Slovakia Update

The team (most of them) are now back home from the Slovakia mission trip.  Yesterday was a marathon day for heading home.  I am currently in Riga Latvia visiting our missionaries Kelly and Donna Hargan to stop in for a short stay and a chance to catch up with them and hear how their summer of camps went in Latvia.

After we finished Fusion Camp in Slovakia we came back to the city of Bratislava for a concert on Monday evening to a packed church with standing room only.  The students did a fantastic job in performing all their hard work from the past week.  It was such an encouragement to see so many family members and supporters turn out to hear the concert.

Tuesday, our team's final day was spent exploring Bratislava with many of the students who came for camp.  It was a great way for us to say goodbye to the students.  We walked through the many alleys on the cobblestone streets and hiked up to the castle that overlooks the city.  A highlight of our time was finding a piano in the city square and breaking out in a spontaneous concert to the tourist passers-by.  

Last Day of Camp

Preparations have gone really well and the students are ready to perform all their hard work over the last 7 days.  Tomorrow morning we pack up and head back to Bratislava and start setting up for the concert at the Viera Church.  Tomorrow afternoon we fine tune a couple numbers with the concert starting at 6pm.  

It's been a really great week and the students have worked hard on the music.  But even more important than that in eternal matters a good number of students have committed their lives to Christ.  I'll get a final number as camp ends but it's been a privilege to be a part of the Lord's work here in Slovakia.

Post camp activities includes the concert and a day of rest taking in some of the cultural sites around the capital city.  In the afternoon I'll have the opportunity to sit down the the Viera Church leadership to hear their vision for ongoing ministry and to see how we can continue to support and pray for them.  Wednesday the team heads home and I'll be making a stop in Riga Latvia to visit Kelly and Donna Hargan and hear how their summer camp season went.

The Last Couple Days

It's been hard to blog the last couple of days for a couple of reasons- we are super busy and the wifi is not consistent. At this stage of the camp the music is coming along just fine and the students are being challenged spiritually and physically.

Yesterday we started rehearsing with a band of students running through songs for the concert.  Truly amazing considering that many students are picking up these instruments for the first time!  Despite fighting a cold, I've been working with the vocal soloists at camp.  It's been fun coaching them- just wish I had my voice.

The day before yesterday we had our survival day in which students were split into team and set out in the surrounding area with challenges in the forest and towns.  Teams covered 12 miles in the survival journey and came back to camp for dinner that they had to prepare themselves.  The time wasn't just a physical challenge but it gave opportunities to build deeper relationships as discussions were great out on the course.

Last night was the gospel night in which students were given the opportunity to respond to the message and a prayer labyrinth that followed to wrap up the evening.  I haven't heard a report yet because it is early morning now as I write this before our team morning devotion.  Please pray for the students as a good number of them truly are seeking.  Pray also for our team and the students as a number of us are fighting colds.  Pray that the Lord would restore our health.