Service Project 2010

Home again! Finally!! It's been two weeks since I've slept in my bed and I must say I am really enjoying it this weekend! (This is why it's been so long since I've posted.) Two weeks ago I spent the week watching two kids. Their mom had surgery and dad's deployed, so I had the kids. I stayed at their house, took them to school and practices in the afternoon, then home and to bed. We'll just say I am definitely not ready for motherhood yet. I'm sure starting with an infant will break me in, but going straight to a 9 and 12 year old is not easy! I dropped the kids off Friday night and then came home to pack for the next week. I jumped on a bus at 2:00 Saturday morning and headed to Ostrava, Czech Republic. After a 15 hour bus ride, we finally arrived!

That is where I spent the week for Club Beyond Service Project. Club Beyond is a youth ministry for middle school and high school students in DODDS schools. We went to a high school in Ostrava to do some work. We taught a lot of ESL classes to the students and also did some physical labor outside on the school grounds. I went to do the behind the scenes work. I really enjoyed my job. I wasn't in charge of any students, which was a great break for me. Instead, I spent hours on the computer, helping to prepare for the week. I helped with schedules, lesson plans, and gathering of matierals. Because I like to be organized and I enjoy creating spreadsheets on the computer, this job fit me like a glove!

This is the site I saw outside our hotel window.... yes that is snow falling! That snow turned into rain and fell the entire week! Definitely not idea weather, but we all survived!

This was our head translator and the head master (principal) of the school. The head master didn't speak any english, so our translator did a lot of work!

Here are a few pictures from our week with the high schoolers in the Czech school.

The kids did a lot of relational work with each other. It was exciting to see their friendships grow!

We also had a group of kids in PE classes all day. This was good proof at why Americans are fat compared to Europeans. After stretching, they ran ladders up and down the court. The last three people in each group had to do sit-ups!

In the afternoons, after school was out, we put on several workshops for the kids. Throughout the week, we played basketball, volleyball, frisbee, baseball, soccer, American football, board games, crafts, and cooking. We made rice crispie treats with the kids. They don't have marshmallows over there, so this was a really special treat for them. They devoured them! One of the days that it was pouring outside, we played a game of Jeopardy. The categories were split between Czech facts and US facts. This pictures is of the Jeopardy game.

The one in charge of the week.... our fearless leader, Elizabeth!

She did an AMAZING job of being organized and making sure everything ran smooth. I had a great time working with her and rooming with her!

After we got back to the hotel after being at the school all day, we ate supper and then had Club. We sang some songs, watched a slideshow of pictures from the day, and listened to a speaker.

It was a great trip over all! It was so exciting to see God moving in such amazing ways! Unfortunately I won't be able to go next year because Jay and I should be (key words) gone by then! But, I will still get to go to Beach Break with the middle school Club kids this summer! Something I'm defintiely looking forward to.