Here is another video I put together. In it the interns introduce themselves, and talk about what God is doing here in Croatia through this English Camp! Enjoy!

ENGLISH CAMP HAS BEGUN!

We are into our second day at Fuzine, and are really excited. We have 18 students and 19 american staff - a great bunch. We have already been amazed at the openness of the students and their willingness to participate in activities! Last night we had "Vegas night" - lots of card games, candy, and karaoke.

Thank you for your prayers - we definitely feel a covering. Please continue!

For those of you who know me well, I love being creative. This comes out in different ways and areas - music, art, writing - but this summer, I have a very special creative project.

I have always loved photography. I get it from both my parents - dad loves the technical aspect of photography and has been doing it since he was in high school, and mom never fails to capture a special moment on our Nikon D80. When I was still living at home, I was dubbed the "official photographer" on family vacation. I loved it.

But, when I went off to college in Chicago, the camera stayed in Frydlant. For that whole year I didn't have many opportunities to develop my photography skills or even take many pictures.

As my internship in Croatia neared, I knew I needed a creative project to help me relax in the midst of the busy and demanding schedule. Photography was an obvious choice, as it could accompany me wherever I go! However, the family digital SLR camera was still to stay at home.

Then I remembered - my dad's old film SLR camera! It is a Pentax with all manual controls (focus, aperture etc.). I was a little intimidated in the beginning, but have been enjoying it so much after I figured everything out. I'd like to share some of my favorite pieces (so far) with you! Enjoy!

I just love the feel that film has. And the colors! I have been very impressed. Digital has still not been able to match up to good 'ol film. I've been learning so much from going back to how it all started!

God is so good!

That's all that has been on my mind during these past two weeks. Our days have been packed with visiting schools, preparing talks for camp, organizing english material, and constantly checking our hearts as we serve this summer. We all really desire that CHRIST be the reason we are here as interns. 

That has been one thing that the Lord has been really convicting me of in the past days - is my purpose in life service or is my purpose in life Christ? I truly desire it to be the latter! 

(Lauren, Bronwen, Nathan, and I)

God has blessed our team so much. He has answered our prayers in ways beyond what we could have imagined - especially in the area of unity. Each of us four interns have very different personalities and gifts, but we work so well together. We spur each other on, encourage each other, make up for the other's weaknesses...it's so cool to see the Body of Christ so visible among this team. Thank you for praying for us - God has definitely answered your prayers!

The first church team from SOMA in Arizona just arrived last night! We will spend tomorrow in training with them, and our first camp starts Tuesday the 22nd. Please pray for us!!! We have 20 Croatian students signed up. We are still praying for 30, expecting that God can do miracles, but trusting that He will bring just the right people to this camp. Nothing is outside of His purpose and plan.

So, please pray for:

- unity between our two teams - the intern team and the SOMA team
- more students to sign up for both camps (praying for 30 each!)
- that deep relationships would be formed and the Gospel clearly presented to students at this first camp (June 22nd-29th)
- for me, as I prepare to give one of the evening talks on the last day of camp. My topic is "the perfect world," and I will be speaking on God's plan to ultimately redeem the entire world, and Jesus' promise to go prepare a place for those who believe in Him.

Thank you again for your partnership in this way - it is a huge blessing. Please continue praying with me and thanking Him for the things He is already doing!

The Lord has been so good!

Since Monday we have been spending our entire days (from about 7:30 AM till 4:30 PM) visiting schools, going into classrooms, talking with students, and handing out flyers. We were not sure at all what to expect, as the reception from students as well as faculty has not always been the most welcoming in the past. But God has definitely gone before us.

Although the responses and conversations have been great, we still need students to sign up for camps. Please pray that what we have been saying about English Camp would remain on minds of the students, so much so that they have no choice but to sign up! As the day draws nearer, I am more and more excited to spend intensive time with these students, teaching them English and pointing them to Christ.

Please pray for energy and strength, as going from classroom to classroom having to be enthusiastic and engaged all day is not the easiest thing to keep up. But it is truly an amazing experience.

I'm going to get some rest and prepare myself for an early morning again tomorrow! Thank you so much for your support especially in the area of prayers - it is so important to this ministry and means a whole lot to me!

Join me in prayerfully applying this verse:

"I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 3:14

I have safely arrived in Croatia! After an incredible week of training up at Malenovice, we drove 12 hours to the Vuletics' house in Rijeka. The past three days have been spent preparing materials for camps and interacting with students from the local youth group.

One of the most fun experiences I have had so far was during a youth group meeting yesterday. Our intern team sat in while the planning all went in Croatian. One thing I have been very excited about has been to learn the Croatian language while here, and this was my first opportunity to really listen and see how much I could understand. Knowing Czech certainly helps! With Stevo's daughter Nina's help with some words, I was able to understand about 25% of what was going on! 

One big project that I have been working on has been a magnification of the camp logo on a big poster. It's been great to get those creative juices flowing and working with my hands! Here's the finished product:

And one of Marko Vuletic and I:

More creative hard work! (Bronwen, Nina and Marko):

And lots of fun on the trampoline! (Lauren, Nathan, Nina and Daci):

This afternoon we are having a Campus Crusade group over for dinner. They are serving in Croatia for a couple months and we are wanting to connect with them and hopefully do some street ministry with them throughout the summer! 

It has been an incredible blessing to be at Stevo and Sarah's house. They are great hosts. It's a very restful environment, even though we're definitely being worked hard! Alrighty, back to painting!