Random ramble

There have been so many things on my mind lately that I can hardly wade through it all. Therefore, I am going to create a list of random things that are in my jam-pack mind to hopefully lodge the unimportant stuff loose and be able to tackle what I need to. And beyond that, lists are just fun. And you want to know why they are fun? Because you can put a number in front of almost anything and all the sudden it becomes important. For example my good friend Naomi wrote a list of things she loves about her husband and in it was...
17. His shirts are soft.

Now normally that wouldn't be a really important thing but because the list had a title of "100 things I love about Matt" and number 17. was infront of the statment, it made it important.

Anyway, here is my VERY RANDOM list of
"Things swirling through my head"

1. I hope that I get a really cool tree for my birthday...yes I want a tree for my brithday!
2. Who will take my receptionist position so that I will be able to start working in my new role as the Serve Asia Facilitator?
3. I am excited to see where in the world this new job will take me.
4. What are some wicked fun things that we can do with our church that will help church not look so boring?
5. Why is it so hard for people to love one another?
6. I am very excited to go to Czech!!!
7. Who will be in my Czech class this year?
8. I want to plant tons and tons of flowers.
9. I am also excited to get fresh veggies this year from our garden.
10. I feel like so many people in our church need to know that they are loved and appreciated, how can this happen?
11. I want to see my friend Laura so badly! I would give almost anything to be walking on the beach while we both had our cameras in hand taking pictures of the tide or whatever else is interesting at the moment.
12. I hope that Aaron can really get refreshed soon!
13. I want a day where I can wear flipflops, a ribbon in my hair, have my sunroof open and drive up to the mountains and kayak while listening to some music that I can blast and sing along to...and possibly annoy Aaron with.
14. My coffee is cold.
15. I am really really really excited about my new job!

And there are many more, but I think that will sufice for now.

Going Home!

Some of the Czech I know:
Pivo, Vino, Zmrzlina, Caj,
Ahoj, Diky, Cau, Prosim
Modra, Zitra, Cervena, Bila
Pupek, Ojo, Prst, krk
Medved, Zaba, Ryba, Had

English Translation:
beer, wine, ice cream, tea
Hello, thanks, bye, please
blue, yellow, red, white
belly button, eye, finger, neck
bear, frog, fish, snake

What does this mean? It means that I am going to be able to use these words again in 6 months. After much prayer and much dialogue with both my boss and my husband, the decision was made that I would be going back to my second home. I get to go back to fruit dumplings, the Czech language, the Lipus family, and the so many students that I adore.

Each year I go over and each year I feel like God uses me in different ways. Some years I feel like I have connected with the whole camp, some years it has been my room, some years it has been just my class, and other years it is just a few very specific students. But every year God uses me and every year I fall more and more in love with the Czech people. I can't even imagine what I will be doing this year and how camp will be, but there is something absolutely amazing about getting to go over again. I didn't think it would happen, but it did.

Here are the things I am excited for this next trip...if it can happen:
1. To see Adela, Georgey, Cilco, and Pavla
2. To see Jumper and Osvald
3. To see my class from last year and to see Ondra and how he has grown
4. To spend follow-up with the Lipus family
5. To meet my new class
6. To bond with my new teaching partner
7. To support the Czech team
8. To walk through this trip with Brandi
9. To have dinner with Ivo
10. To see Aaron really lead this team in a strong way
11. To hang with Nate
12. To watch God move again
13. To engage with the students
14. To see Richard
15. To see how things are different this year
16. The many other things that I can't even write



This is my mom and Adela last year





This was in a rose garden Richard took Aaron, my Mom, Sarah, and I too.





This was at a Train Station in Ostrava




This was during an Ice Breaker Game






This is Ester Lipusova and I



This is part of a broken cobblestone walkway in Prague




This is my favorite statue in Prague, it depicts what Communism does to a person, as you can see, the person starts to fade away into nothing at the top. Such a powerful piece.

Czech and it's beauty part 2...in pictures

Well, I am still trying to figure out if God is calling me back to Czech again this summer. I am not sure if it is even an option with my work, but it is something that is so dear to me. The thought of not being able to see students like Pavla, Adela, Ondra, Jana, Hani, and so many of the others just makes my heart break. In fact, it makes me think of a song I used to sing..."where or where has my little dog gone, oh where oh where can he be?"...Okay so it doesn't really make me think of that song, but that song DID randomly pop into my head, and I do feel like I have lost something, so I wanted to share it with everyone! BUT, maybe it makes me think of something more like the game "Duck, Duck, Goose" and I am wondering if I am going to be the goose that gets to go and "run around" or the duck that sits and watches everyone else go. ANYWAY...while I am still thinking and praying about this trip, I thought I could share some of my most favorite pictures that I took of Czech with you all.

Czech and all it's beauty...

As I sit here in Colorado, thinking about the fact that Aaron has handed out Czech trip application, and having heard just recently from so many of my friends in Czech, it makes me think about how much I love that country, the people, the scenery, and the way God is moving over there. Everything in my body wants to go back so badly. If I could live half of my life there and half of my life here, I would do so. And in fact, I feel like I already do that in a way. My home and my heart are split between the two countries, the families I have here and the families I have in Czech are both so dear to me. In fact, when I got married, I was so nervous to have Aaron meet my friends in Czech because they mean so much to me. It felt like I was introducing him to my parents or something. And they all loved him and he loved them!!!

But as I sit here thinking and praying about if God is wanting me to go back again this next summer, I want to reflect on some of my most favorite times in Prague and in Czech.

My Top List: (in no specific order...they are all top)

1. Returning my second year and feeling like I was "back home"

2. Staying with the Lipus family and eating European cheese and drinking Czech beer

3. Hearing Jumper tell me "The cool thing about you is that I can tell you are not here just to do a 'mission trip thing' and check it off some list. You actually love the people and care about it here and that's awesome"

4. The moment when the Czechs stopped calling me Seleny Americanka (Crazy Amercian Girl) and started

calling me Seleny Ceska (Crazy Czech girl)

5. Sitting in the pub with Cilco and Georgey

6. Talking with Osvald about Heaven

7. Singing with Adela and having her in my english class

8. Hiking and talking with Radek and Boris

9. Going to a Czech hockey game with Cilco

10. Watching Ondra accept Christ

11. Seeing Daniel accept Christ and then watching him lead the next year

12. Introduing Aaron to everyone, specifically Jumper and Osvald

13. Staying in Cesky Tesin with Jumper and his family

14. Going to a concert put on my Jumper and then catching a train with Lukas, Darius, and Petr at about 2 in the morning

15. Going to a cajovna

16. Sitting on the trains watching people or going past sunflower fields

17. Having Cilco request "It's a Beautiful Day" by U2 for me on the radio and all the sudden hearing the announcer say "Americanka Cheryl" over the radio and then having the song played!

18. Listening to Dave or Nate or any of the other missionaries talk about what God is doing.

19. Eating Hot Raspberries with Lenka

20. Spending New Years Eve in Brno...CRAZY

21. Having discussions with my class from 2006 where I was also able to have Georgey as my translator.

22. Getting coffee with Monica

23. Hot Chocolate in Malenovice
24. The blueberry fight I had with Jumper, Lucka, and Tomas

25. THE FOOD

26. Watching the American students grow

27. Going on the morning walks with Cindy

28. Talking with Pavla in the pub

29. Coming back again and again and again.
30. The friendships that have turned into family

Osvald, me, and Jumper after I introduced them to Aaron and we got to sit in a pub for a while and just chill.

My Class from 2006 (Georgey and I are in front)

At the top of Serak after the hike we do with the students!

Daniel back at camp as a leader!!!