What a privilege it was to be able to speak to the youth group in Poděbrady last Thursday. I spoke out of a well-known passage, Ephesians 2:8-10. We were pleasantly surprised to see the room fairly evenly split between believers and non-believers - posing a challenge for me as the speaker! How do you communicate something that is applicable to both those who know Christ as well as those who are still under God's wrath?

The answer was simple - preach the Gospel! Preach Christ crucified and risen. Preach grace.

"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."

This was also a very important sermon for me - it was the first time preaching in the Czech language! 

Pray for these students, and all the students that we come into contact with - that they would see the grace of God and have no choice but to respond. 

Speaking on grace revealed to me how little I do understand grace. I suppose I never will comprehend it fully - but I will continue to seek for my eyes to opened so I may love my Lord more. Praise Jesus that the power of grace does not rest upon my own comprehension of it! 

Our first camp of the summer is with the Církev Bratrská church in Ostrava. Ostrava was known for its industry under communism and is one of the most densely populated cities in the Czech Republic. A "heavy spiritual cloud" still hangs over the population from the days of hard labor. We definitely felt the darkness and the spiritual need as we walked the streets and looked into the eyes of people.

However, God is moving. As we interacted with students from the youth group and attended church on Sunday, we were so encouraged by the hearts of the Christians and their burden for their city. Jesus is being glorified!

One cool thing - When my family moved to the Czech Republic almost 18 years ago, this church was one of the first that my dad partnered with. It's fun to be back and be serving with them! This is a picture of my family (minus dad) in downtown Ostrava many years ago!

Our team was able to spend three days interacting with students in Ostrava last weekend - what an encouraging time! Especially exciting was our meeting with Adam - the Czech camp leader, and Přemek - the current youth pastor at the church. These are two very gifted and passionate men of God. It will be such a joy to serve with them!

Camp starts on July 2nd, and will go till July 9th. Pray that the Lord uses this week to bring joy, hope, and salvation to the lives of many young people!

During our intern leader retreat at the end of May, we began to study the book of Colossians together. Our Czech intern teams will reunite three more times throughout the summer, and we will eventually make our way through the entire book. It is a great way for us leaders to refocus on Christ, as well an opportunity for us to bond and encourage one another amidst the frenzy of the summer. It's also great to just let loose and have fun together!

While going through chapter 1 at this leader retreat, a particular passage especially stood out to me, and has become my prayer for the summer.

Colossians 1:28-29 - "Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me."

My three points of prayer are as follows:

1. That we would "proclaim" Christ with boldness - "warning" unbelievers and "teaching" believers, that both may see the glory and fulness of the gospel.

2. That our goal would be the building up of the church - to "present everyone mature in Christ." 

3. That we would "toil" and "struggle" this summer, but that it would not be in our own strength. Rather, that we would serve sacrificially "with all his energy" so that Christ would be glorified and we might be vessels of his grace.

The town of Poděbrady through the artistic lens.

Allow me to introduce you to my team!

Ryan Rayburn is my co-leader. I am so blessed to serve alongside him! We actually attend the same church in Warrenville, IL, and serve together as volunteers in the youth group. What a joy it has been to carry over that relationship to this summer! Ryan has a huge heart for evangelism, and is also a (very talented!) rapper.

Sean Smith is a returning intern from last summer, and a student at Grace College in IN. It is such a joy to have a kindred spirit like Sean on my team. We are both far more introverted than our other team members, and love to think hard. Whenever Sean speaks, I listen - he has incredible discernment and wisdom.

Kelli Fleck is a recent graduate of Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, IL! Growing up in a non-Christian family, the Lord drew Kelli to Himself about six years ago. She is able to relate to just about anyone - and does it really well too! Her unashamedness of the Gospel and commitment to the Word encourages and spurs us all on.

Nicole Khal, a resident of Oregon, has dual citizenship in Syria and the USA! Her parents are full-blooded Syrians, and Nicole speaks fluent Arabic. After coming to Czech on a short-term church trip last summer, the Lord called her back again this summer. Nicole constantly pours herself out for others with a very genuine servant's heart. It has been so cool to see her reunited with students that she formed relationships with and faithfully cultivated even across the distance since last year.

Who am I now in Christ?

Where am I now situated with Christ?

These were two questions that were answered as we walked through the book of Ephesians during intern training 2011 at the Malenovice training center. We all had the privilege of sitting under the teaching of a very gifted and strong man of God - a particular Dave Patty! (doesn't he look familiar? I just can't seem to place my finger on it...)

Being reminded of our identity and position in Christ was such a great way to initiate the summer. My team and I have often referred to things that my dad said, especially in relation to the Armor of God in Ephesians 6 and battling against spiritual warfare. It has been a great comfort to be able to stand firm together in the truth of Scripture and to pray for each other as we serve and minister in the Czech Republic this summer. I'm sure this is true of all 17 intern teams headed to many different countries in Eastern Europe to pour out their lives for the gospel!

We have been in this part of the world for about two weeks now. June is the month of school visits and camp promotion, so we spend a lot of time with students - both believing and non-believing. Would you pray that the month of June would be a time of fruitful discipleship-on-the-go, and that God would bring many young people to Himself through the work of these interns?

I will introduce you to my own dear team very soon!