“The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride.” Ecclesiastes 7:8 (New International Version)
Today marks the ending of the “Real Life” camp. We spent the morning saying our farewells to the students and packing our bags. Then we all got into separate cars and headed for homes in and around Český Těšín. This is perhaps the hardest time of the ministry, short of returning to the United States. We have made new friendships and strengthened others. Although there are a series of follow-up events, some students will not attend these due to various other commitments. It is hard to say goodbye.
This day also marks the ending of the united ministry team. As we left Hotel Malenovice (the site of the camp), the US team split into different vehicles and headed for homestays with different families. We will not all staying in the same location for the remainder of the trip. Aidan and Levi left early to serve at a different camp. Jessica and Sophie will stay with their missionary friend, and head back to Wisconsin on a different schedule than the Arizona crowd. Six of the Arizona missionaries will head back to Prague on Sunday. And the remaining Sandy family plan to stay another two and a half weeks to help with extended follow-up events (more on this in another post).
For the next two days, the team will be focusing on regular follow-ups. These include a camp message and celebration (which we had already tonight), sports activities tomorrow afternoon, a Hawaiian-themed party tomorrow night, and church on Sunday. The goal of these follow-ups is to help new students transition from the camp environment to the youth group at the local church. We are all tired, but we are not done yet. Thankfully, the pace has slowed down a little bit and we all look forward to recovering some more sleep tonight.
On a side note, the activity tonight was very well attended, with over 70 people. Most of these were students that we knew from camp, or have had the opportunity to meet in previous mission trips. This is was perhaps the best showing of any follow-up event that we have had. Patient service appears to be bearing fruit.
As I type this message, I am sitting facing windows that have been cracked open to let in some of the cooler night air. My computer sits on a makeshift desk, composed of an ironing board. And the whirring sound of the laundry machine is likely to be our constant companion for a day or two.
On a personal note, I said other goodbyes today as well. Today, I have definite signs that the stone that made its appearance at the beginning of our journey has now passed. So, I suppose that some farewells can be joyful too.
Thank you for joining with us on our journey. We appreciate your partnership in prayer!
Prayer Requests:
- That Christ would be glorified in and through the partnership between Family Bible Church and Církve bratrské v Českém Těšíně (the Czech church) this summer.