Visit to Trebic

Playing "Viking" at the party on Friday

We will be doing our third camp with a church in Trebic. This last weekend we had the great privilege of meeting them and building relationships with those in the youth group. The youth group is so loving and passionately seeks Jesus. It was a joy to spend the weekend with them and get to know them. Friday we visited six classes between three different schools, had a party with the youth group and others from the schools we visited, then spent the rest of the weekend at a cabin in the woods with the youth group. Sunday we went to the church where we introduced ourselves, I shared my testimony, and Josh preached a great message on Colossians. After church Lukas and Honza took us to the top of the big clock tower in the middle of the city. It was a great weekend, and refreshing to spend time with the Body of Christ. Please pray for this group as they continue to prepare for camp!

Having lunch together at the cabin with the youth group

The top of the Clock tower in Trebic! L-R: Annie, Josh, Lukas, Honza

Meet the Team!

My team has been fantastic!! It’s been such a joy to serve with all of them! Allow me to introduce them to you!

L-R: Sarah, Brad, Annie, Josh, Brianne

Brad is studying at IVCC in Illinois and plans on pursuing becoming a philosophy professor and civil engineer in the future. He has a great mind and thinks a lot, which is a great asset to our team. I’ve known him for a long time, as we go to the same church in Ottawa: Illinois Valley Evangelical Free Church. He has been to Czech four times before, working with Hradec Kralove. This summer is his first internship, and it’s been a great joy working with him so far.

Annie is from Pennsylvania and goes to Messiah University. She is studying Athletic training and loves sports. She has an energetic spirit and has an eye for details. All of this has been so essential to our team dynamics! Annie worked with the Frydlant English Camp last summer and is back for the internship this summer! It’s been cool to have her experience and insight as well as her fun personality on the team.

Josh is my co-leader and has been amazing to lead with! He is from Hawaii and graduated from Moody Bible Institute a few years ago. He is currently on JV staff and raising support to move to Czech as a full time missionary. He has led teams for several years, and this is his fifth summer in Czech. He has a great gift of teaching and does a great job leading everyone. I’m thankful for the opportunity to learn from such an experienced yet humble leader as I lead with him.

Brianne is from Colorado but goes to school at Huntington in Indiana where she is studying Theology and Religion. She is very energetic and relationships focused. She has been super encouraging and supportive to everyone and really has a servant’s heart. This is her first time in the Czech Republic, and has had a great and willing spirit as she goes into situations she’s never been in before. It’s been great to get to know her and to have her on the team.

The Amazing Race and Intern Training

Josh and i waiting for the interns to arrive!! :)

The team Pre-amazing Race: Brad and Josh in the back, Brianne, Annie, and me in the front

Ahoj!

The Amazing Race was a difficult but fun three days that bonded us together as a team and helped us get to know each other. Throughout the race we were able to bond together, figure out how we work together, and support each other. We spent Wednesday and Thursday doing tasks all around Prague, and took an overnight train to Cesky Tesin where we did tasks during Friday morning. Friday afternoon we arrived to our final destination and came in tying with another team for 9th and 10th place (out of 17).

Climbing the stairs to find a task at the Stalin Monument

Getting another task from Autumn at a Road Block on the Race

Friday night through Wednesday we had a great time of training with all the intern teams who are going all over eastern europe. During that time we were taught how to teach English, how to lead small groups, about personality types, about how to serve well on a team, about spiritual gifts, about Czech culture, and so much more. During the evenings we were led in worship, heard testimonies, and taught by Dave Patty, the president of Josiah Venture, on Ephesians. Ephesians was the perfect book to go through before the summer as it talks about who we are in Christ, where we are in Christ, and how we can be together in Christ. We ended with the Czech interns going to a bbq on Wednesday and then leaving on Thursday. It was a fantastic time of preparation together before the summer of ministry started.

Me, Martina, and Jess (l-r) The awesome

girls I've been rooming with this week!

Sushi at the leadership retreat.

Tasty food, great fellowship!

Ahoj friends!

Tomorrow we are traveling for Prague to meet our interns at the airport on Wednesday morning. They will all fly out sometime tomorrow. Please pray for safe travels for them and their final day at home with all they need to do... finishing packing, goodbyes to friends and family, etc. Please pray for their families, too, as they are leaving their families for the summer.

When everyone arrives on Wednesday we will begin the Amazing Race. The Amazing Race will last from Wednesday to Friday and is much like the television show. The tasks we do and the places we have to figure out to go are meant to bond us together as a team, as it shows us our strengths and weaknesses and how we work together, develops trust, forces us to learn how to work together well, and to get to know each other. Because these three days are high in stress and pushes us to our limits (especially the interns who will be jet-lagged), we get to know each other at our best and probably worst moments. In my last two years of being an intern, this time has been incredibly helpful and crucial for bonding us together. PLEASE pray that the Amazing Race would do just that this year, that we would have good attitudes even through frustrations, that we would be unified, and that we would get to know each other well before the summer. I'm excited for our team (Josh, Brad, Annie, Brianne, and myself) to all be together and to meet each other!!!

Thank you so much for your prayers. I know the Lord hears them and I am incredibly grateful for each and every one.

Buh ti zehnej (God bless you)

Sarah Halm

I'm in Czech again!!!

Ahoj (Hello)!

The last few days have been a little crazy, but so good! On Tuesday I flew out of Chicago and on Wednesday I arrived in Prague. It was a long time of travel, but thankfully I was able to fly with my co-leader, Josh, for my first flight (Chicago to Dusseldorf). When all of us intern leaders finally made it to Prague, we hopped on a train and traveled to Cesky Tesin, where the English Camp planning team lives.

After a lovely night of much needed sleep, and a day in town, we left for a cute hotel in Poland for our leadership retreat. Cesky Tesin is right on the Polish border, so it was only about a 40 minute trip. That evening we gathered together and worshiped through song and prayer. It was a sweet time to be together and just praise our Lord before the summer begins. We had a great time of getting to know each other as we all hung out during dinner and later into the evening.

After breakfast the next morning we studied Colossians 1 together. We will be going through Colossians throughout the summer as leaders, which is perfect because there will be four meetings, and there are four chapters in the book. We decided to kick off the summer with verses 28 and 29 as our charge: We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me.

Before lunch we had a meeting where Nate (the leader of all the Czech camps) described to us our responsibilities as leaders and answered all our questions. After hearing everything more defined, I began to feel more comfortable and more confident with leading. Feelings of inadequacy is something I’ve been struggling with for a while. Christ has been faithful in reminding me that His strength is sufficient and that I should boast in my weaknesses because when I am weak then He is strong. If God has called me to Czech this summer to co-lead, then He will give me everything I need to accomplish what He has for me to do. I’m realizing that I could lead out of my own strength, or I could lead out of His, and His strength is so much better.

We traveled back to Cesky Tesin yesterday afternoon, where Jess (another intern leader) and I are staying with Martina (a Czech who is part of the English Camp planning team). It’s been such a relaxing and sweet time to be together and get to know all the leaders, realizing we’ll be having similar but different experiences throughout the summer. I’m glad to have such an amazing group of brothers and sisters as a support team for each other.

The next couple of days we will be finalizing plans and resting up before we travel to Prague Tuesday evening. The next morning our interns arrive!!! We will meet them all at the airport and the Amazing Race will begin! As this time gets closer and closer, my excitement continues to grow. Please be praying for the rest of the interns as they pack and prepare themselves for the summer, and Josh and I as we finalize plans. Also be praying that our team would be unified and that God would bond us together deeply during the Amazing Race, and that we’d be pushing each other towards Christ from the very beginning.

I hope you all are doing well! Please let me know if there’s anything I can be praying for. Buh ti zehnej (God bless you)!

Prayer Requests:

-Team unity

-Intern’s preparations and travel (Annie, Brianne, and Brad are the other three on our team)

-Josh and I as we finalize plans

-The Amazing Race to bond us together

-A deep spiritual connection on the team where we push each other towards Christ

-The Czech churches we’ll be working with: Hradec Kralove, Havlickuv Brod, Trebic

-The US teams we’ll be working with from Alaska and two teams from Florida

a week of camp awaits

"To be part of a movement of God among the youth of Eastern Europe that finds its home in the local church and transforms society."

"To equip young leaders throughout Eastern Europe to fulfill Christ’s commission through the local church."

This is what Dave Patty, the founder of JV, heard when he was sitting with his feet in a lake, listening to God. I heard the JV story yet another time here at training, and it got me SO excited. JV started because Dave was listening to God. God gave him this vision! He wants to move here, and He IS moving here! Year after year hungry students get to experience the love of Christ and here the good news of the Gospel. Each year new leaders rise up, believers and nonbelievers make decisions to move closer to Christ. And this is not because of anything we do, it's because God wants to move. It's because God is changing hearts and revealing Himself. It's because of the grace He's given us in our personal lives. How exciting is this!

We are headed to camp today. American team training has gone great, and I already feel a deep unity between our intern team, the Czech team, and the American team from Arizona. We will be setting the camp up tonight and getting ready for the campers from Hradec Kralove to come tomorrow at 11am. The camp will last until next Saturday. PLEASE be praying. I covet your prayers. God hears our prayers, and wants to answer them.

Specific Prayer Requests:

- Safe travel for our teams today and for the campers tomorrow

- The campers hearts to be softened and ready to hear the Gospel

- The gospel to be proclaimed clearly and boldly

- The Holy Spirit to come to the camp and work through us

- For the believers (the intern, American, and Czech teams) to be obedient to the Spirit and to follow with reckless abandon

- For strength during camp as we won't get much sleep

- For English classes in the mornings

- For sports times and free-times in the afternoons

- For the evening programs where we will be sharing stories from the Bible about redemption

- For Thursday night when we share the Gospel

- That students would make a decision to move a step closer to Christ

- That my back would not be an issue (it hurts again)

- Team unity and love

- That the guys only and girls only seminars would go well (I'm speaking to the guys with another Czech girl, and I'm still not really sure what to say. It will also be a time of Q and A)

- That, above all things, God would be glorified

Thanks for your prayers and your support. I am excited to see God show up at this camp. Please pray boldly. We serve a mighty God.

Buh ti zehnej!

the last days before the craziness begins

My team and I are back at Malenovice for American Team training before our first camp. June has flown by so fast, and I can't believe camps are going to begin already! The last week has been spent doing a work project, and then spending the last couple of days together in Stramberk on a team vacation.

The boys painting the garage

The work project was both fun and tiring. We went to Selah, which is Josiah Venture's retreat cabin for missionaries. The cabin is built, and they are working on furnishing the inside and finishing the deck. While our team was there, we got to help pick up the construction site, level off the ground under the deck, and paint the garage. It was a good time to work together as a team, and serve at the same time. It was also a good time to work out some things with our team before camps began. On a team that's been together for awhile, it's easy to take advantage of the time we have together rather than intentionally. Because the work project brought this out, we've been able to be intentional with each other and focus on truly loving one another like Christ loves us. The last few days after that has been amazing.

Autumn and Lynn leveling the dirt under the deck

The day after our team work project, we were able to go out to lunch with Katka, a Czech who is on staff with Josiah Venture. Her testimony is amazing, and it was so great to hear how her life as a missionary has been. She became a Christian at English Camp when she was about 15 years old, but her parents did not allow her to go to church or youth group until she was 18. She met with a Christian each week, and then went into ministry with JV. Her heart for Christ and for discipleship is incredible, and her story was so encouraging to hear.

Patrick, Katka, and Autumn at lunch

After lunch we got on a train and headed to Stramberk for a team vacation. We arrived on Saturday evening and left Monday morning. Stramberk is a small village with an interesting story. It's famous for a time when Christians were being persecuted by Turks who were invading the country. The Christians were hiding out in Stramberk from the Turks who would kill the Christians, then chop off their ears and send them back for proof to their leader that they were killing them. So the Christians prayed the night the Turks were in the valley, and they were saved because the dam came down and flooded the valley, killing all the Turks in the valley. So all over Stramberk were these "ears"... or cookies called ears, to go along with the story.

Lynn and I enjoying Stramberske Usi (Stramberk Ears) with

whipped cream, chocolate, and fruit sauce. SO GOOD!

During the team vacation we shared testimonies with each other and were able to hear what God has done in each other's lives to get to this point. It was a great time of encouraging and challenging each other, as well as going deeper.

The Stramberk Tower

Now we are at American team training. Our American team is just arriving now... so please be praying for unity among teams, a willingness to learn, and time of rest before camp. Thanks for your prayers and support.

Ahoj Friends!

I am writing this on our last rest day in Vysoke Myto. The last week has been another good one. Thursday night we headed to Valašské Meziříčí, or Val Mez, so we could do school visits on Friday. Val Mez doesn't have an intern team this year, but they only have 7 students signed up for camp. They needed some Americans to come to the schools and promote the camps for them, and since our team had some time, we decided to help them out. Please pray that God would fill the camp up with people to experience Christ's love. We had a great time in the schools we went to, and they were our last school visits. I can't believe the summer is going by so fast!

After visiting Val Mez, our team headed to Vykirovice, a small town we are doing the second camp with. This was our last youth group visit. Friday and Saturday we hung out with some of the kids from the youth group, and Sunday we went to church. Saturday was a surprise for us. They took us to Vysoke Myto for a game based off the Matrix. This was a game we played in teams, that helped us bond together, as we ran away from agents in our quest to find Neo and the password. Each clue we received got us closer to our goal. The game was very interesting... the agents were in suits and looked pretty legit! It was a good time to get to know some of the Czechs on the train ride there, too.

Sunday morning was a special service, too, as it was a baptism service. Three young people were baptized, including a girl who became a believer during the first English Camp. It was special to see this commitment they were making, and be challenged myself to give my whole life to Christ.

Another one of my favorite parts of the trip was our host family. Lynn and I had the privilege of staying at the pastor's family's house while we were there. Both the pastor, Nik, and his wife, Anicka, spoke English very well, and it was amazing to hear their testimonies and to speak about what God has been doing in their lives. They have served this church for 11 years, and in about a month will be moving to serve a different church. Their love for Christ exuded out of them in a very visible way. I fell in love with them and their three children: Adrianna, Melinda, and Gabriel.

The most amazing thing about staying with them was every night after talking with them

Nik and Anicka, the four of us prayed together. It is amazing to have the same fellowship in the same God, the same unity in Christ, the same mind and spirit as people I've just met. God has been teaching me what the Body of Christ is with each person I meet. It's a great joy to be able to say goodbye to someone, knowing I'll be spending the rest of eternity with them.

We headed back to Vysoke Myto Sunday night for some rest time, and Monday

morning I had my last physical therapy session. My back is doing much better. Thanks for all your prayers. Please keep praying as it's not completely better, and I don't want it to get worse in the months to come. Today we spent the day on English lesson plans, and we are all almost done! As a reward, we went out to a team dinner, and finished it off with some chocolate fondue... as you can see by the picture, we were pretty excited. :) Tomorrow we head to Malenovice for a work project.

Please keep praying for...

-continued unity in our team

-continued camp preparations for our team and the American youth group teams

-students to sign up for camp in Val Mez, Havlickuv Brod, and Hradec Kralove

-our work project from Wednesday to Friday

-safety and health of our team

-my back

-Autumn's nephew as he continues to recover from his heart surgery

Thanks again for your prayers and support.

Buh ti zehnej.

Ahoj!

My team and I have been having a great few weeks so far! After training I was able to spend the night at Brad and Lucie Kaspar's apartment and meet their baby, Adam! Brad and Lucie were my team leaders last year, and have had a huge affect on my life since I've known them. They have taught me so much, and it was so good to see them and catch up with them. They live as missionaries here in Czech.

Adam Kaspar

After my time with the Kaspars, I met up with my team and went to Hradec Kralove to visit the youth group and meet with the English Camp Team. It was so great to see everyone. This is the church I've been working with for the last 4 years. It's such a privilege to work with them again. We led a youth group, went to church, had a barbeque, met with the team, and visited some schools to promote the camps. While we were in Hradec, I went to the hospital and found a place to do some physical therapy for my back. I've been traveling there a couple times in order to help my back get better. Please continue praying that it would heal as my back has still been hurting.

Maruska, Me, Hami (Students from Hradec Kralove)

The City Square of Hradec Kralove

After Hradec Kralove and some rest in Vysoke Myto, we traveled to Havlickuv Brod to visit schools, hang out with the youth group, go to church, and meet with the camp leadership. It was amazing to see the growth from last year in the group. This will their second time doing camp with KAM. Some of the camp team took us to a fairy tale trail in the forest in a village nearby, where we got to experience some fun for children, as well as time with good friends. The next day they took us to Kutna Hora where we saw the bone church and the St. Barbara Cathedral.

The Bone church in Kutna Hora

Group Picture at the Fairy Tale forest event

(back left to right: Josh, Patrick, Connor, Jonatan)

(front left to right: Honza, Me, Autumn, Lynn, Eva)

The time with the churches has been great, and the school visits have been a lot of fun. There seems to be a lot of interest in camp. Hopefully we will have full camps at each camp! We've had a nice relaxing time in Vysoke Myto for the last couple days and head out to Valmez and Vykrovice tomorrow for more school and youth group visits.

ALSO--- PRAISE GOD! All of my support is in! Thanks for everyone who contributed and prayed. God is always faithful, and proved His provision again.

Please keep us in your prayers

- Continued team unity and saftey

- Health for our team, that no one gets sick or hurt

- My back to be healed

- Autumn's nephew as he recovers from open heart surgery

- The Vykrovice youth group, camp team, and school as we visit them and get to know them

- Hradec Kralove and Havlickuv Brod as they continue preparing for camps

- The American teams who will be coming out to help us- for financial provision, preparation, and team unity

Thanks for your prayers and support. Feel free to email me if you have any questions. :) Buh ti zehnej.

A prayer request

Hey everyone, a quick prayer request.

My back has been doing really well until today. Today my back has hurt a lot, and the pain has been very discouraging. Please pray that God would heal my back and take the pain away. He is the ultimate healer.

Thanks.

Hello from Training!

Ahoj friends!!

Just a quick update! I landed in Vienna on Wednesday, where I met my team and we began the Amazing Race. The Amazing Race was great for getting to know my team members and learning how to work well together. We ended the race at training on Friday, and my team came in 2nd place!! During the race we went to Vienna, Bratislava, and Brno. Now we are at training, learning how to teach English, how to lead small groups, cultural differences, and worshiping and doing devotions. Please keep praying for my team and I, for team unity, for a focus on God and an ear to hear the Holy Spirit, as well as the students we will be seeing in the next few weeks. Thanks for your support!

Nate talking during training

Worship During Training

Patrick and Josh working on a challenge during the Amazing Race

My Intern Team!! (Front to back: Connor, Auntumn, Me, Lynn, Patrick, Josh)

Vienna At Dusk

The Girls on my team! During the Amazing Race (Left to Right: Me, Lynn, Autumn)

Ahoj (Hello) Friends!

As many of you already know, I have the opportunity to intern with Josiah Venture in the Czech Republic again this year! I will be putting updates about my summer on this blog, along with a few pictures and things as I can. If you'd like to recieve them as emails instead, please let me know! :)

I will be working on a team of six, including Connor, Patrick, Lynn, and myself, as well as our team leaders Josh, and Autumn. Connor, Patrick, and Lynn are all still in school. Josh is from Hawaii and has led teams in the past. Autumn is a missionary in Czech, and lives in Vysoke Myto.

I will be leaving on May 25, and returning on August 13. I have the privilege of working with two of the camps I got to work with last year- Hradec Kralove and Havlickuv Brod. I have been able to work with Hradec Kralove for the last four years, so to be able to work with them again will be a great joy, as I've developed some great friendships with the students from that city. We will also be working with Vikyrovice.

Here's a basic overview of the summer (some is subject to change):

Amazing Race - 5/26-28 (right when we get there we will compete in the "amazing race" for team building)

Intern Training - 5/28-6/3

Town and School Visits - 6/4-6/20 (to work with the youth groups and promote the camps in the schools)

Work Project 6/23 - 6/26

Camp Training #1 - 6/29

Camp #1 - Hradec Kralove - week of 7/2

Camp Training #2 - 7/13

Camp #2 - Vikyrovice week of 7/16

Camp Training #3 - 7/27

Camp #3 - Havlickuv Brod - week of 7/31

Debrief in Prague - 8/10

Fly home - 8/13

I'm looking forward to seeing what God will do this summer, both in the hearts of the Czech students, and in my heart. I know, however, that I can do nothing unless God is working through me. So I am asking for your prayers. Please pray diligently as I am preparing to leave. Pray for my preparations, as I am packing, raising money, and preparing my heart to go. Pray for my back, as it's been hurting me, and I've been seeing chiropractors to fix it before I leave. Pray for protection in my travels, as well as the other interns in the next couple weeks. Pray for my team, that we would have good team dynamics, especially as we will get to know each other during the highly stressful Amazing Race. And pray, please, for the students as they are signing up for camp, that God would begin preparing their hearts even now.

I mentioned that I am still raising money. My finances are over halfway, but my deadline is June 20. That is a little less than a month away. So far I have $2,410. I need $4,070, which leaves $1,660. Please pray that God provides it for me. If you would like to support me financially, but have not received a letter, please contact me so I can get you a tax-deductible financial slip.

Thanks so much for your prayers and you support. I am looking forward to sharing what will happen this summer. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me or call me (before May 25). Buh ti zehnej! (God bless you).

In Christ,

Sarah Halm