tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41130519854099556652024-03-05T15:34:14.323-07:00Chasing After God's Heart for the HelplessGive justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked. Psalm 82:3-4Chris Conradsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01362199500211290390noreply@blogger.comBlogger215125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4113051985409955665.post-4486621494911415742016-07-04T14:07:00.001-06:002016-07-04T14:07:34.510-06:00DebriefingToday was a nice change of pace since we got to Riga from camp. We spent the morning debriefing the past week at camp. What was a highlight, what was challenging, and how did you see God work in camp? We all shared the answers to those questions as we recounted the busy week. It was a great, productive time for us. In the coming days as we shift back into our lives, we will run through a series of emotions that will range from joy to missing the students.<div><br></div><div>Tomorrow is a free day and the team is still tired so we will spend a casual day in old town Riga and have lunch and gelato and probably dinner. Wednesday we will get an early start for our journey home.</div><div><br></div><div>Thanks for praying!</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6EQNVs_jloPjNFEVGVbgRtzFGocLaVGcsGVDOvS0LNw2UhJFv18lO37PUh5gDmxdLtyuDlcHRq4QAn-_coq6GF_L0SWYx-yvITYrplYJVsaVeQ8CNg9KbO9hH35TgM0NVAk5sfKUTWRXP/s640/blogger-image--355538032.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6EQNVs_jloPjNFEVGVbgRtzFGocLaVGcsGVDOvS0LNw2UhJFv18lO37PUh5gDmxdLtyuDlcHRq4QAn-_coq6GF_L0SWYx-yvITYrplYJVsaVeQ8CNg9KbO9hH35TgM0NVAk5sfKUTWRXP/s640/blogger-image--355538032.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtpChZIojgq1FQ4utt-xzpRhPdVKhF0Q0f1YSZFBBs6dhphtBCQWvDqqmyeGiqE2VTwEdZvOA5wI_9zccpJBWCS8Er9qaA6A6nNCUrYpXkCxyeCy_yVMHHPfxXQ66z7bECM-gcvaAgSUnT/s640/blogger-image--1771330319.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtpChZIojgq1FQ4utt-xzpRhPdVKhF0Q0f1YSZFBBs6dhphtBCQWvDqqmyeGiqE2VTwEdZvOA5wI_9zccpJBWCS8Er9qaA6A6nNCUrYpXkCxyeCy_yVMHHPfxXQ66z7bECM-gcvaAgSUnT/s640/blogger-image--1771330319.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><br></div><br></div><br></div>Chris Conradsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01362199500211290390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4113051985409955665.post-20506003727508479262016-07-03T12:28:00.001-06:002016-07-03T12:28:14.355-06:00Back in RigaToday we went to church service and a lot of students came to church. That was super encouraging. We said our goodbyes to the Latvian church team, the interns and the students one final time. We then made the journey back to Riga where we will spend our two remaining days before coming home.<div><br></div><div>One of the important aspects of a trip like this is to spend time debriefing the week. Emotions are running high from the joy of relationships built with students to exhaustion from a busy week. As the team begins to process the trip for themselves personally we want to hear what challenged, what encouraged and just hear about their impressions of camp.</div><div><br></div><div>Tomorrow we will begin that process of debriefing with our team and Josiah Venture staff. An experience like this takes time to process and so I will have a deeper debrief in a coup of weeks once we all settle back into our schedules because we will each be feeling different emotions at different times and the Lord will help us process the trip as we seek what the Lord would have us do after a trip like this.</div><div><br></div><div>We will then spend some time celebrating the camp and do some sight seeing. The weather may make some of that a challenge since it looks like we will be in for a couple of rainy days. We are in the final stretch of the trip and would ask you to keep lifting us up in prayer for health, rest and safety.</div>Chris Conradsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01362199500211290390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4113051985409955665.post-79614418582546945552016-07-02T15:14:00.001-06:002016-07-02T15:19:40.564-06:00The End of CampWhew! The end of camp has arrived and we all have mixed emotions. We are tired, but we really loved spending time with the students and we are already missing them. But we will get to see a number of them tomorrow when they come to church. After church will be our final goodbye to Limbazi and the Latvian team and students we have had the privilege of spending this past week with.<div><br></div><div>The last day was jam-packed with Program, English, Workshops, Afternoon program and games. At the end of the day the inevitable tears came as students expressed their appreciation and goodbyes to us. There is joy in seeing the impact of our work through the week and a bit of sadness because it has come to a conclusion. Many students asked about next year- in fact, beginning on the second day they were asking about next year. We tell them that we don't know but it is possible. </div><div><br></div><div>Tomorrow we worship at church again and then head back to Riga for a couple of days for debriefing and rest before returning home. We can see the finish line but I ask for your prayers for us to finish strong and stay healthy for the remainder of the trip.</div><br><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6W9i96oW6CHk1zd1R_rKIPDpLDgr6jozy6BhthNef2KBkgmke-J5UMaDzyH-NLgWJxuKr-zv9u2Xz6HXcKYrPy35q2GRaV-6UkV12QgpRyhNdGOAywmguNenu8sSm7Qe9kfMt_EKZYRMK/s640/blogger-image-2018687793.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6W9i96oW6CHk1zd1R_rKIPDpLDgr6jozy6BhthNef2KBkgmke-J5UMaDzyH-NLgWJxuKr-zv9u2Xz6HXcKYrPy35q2GRaV-6UkV12QgpRyhNdGOAywmguNenu8sSm7Qe9kfMt_EKZYRMK/s640/blogger-image-2018687793.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-mJ2KvxLvGNbH98zXZLUyojBPA4k6VCLQIx1uQ0p-AB5Y9T8vGFfuCsbRGwXjmAjl6lbTVIIH3OT5qIiGVqUumRrK8V86vUf97fXNPh_VG8nIaF7OKDIRte5arCBnO-LiNdl-szgxwN0b/s640/blogger-image-543503336.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-mJ2KvxLvGNbH98zXZLUyojBPA4k6VCLQIx1uQ0p-AB5Y9T8vGFfuCsbRGwXjmAjl6lbTVIIH3OT5qIiGVqUumRrK8V86vUf97fXNPh_VG8nIaF7OKDIRte5arCBnO-LiNdl-szgxwN0b/s640/blogger-image-543503336.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO4NhyphenhyphenpE03a4oXPd_t48I-EUmPboBzPjVcN4Brbr0exJ4BKH8N1pf4_6ER745V7KWJyxxlLtXAaMMs29eAkgrGNWt9hNvfhzbfi0jqxLtWyy-8zMxzPAqBHHqFh9cQG641_yRG5RcFBInD/s640/blogger-image-927293923.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO4NhyphenhyphenpE03a4oXPd_t48I-EUmPboBzPjVcN4Brbr0exJ4BKH8N1pf4_6ER745V7KWJyxxlLtXAaMMs29eAkgrGNWt9hNvfhzbfi0jqxLtWyy-8zMxzPAqBHHqFh9cQG641_yRG5RcFBInD/s640/blogger-image-927293923.jpg"></a></div><br></div><br></div>Chris Conradsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01362199500211290390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4113051985409955665.post-799965929332525322016-07-01T15:03:00.001-06:002016-07-01T15:13:28.994-06:00Gospel Day at CampToday was a busy day with the usual camp activities of English, workshops and sports. But today was also very different than the previous days because the students heard the gospel during the program time this afternoon and then go through the Labyrinth that is a personal reflective journey about God's offering the free gift of salvation for those who want it.<div><br></div><div>We had been praying for the students to have open hearts as they heard the gospel story. Early reports from the Limbazi church team says the students had a great experience with the Labyrinth.</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsuy5mgWgjsgxvHKymFzwLIm5O228dmV_dQDzgbAt_ZJf1oSwnm5t4JR0cp4sBFXjd45L4NJ7mJbl52l8AUp5WNtYrhhJKwNZT4n76KoqjpsO5yfLDoZf69GQ64ZExAf9r8RVwxtHT1P0E/s640/blogger-image-559983506.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsuy5mgWgjsgxvHKymFzwLIm5O228dmV_dQDzgbAt_ZJf1oSwnm5t4JR0cp4sBFXjd45L4NJ7mJbl52l8AUp5WNtYrhhJKwNZT4n76KoqjpsO5yfLDoZf69GQ64ZExAf9r8RVwxtHT1P0E/s640/blogger-image-559983506.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfS0S9SntmaTGd5fyqZd-vqkwhZJRf5VJ3N8lJ_lt16t7feBFtbzPnf1UKssdSKcb66W__U8c4Y19mJMv_FL0-KyIVEB7T29oLyaUSo0MKln2Zpg-ZJyg7EtuNA-0nM5eNZs6mB3aPAeak/s640/blogger-image--794626333.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfS0S9SntmaTGd5fyqZd-vqkwhZJRf5VJ3N8lJ_lt16t7feBFtbzPnf1UKssdSKcb66W__U8c4Y19mJMv_FL0-KyIVEB7T29oLyaUSo0MKln2Zpg-ZJyg7EtuNA-0nM5eNZs6mB3aPAeak/s640/blogger-image--794626333.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBigA1KsbnF4bGrhAbLOMKRfDoqts82pEmeZFWqe9qE4LRCz5xXUKEuOT7c4Rt9SuFeg6plQuH9nJrb-_jWD_a3RVJPUowVgcODbfqxslgtskrZMQABWME_CEI0cPMVX8cP3uKFEC2o4vi/s640/blogger-image--1856009191.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBigA1KsbnF4bGrhAbLOMKRfDoqts82pEmeZFWqe9qE4LRCz5xXUKEuOT7c4Rt9SuFeg6plQuH9nJrb-_jWD_a3RVJPUowVgcODbfqxslgtskrZMQABWME_CEI0cPMVX8cP3uKFEC2o4vi/s640/blogger-image--1856009191.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF5XG8SqptlhIBD7IRGYu8YZCIVOQ1VVadsLyEGWEdd4TlyP64U5cu1T90JK55gtkI6itCI1jYh9y9Wlbz8NJgV4aJPnnEqkSFVtqR491ukKfpfa9HCXZq-5rDIN6bIMgFXEOYfwY123AN/s640/blogger-image-49585756.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF5XG8SqptlhIBD7IRGYu8YZCIVOQ1VVadsLyEGWEdd4TlyP64U5cu1T90JK55gtkI6itCI1jYh9y9Wlbz8NJgV4aJPnnEqkSFVtqR491ukKfpfa9HCXZq-5rDIN6bIMgFXEOYfwY123AN/s640/blogger-image-49585756.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSxsSo9fuP9SfIRjYJWC24bYXCkTwnS42RE9HFcvlkz0JyFp3BfyHOQeJDKmKuHeH9TgkKtTD6TXbuNit4aEgH9tGPJ46sKHI8TqteoglLYfUnZxRT7ggSgfYsz1nZaidvLaaqSQobhox_/s640/blogger-image-1091794424.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSxsSo9fuP9SfIRjYJWC24bYXCkTwnS42RE9HFcvlkz0JyFp3BfyHOQeJDKmKuHeH9TgkKtTD6TXbuNit4aEgH9tGPJ46sKHI8TqteoglLYfUnZxRT7ggSgfYsz1nZaidvLaaqSQobhox_/s640/blogger-image-1091794424.jpg"></a></div><br></div><br></div><br></div><br></div><br></div>Chris Conradsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01362199500211290390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4113051985409955665.post-8142657660586188782016-06-30T14:42:00.001-06:002016-06-30T14:42:22.141-06:00Day 4 of CampThe day started early as a few of us joined in on a men's breakfast at the church. We joined in on a Bible study where we were studying John 10:1-18. It was great tomspendmtimewith some men from the church. Today was a great day at camp but everyone looked a bit tired from swimming the day before. Relationships with students is continuing to grow and the students we find are much more conversational in their English outside of the classes than in the class. That's okay, the point is they are talking and sharing a bit of their lives.<div><br></div><div>One of the interesting comments I got from a student about Americans is that she really enjoys our team because Americans are so warm and outgoing. That is culturally very different in Latvia. People pretty much keep to themselves and it is rare for someone to say hello on the street or engage in conversation with someone who is serving you as a cashier in a store. They don't know you so there is no reason to say anything. As Americans some of us do like to talk with people that are serving us or saying hi to someone on the street just as a courtesy. It's an interesting observation. Most of the students have really warmed up to us in camp now that we are 4 days in. That's great especially with them hearing the gospel tomorrow. We are praying for the students and the group leaders as students respond and react to the gospel story and consider the decision that is put in front of them.</div><div><br></div><div>Everyone is definitely feeling the grind of camp. We need to find space to catch our breath. A half hour break here and there helps re-energize the tank. The team is doing well and staying healthy so we appreciate your prayers. Please continue praying for the latter stages of the camp and that the Lord would draw students to Himself.</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQY5bJ8ckWo5-xKx-0d8yWbb5ANIzpB5JnUTMKRflWQP6ozte_dvvbeeGBF6hcy-1xvomxMUgI3YDyPrDXT23sBAinNbxh4lE39d-xyJhlAu4k0eAJgvjzIfoJGnZFQ_UW1H7qG835zOQN/s640/blogger-image-1828048000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQY5bJ8ckWo5-xKx-0d8yWbb5ANIzpB5JnUTMKRflWQP6ozte_dvvbeeGBF6hcy-1xvomxMUgI3YDyPrDXT23sBAinNbxh4lE39d-xyJhlAu4k0eAJgvjzIfoJGnZFQ_UW1H7qG835zOQN/s640/blogger-image-1828048000.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoOpVSgDGdnZJMTAt4jmG2rNG2bqmApiQmNmFRrtSU_q5aOJQD5S5Zczj_VIaRImnta5wWcyqYNWN7QAQzMhXssTb16GEqaQZkz4-V8YDcGCm_x2gYsuD8zeW8DFLnrcbJu0-hC_WTARud/s640/blogger-image-1090856870.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoOpVSgDGdnZJMTAt4jmG2rNG2bqmApiQmNmFRrtSU_q5aOJQD5S5Zczj_VIaRImnta5wWcyqYNWN7QAQzMhXssTb16GEqaQZkz4-V8YDcGCm_x2gYsuD8zeW8DFLnrcbJu0-hC_WTARud/s640/blogger-image-1090856870.jpg"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXo2xCHcEAAS0IPTeC-kH7R6b44Gf4uJ20eXsgV_CpapjWbVGE8J18RkMGcemeXQncZmV2XoGp_qHSLyd4dwVwsqRKx7SIkhAdEhWrTAexWkqOqAGnVfcJatkvvvrz6ys9lgaDedFdPiXn/s640/blogger-image--948986142.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXo2xCHcEAAS0IPTeC-kH7R6b44Gf4uJ20eXsgV_CpapjWbVGE8J18RkMGcemeXQncZmV2XoGp_qHSLyd4dwVwsqRKx7SIkhAdEhWrTAexWkqOqAGnVfcJatkvvvrz6ys9lgaDedFdPiXn/s640/blogger-image--948986142.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkOznn5uxH5Flz69qUMJRzo1bakXOsRGTuOjhbv-d9lWv2GXKC-3X1A8s5NhO46sQ5PgKH0NLurZPY9ZvED8F8LHz6Q3pO7oBsYimaYZYreyS9-PXLgZ_f7qvpXbxw3K7v71Wui_gP8xFq/s640/blogger-image--935633343.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkOznn5uxH5Flz69qUMJRzo1bakXOsRGTuOjhbv-d9lWv2GXKC-3X1A8s5NhO46sQ5PgKH0NLurZPY9ZvED8F8LHz6Q3pO7oBsYimaYZYreyS9-PXLgZ_f7qvpXbxw3K7v71Wui_gP8xFq/s640/blogger-image--935633343.jpg"></a></div><br></div><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><font color="#0000ee"><u><br></u></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><font color="#0000ee"><u><br></u></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><br></div><br></div>Chris Conradsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01362199500211290390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4113051985409955665.post-89496288679908978392016-06-29T14:50:00.001-06:002016-06-29T14:50:43.183-06:00Day 3 of CampOur day three at camp started like the other days so far- campers reported to camp at 10 am and we had our morning meeting, video and journal time. What happened after that was a surprise to the campers, well mostly, because we told them to bring appropriate clothes and swim wear. We loaded up and went to a lake about 10 kilometers away from the town to enjoy a day of relationship building, swimming, paddle boating, cooking lunch, the talk, discussion groups and finally the all-American favorite s'mores.<div><br></div><div>The weather was perfect and the day was fun for everyone. Tomorrow we resume our schedule from English camp. We have three days of camp left so we just got over the halfway mark of camp. During our team meeting tonight after dinner, I encouraged the team to stay focused and energetic to push through to the end of camp. We still have a lot to do and we are working on building deeper relationships with the kids and being that bridge to the local church leaders at camp.</div><div><br></div><div>I've been especially encouraged because the church's pastor has been here most of the time and he has been leading the talks to the students. This is not the norm- so the fact that the pastor is here also building relationships with the students is a huge win for this camp. I'd ask you to join us in praying for these relationships that are developing as the students hear the gospel this week. Many seeds are being planting and we are trusting the Lord for the fruit.</div><div><br><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh31_hpiz6ft2GA6hCJTUnhEsDSqPK_irI-QQXtMP0_pFZb9iq9X25GXgxg7cD2dmjviTUi6exAp3EUZy6gwxVwUFHy4ny0lD8tKY1TGHvPJygwLF__oaYBZb9p9I-RL7uggYeIjwDPTO0f/s640/blogger-image--1200568384.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh31_hpiz6ft2GA6hCJTUnhEsDSqPK_irI-QQXtMP0_pFZb9iq9X25GXgxg7cD2dmjviTUi6exAp3EUZy6gwxVwUFHy4ny0lD8tKY1TGHvPJygwLF__oaYBZb9p9I-RL7uggYeIjwDPTO0f/s640/blogger-image--1200568384.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixVEE7gEgrztGTkgqA39XC1b3szun5gMKvL1KuaC1rvftqlPao5jWP-h1Hr2MXZntvdDmr_C0aX4g2o1ht4qxcPXMv8FpvIaqB_Wdgo4hKknvOdcU0eaZTY83fJ1dzn3cg4ZyflHqsSDGE/s640/blogger-image-917338480.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixVEE7gEgrztGTkgqA39XC1b3szun5gMKvL1KuaC1rvftqlPao5jWP-h1Hr2MXZntvdDmr_C0aX4g2o1ht4qxcPXMv8FpvIaqB_Wdgo4hKknvOdcU0eaZTY83fJ1dzn3cg4ZyflHqsSDGE/s640/blogger-image-917338480.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjddsJEcce6oe3eaicGpj8Zcjv1iBBWIsUqeYoZjnzQ5oydiA6ueKI4r1n0-Clsj3ZLA8WJ-uz6ZCtAK7ZyAO9Ct7pc-2oALKVnKH-p8ut9tsv7kCpm1lYT-bVQ7Fj26n4ImL80p3mCXC9P/s640/blogger-image-999355706.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjddsJEcce6oe3eaicGpj8Zcjv1iBBWIsUqeYoZjnzQ5oydiA6ueKI4r1n0-Clsj3ZLA8WJ-uz6ZCtAK7ZyAO9Ct7pc-2oALKVnKH-p8ut9tsv7kCpm1lYT-bVQ7Fj26n4ImL80p3mCXC9P/s640/blogger-image-999355706.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3SctuvtskSD99HSm_c7X2KrR2L13AkUCo_JgP7g6H7mxhC-qk90rmu9ee3DqiaJKPSQPJzNHEZeIUUaVgRurgPCQlK2QC2s5LnbpGU8DGjDc46IWOR8E6rKvGZji1kRBQ7OpEGXw-ZQ3D/s640/blogger-image-355519874.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3SctuvtskSD99HSm_c7X2KrR2L13AkUCo_JgP7g6H7mxhC-qk90rmu9ee3DqiaJKPSQPJzNHEZeIUUaVgRurgPCQlK2QC2s5LnbpGU8DGjDc46IWOR8E6rKvGZji1kRBQ7OpEGXw-ZQ3D/s640/blogger-image-355519874.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHqn9oP_Jvw0sInSQiiNC_tDNiy8Kf8Xdh7myxwKs6_5OfMfEv5WFsrbNJhxvYdmvKatUbyuDLzTQdy43uExc11S2mMRILE9AGpdhbxhBjcwOmqcEvpQwCBoElS3SmjCZmARFG2YAEjIBE/s640/blogger-image-702798290.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHqn9oP_Jvw0sInSQiiNC_tDNiy8Kf8Xdh7myxwKs6_5OfMfEv5WFsrbNJhxvYdmvKatUbyuDLzTQdy43uExc11S2mMRILE9AGpdhbxhBjcwOmqcEvpQwCBoElS3SmjCZmARFG2YAEjIBE/s640/blogger-image-702798290.jpg"></a></div><br></div><br></div><br></div></div>Chris Conradsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01362199500211290390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4113051985409955665.post-4709650334707798692016-06-28T16:03:00.001-06:002016-06-28T16:03:37.027-06:00Day 2 of CampSo we just completed the second day of the camp and you may be wondering what happened to day one. My apologies- yesterday was crammed with so much activity and then prepping for day two that I didn't get to bed until 1:30 am. and just couldn't squeeze a post in. Day one was a mix of chaos, craziness, and wonderful moments by God's grace that I would refer to it as a beautiful mess. We've had 32 campers come with one more coming tomorrow making it 33. I had been praying for 30 and Anna and Ingus, our camp directors, had been praying for 40 to come. All I can say is Praise God! We are full, stretching at the seams and stretching our resources to accommodate this great group of students!<div><br></div><div>Our second day was great as we had the chance to continue building relationships with students. This week our team is constantly thinking and challenging themselves to "be the bridge" to the local church and the local church team that is leading the discussions with the students. I think the best way to describe our day is to let the pictures tell the story...</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja8rYXQBgGVQ_BmUzmzEmcZljVTy6LEn2zyp9-PxwzMKkBJ1pucg7ZIGV4k8FL4fsepVDn7u5qUKTJ_BQLChJ1jDCu5djt7I7amf6XgMUMg2yGyxmrdGAqY1kGRqspnEV9iaPLCnVH_MmE/s640/blogger-image--1750465627.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja8rYXQBgGVQ_BmUzmzEmcZljVTy6LEn2zyp9-PxwzMKkBJ1pucg7ZIGV4k8FL4fsepVDn7u5qUKTJ_BQLChJ1jDCu5djt7I7amf6XgMUMg2yGyxmrdGAqY1kGRqspnEV9iaPLCnVH_MmE/s640/blogger-image--1750465627.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7nHriFFiHb8r-gxLlpqN2C54iE67HLzLRj-iAgh5XW0QkuJVwMluIdUCntDX8Two4qYhWsGyKSSAgLwPBhT8FV_XASr9d07kc7gW5-ws96rrCNR9fnVYJ0x2XVj3mQP6RxkWETN5l2Tio/s640/blogger-image--1433003001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; 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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirlBNAfUrwjkR44Oz6X6VaXtkCw318KnQQW9YZvJueL35FJukRXq2OsWdJ2RgOdBwfT0_3X4cHV-Z-gffYbN8hyLQCU2wMnqqlViwaIyxbEItLuvFXYyRb_MAaPTUATvHeUkRp25EolHKz/s640/blogger-image-1390070753.jpg"></a></div><br></div><br></div><br></div><br></div><br></div><br></div><br></div><br></div><br></div><br></div><br></div>Chris Conradsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01362199500211290390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4113051985409955665.post-71907292442334445532016-06-26T15:00:00.001-06:002016-06-26T15:00:21.266-06:00Church in LimbaziThis will be a short blog post because we've been busy setting up for camp this afternoon and it's now almost midnight- still kind of light out too by the way. We had a wonderful experience worshipping this morning at the church we are partnering with for camp. It is so good to be with brothers and sisters in Christ from another culture expressing our love for God. The beauty is language doesn't matter- we all can express worship in our own language and God gets it. <div><br></div><div>Pray that our first day though likely chaotic, comes together well with the campers finding out which class they will be assigned to. We need lots of energy so they are excited to be here. We certainly are, but we are a little drained from the work of preparing the school for camp.<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQIBRW8TUEKXk-w_oFdLDczgEe-WNqtU0bejwoY29gNWGv0qrb8GzSP_gvm4L4B-4h3BotPEZtvPX1yx8h51UiXTyupaqAE2lAgDrKyHkzl1IhnRLIlC_ebN7LASpU2mPTD15vH0chywVm/s640/blogger-image--1099153316.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQIBRW8TUEKXk-w_oFdLDczgEe-WNqtU0bejwoY29gNWGv0qrb8GzSP_gvm4L4B-4h3BotPEZtvPX1yx8h51UiXTyupaqAE2lAgDrKyHkzl1IhnRLIlC_ebN7LASpU2mPTD15vH0chywVm/s640/blogger-image--1099153316.jpg"></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiStuYL2RO-TAyB5X3waIo1VR4RZyraZBCNOBZc7B2yuX-Ig8rXtYtgWMgAnPtc3doCRWMbjKnewSM4HN_2lb8D0ot-P5QrOMxmxKmXpY7IFz_DQ3cnivXdaliwwGWaeMUS23J4o_BWUjtS/s640/blogger-image-932095016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiStuYL2RO-TAyB5X3waIo1VR4RZyraZBCNOBZc7B2yuX-Ig8rXtYtgWMgAnPtc3doCRWMbjKnewSM4HN_2lb8D0ot-P5QrOMxmxKmXpY7IFz_DQ3cnivXdaliwwGWaeMUS23J4o_BWUjtS/s640/blogger-image-932095016.jpg"></a></div><br></div>Chris Conradsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01362199500211290390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4113051985409955665.post-6541812242083816452016-06-25T14:10:00.001-06:002016-06-25T14:10:54.018-06:00Exploring LimbaziToday was a pretty laid back day as our team and the intern team hung out together swimming at the lake, playing volleyball and basketball all the while hoping to connect with local youth. The lake was busy with a lot of families celebrating the holiday weekend. We didn't encounter a lot of youth hanging out in the areas we went looking. But we are excited that we have 25 students registered for camp.<div><br></div><div>Tomorrow we have the honor of worshiping in the local church we are working with. We are super excited to meet the church family as well as experience our first Latvian service since arriving.</div><div><br></div><div>After church we will be going into full camp mode as we will meet with all three teams and hit all the day by day details of camp and transform the school into the camp facilities. Then on Monday we will start the first of our six day camp. We would love and appreciate your prayers that all the logistics and details come together without serious challenges.</div><div><br></div><div>We've been praying for this community and asking the Lord to use us this coming week to connect people to the local church we are serving and that we would be a reflection of God's heart for the people here.</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBYFZME3kbuUybjVU0YjBR8n3DOyEIv_sE3AsnOyOcIKrmySlPdtOaGdDZY64kjleorG9MUBhyLzKpGUIcWdjgA1XPVxiTjv8ENb_Pg1NwatklmtkcYOldZ_LKuzBCiVMswDG0nHNIIyCT/s640/blogger-image-1708314181.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBYFZME3kbuUybjVU0YjBR8n3DOyEIv_sE3AsnOyOcIKrmySlPdtOaGdDZY64kjleorG9MUBhyLzKpGUIcWdjgA1XPVxiTjv8ENb_Pg1NwatklmtkcYOldZ_LKuzBCiVMswDG0nHNIIyCT/s640/blogger-image-1708314181.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW7WB2ymvntCGucdg2_dxF9ZxTlvTDEHz9NzTIaXF_rGDsejfuGURkQVCgDpNQSF6JL8knj2VcU6HfVb3yvuK6sZcU3RIBc_LTVfdspOQxkqV1bxIIUtStL_L8BAYJNh5to-HJ31yiRa2e/s640/blogger-image-740946098.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW7WB2ymvntCGucdg2_dxF9ZxTlvTDEHz9NzTIaXF_rGDsejfuGURkQVCgDpNQSF6JL8knj2VcU6HfVb3yvuK6sZcU3RIBc_LTVfdspOQxkqV1bxIIUtStL_L8BAYJNh5to-HJ31yiRa2e/s640/blogger-image-740946098.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb9MTm5Q9NjfphFNWAM21DU57VoAdslhWV5nmIMMoGL42gXiyqXjInLXWVT84t2cau3xXT4s64d_pWw-UKosPccebdzp7e9Jb_qgOe21KMiGTFFJeomOM34RXxRNU4Ndjq1s_e1AEBZxi2/s640/blogger-image-1687273808.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb9MTm5Q9NjfphFNWAM21DU57VoAdslhWV5nmIMMoGL42gXiyqXjInLXWVT84t2cau3xXT4s64d_pWw-UKosPccebdzp7e9Jb_qgOe21KMiGTFFJeomOM34RXxRNU4Ndjq1s_e1AEBZxi2/s640/blogger-image-1687273808.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><br></div><br></div>Chris Conradsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01362199500211290390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4113051985409955665.post-12925196562876728402016-06-24T15:08:00.001-06:002016-06-24T15:08:07.634-06:00Arrival in LimbaziToday our team finished our orientation session in Riga. I have to say I am super appreciative for the orientation sessions designed to prepare our team for the upcoming camp. I feel like our team has a good idea of what to expect even though we still have much to do to be ready for students on Monday morning.<div><br></div><div>The intern team we will be working with joined up with us at the hotel. <span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">After lunch we all got on a bus for the trip to Limbazi. </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"> The rest of the afternoon was spent settling into our accommodations at the school and getting to know our new friends. We then had dinner at the church where we had a chance to meet the Limbazi church team and enjoy great food together.</span></div><div><br></div><div>Tomorrow will be a bit laid back and preparing the school for the camp- setting up classrooms, meeting rooms and audio visual equipment. I didn't take many pictures today but I have this one of the church:</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6SxGDd-8z0N9VtcsRxQ-7OMLvErcW1Ga1VRSJAhH2ZN2G2yKHSz4T79qdv3lLUu5PvHrI-6LQgN5HfxfRxiQrf0puvQDKra93xKO7oL2tI2eceV5X3rpSreCiOF5clhkjo3mVWjor4deo/s640/blogger-image--612396642.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6SxGDd-8z0N9VtcsRxQ-7OMLvErcW1Ga1VRSJAhH2ZN2G2yKHSz4T79qdv3lLUu5PvHrI-6LQgN5HfxfRxiQrf0puvQDKra93xKO7oL2tI2eceV5X3rpSreCiOF5clhkjo3mVWjor4deo/s640/blogger-image--612396642.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Please pray for our final preparations and that there be clarity for all the logistics for camp come together in the next couple of days. </div><br></div>Chris Conradsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01362199500211290390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4113051985409955665.post-13967376753037120402016-06-23T23:20:00.001-06:002016-06-23T23:20:45.034-06:00Summer Solstice Celebration in LatviaYesterday we spent the bulk of the day in orientation for camp. We changed up our schedule so that we could spend time in old Riga last night as Latvians began celebrating a two day holiday event ushering in the summer. Yesterday was Ligo- a celebration for the shortest night of the year, is an ancient celebration where nature and fertility are celebrated. Jani, which is the celebration for summer solstice, marks the longest day of the year. There are traditions of burning pillars of fire from sunset to sunrise, making wreathes out of various flowers, wheat and leaves and most importantly, singing and dancing. All of these traditions are pagan in origin because they predate Christianity.<div><br></div><div>We had a chance to walk around the the beautiful old town in Riga, listen to a lot of music and join thousands of people gather along the banks of the Daugava River watching performances of traditional Latvian folk songs. It was definitely cultural experience that was interesting to observe while we are here.</div><div><br></div><div>Our missing luggage was recovered and brought to us yesterday so everyone has their bag and we now have all the equipment for camp. We spend a half day today finishing our orientation before setting out to the town of Limbazi where we will settle in for the next week and a half. We will be spending time in town with some activities, preparing for camp, go to church on Sunday and the camp starts<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div> on Monday morning and run through Saturday.</div><div><br></div><div>This afternoon we will meet the rest of the team for our camp- the Josiah Venture interns and the Limbazi local church team. I'm excited to get our three team together. Pray for unity and the details of camp. Latest report has 25 students registered for camp and I know through some activities over the next couple of days, we are hoping to recruit even more students.</div><div><br></div><div>I am hoping for wifi at the school where we will be making no our home for the next week and a half. If we have it, then I will continue posting to the blog. If you don't see anything for a few days, you will know that we have internet challenges.</div><div><br></div><div>Enjoy the following photos from yesterday!</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsOaUYMXinzpYYDozM9c3sfFad_b7hxMSjaY9Juq31ytY0MJe8nc1wfj2sdDnK0AaXAzcCU_473RHg422-obLdmYN3cBapPpqEhnQDfpjuGcRZOHRLTzhyphenhyphenvjJUkaS6ZyWJ0sqZJrD7VBxM/s640/blogger-image--2090852135.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsOaUYMXinzpYYDozM9c3sfFad_b7hxMSjaY9Juq31ytY0MJe8nc1wfj2sdDnK0AaXAzcCU_473RHg422-obLdmYN3cBapPpqEhnQDfpjuGcRZOHRLTzhyphenhyphenvjJUkaS6ZyWJ0sqZJrD7VBxM/s640/blogger-image--2090852135.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghL-cV2LorETBYUYCr7Ua-15L0jZnbFs704AvNgaIKitofDI11iG1qZvb59DvkNsl8PC23ARq7pEQqY4rpKwgT-8gzsOWR05kIh9lxGUyrFBc4oTdSc5UWV8aP5Hb-Rxx35rfxia21251Q/s640/blogger-image-1762003936.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghL-cV2LorETBYUYCr7Ua-15L0jZnbFs704AvNgaIKitofDI11iG1qZvb59DvkNsl8PC23ARq7pEQqY4rpKwgT-8gzsOWR05kIh9lxGUyrFBc4oTdSc5UWV8aP5Hb-Rxx35rfxia21251Q/s640/blogger-image-1762003936.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXNIDi2OZYsQxbIXsEoIisAi-3dEiFBguQVZOew_-1WICxlpD_gL1HeApG-J79ppKCqIO-V4YK1FMziEk4tpBEaVFRzisoV2vNYKLbapR4r0qzcErGNTxkSBKbf2QXPOracUegLNFag8R1/s640/blogger-image-1155719742.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXNIDi2OZYsQxbIXsEoIisAi-3dEiFBguQVZOew_-1WICxlpD_gL1HeApG-J79ppKCqIO-V4YK1FMziEk4tpBEaVFRzisoV2vNYKLbapR4r0qzcErGNTxkSBKbf2QXPOracUegLNFag8R1/s640/blogger-image-1155719742.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaRGFtES5NSbxJILD87M9vYIc-r5rGJoi2kSxLeeGokXQG3Mr5VlW_CiSExB9WdH9FKpiWz1Om9tFRznqUshEu8rcpT0i2AI7VBysD4htqPrAr52wZB4u9XaSqHdiFBxDp8viwdnmdJ_IA/s640/blogger-image-1289988809.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaRGFtES5NSbxJILD87M9vYIc-r5rGJoi2kSxLeeGokXQG3Mr5VlW_CiSExB9WdH9FKpiWz1Om9tFRznqUshEu8rcpT0i2AI7VBysD4htqPrAr52wZB4u9XaSqHdiFBxDp8viwdnmdJ_IA/s640/blogger-image-1289988809.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis4rDUKeiYj_YgAYbQV0je6VyRKxuHiEeJnaLk3LSOgTuMmrwZQd7HdteRcQL1pFXtMXdicZlauECnSC7Po9Etp_JaS8JFQWVKQdQHFKn85qRueW2lJI-1lGetFsG_XfbKCJamL3brOWch/s640/blogger-image-579550352.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis4rDUKeiYj_YgAYbQV0je6VyRKxuHiEeJnaLk3LSOgTuMmrwZQd7HdteRcQL1pFXtMXdicZlauECnSC7Po9Etp_JaS8JFQWVKQdQHFKn85qRueW2lJI-1lGetFsG_XfbKCJamL3brOWch/s640/blogger-image-579550352.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_2mtO4rcftGFWYEuihlTfUHW9RubXFvU0zWvNZTPx3HvYfetYGCvi3JwRyJBZ63k9fTldpCzHqT9G1icbZPDKAnHuGzasCtg-aGTki9zZLXqX7aolvEgJ-2Y5lJCNur91wYaxpuuGYJcn/s640/blogger-image-1122550501.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_2mtO4rcftGFWYEuihlTfUHW9RubXFvU0zWvNZTPx3HvYfetYGCvi3JwRyJBZ63k9fTldpCzHqT9G1icbZPDKAnHuGzasCtg-aGTki9zZLXqX7aolvEgJ-2Y5lJCNur91wYaxpuuGYJcn/s640/blogger-image-1122550501.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYqvPii0ZjKiwbszYTqQPxjpT1WpBEXxOSMPrhe9jUBXsP3nd47MDn57cAYyt6TDgtS6rr99_33vZp8MDtpvk-QtA8zBa2UNpDi8FsI4Sz4tyxWxxS9ruOp5CyOtwqj7KLLy5kmAbufvL0/s640/blogger-image--604945897.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYqvPii0ZjKiwbszYTqQPxjpT1WpBEXxOSMPrhe9jUBXsP3nd47MDn57cAYyt6TDgtS6rr99_33vZp8MDtpvk-QtA8zBa2UNpDi8FsI4Sz4tyxWxxS9ruOp5CyOtwqj7KLLy5kmAbufvL0/s640/blogger-image--604945897.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj31BmCz9bQcrij5L0je3pTSb3Va18uo9v7qQpopw-kk3IzMBQrqc1mxXK3h8hfNdKUXch6pYHPEALx6I8fOc0B3WLRAW-tB9pqbqKujMOVXzW1uJSLDBO1VdwykrNlMblTV1KK3cTxpbxb/s640/blogger-image-783656553.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj31BmCz9bQcrij5L0je3pTSb3Va18uo9v7qQpopw-kk3IzMBQrqc1mxXK3h8hfNdKUXch6pYHPEALx6I8fOc0B3WLRAW-tB9pqbqKujMOVXzW1uJSLDBO1VdwykrNlMblTV1KK3cTxpbxb/s640/blogger-image-783656553.jpg"></a></div><br></div><br></div><br></div><br></div><br></div><br></div><br></div><br></div>Chris Conradsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01362199500211290390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4113051985409955665.post-4018521705793594662016-06-22T22:42:00.001-06:002016-06-22T22:42:53.620-06:00In LatviaI'm with a team that left the States on Tuesday to journey to Latvia for a an English/Sports Camp with Josiah Venture in the town of Limbazi. We have arrived minus a few of our checked bags. That's a first for me. I've been fortunate over 10 years of leading trips that all our bags arrive with us- until now. We are praying that a couple of our team members are reunited with their personal bags and the third bag containing many of our camp supplies shows up before camp actually starts on Monday. Surely they will right?<div><br></div><div>Our team is now in the midst of adjusting to the 9 hour time difference and getting a little cultural perspective as we venture out into Riga today and start our orientation for camp. We've got a great team and I'm excited to meet the interns and the local church team we will be working with for the next couple of weeks.</div><div><br></div><div>Please pray for our continued adjustment to Latvia and for our bags. Oh, and another one of the adjustments is getting used to sunrise at 3:30 am and sunset at 11:30 pm- that's a lot of daylight!<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMOTIRkSm2N9pOZlW4IFRyRaOLHTFPDvBVvw4jdMWyw5xWU7e3VZvZVrysk2CBiuZkqMBViTXeAaU3w7UqzUuVWhG1mjY1x5t-od1p7ory0zKr07LIQnO-xAqIboeF5JKf-PUGLe5HTtzV/s640/blogger-image--137783541.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMOTIRkSm2N9pOZlW4IFRyRaOLHTFPDvBVvw4jdMWyw5xWU7e3VZvZVrysk2CBiuZkqMBViTXeAaU3w7UqzUuVWhG1mjY1x5t-od1p7ory0zKr07LIQnO-xAqIboeF5JKf-PUGLe5HTtzV/s640/blogger-image--137783541.jpg"></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL0iweDIknIcddtOifd5AoEc3pn0iyHOKeq-9ob72wg1I_hv2AeUpRT_8tSKqA34bnb4KjDldQ0Q4kasZVhMP9m_bpsmrNRZHA-zQgCQDqvToE2JJwFzVszRU7ZqsNbor0VQSgXK5A9bIf/s640/blogger-image-1618259146.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL0iweDIknIcddtOifd5AoEc3pn0iyHOKeq-9ob72wg1I_hv2AeUpRT_8tSKqA34bnb4KjDldQ0Q4kasZVhMP9m_bpsmrNRZHA-zQgCQDqvToE2JJwFzVszRU7ZqsNbor0VQSgXK5A9bIf/s640/blogger-image-1618259146.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEtQvVAAPosDcqyqlf5I8tqREJfOw4azOooPV_DLn9lUpe1A7cUR8tt-qTL1oUyTubBWO0YjR9soj-3GkeTQB8sfhQgzazNj-pPD_xXWZMbfuCFoKh_gp32MCgUr8n5JRJG7LnaM7k5PjU/s640/blogger-image--1305055343.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEtQvVAAPosDcqyqlf5I8tqREJfOw4azOooPV_DLn9lUpe1A7cUR8tt-qTL1oUyTubBWO0YjR9soj-3GkeTQB8sfhQgzazNj-pPD_xXWZMbfuCFoKh_gp32MCgUr8n5JRJG7LnaM7k5PjU/s640/blogger-image--1305055343.jpg"></a></div><br></div><br></div>Chris Conradsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01362199500211290390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4113051985409955665.post-91302452837048384832016-03-17T11:26:00.001-06:002016-03-17T11:26:31.668-06:00Back HomeIt's now Thursday morning and I'm just getting around to catching up on updates. We had a busy last couple of days preparing to come back home. On Tuesday we went up to Desire to say our last goodbyes to the kids. That is always a tough time because it seems we only just arrived and began rekindling old friendships and many making new friendships. But we closed our time praying for the children of Desire and Pastor Jeannot also prayed as he gave thanks for our team making the long journey to spend time with the kids.<div><br></div><div>When we arrived in Port au Prince we had the chance to visit with the Pathways students from Desire. They had been anticipating our visit for weeks and we had the chance to catch up with the and hear how their experience is going with the program. The time was short but on a very deep level it was meaningful to them and to us. The gravity of seeing these students being transformed from orphan to thriving young adult is astonishing and I wish there was an easy way to put it into words. My prayer is that every orphan has an opportunity like this when they reach the age of adulthood. That's a very big vision- a God-sized vision but one that only through God's provision could happen. Seeing lives transformed is an incredible encouragement for my own faith journey.</div><div><br></div><div>Yesterday before heading to the airport we had the opportunity to see Life SA. This is the facility that manufactures clothing in Haiti and is also where t-shirts and other clothing apparel and accessories are created (<a href="http://goex.org/" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">http://goex.org/</a> ). This was amazing to see because there are currently a number of this past year's Pathways graduates working at this facility. You can see the photos below.</div><div><br></div><div>After a long journey from Haiti back home, our team is now resting after an amazing trip and I am excited to debrief and hear how God has impacted them individually and what He has placed on their heart for a next step of action. I encourage any of you ready this blog to ask lots of questions of our team because I know they would love to share how God used them this past week.</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhw7l3h0QyAV3MBBfCjZzngB8PDJ0KYCpg53ZGwPdmQY_NChVCLuWvQGrn0R5vlqLDSbFaA3m6xrshbMAuqvif7ed7dPxVM3BqePByfaf8XDL_pepLenx9FQRuLhgo6kRrYIekp_qKqeAC/s640/blogger-image-412118171.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhw7l3h0QyAV3MBBfCjZzngB8PDJ0KYCpg53ZGwPdmQY_NChVCLuWvQGrn0R5vlqLDSbFaA3m6xrshbMAuqvif7ed7dPxVM3BqePByfaf8XDL_pepLenx9FQRuLhgo6kRrYIekp_qKqeAC/s640/blogger-image-412118171.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_K_sYhuwZ3r_lAnyqEUQdcYRJehZSFakd1S7y8hRxkgqIKUmO0zmpdu0i9I_YFG3Q1S52zZS1WxYzi5JnipOnCvyCqyd-SiHl9ieHU_wgbOV1VoU2zxKndGeZJLFE4eYHBZdz8CUkeUFp/s640/blogger-image--797216742.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_K_sYhuwZ3r_lAnyqEUQdcYRJehZSFakd1S7y8hRxkgqIKUmO0zmpdu0i9I_YFG3Q1S52zZS1WxYzi5JnipOnCvyCqyd-SiHl9ieHU_wgbOV1VoU2zxKndGeZJLFE4eYHBZdz8CUkeUFp/s640/blogger-image--797216742.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYqO273JrNbU4bIpbGtE94bn-yqLbUrYM3BjQJ7_4aKZ8vhCQAtYgPLQWzqPaLWPOaedCC2l06jVY8h6C3T4PUk_tFzyIkFxSAWTLB0pMR2nTu_C0mT98Sk6VCd_50_3cBY5-PwwUz8EB4/s640/blogger-image-1891338811.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYqO273JrNbU4bIpbGtE94bn-yqLbUrYM3BjQJ7_4aKZ8vhCQAtYgPLQWzqPaLWPOaedCC2l06jVY8h6C3T4PUk_tFzyIkFxSAWTLB0pMR2nTu_C0mT98Sk6VCd_50_3cBY5-PwwUz8EB4/s640/blogger-image-1891338811.jpg"></a></div><br></div><br></div><br></div>Chris Conradsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01362199500211290390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4113051985409955665.post-84331219201225291092016-03-15T22:01:00.001-06:002016-03-15T22:01:09.752-06:00Saying GoodbyeToday we had to say goodbye to our friends in Desire. It was definitely tough for all of us. We had some great times together. It always seems like we are just getting going when we have to say goodbye.<div><br></div><div>While saying goodbye was hard in Desire, we had a wonderful reunion with the Pathways students from Desire. Currently there are six young adults in the Pathways program. Pathways is a program for orphans who have reached the age of an adult. At 18 years, students can no longer be in the orphan care system of Haiti. The Global Orphan Project started Pathways over two years ago and the third class of Pathways started this past fall. Three guys from Desire are on track to graduate this August while the other three are in their first year. Pathways provides life skills, discipleship and learning a trade to help prepare them for adulthood. The goal is to turn out great young men and women who end their Pathways experience by having an "above living wage" job at the time of graduation. <span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">It was great to see the Pathways students from Desire and spend some time catching up with them.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Tomorrow we begin our journey home with an arrival close to midnight tomorrow night. Please pray for our safe travels. The team is excited to return home so they can share their experience. The team is also a bit sad to leave because Haiti truly is a special place.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4SFWBwm2JdY68JQibsHIyUF1tHgE2xGf16Mue9lFgNUO_32Yvzme82rcF8w2BxbPJ5QdMMnaHBphVm56-dRLgJDkZedULDjRaFwP0R-vuIzOai0TEE1gUeYyWEcpnvit3oAGy3PX_Uo1M/s640/blogger-image--687884325.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4SFWBwm2JdY68JQibsHIyUF1tHgE2xGf16Mue9lFgNUO_32Yvzme82rcF8w2BxbPJ5QdMMnaHBphVm56-dRLgJDkZedULDjRaFwP0R-vuIzOai0TEE1gUeYyWEcpnvit3oAGy3PX_Uo1M/s640/blogger-image--687884325.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTlbEZtHQsfi4K3BwMJF3nlyJ_bFajv23khyphenhyphen0G1eRU0dkwMSa27zbYL7_3lkLqfPtUN97_DaBBPXQpiPSeL6K6atQZyN6YFS1KLuP6ZBUkNe4dkR5YMjzCXSeHP_OlRgjKDIfW02Dy-o-R/s640/blogger-image--2090013124.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTlbEZtHQsfi4K3BwMJF3nlyJ_bFajv23khyphenhyphen0G1eRU0dkwMSa27zbYL7_3lkLqfPtUN97_DaBBPXQpiPSeL6K6atQZyN6YFS1KLuP6ZBUkNe4dkR5YMjzCXSeHP_OlRgjKDIfW02Dy-o-R/s640/blogger-image--2090013124.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfxEUaTJfqrBn7WdpVeyG8HD29QvchBTjV8Iz2vHXGY3x4ZUdMZI_-io5Rn1azK0xKZFFTK7mOBIbvIfolrdh3UMxuOSQeYWmlZDeplR0iOjzREZNMB7DlkygwxDrolIAxjhvXvokxaNir/s640/blogger-image-1459775872.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfxEUaTJfqrBn7WdpVeyG8HD29QvchBTjV8Iz2vHXGY3x4ZUdMZI_-io5Rn1azK0xKZFFTK7mOBIbvIfolrdh3UMxuOSQeYWmlZDeplR0iOjzREZNMB7DlkygwxDrolIAxjhvXvokxaNir/s640/blogger-image-1459775872.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwU_lazpzTo9r4-3teUxxNBGBDCoXLV1pGHmOkPwDM8xvvfa7hyna7rlLYNIKm0p4KltbsiMOC3pfBJEkpL-cd8JHl2tqgfz1GxlgSygdUFefhLCeOmzhAbDd9KVS8jNdsAAb5yH1hjWY1/s640/blogger-image--248926283.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwU_lazpzTo9r4-3teUxxNBGBDCoXLV1pGHmOkPwDM8xvvfa7hyna7rlLYNIKm0p4KltbsiMOC3pfBJEkpL-cd8JHl2tqgfz1GxlgSygdUFefhLCeOmzhAbDd9KVS8jNdsAAb5yH1hjWY1/s640/blogger-image--248926283.jpg"></a></div><br></div><br></div><br></div><br></div><br></span></div>Chris Conradsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01362199500211290390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4113051985409955665.post-4710444020907963412016-03-14T22:38:00.001-06:002016-03-14T22:38:52.349-06:00Last Full Day in DesireThis is the time in each trip where we are winding down our time with the kids and it begins to get a bit difficult. Difficult because it means we are leaving soon. So we focus on the time we have and reflect back on the day that was.<div><br></div><div>Each day concludes with a debrief of the day. We ask- what challenged you? What brought joy to your heart today? Each debrief is filled with many things- mostly highlights and some challenges. Examples of each are great things like bonding with the kids and them expressing their appreciation for us being there. Challenges like kids being kids- kids being possessive of their American friend and pushing others away so that no one takes their friend away. It's definitely fun for me to be there as team members process their day and this trip.</div><div><br></div><div>Today we had English lessons and craft time in the morning and we came back late in the afternoon because we were showing the Jesus Film. Things went really well and we were privileged as the children watched the Jesus Film- their silence spoke volumes to how it held their attention.</div><div><br></div><div>Tomorrow we say goodbye to the kids in Desire but we also get to say hello and spend some time with the students in the Pathways program that are from Desire. There are currently six young adults from the Desire project enrolled at Pathways. Three of them are in their second year and slated to graduate in August. The other three are in their first year at Pathways.</div><div><br></div><div>So we balance the hard with the great. Already weighing on the team is our return home in a couple of days and their challenge of saying goodbye. You can certainly pray for the hearts of our team members. Pray that they seek God's next step of action for them. They will be challenged tomorrow night to seek what God has next for them.</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhePGFtb8iQBipJ0ADgTgAeHSoDuSRvKnNyT9q-rD7lLRapsl2vxdeL6-0JyTM4LpMEvmRukr0RTBLKg8S5857aSA2FnHYD-9Wvgc1S5-kDdLj3F3454HX9myS4OVCim5l4kdlfi1I6jazp/s640/blogger-image--1777113669.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhePGFtb8iQBipJ0ADgTgAeHSoDuSRvKnNyT9q-rD7lLRapsl2vxdeL6-0JyTM4LpMEvmRukr0RTBLKg8S5857aSA2FnHYD-9Wvgc1S5-kDdLj3F3454HX9myS4OVCim5l4kdlfi1I6jazp/s640/blogger-image--1777113669.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGR527-GXREGW8PgSEiGQUzc4w38GgcTf0IAFWidR-T57w7O1XINEXtg3qWOZ7eY-i6C56uwnyWSQnqgImRHw28MV1DXjBWctiaPFPFvMqKlIHK-7MMJ-fu0Kye-rU3YlVvb6l-InDN2JF/s640/blogger-image-743423343.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGR527-GXREGW8PgSEiGQUzc4w38GgcTf0IAFWidR-T57w7O1XINEXtg3qWOZ7eY-i6C56uwnyWSQnqgImRHw28MV1DXjBWctiaPFPFvMqKlIHK-7MMJ-fu0Kye-rU3YlVvb6l-InDN2JF/s640/blogger-image-743423343.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxrDucQQVpqYT7ihhBTZGxR_7cPpwj2AeYKTARFodEZMaHixhwDEJRlNwFGxzyLBtrwb2wb39rsHhNLpF31cXZU-qlQXfJF1HJGzuQoaR_UtexguHY6uiMGdClD9cZHxbFn7HasfDQFYZ5/s640/blogger-image--725801013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxrDucQQVpqYT7ihhBTZGxR_7cPpwj2AeYKTARFodEZMaHixhwDEJRlNwFGxzyLBtrwb2wb39rsHhNLpF31cXZU-qlQXfJF1HJGzuQoaR_UtexguHY6uiMGdClD9cZHxbFn7HasfDQFYZ5/s640/blogger-image--725801013.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQfRJ0zEQAzRY8vQ8U8WnJtf1VY_nYQ6_PMaEooaFkxGYSZo8NGkWyp3q4NVUZLMri71tXasQ_VMD3v2dWLUMRzhVWq0oYRmfhvtIXxHnVGQuYBX5QjqCF9Wjik6UcC0SNs-fY3ffBeUGW/s640/blogger-image--2097786070.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQfRJ0zEQAzRY8vQ8U8WnJtf1VY_nYQ6_PMaEooaFkxGYSZo8NGkWyp3q4NVUZLMri71tXasQ_VMD3v2dWLUMRzhVWq0oYRmfhvtIXxHnVGQuYBX5QjqCF9Wjik6UcC0SNs-fY3ffBeUGW/s640/blogger-image--2097786070.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6DAOX_Sd8eNI6sNZq0TjicXXESgHGoaMX303xQFIQv0pLA7z0r6MMesR9WHyL99ELIA5Asm53BcWjIBC0-y_RSHuFIHyKJi7YGROVxAXyAAnkoMFBUNyD86XYZ25yyfmasTnbvhpKef_l/s640/blogger-image--6955044.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6DAOX_Sd8eNI6sNZq0TjicXXESgHGoaMX303xQFIQv0pLA7z0r6MMesR9WHyL99ELIA5Asm53BcWjIBC0-y_RSHuFIHyKJi7YGROVxAXyAAnkoMFBUNyD86XYZ25yyfmasTnbvhpKef_l/s640/blogger-image--6955044.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2r7i72XGTWLiEB6dMzyWO0YjhyphenhyphencRzvrlaURae-eBseQkTQQ9SzA5B5wmyLkal4htAWTVpEdnAiNQMy-m03Mj0cSxx1TbaGfvmyaeb2DFShC4BNJqsBkfXybGmLEJEQEaNOX3UgNLif9Hh/s640/blogger-image--122534537.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2r7i72XGTWLiEB6dMzyWO0YjhyphenhyphencRzvrlaURae-eBseQkTQQ9SzA5B5wmyLkal4htAWTVpEdnAiNQMy-m03Mj0cSxx1TbaGfvmyaeb2DFShC4BNJqsBkfXybGmLEJEQEaNOX3UgNLif9Hh/s640/blogger-image--122534537.jpg"></a></div><br></div><br></div><br></div><br></div><br></div><br></div><br></div><br></div><br></div><br></div>Chris Conradsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01362199500211290390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4113051985409955665.post-7826483781434203532016-03-13T22:39:00.001-06:002016-03-13T22:44:29.555-06:00Different Places, Same GodSunday's in Haiti are special. Especially when you have a team with the majority members in Haiti for the first time. One of the special moments is experiencing worship in another culture. We had the wonderful privilege of worshiping in Desire this morning. Pastor Jeannot preached and many of the kids shared special music that they had prepared.<div><br></div><div>Tonight was supposed to be the Jesus Film night but because of a couple of glitches we showed Rio to the kids and community and are going to try the Jesus Film tomorrow night instead.</div><div><br></div><div>We were treated to probably the most wonderful expressions of hospitality we could ever receive. Pastor Jeannot's wife and some of the mamas prepared a dinner for us in Desire before the movie. It was truly awesome! Goat, chicken, rice, vegetables, pineapple, mango and Haitian cake. It's making me hungry all over again just writing about it!</div><div><br></div><div>Today we also shared the story of the Isrealites crossing the Jordan and going on to defeat the city of Jericho. After that was a mixture of crafts and baseball.</div><div><br></div><div>Our night was topped off with the movie and it is very special being up in Desire after dark. Your ability to see the stars and the Milky Way is incredible. Long day, but a great day- we are from different places but worshiping the same God.</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEPHNsmfmfboRTxKHUkZf2-VTG6qBz5jE1H3MZJLP_qFdJeqaZHADTvu9EoCKOHW8Ju9jZ5ubWshhaJj-Pu3BDF5t3mfrQe84sMmSD8K8sO3rzxYYqhRiCKvstTZa7MSAGTPrLEay7QQzW/s640/blogger-image--1561115841.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEPHNsmfmfboRTxKHUkZf2-VTG6qBz5jE1H3MZJLP_qFdJeqaZHADTvu9EoCKOHW8Ju9jZ5ubWshhaJj-Pu3BDF5t3mfrQe84sMmSD8K8sO3rzxYYqhRiCKvstTZa7MSAGTPrLEay7QQzW/s640/blogger-image--1561115841.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhrDuD7UuUgn9yr_vtmKIo4pEhm1H1P-Rj8c8xxgaf7g8_pHPrFXVFW_40ZyMeyoqF7eUI_NzbXG1vylL5ncsP-KNYkhiF3WXjtn2kfXihrTLy1Sle9fzRLk92IxZ_acwk3FbhwRpB5Wbp/s640/blogger-image-1223769921.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhrDuD7UuUgn9yr_vtmKIo4pEhm1H1P-Rj8c8xxgaf7g8_pHPrFXVFW_40ZyMeyoqF7eUI_NzbXG1vylL5ncsP-KNYkhiF3WXjtn2kfXihrTLy1Sle9fzRLk92IxZ_acwk3FbhwRpB5Wbp/s640/blogger-image-1223769921.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFCulqYNa3RylYUxmXaVvV4NMO6DjcdN9-FnWyUjWagTy0WwazG9oP6Po5-safKkGrpEfofnRFvPN5fc1hWReo92itBHP7H3HLHVoDP54wCbZjEzcOUf8miJmbbU9xbI-JUhrgSpjDnAAm/s640/blogger-image-1329753487.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFCulqYNa3RylYUxmXaVvV4NMO6DjcdN9-FnWyUjWagTy0WwazG9oP6Po5-safKkGrpEfofnRFvPN5fc1hWReo92itBHP7H3HLHVoDP54wCbZjEzcOUf8miJmbbU9xbI-JUhrgSpjDnAAm/s640/blogger-image-1329753487.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdVV1KNcfzcnEKoanQ0HoX07y3jb13H0lErL169yfAlVUBZzi_iiLU-OpKyeGyAQjILvqyCFcrnpfqM1vpV3k-FdIubTdKidFjzdo4G2oS7pWqrnhVKGBaxWFhWMElfReaBp2MmNLHxs49/s640/blogger-image--1360289677.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdVV1KNcfzcnEKoanQ0HoX07y3jb13H0lErL169yfAlVUBZzi_iiLU-OpKyeGyAQjILvqyCFcrnpfqM1vpV3k-FdIubTdKidFjzdo4G2oS7pWqrnhVKGBaxWFhWMElfReaBp2MmNLHxs49/s640/blogger-image--1360289677.jpg"></a></div><br></div><br></div><br></div><br></div>Chris Conradsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01362199500211290390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4113051985409955665.post-63626138631345142892016-03-12T21:47:00.001-07:002016-03-12T21:47:08.508-07:00Ministry of PresenceWhen people ask me what we do when we go to Haiti, it's a challenge to sum it up in a few words. But boiling it down I would say that it's a ministry of presence- just being here spending time with the kids. Building relationships with the kids happens in a number of ways- English activities, Bible Stories, crafts, singing and playing.<div><br></div><div>Spending time with the kids lets them know that they matter. They may not have a family quite like we do in the States, but they have a different kind of family. This family comes from a church in Fort Collins and prays for them, spends time with them and partners with the pastor that provides direct care for them. Why? So that they may understand that they are KNOWN. Known but their Heavenly Father that loves them more than they can ever think or imagine. Known by us- this team, this church. </div><div><br></div><div>Today we had English activities in the morning and since we have two translators we split the kids into two groups. Once our teams hit their groove with the kids, the laughter and cheering grew louder and louder. This afternoon we witnessed and impressive display of ingenuity and determination as workers were loading one of the shipping containers from the property. This turned out to be a community event because stuff like this doesn't happen every day let alone every year! Once the container was loaded on the truck we resumed our plan to share a Bible story as well as having kids decorate their own journals.</div><div><br></div><div>Everyone is doing well and using every bit of energy to serve fantastically on this team. Relationships on the team are blossoming thanks to the time and work the team has put in not only serving the kids but each other as well.</div><div><br></div><div>Tomorrow we go to church in Desire and we just found out that Haiti will not be observing Daylight Savings. So we are not entirely sure what time breakfast will be and what time church will be. But we really aren't worried because schedule in Haiti is a loose term- things happen when they happen due to being on Haiti time. By the time we are scheduled to return on Wednesday, I'm sure American Airlines will figure out their times of arrivals and departures in Haiti.</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpPlqtV8MvMmSX3bcPnhn3hMOBZGXbvswqtXTpn9r_cQuaHR0mUQVSkLL2HXMaT0UjhfvZsO_DRpZHdqYQk9FeBNOkgWjNqvQis00_uFNNcLYcGEI_TkkqbA6W9iM9F1PSFYhGgCbC9_zG/s640/blogger-image-516030719.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpPlqtV8MvMmSX3bcPnhn3hMOBZGXbvswqtXTpn9r_cQuaHR0mUQVSkLL2HXMaT0UjhfvZsO_DRpZHdqYQk9FeBNOkgWjNqvQis00_uFNNcLYcGEI_TkkqbA6W9iM9F1PSFYhGgCbC9_zG/s640/blogger-image-516030719.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7cnr7zZmvyRQ4O8oDS0DXIXwTtT2BDUhdkXWiedrQCYtK4wfT8oG_usJJ-GCqmvKclCga8MxXFugS-ry88NZeQEugxDh4OyWhhRvWEpQSL4S0g-CGj_65gQ8nCQPVikCF4-jhK-gqNT5L/s640/blogger-image--782206276.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7cnr7zZmvyRQ4O8oDS0DXIXwTtT2BDUhdkXWiedrQCYtK4wfT8oG_usJJ-GCqmvKclCga8MxXFugS-ry88NZeQEugxDh4OyWhhRvWEpQSL4S0g-CGj_65gQ8nCQPVikCF4-jhK-gqNT5L/s640/blogger-image--782206276.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6FDB8fzWTWH8rlkHArZpZ9tHOxdvCk-NvgboxLEyw0w5X13DfAUQbonKqRDEdz_dDue-i9FqBvS7pmmHfRgsE5fH29yJ7vFdg7onFpoVuNGmk2WpnKGnTMimqlpZj7xo3vHOp8EoC6R-E/s640/blogger-image-1272007621.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6FDB8fzWTWH8rlkHArZpZ9tHOxdvCk-NvgboxLEyw0w5X13DfAUQbonKqRDEdz_dDue-i9FqBvS7pmmHfRgsE5fH29yJ7vFdg7onFpoVuNGmk2WpnKGnTMimqlpZj7xo3vHOp8EoC6R-E/s640/blogger-image-1272007621.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg5CaTCiZYNxq1h31YotnO9pble3RiWLhw2KdE7qQ7cAlkWhDj24g2lVfTd_TjHiSLnlEVAt0kJDkBFJ5kOwO_LqyB245ERX3BWI54uL-Tenx80myk0e4xd3ZpKveeCRIR_nqVYeoj9mk-/s640/blogger-image-1182206544.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg5CaTCiZYNxq1h31YotnO9pble3RiWLhw2KdE7qQ7cAlkWhDj24g2lVfTd_TjHiSLnlEVAt0kJDkBFJ5kOwO_LqyB245ERX3BWI54uL-Tenx80myk0e4xd3ZpKveeCRIR_nqVYeoj9mk-/s640/blogger-image-1182206544.jpg"></a></div><br></div><br></div><br></div><br></div>Chris Conradsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01362199500211290390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4113051985409955665.post-20527797733997910542016-03-11T20:24:00.001-07:002016-03-11T20:24:31.737-07:00We Are Here!We made it safely to Haiti this morning and had a long drive to Gonaives and arrived this afternoon. We got settled into our hotel and then pushed on to go see the kids.<div><br></div><div>This is what I love about a team committed to doing ministry on this type of trip: in spite of utter exhaustion, the team showed up promptly at the bus for a quick drive up to the orphan project. Once we arrived we were greeted by excited kids who were anticipating our arrival today.</div><div><br></div><div>We spent a couple of hours hanging out with kids and making new friends. The kids were excited about meeting friends from Fort Collins who had never visited Haiti before.</div><div><br></div><div>I'll have pictures in the coming posts but my memorable moment today was watching our youngest members- an 8 year old, and 9 year old and a 10 year old being escorted around by kids their own size. Our junior members were indeed a hit with the orphan kids. I was also very interested in hearing the observations of the young team members. Their perception of the kids is vastly different than what it was prior to coming to Desire. The kids truly see themselves as peers with the Deisre children.</div><div><br></div><div>Tomorrow we have a full day on tap- English activities in the morning along with crafts and games and then a Bible story in the afternoon as well as more games.</div><div><br></div><div>Continue praying for our health and stamina. Thanks for checking in on the blog!<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrpkk17e-qO4NehfXlg1w835yHSF1qi3y-2OGzG2WpaRPGmcPm-hgJEp80VQANM-FSdDp4i2AAiDlKr0kADejpeXyDi9MINx-YxLFfetuk-Cpy-QPVf5Wfa1zz-UEOh-BwXHGFQrfp8NC-/s640/blogger-image-24661059.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrpkk17e-qO4NehfXlg1w835yHSF1qi3y-2OGzG2WpaRPGmcPm-hgJEp80VQANM-FSdDp4i2AAiDlKr0kADejpeXyDi9MINx-YxLFfetuk-Cpy-QPVf5Wfa1zz-UEOh-BwXHGFQrfp8NC-/s640/blogger-image-24661059.jpg"></a></div></div>Chris Conradsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01362199500211290390noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4113051985409955665.post-77142780645391276602016-03-10T18:34:00.001-07:002016-03-10T18:34:10.433-07:00Haiti- Here We Come!Tonight we leave for Haiti arriving tomorrow morning. It was five years ago this month that we made our first trip to Desire. It was that trip that started us on the road of our partnership that continues to grow. We have seen these kids that we minister to grow up over these last five years and it has been such a blessing to our congregation.<div><br></div><div>Our team is a big one- 21 members. Over half the team is going to Haiti for the first time. I am so excited for this team and what the Lord has in store for us.</div><div><br></div><div>Be praying for our journey that it would go smooth, that we would be safe and stay healthy.</div>Chris Conradsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01362199500211290390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4113051985409955665.post-36517415736689395532015-08-06T02:54:00.001-06:002015-08-06T02:54:36.578-06:00Slovakia UpdateThe 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.<div><br></div><div>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.</div><div><br></div><div>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. <div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpjwDWXVtqy0lfJV-notJIl-yO5CSHbUkK1lNNajKRowzve5TrTRXrpMOyoGtOzBSOqa3U17zabyduMe9F6VK9s2PRLaBN00zXexPjVuIRJw_2z9YBdjEyIX3dDQ0NXG323xIllc_2KQcq/s640/blogger-image--831011218.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpjwDWXVtqy0lfJV-notJIl-yO5CSHbUkK1lNNajKRowzve5TrTRXrpMOyoGtOzBSOqa3U17zabyduMe9F6VK9s2PRLaBN00zXexPjVuIRJw_2z9YBdjEyIX3dDQ0NXG323xIllc_2KQcq/s640/blogger-image--831011218.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiimJBXlnK9_tfuZUvOKkAdh_4EHDqo3_95j6gyd60yr1XXkgsECbfqySZqMQAmS0htoMZrGbj-pe4XclE62pqkdD_pITwqHKfuNgxBZEP-2mdjmdbZXC1woEpS6PuUTQHTff9VgLPhV4ey/s640/blogger-image--129214412.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiimJBXlnK9_tfuZUvOKkAdh_4EHDqo3_95j6gyd60yr1XXkgsECbfqySZqMQAmS0htoMZrGbj-pe4XclE62pqkdD_pITwqHKfuNgxBZEP-2mdjmdbZXC1woEpS6PuUTQHTff9VgLPhV4ey/s640/blogger-image--129214412.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbXK2QXt7Y998CozQdkfLuerI70uEX2rrShGX1oIjYCyxuDxiJclR6CMYLKOsUzaXDUN9rS4gI3ICxIxhuV27iTR8h0t-ZalZCPYZy9F8rz9CkRQczUSZKsF5sGJOgiDJaaUFN6gGcXIkN/s640/blogger-image-653330075.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbXK2QXt7Y998CozQdkfLuerI70uEX2rrShGX1oIjYCyxuDxiJclR6CMYLKOsUzaXDUN9rS4gI3ICxIxhuV27iTR8h0t-ZalZCPYZy9F8rz9CkRQczUSZKsF5sGJOgiDJaaUFN6gGcXIkN/s640/blogger-image-653330075.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFHsTQIRWCGFrjt3SYhxgdEcSYFYZuYBrAj8XZg0qgltmK7YyY1j86SOh71OHt0NSK6lCzQlEoOqDt8iQIiX1vlX3-kEoz4MoUBM997QGT3FFH16mXoS2Y2uuOLCZNMYvjII7VcaWM8I3L/s640/blogger-image--271861382.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFHsTQIRWCGFrjt3SYhxgdEcSYFYZuYBrAj8XZg0qgltmK7YyY1j86SOh71OHt0NSK6lCzQlEoOqDt8iQIiX1vlX3-kEoz4MoUBM997QGT3FFH16mXoS2Y2uuOLCZNMYvjII7VcaWM8I3L/s640/blogger-image--271861382.jpg"></a></div><br></div><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><br></div></div>Chris Conradsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01362199500211290390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4113051985409955665.post-91339441188524509992015-08-02T14:13:00.001-06:002015-08-02T14:13:21.350-06:00Last Day of CampPreparations 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. <div><br></div><div>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.</div><div><br></div><div>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.</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUQG9IVzsRBAwANwuWg0-KKGbtW-KPLK3pw6qQ2kkQlRM66GFcD4B_9zu7oQSzA-4uNu3e4yFdSIc2WNbgj4ap3QfTPd1OfN7_kUjCLnT4cIiHRlVzsK5PMz5XCUFwAv1g6EjEUYvJH40C/s640/blogger-image--409349623.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUQG9IVzsRBAwANwuWg0-KKGbtW-KPLK3pw6qQ2kkQlRM66GFcD4B_9zu7oQSzA-4uNu3e4yFdSIc2WNbgj4ap3QfTPd1OfN7_kUjCLnT4cIiHRlVzsK5PMz5XCUFwAv1g6EjEUYvJH40C/s640/blogger-image--409349623.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ3iIqSL-qA84USyls9G5TZTbnFCu-gKrDQ2vyt7j5SjcacrYHSo8mL1tbTf7KgZDF0Bfftt4jjf-DijJc0tPeR6Elv3dxiJJpUpgqM5ia3XvBCcVGR3uYWKIJvHSVadJV671-AbAZtL6P/s640/blogger-image--1876608662.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ3iIqSL-qA84USyls9G5TZTbnFCu-gKrDQ2vyt7j5SjcacrYHSo8mL1tbTf7KgZDF0Bfftt4jjf-DijJc0tPeR6Elv3dxiJJpUpgqM5ia3XvBCcVGR3uYWKIJvHSVadJV671-AbAZtL6P/s640/blogger-image--1876608662.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg7gEtufyEsFy2AG6TXulTxaTY1ptC1a4CkBKH2rSQA20ceWoSIsUsnxvCCGs-fWoGzR6-qLBeeUQVV3mpYyW-Sm9eqq9RL4T6H0syGiYw5fYozV9SruRPIAdIHFPBKaUPZyS_cylbK9AJ/s640/blogger-image-1447470203.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg7gEtufyEsFy2AG6TXulTxaTY1ptC1a4CkBKH2rSQA20ceWoSIsUsnxvCCGs-fWoGzR6-qLBeeUQVV3mpYyW-Sm9eqq9RL4T6H0syGiYw5fYozV9SruRPIAdIHFPBKaUPZyS_cylbK9AJ/s640/blogger-image-1447470203.jpg"></a></div><br></div><br></div><br></div>Chris Conradsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01362199500211290390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4113051985409955665.post-5551191840711719432015-08-01T00:51:00.001-06:002015-08-01T00:51:14.197-06:00The Last Couple Days<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcvk3_KFHjms2-PANdcGCV_AEk2Cz-Ks2shyphenhyphenbwRAwUrP_Yl7hWuavBd4hXYSwGzMXo3JR2FgFiPM8vF7U8MQaH4YfnwvrC7cBpC45tp6rktKBVYavf6D85ZrWpQHUAoHv4oLP2FxTyKdQd/s640/blogger-image--1907967192.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcvk3_KFHjms2-PANdcGCV_AEk2Cz-Ks2shyphenhyphenbwRAwUrP_Yl7hWuavBd4hXYSwGzMXo3JR2FgFiPM8vF7U8MQaH4YfnwvrC7cBpC45tp6rktKBVYavf6D85ZrWpQHUAoHv4oLP2FxTyKdQd/s640/blogger-image--1907967192.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVjO9nxUJgMRdCxKWyiytMwTaWGkAkEswNH6lWJrvM2W-OtwfhjJHbklIJ3gPyMn4TZtx0mygm54Q5Lsprw37K40X3ChZlN0jlhHo6JDYP_E0HI8FRQmmz07uKq7HkG-GgEdW-uP4B8CzZ/s640/blogger-image-1924922179.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVjO9nxUJgMRdCxKWyiytMwTaWGkAkEswNH6lWJrvM2W-OtwfhjJHbklIJ3gPyMn4TZtx0mygm54Q5Lsprw37K40X3ChZlN0jlhHo6JDYP_E0HI8FRQmmz07uKq7HkG-GgEdW-uP4B8CzZ/s640/blogger-image-1924922179.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLRXcK7SKtlWTKo7vhRNCERTvQyEACAgVa-flAZjV6FBhZJBU5fDIkyf6WIKB5_EBwmWGAtv9IZbnd-gJh_x3cIQN21670lLRnky78ptWCf54ZE0xtJwHfYQN6lyJrfGMSqtuvWdQ1ou6B/s640/blogger-image-1512567035.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLRXcK7SKtlWTKo7vhRNCERTvQyEACAgVa-flAZjV6FBhZJBU5fDIkyf6WIKB5_EBwmWGAtv9IZbnd-gJh_x3cIQN21670lLRnky78ptWCf54ZE0xtJwHfYQN6lyJrfGMSqtuvWdQ1ou6B/s640/blogger-image-1512567035.jpg"></a></div><br></div><br></div><br></div>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.<div><br></div><div>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.<br><div><br></div><div>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.</div><div><br></div><div>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.</div></div>Chris Conradsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01362199500211290390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4113051985409955665.post-89948492066737047752015-07-30T07:15:00.001-06:002015-07-30T07:15:53.117-06:00Fusion FunIt's been a few days and the Fusion Camp is rolling right along. We've reached the halfway point at camp and are making great progress for the concert that is the culmination of the Fusion Camp. We've been learning a number of songs that range from current popular music to gospel/Christian music as well as a traditional Slovak song.<div><br></div><div>A typical day starts with breakfast, choir rehearsal, music workshop one of two, lunch, afternoon sports program (today is the Survival Challenge), the second music workshop, dinner, evening evangelistic program with music, message and small group discussions. The day is topped off with a special event highlighting different cultures. A couple of nights ago we had Colorado night that included cowboy hats, bandanas, line dancing, a Wild West shoutout, photo booth and beef jerky.</div><div><br></div><div>Many of the students come from broken homes. Slovakia is a country who's history has included communist oppression and therefore has been atheistic over the past century. Kids come to camp to connect to something they know and love- music. They also get to hear about and incredible God who loves them very much. A good number of these students have been connected to the Fusion ministry that happens throughout the year and they are challenged to invite friends to camp.</div><div><br></div><div>Last night we prayed specifically for a student who has been seeking truth and talking to a lot of the Christian leadership with the Fusion Ministry. We heard this morning that she finally came to a point where she is placing her trust in Jesus Christ. Praise God! There are other students wrestling with issues and seeking an answer for their lives. Many seem on the cusp of placing their trust in Christ. Please continue praying for the camp and the students who are here. As a matter of fact, the camp theme is "You are Here" using a map to find a reference point for where we are and where we are headed- in our relationships, families and eternity.</div><div><br></div><div>The team is doing well as expected for an exhausting experience. Everyone is giving their all and building relationships, leading workshops and serving those here leading this ministry. Continue to pray for our health and energy as we are about halfway through the camp.</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi260_AgyKSvYIXq3kzrVRXEBfvrMjKb2AjRAaMIbvWH-HoXXARg8CT-oxuY9PYWTL0JlLd1yl1NV7p-fc1cumsvEuoQ1ls9PQeh_qEsWG2cgitFqlczMey3adwYa13H6CSzTXyJLI-JFPz/s640/blogger-image-565916886.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi260_AgyKSvYIXq3kzrVRXEBfvrMjKb2AjRAaMIbvWH-HoXXARg8CT-oxuY9PYWTL0JlLd1yl1NV7p-fc1cumsvEuoQ1ls9PQeh_qEsWG2cgitFqlczMey3adwYa13H6CSzTXyJLI-JFPz/s640/blogger-image-565916886.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibYfmahRD1x4ZBu2UvWosPtCshiJrJh43-IhWTD6Lqz6oJTR_NQHCvISYiKRDNUb_cguRuMvSwHp4CXfq0rD1RvTZkpcIErSB0CVevPlIH7T1NYQHLj9BCShM-ymN1LsEpDqsspkQAfucO/s640/blogger-image--1977029303.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibYfmahRD1x4ZBu2UvWosPtCshiJrJh43-IhWTD6Lqz6oJTR_NQHCvISYiKRDNUb_cguRuMvSwHp4CXfq0rD1RvTZkpcIErSB0CVevPlIH7T1NYQHLj9BCShM-ymN1LsEpDqsspkQAfucO/s640/blogger-image--1977029303.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmM8SC18Yv3P7fysbHyAljjZmcLzU10UXL82NAIb4Ty6N3QdwxwGNtdkdqhPdNJ2dlvzSM3g6TakvFjMMefkVZIKY1xYaretkiVdYGNS-9zaHH7p0Mgk_J5siezc0OOzsrRgwlw5bvdyxo/s640/blogger-image--780845589.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmM8SC18Yv3P7fysbHyAljjZmcLzU10UXL82NAIb4Ty6N3QdwxwGNtdkdqhPdNJ2dlvzSM3g6TakvFjMMefkVZIKY1xYaretkiVdYGNS-9zaHH7p0Mgk_J5siezc0OOzsrRgwlw5bvdyxo/s640/blogger-image--780845589.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpjKR0rpjtzVw5AXYzD5zQbVxR6JESDMVEgPLxgoVWpAEhyphenhyphenND9gzQ-SPqWP5x37bG9uiQGRX6MzDek65mZMsO334mVDhJ8iFSNtTWCQdNTsmD7XjQAIO4qrm8bLRHqyzH6TYEAW6HNtNiS/s640/blogger-image-1203995379.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpjKR0rpjtzVw5AXYzD5zQbVxR6JESDMVEgPLxgoVWpAEhyphenhyphenND9gzQ-SPqWP5x37bG9uiQGRX6MzDek65mZMsO334mVDhJ8iFSNtTWCQdNTsmD7XjQAIO4qrm8bLRHqyzH6TYEAW6HNtNiS/s640/blogger-image-1203995379.jpg"></a></div><br></div><br></div><br></div><br></div><br></div><div><br></div>Chris Conradsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01362199500211290390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4113051985409955665.post-26598148220828998192015-07-27T06:44:00.001-06:002015-07-27T06:44:43.189-06:00Getting Ready For CampYesterday our team made our way out to camp to begin preparations for the students who will join us on Monday afternoon. It's been fun getting ready for the week by joining forces with the interns serving for the summer, the Josiah Venture staff and the students who are joining us as assistants. In all there are about 25 of us getting ready for the students to show up at the camp.<div><br></div><div>Trying to orient myself, we are located about an hour outside of Bratislava in the rolling hills of the Slovakia countryside. There is always logistical challenges when working in facilities that are very old and challenging to hold a full music camp. We've created space for a choir and full band and it feels tight already with those of us here now. Can't wait to see how it all works when we add about another 60 students to the mix.</div><div><br></div><div>The location of the camp also means I have no cell service (if I needed it) and wifi that is spotty and inconsistent. So my hope is to post as much as I can with photos but it will depend on the wifi signal out here. In writing that I realize how spoiled I sound with my technology demands. There is a balance I strive for between being on mission and keeping the church family and friends updated with what's happening on the other side of the world.</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzGUCH0Um3uZycYYM-ttRi68PpCvugcBqTC9J9IQJU6fMKC-IbwDXPCxHeXcVAShp1TYaimlLEwOF0SS0UkIHtcuNtgoWDCE9KBKjAOx4Huq2bXDm7_3neAihnWzU6PnajxYymA48XZuSP/s640/blogger-image--1605951592.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzGUCH0Um3uZycYYM-ttRi68PpCvugcBqTC9J9IQJU6fMKC-IbwDXPCxHeXcVAShp1TYaimlLEwOF0SS0UkIHtcuNtgoWDCE9KBKjAOx4Huq2bXDm7_3neAihnWzU6PnajxYymA48XZuSP/s640/blogger-image--1605951592.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCdqYsjf_WfBFGADJyvvx-EEnT3eP-YtSlMIMOWMHTr5bzLxA_1o5Qm2W3W-B2i46__AlIDt6tw9uGdEMcwLswjFHW4t6_LEbBXtt1BXMqcbjH6gccvFGyX9WyzfR22R2iJ06OBxwxw9GQ/s640/blogger-image-349560946.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCdqYsjf_WfBFGADJyvvx-EEnT3eP-YtSlMIMOWMHTr5bzLxA_1o5Qm2W3W-B2i46__AlIDt6tw9uGdEMcwLswjFHW4t6_LEbBXtt1BXMqcbjH6gccvFGyX9WyzfR22R2iJ06OBxwxw9GQ/s640/blogger-image-349560946.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJHvMy2FVRvBklMGX4HKam6o2LTMkHUWNRVz20GB9wR96jUYvi5ct33-DUgf17X-gSdllmi8TngcAkSgQkXeoqH8Wz9kf32EC3sLt0_PtICAzvWigYAloRRZp99csy92OavT27zvmq1lom/s640/blogger-image-1757688614.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJHvMy2FVRvBklMGX4HKam6o2LTMkHUWNRVz20GB9wR96jUYvi5ct33-DUgf17X-gSdllmi8TngcAkSgQkXeoqH8Wz9kf32EC3sLt0_PtICAzvWigYAloRRZp99csy92OavT27zvmq1lom/s640/blogger-image-1757688614.jpg"></a></div><br></div><br></div><br></div>Chris Conradsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01362199500211290390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4113051985409955665.post-18860917435692014242015-07-25T14:10:00.001-06:002015-07-25T14:10:51.452-06:00On To SlovakiaThis is a little change of pace. I have the privilege of leading a team from Faith to participate in a music camp outside of Bratislava Slovakia. We get to work with people near and dear to us from Fort Collins as we reunite for a couple of weeks playing music and sharing the gospel with the youth of Slovakia. Making the trip even more special is the fact that there are four young interns serving in Slovakia for the summer from Faith making our arrival a family reunion of sorts.<div><br></div><div>The plan for the next week and a half is to update the journey of this mission team as we have the opportunity to use music to minister to the youth and share the gospel of Jesus Christ with them. Many of the countries in Easter and Central Europe have emerged from the communist oppression of the former Soviet Union. A characteristic of communism has been that these countries are very atheistic. The younger generations in these regions essentially have not heard about God or the Good News of Jesus Christ.</div><div><br></div><div>Our team is exhausted from our journey adjusting to an 8 hour time difference. We are excited to begin our preparations as the camp starts on Monday. I hope to post pictures as I have wifi available which at best can be a hit or miss thing. Thanks for praying for this team and the work that lies ahead for us!</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdlCxz4ivgRnWbU_U0vRw2CyaBhi0FPgmsOpSLAWPtwDkKH9qylQVNvEShkD-uDxxdMS-ygX_CYjEeRZxPbGp8phzEwyfa6Xti3scLICtWE2UA7GWTvkjtmnpLHCpFR8QjHGuzWgj4u3j8/s640/blogger-image--1435840972.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdlCxz4ivgRnWbU_U0vRw2CyaBhi0FPgmsOpSLAWPtwDkKH9qylQVNvEShkD-uDxxdMS-ygX_CYjEeRZxPbGp8phzEwyfa6Xti3scLICtWE2UA7GWTvkjtmnpLHCpFR8QjHGuzWgj4u3j8/s640/blogger-image--1435840972.jpg"></a></div><br></div>Chris Conradsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01362199500211290390noreply@blogger.com0