love seeing God exceed my expectations...and am once again brought face to face with the power of the Holy Spirit.

Anyway, we've been asked 100 times if we've been asked once if we'd return next year. The fact that we've seen one person accept Christ and we've seen thirty others take steps closer to Him in nothing short of a miracle. We know we are building on what other teams have done in the past. We also are extremely aware of the immense prayer support we have behind us. In fact many people have commented on that fact. "We can feel your whole Christian community behind you. They sent 20, but we can feel the prayers of 2,000."

The need in the Czech Republic is great. We have been asked to staff the next English camp again next year. They were so pleased with how we worked together as a team and the classes we've taught. We've also been asked to work with new IMB missionaries Larry and Melissa Lewis who will be in Plzen ... about three hours from where we are now. We've been working alongside Larry and Melissa and our group have fallen in love with them and their three children! They have become "our" missionaries.

We also had the director of a small Baptist Bible college drive three hours just to meet us. He came so we can go back and tell our church about them, their students, and their needs. They are currently training seven Czech men to be pastors and they will also be helping these men with church launching in two years once their education is complete. The young couple who runs the college teach all the classes and build support, because the men are unable to go toschool and work. They are amazing! Their work is amazing!

Overall, we are encouraged by the care of the Czech people and their interest in Christianity. They are more open to spiritual conversations than we thought and many of the are extremely close to accepting Christ. We are certain that if we can return and build on these relationships that we will see many more souls saved. Of course, in this country it's not a quick process. The communist indoctrination is very evident. Yet we are encouraged everyday by the conversations we have with people and the friendships we are building.

We are also been extremely cared for by the small Czech church. They are pouring love and attention on us and they are also "eating up" our fellowship. They have said over and over again how meaningful it us to know that a church in the US has cared for their small church of sixty people. They presented us with gifts to take back to our congregation. We were awed by them.

Our new church friends have been feeding us and offered their homes. I was mentioning last night to one couple how spoiled we feel. Ivan said, "That is because we want you to return and bring back others to share Christ with our countrymen." That's what we've been asked over and over--to bring back more believers. In fact just this morning from a medical doctor who attended our camp. This is part of what he said:

"Thank You very much for Your time, You did the very good job in Cenkovice. Please, give our best regards in Your church.
Now I pray, that God could send more others Christians to our country in next summer ..."

Finally, I can't express how EAGER the people are to learn English. It's as if we've been given a great treasure by knowing this language and they are eager and grateful for every moment we spend sharing our knowledge with them. What an opportunity!

Okay, signing off for now. Thank you for your continued prayers!

Tricia

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Our team in Vysoke Myto!!!


This photo was taken a few days ago in Vysoke Myto ... a town in the Czech Republic of about 12,000 people. The teens are "posing" like statues! This photo was taken the day before we left for camp. We've been in camp five days and it seems like fifteen! Our days are filled teaching English which is challenging and rewarding. The people are AMAZING and ... one of our teen members led a young man to Christ on Tuesday! This is the first time they've had anyone except Christ at one of the English camps! And after seven years on the field this is the third person the missionary we are working with has seen come to Christ, so there is MUCH celebration! Tonight we all signed a Bible to give to Vojta, so we are going to present it to him tomorrow. He is a wonderful young man as are ALL the people we're getting to know!

Milos and Olivia playing beautiful music together.


When looking for the right word ...


American Smores


Our team members have poured themselves into EVERYTHING!


We've heard feedback from the missionaries that our team has done better than any other at connecting with the people. The Czech people's hearts are very open to us which is AMAZING! We show Jesus by having fun with them and loving them to pieces!


Bekah hard at work.


One of the COOOOOOOLEST things is we got to meet Andrea ... who will be coming as are exchange student for next year. She's AMAZING. And we love her already.
Here is a "sisters" photo.

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Packing, Life, and Travel Prep

Right now our suitcases are 90% packed for the Czech Republic, our curriculum is close to being finished for the English camp, and my to-do list of things I need to finish before we head out is getting smaller.

I just had to tell you about one of the cool things we did before our trip ... we actually installed a new lock on our front door! Exciting, I know!

Actually, we are very excited about it, and we've been showing it off to friends. Is a combination lock, and it was VERY important to install it for my grandma. You see, my 78-year-old grandmother lives with us, and even though we have many people checking up on her, she'll be spending more time alone during our trip than she's used to. She'll also be letting herself in and out of her house when we're gone.

For as long as she'd lived with us, grandma has had trouble with the deadbolt lock. You had to get the key in just right for it to work. Bothersome even for me!

Grandma's also one of those people who changes her purse with her outfit, so there's been time she's left the house and as forgotten her key in "the other purse." This hasn't been too much of a problem when we're around to let her in ... but we'll be in Europe! So ... we found this awesome Schlage lock that has a keypad. You just punch in the right code and the lock opens with a simple twist of the knob.

We were able to give Grandma a code (one she'll remember) and with a push of a few buttons she's inside. It's also awesome because we can give separate codes to all those people that we've asked to check in on Grandma. In fact, we can program 19 different codes if we want to. (And my husband thinks it's great. He's a gizmo person so this was right up his alley. And it was easy to install, too!)

The kids love the new lock, too ... and we've been showing it off to all our friends who've been over. You can find out more information here.

Okay, so that's taken care of. It's marked off my to-do list ... and I have a whole lot more piece of mind for the trip! Now ... if I can just figure out a code to water all my plants ...

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Here is a story that the local paper did on our mission trip to Czech!

Message of hope and faith: Group plans trip to Czech Republic
By HEIDI DESCH / Hungry Horse News

One European country has brought three Flathead Valley women together to help others.

Tricia Goyer, Sona Blue and Iva Smid are part of a group of about 20 people planning a trip to the Czech Republic.

The trip is an outreach of the Easthaven Baptist Church in Kalispell. The group plans to teach English and run sports and drama camps. In the end, the ultimate goal is to share the group's Christian faith with the Czech people.


Not so long ago such a trip was only a idea for Goyer and Blue.

See Goyer, a writer, traveled to the Czech Republic. She was working on a book "Night Song" that would be released in 2004. That's when she felt compelled to do something for the people there.

"The people so nice, caring and real. They are very nice, but they have nothing to hope for and nothing to cling to," she said.

Blue, a young mother, had come to the United States from the Czech Republic during the 1990s. She wanted to do something for her home country also, but hadn't found a way to make it happen.

Then Goyer met Blue at their Easthaven Baptist and they began working to find a way to do something.

Goyer ran an ad in a homeschool newsletter looking for people who might want to participate.

Smid saw the ad and wanted to get involved. She had escaped the country during the 1970s when it was under communist control to come to the United States.

"It's my home country. You can't erase that. Where you are in your youth stays with you," she said. "I love the country and the people there. It is a privilege to go back."

AT FIRST, GOYER wasn't sure how exactly she might help in the country.

Read the rest here!

And...If you would like to be added to our prayer team or would like to make a donation for our trip, please email triciagoyer@yahoo.com.



Stop Lurking! Every week I will draw names for a free Tricia Goyer book from those who comment on my blogs. Winner's choice! Tell your friends.

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Lately in addition to balancing writing, homeschool, baby care, and life ... I've also been planning a missions' trip to the Czech Republic. Yesterday I heard amazing news. It's so exciting, and well ... I'm just going to have to fill you in.

Here's the story: I've visited the Czech Republic twice--once in 2000 and once in 2002. I can't describe how I fell in love with the country and the people. John was with me the second time and I told him, "Honey, can't we move here and be missionaries?" At the time it wasn't feasible, but that little seed was planted in my heart.

Fast forward to 2007. I was in Sunday School when this sweet looking young woman sat next to me. I introduced myself and she did too. I noticed her accent right away. She said her name is Sona and she was from the Czech Republic. We talked a little, but because I serve in children's church every week I wasn't able to connect with Sona to tell her how much the Czech Republic meant to me.

Then ... last fall I started teaching Experiencing God. Sona was in my class. (If you haven't taken that Bible Study you MUST.) Anyway, through the class my love for the Czech Republic came up. Sona also shared how she's prayed for three years to be able to return to her country to share her faith. Well, one week the topic was about International missions. Henry Blackaby was talking about looking within your own church. He said that if you have Internationals within your congregation you should ask God why they are there and if you should reach out to their home countries.

That week I was sweeping the church after the Wed. night supper when the idea struck my heart that we should plan a short-term missions trip to the Czech Republic. I ran over to Sona, who was washing dishes and I said, "Sona, we need to go to the Czech Republic next year for a short term missions' trip." Her eyes widened. A smile filled her face. I've been praying about the VERY thing all week!

So, since November I've been checking out different opportunities ... and I found MANY! There were things we liked about each, but yesterday I connected with a project that is a PERFECT fit for our group! I'm so excited. (More details to come!) Of course, now I know of many, many opportunities--more than one team can do.

 So that is where YOU come in. If you are interested in a short-term missions trip in the Czech Republic or Slovakia, PLEASE let me know. I can pass on information. There are WONDERFUL opportunities and ministries that are in need of workers for teaching English (if you speak it, you can teach it!), children's outreach, youth outreach, construction and MORE!

Email me! fromdustandashes@hotmail.com

 

Stop Lurking! Every week I will draw names for a free Tricia Goyer book from those who comment on my blogs. Winner's choice! Tell your friends! Last week's winner was Cindi Choppes who left a comment on the GenX Parenting blog! Thank you for un-lurking! Send me your book choice and mailing address!

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